Blue Jays | Bright Day
Blue Jays | Bright Day Winter has many cloudy days. Capturing this Blue Jay image on a nice bright day was a real treat. For the whole story with all images, see Blue Jays | a 7 Image Story.
Blue Jays | Looking at Feeder
Blue Jays | Looking at Feeder Just about 3 feet above these bush branches hangs a winter bird seed feeder. This Blue Jay looks so calm and serene looking at the feeder. Actually, Blue Jays are very flighty. They do not sit in any one place for long and they fly at the slightest disturbance. Capturing a good photograph of them can be very challenging. For the whole story with all images, see Blue Jays | a 7 Image Story.
Blue Jays | Over the Shoulder
Blue Jays | Over the Shoulder Blue Jays look beautiful no matter what time of year. This image was captured at the end of April. Notice the Nikon 1 V3 with its 2.7 crop factor continues to be my go to camera for capturing bird images. For the whole story with all images, see Blue Jays | a 7 Image Story.
Blue Jays | a 7 Image Story
Blue Jays | a 7 Image Story The Blue Jay is a common songbird in northern Illinois. Native to North America, at least some Blue Jays stay around all winter. They are beautiful against the snow. They seem to be a hardly bird; living up to 26 years old.
Blue Jays like to live at the forest’s edge, especially near oak trees, as well as woodlots and parks. They mainly feed on nuts and seeds so they show up every day to the bird feeder; particularly, when snow covers the ground.
Blue Jays are well known for their intelligence and tight family bonds. They make a large variety of calls that can carry long distances. They frequently mimic the calls of hawks, especially the Red-shouldered Hawk, also common in northern Illinois. They are very aggressive and sometime attack other birds. Occasionally, they may eat eggs and nestlings of other birds,
Thousands of Blue Jays migrate in flocks along the Great Lakes each year, but little is known about their migration. Young jays are more likely to migrate than adults, but adults also migrate. No one has determined why they migrate, when they migrate, or why some migrate while others do not.
Over the Shoulder Blue Jays look beautiful no matter what time of year. This image was captured at the end of April. Notice the Nikon 1 V3 with its 2.7 crop factor continues to be my go to camera for capturing bird images. Looking at Feeder Just about 3 feet above these bush branches hangs a winter bird seed feeder. This Blue Jay looks so calm and serene looking at the feeder. Actually, Blue Jays are very flighty. They do not sit in any one place for long and they fly at the slightest disturbance. Capturing a good photograph of them can be very challenging. Bright Day Winter has many cloudy days. Capturing this Blue Jay image on a nice bright day was a real treat. Stretching for Flight Just before taking to flight, this Blue Jay leans forward stretching into the air. Power Profile What’s a power profile? It’s a profile image captured from a low angle which enhances the strength of the image. Ground Search Yes, Blue Jays will frequently go to ground to get seeds. A little snow on the grass doesn’t bother them. Spring Snow A little snow adds a lot to a Blue Jay image.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Blue Jays.
Click any image below for a slide show.
Spring 2020 Hodgepodge | Blue Jay
Spring 2020 Hodgepodge | Blue Jay The Blue Jay is a common songbird in northern Illinois. They mainly feed on nuts and seeds so they show up every day to the bird feeder. They are very aggressive and sometimes attack other birds. When they arrive at the bird feeder, all the other birds leave. For the whole story with all images, see Spring 2020 Hodgepodge | a 7 Image Story.
Spring 2020 Hodgepodge | a 7 Image Story
Spring 2020 Hodgepodge | a 7 Image Story This year’s spring was wetter than normal. The flowers as well as the weeds seemed to grow sooner, faster, and higher. These images were all captured on my daily walkabouts. The big change this spring is my use of extension tubes to photograph flowers and greenery. They allow the camera to focus closer to the subject allowing more detail in the image.
Rough Rose This extension tube macro image captures the weather wear of this hybrid tea rose. Rose-breasted Grosbeak The rose-breasted grosbeak is a large seed-eating bird in the cardinal family. They have a lifespan of about 7 years in the wild and up to 24 years in captivity. Tiger Lily Although the Nikon AF DC 135mm f2D coupled to 10mm extension tube is a manual focus lens on the Nikon 1 V3 camera, it can produce a very nice detailed image like this Tiger Lily. Blue Jay The Blue Jay is a common songbird in northern Illinois. They mainly feed on nuts and seeds so they show up every day to the bird feeder. They are very aggressive and sometimes attack other birds. When they arrive at the bird feeder, all the other birds leave. Orange Lily Lilies of various types are common to northern Illinois. Macro photography allows us to get a closer look. And, of course, sometimes a lucky shot captures a sweat bee in flight. Painted Turtle The Painted Turtle is the most widespread native turtle of North America. It likes to live in slow-moving fresh waters. Fossils show that the painted turtle existed 15 million years ago. Must be a tough little critter! This female is laying her eggs in some nice dirt along a grassy edge. Green Leaf Again, macro photography reveals interesting shapes. Not sure what type of plant has been captured in this image! Macro photography seems to force a very thin depth of field regardless of the f-stop used. In this image, keeping the leaf tips and the stem in sharp focus seemed virtually impossible.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Spring 2020 Hodgepodge.
Click any image below for a slide show.
Spring Walkabout Birds | Blue Jay
Spring Walkabout Birds | Blue Jay Native to North America and northern Illinois, at least a few Blue Jays stay for the winter. They are here when winter turns into spring. They have beautiful plumage against the snow and green buds in early spring. They mainly feed on nuts and seeds so they show up at neighborhood bird feeders. They are very wary of people and fly at the first hint of sight or sound. Thus, it’s rare to capture an image on walkabout. For the whole story with all images, see Spring Walkabout Birds | a 7 Image Story.
Spring Walkabout Birds | a 7 Image Story
Spring Walkabout Birds | a 7 Image Story Spring walkabout this year have been a bit different. More people are walking due to the virus driven stay-at-home orders. Folks are not only walking neighborhood streets but also the wooded and lakeside 
trails I tend to frequent.
Normally, it’s a busy day when I see one other person on my walkabout trails. This year I’ll see one other person on almost all my hikes, sometimes two. Now, one or two people in several miles certainly allows me to keep social distancing standards. Walking to and from the trails on local streets gets a little more crowded. People seem to be out walking their dogs much more often these days. Let’s now focus on some common spring birds found on my walkabouts.
Barred Owl The Barred Owl is sometimes known as a Hoot Owl due to its distinctive call. This owl was scouting for prey in a far off tree as I was crossing a foot bridge along my walkabout trail in a wooded forest preserve. Barred Owls are most active at night. Sometimes they’ll hunt in the daytime as well. This owl appears to like late afternoon. It really blends into its surroundings. In the spring before the leaves fully grow out, it’s possible to spot them when they are hunting. Binoculars can be very helpful to spot them against the tree branches. Without bins, finding a Barred Owl in a forest is nearly impossible; really just luck. Even with bins, it’s difficult. The only way I’ve been able to reliably spot them is to watch where they land.
Blue Jay Native to North America and northern Illinois, at least a few Blue Jays stay for the winter. They are here when winter turns into spring. They have beautiful plumage against the snow and green buds in early spring. They mainly feed on nuts and seeds so they show up at neighborhood bird feeders. They are very wary of people and fly at the first hint of sight or sound. Thus, it’s rare to capture an image on walkabout.
Dark-eyed Junco Juncos seem to stick around all winter and are here to welcome spring with us. Snow fell in the early morning of this early spring day and was almost gone as I began my walkabout. Small birds like this Dark-eyed Junco can be challenging to capture even with a long, fast lens. And, capturing a decent image while walking outside is difficult to impossible. You just can’t get close enough to them unless you are really careful and a bit lucky.
American Robin The little Robin red breast was my mom’s favorite bird with the possible exception of a Cardinal in the winter snow. She always loved it when the Robins first appeared at what seemed to be still winter because she knew spring was not far behind. Back then, they seemed to go south if the weather was too cold. Now, we see a few of them all winter long.
Mallard Of course, Mallards frequent several creeks along my walkabout trail. Mallards are the most familiar duck species in the world and are the ancestor of nearly all domestic duck breeds. The common duck’s quack is made by the female. Males make a quieter, rasping sound. The oldest known Mallard was a male over 27 years old.
American White Pelican Gear down, flaps down, clear to splash! It’s a good landing if you can float away. Although they are one the heaviest flying birds in the world, American White Pelicans are strong fliers who alternate flapping and soaring. Their large yet narrow wingspan makes soaring easier. Their bodies measure up to 5 feet in length, their bills can reach 14 inches, and their wing spans up to 9 feet. In the breeding season, they have a flattened “horn” on the upper bill. They shed the horn after mating. Males and females look exactly alike except the female is a bit smaller. And, they’re such clowns when flocked together on the water.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Spring Walkabout Birds.
Click any image below for a slide show.
Hank Conrad © 2024
