Tag: Fuji X-T3

Friday’s Feathered Friends-Northern Cardinal Male

Posted in Bird Photography, birding, Birds, Friday's Feathered Friends, Fuji X-T3Tagged , , , , , , , 61 Comments

Copyright ©2022 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION!

Hello! I’m back from taking a short blogging break. I have a few exciting things to share but, I haven’t been able to turn my mind to writing about them or processing my images yet. When I got home from my latest trip I came home to find #1 Grandson here for a summer visit!! He’s staying until next week then we’ll take him home. His school resumes in late August! It seems like summer is going by too fast. Already it’s dark here by 8:30 P.M.!

I’m so far behind processing and sharing images I fear I’ll never catch up, but let’s go back to my trip to Illinois which was in July this year. The day after my son’s wedding I went birding and He-Man came along for the walk, while we were at The Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center I ran into a birder and we got to chatting about birds we’d each seen so far that morning, and I asked him if he’d seen any Northern Cardinals in the area and he said he had just up the trail!! We were off on the hunt. It wasn’t long too long after that I saw a red streak fly by in the trees ahead. I raced forward, He-Man raced forward as now he too was excited and on the hunt!! I saw it dive into the bushes but, couldn’t see it then suddenly it flew up to a dead tree snag and perched!!!

Northern Cardinal-Male

I’ve been dreaming of seeing this bird for what seems my whole life…more so since I started birding more seriously in 2010. Can you see me doing my happy dance? 💃💃 I still am so excited to have finally see this beautiful bird! One day I hope to see the Female so that’s still on my list.

Northern Cardinal-Male

I saw one other “Lifer” here at this Nature Center that I’ll be sharing soon, and I’ll be telling you all about my trip to Wyoming where I met up with Janet from This, That, and the Other Thing!!

I hope this finds you all well, you have a wonderful week-end!

Fuji X-T3| Fujinon 100-400mm @ 400mm| PS CC 23.4.2

more to come…

Whatever Weds. Giant Swallowtail Butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Photography, Whatever WednesdayTagged , , , , , 39 Comments

Copyright ©2022 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION!

While in Il, USA I spied a new to me Butterfly at one of the reserves I visited.

Giant Swallowtail Butterfly

The Giant Swallowtail is the largest Butterfly of all of North America, but Female Tiger Swallowtails are nearly the same size.

They live mostly in the Eastern US and it typically stays in wooded areas and residential gardens.

This one looks like an adult and a bit tattered, but I was thrilled to see it!

Fuji X-T3| Fujinon 100-400mm| PS CC 23.4.1

FYI- I’ll be taking a break from the blog until mid August. I’ll have limited internet so I’ll catch up with you then. Be safe, and well until then!

more to come…

Whatever Weds. This and That July 2022

Posted in Family Fun, Family Traditions, Photography, Travel, Whatever WednesdayTagged , , , , , , , 48 Comments

Copyright ©2022 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Hello! It feels like I’ve been MIA for awhile. We were in the Chicago Region for my Son’s wedding and extended our stay a few days to do a little sightseeing and birding.

They had both a professional wedding photographer and videographer for the day. Here’s one image of Big Baby Boy and the Dark Haired Beauty just after the wedding. May I present the Newlyweds!

#1 Grandson was the Ringbearer and what a handsome and stylish lad he was.

The whole wedding party were handsome and beautiful, and we’re so happy to been able to travel to be a part of their Big Day.

The following day I spent the morning birding around the Orland Park area. It’s a lovely area with lots of ponds, wetlands, and green!

I have to give a huge shout out and thank you to Pat from the Thorn Creek Audubon Society I reached out to them before the trip and he was very generous telling me about a few places to go to do some birding. I picked up a couple of bird lifers, and a dragonfly which I’ll share first. While waiting for one of the reserves to open He-Man and I stopped by a little fishing pond where I spied this beauty.

I think this is an Erythemis simplicicollis- Eastern Pondhawk. Don’t you love that color green and it’s common name? I do!

Photograph

The evening we got home I started feeling pretty achy and stuffed up, and the next day I tested positive for Covid and the following day He-Man did too. Sigh. Today I am finally feeling like I’m getting over it. I’m still weak and tire easily but I woke up feeling more like myself than I have in a week!

I hope this finds you all well and having a great week!

Dragonfly- Fuji X-T-3| Fuji 100-400mm| PS CC 23.4.1

more to come…

Friday’s Feathered Friends-Red-Tail Hawk Chick

Posted in Bird Photogaphy, Friday's Feathered Friends, Nature, PhotographyTagged , , , , , 52 Comments

Copyright ©2022 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION!

The Red-Tail Hawk is back using the same nest as last year for this year’s breeding season. Yipee!

On the 15th while on my walk I think I spied a little head so when I got home I grabbed my camera and went back out to take photos of the nest and sure enough there was a chick in the nest and Mom too.

Red-Tail Hawk and sleepy chick

It wasn’t long before Mom took flight to stretch her wings. She flew into a tree across the way a bit to keep watch and once in awhile she called out letting the chick know she was near…I think. I kept waiting hoping the chick would sit up and it paid off.

Red-tail Hawk Chick

Look how fuzzy and soft it looks! 2 weeks later look how big it is and there’s less fuzz and more brown.

Red-tail Hawk Chick

The tree has leafed out quite a bit too making it a bit more difficult to see the chick. This is heavily cropped as well.

I’ll keep checking in on it and hopefully, I won’t miss the fledging like I did last year.

Fun Facts-gleaned from allaboutbirds.org

  • The Red-tailed Hawk has a thrilling, raspy scream that sounds exactly like a raptor should sound. At least, that’s what Hollywood directors seem to think. Whenever a hawk or eagle appears onscreen, no matter what species, the shrill cry on the soundtrack is almost always a Red-tailed Hawk.
  • Birds are amazingly adapted for life in the air. The Red-tailed Hawk is one of the largest birds you’ll see in North America, yet even the biggest females weigh in at only about 3 pounds. A similar-sized small dog might weigh 10 times that.
  • The “Harlan’s Hawk” breeds in Alaska and northwestern Canada, and winters on the southern Great Plains. This very dark form of the Red-tailed Hawk has a marbled white, brown, and gray tail instead of a red one. It’s so distinctive that it was once considered a separate species, until ornithologists discovered many individuals that were intermediate between Harlan’s and more typical Red-tailed Hawks.
  • Courting Red-tailed Hawks put on a display in which they soar in wide circles at a great height. The male dives steeply, then shoots up again at an angle nearly as steep. After several of these swoops he approaches the female from above, extends his legs, and touches her briefly. Sometimes, the pair grab onto one other, clasp talons, and plummet in spirals toward the ground before pulling away.
  • Red-tailed Hawks have been seen hunting as a pair, guarding opposite sides of the same tree to catch tree squirrels.
  • The oldest known wild Red-tailed Hawk was at least 30 years, 8 months old when it was found in Michigan in 2011, the same state where it had been banded in 1981.

I hope you all have a lovely week-end!

Fuji X-T3| Fuji 100-400mm lens| PS CC 23.2.2

more to come…

Friday’s Feathered Friends-Allen’s Hummingbird Male

Posted in birding, Birds in the Wild, Fuji X-T3, Nature Photography, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , 49 Comments

Copyright ©2022 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION!

While visiting Big Baby Boy and The Dark Haired Beauty earlier this month I went out early one morning to photograph the flowers that were in bloom and saw to my delight an Allen’s Hummingbird male flitting around and landing on a Bottlebrush Bush.

Going for a sip
A bit miffed and ready to fly
Bye–Bye!

I haven’t seen these or hardly any Hummers where I live now so this really was a treat seeing this one. Aren’t his colors wonderful.

Fun Facts: gleaned from allaboutbirds.org

  • Male and female Allen’s Hummingbirds use different habitats during the breeding season. The male sets up a territory overseeing open areas of coastal scrub or chaparral, where he perches conspicuously on exposed branches. The female visits these areas, but after mating she heads into thickets or forests to build a nest and raise the young.
  • Allen’s Hummingbirds breed in a narrow strip of habitat along coastal Oregon and California. But within their tiny range two subspecies occur. One (Selasphorus sasin sasin) migrates to a small area in Mexico for the winter while the other (S. s. sedentarius) stays put in southern California year-round.
  • The Allen’s Hummingbird is a remarkably early migrant compared with most North American birds. Northbound birds may depart their wintering grounds as early as December, arriving on their breeding grounds as early as January when winter rains produce an abundance of flowers.
  • Like other birds, Allen’s Hummingbirds use their feet to help control their body temperature. When it’s cold outside they tuck their feet up against their bellies while flying, but when temperatures soar, they let their feet dangle to cool down.
  • The oldest recorded Allen’s Hummingbird was at least 5 years 11 months old when she was captured and rereleased in California during banding operations in 2009. She was banded in the same state in 2004.~allaboutbirds.org

It’s going to be blustery and chilly here this week-end with maybe some snow and rain in the mountains so, I’ll be near home this week-end. I hope you have something fun planned!

Fuji X-T3| Fuji 100-400mm Lens| PS CC 23.2.2

more to come…

Friday’s Feathered Friends-Western Kingbird

Posted in Bird Photography, Birding in Nevada, Friday's Feathered Friends, Fuji X-T3, Nature Photography, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , 49 Comments

Copyright ©2022 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

While out for good long walk along the river recently I spied a Spring/ Summer visitor perched on a fence. The Western Kingbird. They’re one of the birds with lovely yellow in their coloring that visit here.

I think they’re so cheery with their bright yellow feathers, and gray heads.

They are in the Flycatcher family that hunts flying insects from its perch on a fence, trees, or utility wires.

They’re also famous for chasing and scolding intruders like Red-tailed Hawks, and American Kestrels.

Fun Facts gleaned from allaboutbirds.org

  • The Western Kingbird’s breeding range has been spreading for the last century as an unplanned result of human activities. By planting trees and installing utility poles in open areas, people have provided hunting perches and nest sites, and by clearing forests they have created open habitats suitable for foraging.
  • Though known as birds of the West, Western Kingbirds tend to wander during fall migration. They show up along the East Coast, between Florida and Newfoundland, every autumn—but only rarely during the spring. In 1915 Western Kingbirds began spending winters in Florida, where they are now regular winter residents.
  • Western Kingbirds aggressively fend off predators and other kingbirds from their territories. The males warn off intruders with harsh buzzes or whirring wings. Both males and females snap their bills and raise their red crowns (normally hidden under gray feathers on their heads) when provoked. As the breeding season wears on, each pair defends a smaller and smaller territory. By mid-incubation time the territory includes the nest tree and little else.
  • The Western Kingbird was originally known as the Arkansas Kingbird, but scientists changed its name to acknowledge its wide range across western North America.
  • The oldest Western Kingbird on record was a male, and at least 6 years, 11 months old, when he was found in South Dakota. ~allaboutbirds.org

We’ve been having big, strong winds lately so my sinus’ are a bit of a mess, but we’re looking at nice sunny days for the week-end here and hopefully the wind mellows out too.

I’ve been thinking about photographing the upcoming Lunar Eclipse. I won’t be able to see the entire thing from start to finish, but I’ll be able to see Totality. I’ll probably just photograph it from my yard. What about you, are you planning to watch it or photograph it?

I hope you all have a lovely week-end, and to all the Mom’s and Grandmother’s, I wish you a very Happy Mother’s Day! 🌼💗

Fuji X-T3| Fujinon 100-400mm| PS CC 23.2.2

more to come…

Whatever Weds. This and That

Posted in Birding in Nevada, Nature, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , , 45 Comments

Copyright ©2022 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

We had #1 Grandson with us last week which was so nice. One of the things we did was visit an Animal Sanctuary in No. Reno called Animal Ark. My favorite were the Cheetahs. Here are two. One wanted to play but, the other wasn’t interested at all so, they’re just chillin.

Cheetahs

Here’s a rare look at #1 Grandson. We had fun measuring our arms comparing them to wingspans of No. American birds. Mine was the same as a Turkey Vulture.

#1 Grandson’s is as large as a Red-tailed Hawk

All too soon it was time to take him home.

The week before his visit I had gone birding locally and saw some good birds. One I was super excited about seeing was the Pinyon Jay. I’ve been waiting for their Spring arrival so I could try again getting a decent image of one. This bird was a lifer for me in 2019 but, they were flying by so fast then that I failed to get a decent shot of one. Finally, on this walk-about I got a few but, that tree on the right is in the way. I was afraid to get any closer and scare it off which I eventually did anyway. 😮 They travel and forage in large flocks- on this day I counted 17 in all.

Photograph

Spring is breaking out all over the west now. When we took #1 Grandson home I noticed Baby Girl’s Apple tree was blooming so I took a quick snap of a blossom.


Apple blossom

I’ve been doing some projects from the book by Wendy Tait- Watercolor Flowers. This is project #2 Roses.

Photograph

I’ve painted 3 of these now- 1 8×10 in. and 2 5X7in. I’m making progress getting my paint to water ratio right, and blending is definitely improving. There are 8 projects in the book with step by step directions and images. I like the book a lot. I’m moving on to project 3 hopefully I’ll continue to improve.

Tomorrow I’m meeting friends down in the Mono Basin to do some photography and camping. I’m hoping for good weather, and clear night skies. I hope you all are having a good week, and your week-end is fun!

Fuji X-T3| iPhone 7 Plus| PS CC 23.2.2

more to come…