Category Archives: bird pictures

Lift

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You can see the fish dangling from the beak of this brave bird who nearly brushed me with his wings as he swooped in for his desayuno.
What is this frigate bird looking down on?
as well as this caracara bird?

Click on photos to enlarge.


Lift

You burn the air with tail and wing,
not thinking about anything.

Each lift of pinion simple, sure,
anonymous, unplanned and pure.

No slipshod planning, everything
insures facility of wing.

Each barb, each shaft composed with care
made less of matter than of air.

We only guess. We do not know,
what hand has engineered it so,

 merely wonder at its might
as we watch your easy flight,

lifting up with ease most rare
by miracle of wing on air.

 

Prompt words today are burn, simple, slipshod and wing.

Cormorants: Bird of the Day, July 16, 2019

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Click on photos to enlarge.

Cormorants are taking advantage of every branch of this tree that has become partially submerged in the waters of the rising Lake Chapala.

 

For:  Bird of the Day (BOTD) challenge.

Bird of the Day: Egrets at War

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I was meeting a friend and Maria Isabela’s near the pier when I sighted this egret and had to get a shot, but very quickly war ensued. These fighting egrets were moving so quickly that it was hard to get an unblurred shot. Here’s the best I could do. Click on the first photo to enlarge and see the captions.

 

The calm before the battle.
Equally calm.
And then, one invaded the other’s territory,
and the battle ensued.
Another egret watched, but did not engage.
Wish I’d had time to switch to the movie camera,
but in a minute or two, one flew away
And calm again prevailed.

For Granny Shot It’s Bird of the Day

Pelicans, NaPoWriMo 2019, Apr 23, 2019

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Pelicans

They float upon the gentle swells
with chins tucked in politely.
Of all the birds, most dignified,
their movements never sprightly.

They look like grumpy butlers
named Oliver or Jeeves
in morning coats of softest brown
with wings tucked in their sleeves.

They may be only scouting
the source of their next meal,
for now they take off to the air
with energy and zeal.

Soon they’re diving down again,
straight like an arrow shot
into the water’s surface
to see what can be caught.

Bobbing once again,
they lift their bills and then let slide
all that’s in their pouches
to another place inside.

I wonder if the fishes flop
all the long way down,
and this is why the pelicans
then fold their wings and frown?

The NaPoWriMo prompt today is to write a poem about an animal.