February 2012

Thumbnail image for The Origins of Avian Blue

The Origins of Avian Blue

February 29, 2012 Birds

I pulled a few of my Western Bluebird pics from the archives to illustrate the following excerpt. This month’s Smithsonian Magazine has a short piece entitled Why So Blue? by Helen Fields, which explores the natural magic behind bluebird blue: [Ornithologist Richard Prum] discovered that as a blue feather grows, something amazing happens. Inside each [...]

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Thumbnail image for On Double-Banded Knee

On Double-Banded Knee

February 28, 2012 Animal Behavior

Seattle crows are among the most famous of modern crows, owing to studies by John Marzluff which are featured in A Murder of Crows. This PBS Nature episode looks at Marzluff’s University of Washington (UW) research projects and the crows’ ability to recognize and remember human faces. I’ve seen a few UW-banded crows around town, [...]

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Was it Something I Said?

February 25, 2012 Birds

Spencer Island, Washington — described by Audubon Washington this way: “A cornucopia of species! Come year-round for Bald Eagles, Great Horned Owls, Northern Harriers, Belted Kingfishers – and woodpeckers: Pileated, Downy, and Hairy, plus Northern Flickers and Red-breasted Sapsuckers. Spring-summer find Tree and Violet-green Swallows, plus Ospreys, Wood Ducks, Blue-winged Teal, Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeaks, [...]

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These Are Not Leaves

February 23, 2012 Birds

My loose homage to Rene Magritte. They were so quiet, fluttering in the wind just like the leaves. Not even the softest Starling whistle came from that tree. When you’ve birded or photographed enough, or sometimes even just a bit, it’s wonderful how the slightest anomaly then draws the eye. This was more than slight, [...]

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Thumbnail image for When the Crane Calls

When the Crane Calls

February 21, 2012 Birds

Sandhill Cranes have distinctive calls you recognize immediately, once you know them. They rattle, and croak and reverberate through the estuary. The first time you hear that sound, you’ll expect something magnificent, prehistoric, indefinable. And that’s precisely what you’ll encounter. Cranes have ancestry reaching into the Miocene Epoch, 24 to 5 million years ago. They [...]

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A Blog Name Change … Have You Done It?

February 20, 2012 Photography

When people mention my blog in other blogs, the most common addendum is — don’t worry — it’s not about particle accelerators. That always makes me laugh, but I realize there’s nothing in my blog name to suggest what it really is. And, I know that’s violating one of the basic tenets of a “good” [...]

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Thumbnail image for Snowy Owls, Boundary Bay & Rethinking My Own Motivations

Snowy Owls, Boundary Bay & Rethinking My Own Motivations

February 18, 2012 Birds

Snow Owls on driftwood, shot from the dike trail at Boundary Bay – ©ingridtaylar – Click for Larger Image My only intent in visiting Boundary Bay was to get a glimpse of Snowy Owls. I’ve never seen them in the wild, and although I brought my camera, I didn’t expect to be close enough to [...]

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Thumbnail image for First … Signs of Snowies

First … Signs of Snowies

February 16, 2012 Birds

Boundary Bay, British Columbia Edited to add (2/17/12): Since I posted this, I’ve had discussions with a few photographers who disagree with my stance on this owl/space/ethics issue. They’ve told me it’s acceptable for photographers to be out in the marshes, as long as they don’t flush the owls. I wanted to find out what [...]

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Thumbnail image for Low Tide Life

Low Tide Life

February 15, 2012 Birds

“When we contemplate the whole globe as one great dewdrop, striped and dotted with continents and islands, flying through space with other stars all singing and shining together as one, the whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty.” ~ John Muir

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Thumbnail image for Enter … the ‘ood Duck

Enter … the ‘ood Duck

February 9, 2012 Birds

One experience can change a word forever. This experience took place in Venice years ago, on a guided tour of the Doge’s Palace. Our lovely guide, who couldn’t have been more enthused about his subject matter, simply could not pronounce the letter “W.” So, we took note of the palace’s ‘ooden beams, the historic ‘ooden [...]

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Thumbnail image for Wildlife Photography Ethics Matter

Wildlife Photography Ethics Matter

February 8, 2012 Birds

Edited to Add (2/12/2012): This was posted to the local birding list today, about the situation at Boundary Bay where the video below was shot: About 4:30pm a woman from [a rehabilitation society] up the road was seen walking out to the various groups and very kindly asking them to retreat back to the dike. [...]

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Moon Roost

February 7, 2012 Bird Noir

click for larger image Every night, they dart under the highway bridge, buzzing boaters as their wings slice the air above the channel. Cormorants, nature’s flying and diving machines, are sleek and malleable to the point of being reptilian. Everything about the cormorant says speed … everything except parking it at the roost. As branches [...]

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GooseORama

February 4, 2012 Birds

This was a much better day for the Snow Geese — better than my last visit to Snow Goose Central. Hunting season is done, and all of the goose shooting on Fir Island is now camera-only. I started off at this field with one other photographer, and by the time I left, there were six [...]

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Eagle Noir

February 2, 2012 Bird Noir

I joke (but it’s true) that my best eagle and osprey in moments in the Northwest happen in silhouette. There’s the issue of light, and how low and flat it tends to be in the winter. There’s also the issue of my luck — where the light is perfect, I’m pointed in the right direction, [...]

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