Tag 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.

Bad Photos of Mama and Papa Wren

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I was finally was able to capture these photos of papa..but no time to focus.  Can you see the jet that just happened to stream by as I was snapping the one shot? Sorry about the poor photos, but I’m hoping someone will tell me if I’m right in identifying them as wrens:

(Click any photo to enlarge all.)

 

To read the poem “Kitchen Nativity” about this bird, his mate and nestlings, go HERE.

Kitchen Nativity

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Version 2jdbphoto                                

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

What Is of Value

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What Is of Value

Now that the grass is freshly mown,
the sparrows can’t leave it alone.
Though we prefer the lovely green,
they prefer what’s gone unseen.
The dry grass underneath is best
for weaving into this year’s nest.
What has value for you and me
is not the same for all, you see.
For the way the world’s devised
is that everything is prized.

The NaPoWriMo prompt today was to compose a poem out of overheard conversations, but since I’ve been in a solitary mood lately, I went down to eavesdrop on the birds and other sounds of nature. Hearing a loud chirping in the huge cactus near my hammock, I noticed birds making repeated trips to the planter full of grass I put near the pool so my Scottie dog Morrie could have a place to lie to drop his tennis ball into the pool for me to retrieve and throw back down into the garden for him to chase after.  The long grass was pretty, but constantly being torn off by his repeated jumps up to and down from the planter and making  a mess in the pool, so I’d had the gardener trim the grass.  Earlier, I’d noted how ugly it now was as the grass underneath had turned brown, but upon closer observation, I realized that it was now a treasure trove for birds building nests.

NaPoWriMo, Day 21.

Morning Matins, NaPoWriMo 2017, Day 12

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full moon morning 2 jdbphoto2017

 

Morning Matins

Cuddled and chirruping, choirs of birds
trill from their tree limbs in boisterous herds.
Like broken crystals, they tinkle in showers,
cacophonous clashings from high hidden bowers.
We cannot see these hermits in their hiding.
Until the sun rises, they will not be gliding
smoothly on air currents, sliding and slipping,
deft and most daring while doing their dipping.

Now a clashed chirping, like the chipping of ice.
The cooing of doves and a rooster crows twice.
The masked moon is waning, obscured by the light
as the first rays of day do away with the night.
Then the wrens take to wing and the grackles glide in.
Flycatchers and orioles desert where they’ve been.
They make their curtain calls, then spread their wings
in pursuit of their breakfasts and other bird things.

vermillion flycatcher jdbphoto2017

Being a night owl, I am so rarely up at 5 in the morning that it has been years since I’ve experienced the awakening of birds in the full moonlight before the sun has yet come out.  It was like a concert listening to birds awakening, still obscured by darkness and their sanctuaries of trees.

The NaPoWrMo prompt for day 12 was to use alliteration and assonance in a poem.

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.

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.