P52 28/52 To make a prairie…

Copyright © Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

To make a prairie~ Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover, and a bee.
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few.
~Emilly Dickinson

Image taken laying on my belly in my front yard at the beginning of evening Golden Hour. The clover is popping up in patches here and there…I sometimes think we should let it take over. Though most consider it a weed, and blight on the lawn (He-Man included) I like it!

 

Addendum: Woo-whoo! I’ve passed the halfway mark of my Project 52! It’s actually gone by pretty fast.

Nikon D300s| AF-D Nikkor 105mm @f9 + Kenko 20mm extension tube| Hand-held

P52 18/52 Lazuli Bunting-1st yr male

Copyright © 2014 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

P52 18 of 52 Lazuli Bunting-1st yr MaleThis is my 1st sighting of this bird! He’s a beauty. He was sitting on a snag singing his heart out until a House Wren flew over and chased him off the snag. Then the Wren started singing.

It was a delightful morning. The lizards came out to be serenaded by the Wren and this Lazuli Bunting.

Happy May Day everyone!

Nikon D300s| AF-S Nikkor 300mm @f4| 1/2500s| ISO 400| Manual Priority| Matrix Metering| Tripod

Santa Clara County, CA, USA

Zajac

Copyright ©2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

ZajacWhen I got married way back in the early 80’s my name changed to Zajac. It’s Polish and means White Rabbit, or Little Rabbit depending on which Eastern European you’re talking to. 🙂 I’ve named our house Rabbit Hollow. In Polish my last name is pronounced Zi-onsh.
I’ve never really felt the name is me, but He-Man, and my children are Zajac’s, and  I’m honored to be bonded with them for the rest of my life. I’ve often wondered if other married women feel this way? You know, my daughter will always be a Zajac to me no matter what.

I took this photo last week-end while out birding looking for Cedar Waxwings. It’s thought this rabbit was a pet set free. People have been seen feeding it I’m told.

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 300mm f/4

Canadian Geese and Goslings

Copyright © 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

I went to a local park this morning looking for a small flock of Cedar Waxwings that I spied yesterday, and on the way I spotted two Canadian Geese Goslings.

They were adorable pecking along the grass looking for worms and grubs.

Here’s the only photo I was took with the parents fully in the frame:

Canadian Geese and Gosling…and here are the two little ones together:

Canadian Geese GoslingsSince these were born in the USA shouldn’t they be called United States Geese, or California Geese? 🙂

Sora

Sora, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2013 Deborah M Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

While out birding recently my friends Dali, Rainey, and MamaZ ; Dali and I spotted a Moorhen, but it kept ducking in and out of the reeds so I wasn’t able to get a clean photograph of it so we decided to go around the marsh once more before the light faded. Dali spotted this Sora busy hunting for food. I thought at first it was a big Sparrow, but was thrilled when I got a better look at it. This was the first time I’d seen one!

I didn’t get clear view of him. He too liked the privacy of the reeds, but at least he was close enough to get a picture of.

The migration back to the North seems to have started as there are fewer birds around the marshes we visited. I probably won’t be visiting this area again until Spring.
It was great getting together with Dali, Rainey, and MamaZ.   We even splurged on Guacamole Burgers and fries. I’m looking forward to our next get together!

Nikon D700| Nikkor 80-200mm @200mm| f5.6| 1/800sec| ISO 1000| Manual Priority| Hand-held

 

“It is the sweet, simple things in life which are the real ones after all.” Laura Ingalls Wilder

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 70-300mm vr

 

Northern Harrier on the Hunt

Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

This Harrier was just one of many great birds I saw when I got out for a day of birding recently. The Harriers were flying low over the ponds, and marshes all day long. Whenever they were near, or overhead the Snow Geese, White-Fronted Geese, Ibis, and Coots would take to the sky. The noise was amazing to hear.
Late in the afternoon  we saw a Harrier chasing a Snow Goose, the goose dived into the marsh grass with the Harrier in hot pursuit! We waited with anticipation to see if the Harrier would come up with the Goose. He did not! That was one lucky goose.

Northern Harrior on the Hunt                                                                 Nikon D300s| Nikkor 80-200 @ 200 + Tamron 1.4x TC| f8| 1/800 sec| ISO 500| Hand-held and shot from the car window

There must have been a Harrier nearby to create this stir-up

White Fronted Geese

Snow geese in retreat…

Snow Geese in Flight

a couple of Greater White-fronted Geese enjoying the pond,

Greater White-fronted Geese