Photography – Page 12 – Circadianreflections Blog

Something for Sat. Ruby Crowned-Kinglet

January 20, 2024January 24, 2024Posted in Birding in Nevada, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, PhotographyTagged Nevada, Nikon, Photography, pine tree, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Washoe County45 Comments

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

I don’t want the week to go by without a post so here we have me posting on a rare Saturday.

This little Kinglet is so cute, but very flitty normally but, on this day earlier this month I was able to get quite a few good looks at this one.

They’re a small bird being only 3.5-4.3 inches in length, and weigh 0.2-0.3 ounces.

They get their name from a Ruby spot on their crown.

I have yet to see it flared, but here’s a look at the top of its head showing the Ruby spot.

This one is busy being an acrobat which afforded me a good look at its Ruby Spot which was a treat. Just look at how light they are it’s holding onto those pine needles and they aren’t bending!

Fun Facts:

The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a tiny bird that lays a very large clutch of eggs—there can be up to 12 in a single nest. Although the eggs themselves weigh only about a fiftieth of an ounce, an entire clutch can weigh as much as the female herself.
Ruby-crowned Kinglets seem nervous as they flit through the foliage, flicking their wings nearly constantly. Keeping an eye out for this habit can be a useful aid to identifying kinglets.
Metabolic studies on Ruby-crowned Kinglets suggest that these tiny birds use only about 10 calories (technically, kilocalories) per day.
The oldest known Ruby-crowned Kinglet was a female, and at least 8 years, 8 months old, when she was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in Texas in 2017. She was banded in the same state in 2008.

Fun facts gleaned from allaboutbirds.orghttps://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet/overview

I hope you all have a great week-end!

Nikon D810| Nikkor 500mm PF-e| PS CC 25.3.1

more to come…

Whatever Weds. Occultation of Antares

January 10, 2024January 9, 2024Posted in Occultation, Photography, Stars, Stars and PlanetsTagged Antares, Dawn, landscape, Moon, Morning, Nikon, occultations, Pinenut Mountains, Snow, Stars, Venus68 Comments

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

January 8th just at dawn I photographed my first celestial event of the year. The Occultation of the crescent moon and Antares the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpius.

The tiny dot of light on the Earthshine side of the crescent moon is Antares right before it slipped behind the Moon. Venus the morning star shines brightly above and to the left of the Moon.

I give you three views, one with my star filter on my lens, one with my ultra wide angle lens, and one deeply cropped to show Antares slipping behind the Moon.

*20mm view of the Crescent Moon, Venus, and Antares.*

Crescent Moon, Antares, Venus dawn January 8, 2024

Venus above and left of the Crescent Moon, Antares a tiny dot of light on the Earthshine side of the Crescent Moon just before it disappeared behind the Moon.

I was in a bit of a rush putting on my star filter so it went on askew so some of the star lines aren’t clean, and worse it’s now stuck. It’s on too tight for me to unscrew it, and I broke my filter wrench some time ago removing a ND (neutral density) filter, and failed to replace it. DOH! I have ordered a new one…and not a plastic one this time. It should arrive today.

We had our first big snow drop that stuck on Sat/Sun. It required shoveling. My neighbor bought a new cordless snow-blower and did our driveway twice! I just shoveled the clean up and the road below our driveway. She’s a jewel! She said it took just 12 minutes to do the driveway. We’ve made a deal. She’ll do the snow-blower and I do the clean up shoveling on 3 driveways and sidewalks. I told her I’d spring for the Hot Cocoa with marshmallows!

We have another big storm coming this weekend which is going to mess up my plans to meet friends, and do some birding at one of our favorite California refuges. It’s going to snow here, and in the mountains I’d need to cross, and it’s got rain on the forecast for there. It’s always a risk in the winter though isn’t it. Looks like I’ll be cancelling my plans.

Hopefully, we can meetup in February.

That’s me all caught up. How’s it going for you? Were any of you up and notice the tiny reddish star right beside the moon Monday morning?

Nikon D810| Nikkor 24-120mm & Nikkor 20mmG| PS CC 25.3.1

more to come…

Whatever Weds. American Kestrel

January 3, 2024January 2, 2024Posted in birding, Birding in Nevada, Birds of Prey, Photography, Whatever WednesdayTagged American Kestrel, Birds in the Wild, Blue Skies, Cottonwood tree, Female Birds, Nature, Nevada, Nikon, Washoe Co, Whatever Wednesday49 Comments

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

This is a Kestrel I saw in December. I’ll show her from the two sides I got to observe her from. It’s a treat to actually get two side views of a bird.

When I first spotted her high in a Cottonwood tree-

They’re one of the smallest birds of prey, but so cute.

Here she is from the other side, with her chest showing.

Fun Facts:

- Sports fans in some cities get an extra show during night games: kestrels perching on light standards or foul poles, tracking moths and other insects in the powerful stadium light beams and catching these snacks on the wing. Some of their hunting flights have even made it onto TV sports coverage.
- When nature calls, nestling kestrels back up, raise their tails, and squirt feces onto the walls of the nest cavity. The feces dry on the cavity walls and stay off the nestlings. The nest gets to be a smelly place, with feces on the walls and uneaten parts of small animals on the floor.
- It can be tough being one of the smallest birds of prey. Despite their fierce lifestyle, American Kestrels end up as prey for larger birds such as Northern Goshawks, Red-tailed Hawks, Barn Owls, American Crows, and Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks, as well as rat snakes, corn snakes, and even fire ants.
- In winter in many southern parts of the range, female and male American Kestrels use different habitats. Females use the typical open habitat, and males use areas with more trees. This situation appears to be the result of the females migrating south first and establishing winter territories, leaving males to the more wooded areas.
- Unlike humans, birds can see ultraviolet light. This enables kestrels to make out the trails of urine that voles, a common prey mammal, leave as they run along the ground. Like neon diner signs, these bright paths may highlight the way to a meal—as has been observed in the Eurasian Kestrel, a close relative.
- Kestrels hide surplus kills in grass clumps, tree roots, bushes, fence posts, tree limbs, and cavities, to save the food for lean times or to hide it from thieves.
- The oldest American Kestrel was a male and at least 14 years, 8 months old when he was found in Utah in 2001. He was banded in the same state in 1987.

“Like neon diner signs”! 😂 I loved that description.

Fun facts gleaned from allaboutbirds.org

Happy New Year to all my blogging friends, and visitors!

Nikon D810| Nikkor 500mm| PS CC 25.3.1

more to come…

Whatever Weds. Just Chillin’ on the Farm

December 27, 2023Posted in Nevada, PhotographyTagged Cottonwoods, Cows, Farm, Foggy Morning, Nikon, Photography, Ranch, Rural America44 Comments

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Nikon D810| Nikkor 24-120mm| PS CC 25.3.1

more to come…

Merry Christmas!

December 22, 2023December 21, 2023Posted in Photography, Landscape Photography, NevadaTagged Carson River, Cottonwood Trees, Douglas Co, Fog, Morning, Nikon, No White Christmas this Year, Photography, Willows68 Comments

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

*Carson River on a Foggy Morning* *12.21.2023*

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

Nikon D810| Nikkor 24-120mm| PS CC 25.2.0

more to come…

Sunday Stillness-Sliders & a Softshell

December 10, 2023Posted in California, hikes, Nevada, Photography, WildlifeTagged Blue Sky, dried grass, El Dorado Nature Center, High Desert, iPhoneography, Long Beach CA, Nature, Nevada, Nikon, Photography, Red-eared Slider, Reeds, Sagebrush, Slide Mountain, Snow, Spiny Softshell, Sunday Stillness, Turtles42 Comments

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

*Slide Mountain View from Prison Hill East*

Nikon D810| Nikkor 24-120mm & iPhone 14 Pro

more to come…

Sunday Stillness: Yellow Rumped Warbler + 1

September 24, 2023Posted in Bird Photography, Birding in Nevada, Nikon, PhotographyTagged Birding, Birding Nevada, Books, Natue, Photos, Sunday Stillness, Yellow-rumped Warbler56 Comments

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Plus 1:

It’s out of my wheelhouse to promote other’s work, but I’m so excited I’m sharing a book and author this week.

Several months back Dan Antion of https://nofacilities.com/2023/09/20/introducing-rascal-todd/

had a give-away of his soon to be published 4th novel and I won it!

The book was released last Wednesday and I received my copy. I’m so excited to read this 4th book that goes along with his first three books in his Dreamer’s Alliance series, but this fourth book is also a “stand alone” book. The series is terrific. I’m so glad we get to meet new characters and follow some of the original characters in the new book whom I didn’t want to say good-bye to. You know how that goes when you really like the book right? 😀

What I’ll be reading next week:

Image used with permission from Dan Antion

Have a lovely Sunday, and great week everyone!

Nikon D810| Nikkor 500mm PF-e | PS CC 24.6.0

more to come...

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