Egret -- just winging it.

A Great Egret takes a leap into the air and glides away from his perch.  The picture is from the Oil and Gas Park in Jennings, LA. His companion for the the morning, the Anhinga on the right side, doesn't give it much attention.
-steve buser>

Great Egret, Louisiana

Powered by ScribeFire.

Great Egret,

This lone Great Egret (Ardea Albus) was ranging around the pond at the Oil and Gas Park in Jennings today. I managed to get in a spot, just behind a tree, that allowed me some camoflauge and a place to steady my shot.  He quickly found me, though, and took a couple stares right at me to check for threats.

The fishing wasn't so good, so he soon decided to head to his (seemingly temporary) nesting place in some bushes near the bank. 

What surprised me on this shot, was how limber you have to be, to be a Great Egret and keep your feathers straightened.
--steve buser

Great Egret, Ardea Albus, Louisiana

Powered by ScribeFire.

Green Heron

This Green Heron at Austin's Arboretum was wary of me, but didn't fly away as long as I kept my distance and didn't make sudden moves.
--steve buser

Green Heron, Austin

Powered by ScribeFire.

Black-capped Chickadee

I had to shoot between the legs of a railing to catch a shot of this Black-Capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) eating on some tender shoots of a branch in Yellowstone National Park this summer.
I think the railing provided just enough cover to keep my friend here unfrightened by me.
--steve buser

Black-capped Chickadee

Powered by ScribeFire.

The lazy days of summer's shadow

It was a lazy day at the Houston Zoo this past weekend when we were there. It wasn't all that hot, which brought lots of people (we had the very last parking spot, furthermost from the entrance.). ;

The animals were languid. There didn't seem to be any snap in anybody's pace, on both sides of the fence.

Just a lazy semi-summer afternoon.

The brown pelican above and his (her?) mate barely moved unitl the fish were brought out for their meal. After eating, they took a short swim on the pond. Don't ask me what that was about -- don't you always take a swim after you eat? You don't? 


 Go figure.      --steve buser

Eye zoo

This is the American Bald Eagle at the Houston Zoo. We took our grandchildren there recently to see the elephants. This guy didn' get a glance. Giraffes were the surprise favorite.


--steve buser

Come on, let me see you wash a tail feather

Bath time. Save these pictures for the next time the kids complain. Even ducks like to take baths. This fellow was ruffling his feathers at the Louisiana Oil and Gas Park in Jennings the other day. Several good long splashings later, he was ready to retire to the shade, straighten out his feathers and pick off the stuff that had come out.




Abraham Lincoln on this bird blog, Sunday, had a great little write up about this routine and more.

Stare-down -- Great Egret and Comorant

 
A Great Egret and a Comorant seem to be having a stare-down on the small lake at the Louisiana Oil and Gas Park in Jennings, Louisiana. The Egret flew off when he noticed me. A few minutes later the Comorant's partner swam up to it as if to plead with it to make a quick escape, also.


The I-10 park, which is midway between Baton Rouge and Lake Charles, is a great place to pull over for a break and a little scenery


--steve buser

Wind and water skimming

A Great Egret (Ardea alba) skims gracefully away over the water to find a better feeding spot. This is at the Louisiana Oil and Gas Park in Jennings where I stopped the other day for a break from my I-10 travels. Never one to miss a good shot, even on a bathroom break, I had to hold nature back while I ran back to the car to get my camera. Map

Buddy, can you spare a meal?

 
I looked down and this Ring-Billed Gull was standing right beside me. Maybe he was just trying to get a hand-out, but he stood still long enough for me to get his picture. Then he had a enough and took flight.


This was on the Nation's Mall in Washington, D.C.


-- steve buser

Starling -- the beautiful pest (Sturnus vulgaris)

 
They're mostly considered a pest. Nonetheless, the they have striking markings. This European Starling came right up to the table as we sat the National Mall, in Washington, D.C. this weekend.


We were just drinking lemonade at the outdoor stand, but across the patio, the couple was enjoying a hamburger and french fries. Suddenly, a Starling swooped in and stole one of the fries from the woman's basket as she held it. Needless to say, she was nonplussed by the theft.


The birds were artificially introduced into the U.S. from Europe.


-- steve buser

Hunkering Down from Hurricane Gustav

 
It was a time for hunkering down Sunday as Hurricane Gustav roared toward Louisiana and made the Perdido Key area in Florida an express lane for winds and rain showers rushing in from the Gulf. Even animals which were used to the elements were having a hard time of things. This bird was finding some shelter from the wind behind the log. It appeared to have an injury of some sort, no doubt from the almost unrelenting gales.


-- steve buser

You've got the cool water

 
Wading in a pond is not only a way of getting food, but also a way of staying cool on hot New Orleans afternoons. These two Ibis were at Lafreniere Park in Metairie --- the 150-acre park is built around a central lake and birding habitat that rivals anything in the wild. It features Ibis, Egrets, Canadian Geese, Black Swans and more -- I have even seen a pair of Roseate Spoonbills there.


--steve buser

Feathery flying freeloader

 
Okay, you can take back what you said about being stupid as a bird. Take it back.


This feathered fellow was faced with an obvious problem. "If I can't fish, I can't eat and I will starve to death." So he put some good old bird-brain power into it  and decided to panhandle to earn enough for some bird feed. The Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron wasn't getting any takers, but he had stick-to-it-ness. He was standing like this for about an hour while I was there. ("there" is the rookery on Oschner Island at Audubon Park in New Orleans.) I figured he was just one of the indigent species here.


-- steve buser

Double Glide

 
A phantomous Great Egret glides over the lagoon in City Park, New Orleans, while its image glides in rhythm with it across the glade-green water.


-- steve buser

Home with the groceries

 
An Great White Egret navigates through the top of the trees at Oschner Island in Audubon Park, New Orleans, to zoom into its nest.  Once there two hungry chicks will fight and make a big ruckus over who gets to eat first. Mom will thrust her beak down the beak of the chick to deliver a delicious concoction of digested insects and other creepy things.


- steve buser

Babies in the back window

 
We've got babies next door! The Mourning Dove that has been silently brooding in the tree out our bedroom windows had her babies last night. She was up cleaning one early this morning. Then,  she has tucked them tightly under her for protection. Every once in a while one will push the feathers aside for a peek. We can't wait to capture the first photos when she shows them to the world.

Bird watching

This critter is one of the regulars at the Trinity River Mouth Waterbird Rookery on the east side of the I-10 bridge over the Trinity River. The Rookery has a parking area and a overlook pier that makes a favorite spot for bird watchin. Bring binoculars -- the view is incredible but the action is often on the other side of the lake. Look for Anhingas, White Ibis, Little Blue Herons, and Roseate Spoonbills in this area. It is incredible that a site such as this is available just off the I-10.

So what's this guy doing there? Well, birds sometime slip from the trees.

WhatChaGot?

Expecting some good eats, the sea gulls zoom in on a lad just wanting to see the ducks down in the water at Kemah, Texas. The Kemah Boardwalk had a bird feed vending machine just behind the rail here, so the gulls knew what the rules are and what to expect. They zoomed in and took a very close look over and over, wondering "what's wrong with this guy?"


--steve buser