Category Archives: Birds

Pelicans

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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 gray
with wings tucked in their sleeves.

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

And soon they’re diving down again,
straight like an arrow shot,
down into the shallows
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 arms and frown?

 Version 2

The prompt today is shallow. This poem is a rewrite of a poem published a few years ago..

Bird of the Week!!!

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This fella sitting on rebar rising up from the lot next to my friend’s house was huge.  Is it a Kingfisher?  Closest I can come to identifying it.

For Nancy’s A Photo a Week Bird Challenge.

Kitchen Nativity

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Kitchen Nativity

I crept into my kitchen to see
what caused this morning’s cacophony.
The high corner of the cupboard wall
seemed to be the source of all
the peepings and it’s then I guessed
a mother bird had made a nest
there above the kitchen ceiling,
where I thought the paint was peeling.
Instead, that white spilled down the wall
outside the kitchen is not at all
what I thought—salitre’s heavings,
but is instead the nestlings’ leavings.

The watching mother stays aloof
on the next-door neighbor’s roof
with mouth filled with a juicy grub.
Now she flies from roof to shrub,
objecting to my presence there,
so close to nestlings in her care.
And so I leave the bird’s domain,
lest nestlings’ voices be raised in vain.
Minutes later, all is still,
although I know ten minutes will
bring more protests from tiny beaks
for wormy treats that mama seeks.
So it is this year again
that Mother Nature invites guests in.
My house now shelters more than me—
my family stretched from “I” to “we.”

Cee’s “Anything that Flies” Addendum

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Tried to get this posted with my earlier submission for this prompt, but it took too long to load and I had to leave as my friend came by to pick me up for a trip to Guadalajara. I’ll try again as this is an amazing shot of a feeding frenzy of birds in La Manzanilla, taken last year. Here goes for another try:

Here is my original posting for the “Anything that Flies” prompt: 

https://judydykstrabrown.com/2017/06/04/what-goes-up-cees-anything-that-flies-black-and-white-photo-challenge/

And here is Cee’s prompt page if you’d like to see other people’s postings for the prompt or to post your own: 

https://ceenphotography.com/2017/06/01/cees-black-white-photo-challenge-anything-that-flies/

Sideways glance: For Cee’s View from the Side Challenge

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Click on first photo to see a larger view of all photos.

For Cee’s View from the Side Challenge

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Isolated Subjects

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This single post sticking up far from the shore of Lake Chapala is the epitomy of isolation, but as I zoomed in on it, I learned more of its story.

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It is in fact a handy perch for this solitary night heron.

Cee’s prompt was “Isolated Subjects.”

Sentinels: Cee’s B&W Challenge, “S”

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On this day, wherever we went, there seemed to be animals on guard, seemingly as sentinels. In all probabiity they all just needed a comfortable place to perch. The first photo is of the entrance to a bank in Chapala.
Click on first photo to enlarge all, please.

Cee’s B&W Challenge: The letter “S.”

Cee’s Which Way Challenge, Mar 10, 2017

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Do you see the hundreds of starlings lined up on the wires trying to figure out which way to go?

Posted for Cee’s Which Way Challenge.

Cee’s B&W Challenge: The Letters C&D

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Click on first photo to enlarge all photos and see captions.

Contemplative Cormorant
Disheveled Dolly
Disturbed Duckie
Cock-eyed Dolly
Cormorant Couple
Chapala Child

 

https://ceenphotography.com/2017/03/09/cees-black-white-photo-challenge-letters-c-or-d/

Crawling or Flying

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Most things crawl before they fly, if they fly at all.  The wood termites shown in the photo have flown into my pool, chewed their wings off, and are treading water or floating on their cast off wings to get to the side of the pool so they can crawl up to my wooden beams and make a meal of them.  The golden orb spider spins zigzag designs in her web as she crawls to its center.  I haven’t been able to determine why. The orange butterflies were on a lifejacket on a boat on the Amazon.  Attracted by the bright color, they were no doubt disappointed by the taste.  The tiny green moth flew down to my computer screen one night and crawled around a bit before it settled on a nice spot. The hummingbird moth larvae are fascinating in their various mutations before turning into moths. I never have been able to figure out what the crystal shapes are growing out of the one caterpillar. 

Most of my bird watching takes place at the beach, thus the photos of pelicans and gulls. Except for the photo of the walking stick on the cap and the hand-held giant leaf hopper, which were both taken in  the Amazon rainforest, all of the other photos  were taken at my house above Lake Chapala in Mexico.

CLICK ON FIRST PHOTO TO ENLARGE ALL AND SEE GALLERY

 

2001-2022

Go HERE to join the photo prompt and post your photos of crawling or flying.