Sunday Afternoon Captures...Northern Saw-whet Owl

A tip, along with some whitewash & pellets on the sidewalk, helped me locate this adorable little owl. He/she was pretty low in the branches overhanging the sidewalk, so I was able to get some pretty close shots. It's obvious this little cutie wasn't at all threatened by my presence. I knew these were small owls, but I was unprepared for just how small they are. I assume this is a male because he was on the lower side of the size scale. (Size: Length 17 to 21.9cm (6.7-8.6") Wingspan 45.9 to 56.3cm (18.1-22.2")Weight 75-110g (2.6-3.9oz) - Females are slightly larger than males.) He was so cute, I could hardly stand it! This was my first encounter with one of these owls and it was very exciting.

I hope you enjoy this image. To see more of the images I took, please CLICK HERE to see them in their gallery. You can see them larger there, too. If you want to order prints, check out my Birds of Prey gallery in my Print Galleries. For more information on the Northern Saw-whet owl, CLICK HERE.

Woodpecker Design Examined

The woodpecker is a fantastic testament to the proof of an amazing Creator. This article I found, from the Institute for Creation Research, explains how...

"When boring into wood in search of food, a woodpecker exerts so much force with each strike that its beak should crumble, its skull should crack, and its brain should be reduced to mush. However, a suite of design features absorbs the shock and ensures that these tragedies do not happen. How are these features able to provide such effective protection?"

To read the rest of the article CLICK HERE.

Sharpie-On the Hunt

This is not the greatest quality shot by any means, since I took it hand-held through my living room window, but I still like it. There have been many sharp-shinned and cooper's hawks hunting in our yard this winter. A couple of American Kestrels, too. One day there was a hawk in the yard nearly the whole day. It's a lot of fun to watch and a challenge to capture with my camera...

I have more images for viewing and purchase, in my Birding Galleries and Print Galleries.

Artistic Bird Landscape-your impression/thoughts?

I love how this image has such an artistic look to it. I've added a slight vignette to it. I took this one during one of our beautiful Idaho snow storms. I'm so blessed to live in this gorgeous state.

Your comments are welcomed. I would love to hear some other impressions or thoughts about this one...you may click on the title of this post to see it larger.

Hawk in my backyard (FOY)

Two days ago, I had the pleasure of seeing the first of the year (season) hawk in my backyard. They are so cool! He watched our bushes for a bit and then flew off to a neighbor's fence and continued looking for food. I just love the birds of prey! Welcome back!

Enjoy...

Gray Jay

This inquisitive bird landed in a tree near where we stopped for a picnic lunch, while recently at Jenny Lake, in Grand Teton N.P. in Wyoming. (USA)

Gray Jay (Perisoreus canadensis)

Snatching Insects

This year I have really enjoyed watching the hummingbirds in our backyard. We have two feeders out and several hummers come to them, as well as to the flowers in our yard. We've had mostly females and young ones, making it quite hard to identify what kind they are. I know we've had some Black-chinned hummingbirds because of their distinctive habit of pumping their tails.

The bird in this image was snatching tiny insects out of mid-air, allowing me to capture it in full light. My feeders are in the shade so they're usually backlit and if I don't use a flash, good luck getting a good image. I added a filter in Adobe Lightroom 3 to this image and although the colors are not true, I love the golden look it has given this image.

If you can identify what kind of hummingbird is in this picture, feel free to leave it in a comment.