Birders' Nest

[Kalevala]

Extraordinary story. One can hardly believe one's own eyes, seeing this.

@owlice I believe that the chicken went on to raise other peacock chicks (I skimmed through the latter section of the video.     Pretty funny/cute how she tried to protect the chicks which were rapidly growing too big to fit under her wings--though they still tried to do so! 

And great photos--as always!

K

[Elgarian Redux]

You're very talented ER!  Did you take any art lessons or is this all self-taught?  Impressive, in any event!

K

In so far as I could draw at all, I owed it all to John Ruskin's superb little book The Elements of Drawing (1856). With that book, a great deal of patience, and a willingness to look intently, anyone can get as far as I did. But it was very demanding on my time, and after a few years I found I couldn't keep it up. The chief benefit, afterwards, was a greatly enhanced appreciation of the work of real artists, and that stayed with me.

[owlice]

Oh dear me, owlice, those are beauties all!

Thank you, @Iota!

This one just seems sort of perfect in every way.

Thank you! The bird poop really glows, doesn't it?  That was the very last photo I took on the trip. I'd taken a few others of this bird; he happened to move into the perfect spot for the available lighting at the last minute, and then after the shot, flitted away. It was a nice ending for my quick trip to London to visit my son.

Re: the Long-billed Dowitcher photo:

And this is sensational!

Protest as much as you like, Owl, but this is ART. Fabulous in every way.

Thank you both; you are very kind! I like this shot a lot; if I were one to frame pics, this would definitely be one I'd consider. This photo makes it very clear that nature is the artist. Nature's art is often ephemeral, and so it is here: this was just a split-second in time, and I happened to be fortunate enough to press the shutter at that moment, to put the frame of photography around that bird and its reflection. Nature created it, and the camera did its work.

And the 'mystery' bird is lovely to discover when you do!

Sometimes, I shoot blindly; I know something (usually a bird) [has it ever not been a bird?] has flown into vegetation but I don't know exactly where. I can't even see the bird, but I press the shutter anyway. And sometimes that works!! When I looked closely at the mystery bird photo, I literally laughed out loud when I found the bird. It's not a great pic, but I'm so glad I have it! (Such a cutie!!)

Here's another successful blind-shot pics from a few years ago:

White-eyed Vireo (Florida)
And still my best photo ever of this bird; go figure!

[owlice]

Alas I cannot see a bird.
No, I cannot see a bird,
I simply cannot see a bird.
Oh where, oh where, oh where, oh where?

Do you want a hint? I promise I will not allow the farcical meanderings my brain took the last time I asked you that question! (Or at least, I will not post them should they arise!  )

[owlice]

@owlice I believe that the chicken went on to raise other peacock chicks (I skimmed through the latter section of the video.    Pretty funny/cute how she tried to protect the chicks which were rapidly growing too big to fit under her wings--though they still tried to do so!

I watched the whole video, and she did indeed!

I know the mama hen's feelings very well; a parent wants to protect offspring regardless of how much bigger the offspring may be than the parent.

And great photos--as always!

Thank you!

[Elgarian Redux]

Do you want a hint? I promise I will not allow the farcical meanderings my brain took the last time I asked you that question! (Or at least, I will not post them should they arise!  )

Are you referring here to that great lyrical outpouring: 'Where the leopard is'? Would you rob the world of further similar riches? Even as 'Leopard' is racing up the charts and earning us millions?

However, I think I may have found the bird. I'm not entirely sure, but I've put a circle round it below, and request confirmation. If it is a bird, and not just a phantasmagorical trick of the light, then I think it is (a) greenish; and (b) it has an eyestripe. So my guess is that if this really is a bird, it might be a willow warbler or a chiffchaff. Do I score any points at all for that wild guess?

I'd been thinking that if another set of Owlice lyrics had been forthcoming, they might be set to a 12-bar blues. But then I looked at the picture again, and thought a 12-bar greens might be more appropriate.

[owlice]

Elgarian, the answers to your questions are all the same: yes.

And you do have the bird -- kudos!! A+ detective work! Here is a cropped/enlarged photo of the bird:



... great lyrical outpouring ... hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
::gasps for breath::
hahahahahahhaahhahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahaha!!!!!

[Elgarian Redux]

... great lyrical outpouring ... hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

How can you treat so lightly a set of lyrics that have single-handedly revitalised the world of popular wildlife warbling?!

This is the future, Owl:

Green Bird Rock
(to the tune of 'Jailhouse Rock')

Went to a party near an old green tree,
Saw the cutest bird that you ever did see,
Hidden in the leaves like a shy old thing,
Come out of there and let's dance and sing,
Let's rock,
Pretty birdie let's rock,
Let's go and run amok,
Everybody's dancin' to the Green Bird Rock.

[Elgarian Redux]

Making coffee this morning by the kitchen window, I saw a distant flash of orange in the garden, grabbed the camera, clicked - and the butterfly flew away. Here's the photo - very poor, but the first time I've ever photographed a Comma. We really don't see these very often around here.

[Elgarian Redux]

The coal tits are becoming braver by the day, and are frequently coming to the window feeder to help themselves to seeds etc.. Still very difficult to photograph though: blink, and you miss 'em.

[Iota]

That was the very last photo I took on the trip. I'd taken a few others of this bird; he happened to move into the perfect spot for the available lighting at the last minute, and then after the shot, flitted away. It was a nice ending for my quick trip to London to visit my son.

Yes, that's exactly it! The lighting is so perfect it seems it could have been staged/photoshopped or whatever. But because it's spontaneous it's in a whole other world of beauty. And the dappled haze of the background is perfect too.

Green Bird Rock
(to the tune of 'Jailhouse Rock')

Went to a party near an old green tree,
Saw the cutest bird that you ever did see,
Hidden in the leaves like a shy old thing,
Come out of there and let's dance and sing,
Let's rock,
Pretty birdie let's rock,
Let's go and run amok,
Everybody's dancin' to the Green Bird Rock.

Haha, brilliant!

Nice! He sure does look ready to go!

[Elgarian Redux]

More shots from the garden:

A blue tit and a coal tit in the window feeder. On the bird bath, a wren (we don't see many of these), and a male house sparrow who just turned away at the wrong moment.

[Elgarian Redux]

Later, up on the hills in glorious weather (see photo), a nice view of a reed bunting, and a distant stonechat (I still don't have a good clear photo of one).

[owlice]

How can you treat so lightly a set of lyrics that have single-handedly revitalised the world of popular wildlife warbling?!

This is the future, Owl:

Green Bird Rock
(to the tune of 'Jailhouse Rock')

Went to a party near an old green tree,
Saw the cutest bird that you ever did see,
Hidden in the leaves like a shy old thing,
Come out of there and let's dance and sing,
Let's rock,
Pretty birdie let's rock,
Let's go and run amok,
Everybody's dancin' to the Green Bird Rock.

hahahahahahahahaha!!! That's great!!!!

[owlice]

Making coffee this morning by the kitchen window, I saw a distant flash of orange in the garden, grabbed the camera, clicked - and the butterfly flew away. Here's the photo - very poor, but the first time I've ever photographed a Comma. We really don't see these very often around here.

YAY!! for having the camera handy-by!!! Commas are lovely. If you leave a bit of very very (over)ripe fruit outside somewhere regularly, you might entice them to come around more often. That might entice other things, too... which could be good or bad, depending on your point of view...

Here's a pic showing the diagnostic silvery comma on the hind wing:

I rarely see these, too, and so far as I can recall, have seen one in my yard only once, some years ago.

[Elgarian Redux]

YAY!! for having the camera handy-by!!! Commas are lovely. If you leave a bit of very very (over)ripe fruit outside somewhere regularly, you might entice them to come around more often. That might entice other things, too... which could be good or bad, depending on your point of view...

In view of what you say, it may be significant that the comma was on a rockery beneath the apple tree, which has so  many apples that we often can't pick them fast enough, or collect all the windfalls.

Here's a pic showing the diagnostic silvery comma on the hind wing:

I didn't know this! Thank you.

[Elgarian Redux]

hahahahahahahahaha!!! That's great!!!!

If it could only be 1957 once more, we'd have another hit ...

[JBS]

More shots from the garden:

A blue tit and a coal tit in the window feeder. On the bird bath, a wren (we don't see many of these), and a male house sparrow who just turned away at the wrong moment.

As a person who can barely tell one avian species from another, the ability to know if the individual bird is male or female suggests you have achieved superhuman levels of βλέποντας πουλιά.

[Elgarian Redux]

As a person who can barely tell one avian species from another, the ability to know if the individual bird is male or female suggests you have achieved superhuman levels of βλέποντας πουλιά.

Oh I wish! Jeffrey, the male house sparrow has a grey cap and a black bib, which is lacking in the female. Now in that particular picture you can't really see the black bib because the bird was looking away from the camera, but I had other pictures of this bird - all rubbish - but in them I can clearly see the black bib.

So my supernatural ability is explained by the fact that I had seen other photos of this bird, which you hadn't. The rest is all done by mirrors, and having an accomplice in the audience..

[Elgarian Redux]

Re: the Long-billed Dowitcher photo: Thank you both; you are very kind! I like this shot a lot; if I were one to frame pics, this would definitely be one I'd consider. This photo makes it very clear that nature is the artist.

Picture me thinking, 'Hmmm...', and looking slightly suspicious ...

Nature's art is often ephemeral, and so it is here: this was just a split-second in time,

and I happened to be fortunate enough to press the shutter at that moment, to put the frame of photography around that bird and its reflection.

And that is where the art is done,
that is where the art is done,
that is where the art is done,
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah.