tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-259895922024-03-14T06:02:55.412-05:00Craig's BirdsBirding and Photography
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All pictures on this site are © Craig K. MarbleCraighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comBlogger231125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-18575470465656752332009-08-03T09:00:00.000-05:002009-08-03T09:00:02.904-05:00Macro Monday<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3659823223/" title="Water Drop by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3658/3659823223_1a4070fba5.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Water Drop" /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-87931117407302136212009-07-27T09:00:00.001-05:002009-07-27T09:00:02.264-05:00Macro Monday<a title="Water Drop by CKM_Photography, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3659823297/"><img alt="Water Drop" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3552/3659823297_5fafc9a2ed.jpg" width="500" height="333" /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-6092027866837511592009-07-20T09:00:00.000-05:002009-07-20T09:00:04.347-05:00Macro Monday<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3659823363/" title="Water Drop by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3608/3659823363_beff5d2d8b.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Water Drop" /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-15915256734877553902009-07-13T09:21:00.001-05:002009-07-13T09:21:00.741-05:00Macro Monday<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3632204959/" title="Water Drop by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3325/3632204959_e0bae167b2.jpg" alt="Water Drop" height="333" width="500" /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-23152721752231923342009-07-07T14:46:00.001-05:002009-07-07T14:46:00.476-05:00Killdeer at Sherburne NWRLast week, my father and I took a drive up to Sherburne NWR and had a pretty successful day. At one point as we were driving around the auto tour we pulled off into a viewing area that had a small platform overlooking a pool. As we got out of the car we could hear a Killdeer calling very near to us but honestly didn't think that much of it at the time. So we spent some time on the viewing platform and when we had our fill of cormorants and ducks we headed back to the car. The Killdeer started screaming and we could tell that it was close. It sounded like it was just across the road but we could not find it. All of a sudden my father saw the bird, practically under his foot. It was so close we were actually looking right past it! We immediately backed off and the bird took a few steps to the right and sat down. I started to take some photographs only to realize that this bird was actually sitting on an egg. She had made her nest (for all practical purposes) right in the middle of the parking area! Anyway, we backed away to the car, which was only about 20 feet from the nest, and left the bird alone. Here are the shots that came out of that brief encounter with the Killdeer.<br /><br />If you look closely in this photo you can see the egg under the bird. Click on the photo to see a larger version of the photo at my Flickr site.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3697716073/" title="Killdeer by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2498/3697716073_928d29d8c5.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Killdeer" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3698527350/" title="Killdeer by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2537/3698527350_01a14917ea.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Killdeer" /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-28707429089989335082009-07-06T09:20:00.001-05:002009-07-06T09:20:02.466-05:00Macro Monday<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3633018066/" title="Water Drop by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3384/3633018066_09f0161b00.jpg" alt="Water Drop" height="333" width="500" /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-71191918799761403542009-06-29T09:20:00.000-05:002009-06-29T09:20:01.638-05:00Macro Monday<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3633018190/" title="Water Drop by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3609/3633018190_cfc4b2d3c9.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Water Drop" /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-69201434900696971342009-06-22T09:18:00.001-05:002009-06-22T16:48:05.840-05:00Macro Monday<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3633018352/" title="Water Drop by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3408/3633018352_c87caca513.jpg" alt="Water Drop" height="333" width="500" /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-825398760857490622009-06-21T13:38:00.000-05:002009-06-21T13:38:00.574-05:00DickcisselThe first bird we saw at Randolph was the Dickcissel, yet another life bird for all three of us. They were all over and are very chatty birds. They pretty much sang the entire time we were there. I think I was most pleased with these shots from the day.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3639378378/" title="Dickcissel by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3626/3639378378_0aabf9f959.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Dickcissel " /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3639378340/" title="Dickcissel by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3655/3639378340_7d777d2824.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Dickcissel" /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-40649498868163670922009-06-20T13:30:00.000-05:002009-06-20T13:30:02.686-05:00BobolinkWe had never seen a Bobolink before and although we had heard they were there, we didn't spot this one until right before we left. We were just saying that it was time to go and my Father spotted a bird farther out in the field so he went to check it out and low and behold it was a Bobolink.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3638568295/" title="Bobolink by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3333/3638568295_c590424a95.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Bobolink" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3639378550/" title="Bobolink by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2460/3639378550_b37b84211f.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Bobolink " /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-51715770258351639962009-06-19T13:28:00.001-05:002009-06-19T13:28:00.871-05:00Grasshopper SparrowHere's the Grasshopper Sparrow from the other day. There call is actually quite distinctive. My mother compared it to a locust which I had to agree with.<br /><br /><a title="Grasshopper Sparrow by CKM_Photography, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3638526509/"><img height="500" alt="Grasshopper Sparrow" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3620/3638526509_9e5797e218.jpg" width="333" /></a><br /><br />Again, if this looks like the wrong ID please let me know! :)Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-66748623933528298342009-06-18T14:21:00.000-05:002009-06-18T14:21:00.771-05:00Savannah SparrowHello All,<br /><br />Last weekend I went down to the Randolph Industrial Park with my mother and father we saw quite a few new birds for all of us. My expectation was that this was going to be a park in the sense that it would have trails, or a playground, or something generally associated with a park. However, this is basically an undeveloped area with roads that will eventually lead to commercial buildings. It's looks like an undeveloped neighborhood at present so when we got there we had a little trouble locating it due to our somewhat mis-guided preconception of where we were heading. Upon our arrival we were greeted with birds within minutes of stopping the car. We saw Savannah Sparrows, Grasshopper Sparrows, Dickcissel, and Bobolinks, all of which were life birds for the 3 of us. I would say that one of my biggest weaknesses with bird ID's has got to be sparrows so if my ID's look suspicious, please let me know. I'll post photos of the above mentioned birds over the coming days. Let's start with the Savannah Sparrow!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3638527575/" title="Savannah Sparrow by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3331/3638527575_b6a9386157.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Savannah Sparrow" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3639337892/" title="Savannah Sparrow by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3616/3639337892_db3275e3b4.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Savannah Sparrow" /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-21556933778405819862009-06-10T09:52:00.001-05:002009-06-10T09:52:00.626-05:00Carlos Avery ContinuedI did find a life bird while I was at Carlos Avery on Friday. When I saw it, I knew that it was not a bird I had seen before. I didn't have my field guide but I made a good guess at what it was and was able to confirm it when I got home and looked it up. I was pretty excited to see a new bird. Since I've been birding for a while now, seeing a new bird is pretty exiting since it just doesn't happen that often to me. Anyway, here are my shots of this somewhat shy Black-billed Cuckoo!<br /><br />It's worth looking at the larger version of this photo to see the red in the birds eye. It's quite brilliant. (Click on the photo to see a larger version on my Flickr page.)<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3611114186/" title="Black-billed Cuckoo by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3567/3611114186_9c1005b21f.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Black-billed Cuckoo " /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3611114008/" title="Black-billed Cuckoo by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3657/3611114008_11ff68d834.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Black-billed Cuckoo" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3610301449/" title="Black-billed Cuckoo by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3614/3610301449_6e6294734a.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Black-billed Cuckoo" /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-31821330414307787952009-06-09T09:49:00.003-05:002009-06-09T09:52:21.338-05:00Carlos AveryHey All,<br /><br />I was able to get out for a short evening at Carlos Avery last Friday night and I had a really nice time. I saw quite a few birds and did a bit of shooting as well. This Green Heron was a really cooperative bird so I took quite a few shots and here are the ones I liked best.<br /><br />Green Heron:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3610301297/" title="Green Heron by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3330/3610301297_424215766a.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Green Heron" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3611113850/" title="Green Heron by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3345/3611113850_a9725503b5.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Green Heron" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3611113792/" title="Green Heron by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3587/3611113792_8f914fa944.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Green Heron " /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-47914948682263148502009-05-19T12:35:00.000-05:002009-05-19T12:35:00.813-05:00Chestnut-sided WarblerAs promised here are the shots of the Chestnut-sided Warbler!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3543300156/" title="Chestnut-sided Warbler by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3003/3543300156_27f98f400c.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Chestnut-sided Warbler " /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3543300420/" title="Chestnut-sided Warbler by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3663/3543300420_effac4ee14.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Chestnut-sided Warbler" /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-67794201517403391642009-05-18T12:29:00.003-05:002009-05-18T12:35:25.818-05:00Blue-headed VireoHey All,<br /><br />I know that you thought I had forgotten about you, and honestly there is a bit a of truth to that. Life brings its ups and downs and I have had my fair share of both over the last months which has been quite distracting. I haven't been out to bird pretty much at all this spring but I did see a few birds yesterday while sitting in my parents back yard. No promises on consistent posts but I'm hopeful that I'll be getting out and taking more photos over the next month or so. Anyway, I wanted to share these photos since they turned out pretty good and the Blue-headed Vireo is a life bird for me. I hope all of you are healthy and happy!<br /><br />Craig<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3543300066/" title="Blue-headed Vireo by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2282/3543300066_a32aa40a46.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Blue-headed Vireo " /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3542491545/" title="Blue-headed Vireo by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2339/3542491545_1a9e345a34.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Blue-headed Vireo" /></a><br /><br />Tomorrow I'll post a few photos of the Chestnut-sided Warbler from yesterday as well.Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-1940936361181094402009-02-09T09:00:00.002-06:002009-02-09T09:00:00.971-06:00Macro Monday<a title="Poinsettia by CKM_Photography, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3209250419/"><img height="333" alt="Poinsettia " src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3388/3209250419_e73ae7b3ed.jpg" width="500" /></a><br /><br />Can you guess what this one is?Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-20319682552719991452009-02-02T08:18:00.000-06:002009-02-02T08:18:00.986-06:00Macro Monday<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3179934719/" title="Sea Shell by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3077/3179934719_580d1a7304.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Sea Shell " /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-73604043089601713292009-01-26T08:16:00.000-06:002009-01-26T08:16:00.450-06:00Macro Monday<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3179890173/" title="Burning Candle by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3398/3179890173_2a4d3ca1b5.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Burning Candle" /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-67897080524529184022009-01-23T07:58:00.000-06:002009-01-23T07:58:00.857-06:00..and More Back Yard BirdsWe've been fortunate to have a good supply of woodpeckers in our yard over the last few years including regular visits from <a href="http://craigsbirds.blogspot.com/2008/04/pileated-woodpeckers-learning-about.html">Pileated </a>and even a visit from the <a href="http://craigsbirds.blogspot.com/2008/04/red-headed-woodpecker.html">Red-headed </a>Woodpecker. The Downy Woodpecker is also a regular at our suet feeder and deserves some recognition for being a part of our birding lives.<br /><br />Downy Woodpecker:<br /><a title="Downy Woodpecker by CKM_Photography, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3207644995/"><img height="500" alt="Downy Woodpecker" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3462/3207644995_9c6b8d8611.jpg" width="333" /></a><br /><br /><a title="Downy Woodpecker by CKM_Photography, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3208492884/"><img height="500" alt="Downy Woodpecker " src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3079/3208492884_abedf6900c.jpg" width="333" /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-55163168881071998912009-01-21T07:54:00.000-06:002009-01-21T07:54:00.369-06:00More Back Yard BirdsInterestingly enough, I realized the other day that I really didn't have a decent shot of a Black-capped Chickadee. These birds are always in our yard and at the feeders. They are dependable that way and I appreciate that. :)<br /><br />Black-capped Chickadee:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3207644713/" title="Black-capped Chickadee by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3122/3207644713_9cfbe4cf2f.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Black-capped Chickadee" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3208492630/" title="Black-capped Chickadee by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3317/3208492630_31f4a8c56a.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Black-capped Chickadee" /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-14254141665010457922009-01-20T07:49:00.000-06:002009-01-20T07:49:00.922-06:00Back Yard BirdsIt was such a nice day out today compared to the recent weather we have had I decided to just sit in the backyard and take a few shots of the birds in my yard and on my feeders. I had the "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">usuals</span>" that visit my feeders which are Downy's, Chickadees, and Nuthatches. I was kind of hoping to see the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Pileated</span> since I could hear him not to far away but he decided not to show today so I'll have try again another day.<br /><br />White-breasted Nuthatch:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3207644593/" title="White-breasted Nuthatch by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3421/3207644593_1487fd226c.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="White-breasted Nuthatch" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3207644481/" title="White-breasted Nuthatch by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3336/3207644481_d40c95e352.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="White-breasted Nuthatch" /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-52738575053509339212009-01-19T08:15:00.000-06:002009-01-19T08:15:00.643-06:00Macro Monday<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3180772826/" title="Sea Shell by CKM_Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3526/3180772826_b59858acc0.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Sea Shell" /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-38797271989665121402009-01-13T13:30:00.000-06:002009-01-13T13:30:01.043-06:00Sitting and Landing SwansI still find it hard to believe that the cold water and ice doesn't bother the birds. They seemed quite content even though we were all freezing!<br /><br /><a title="Trumpeter Swan by CKM_Photography, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3177937866/"><img height="333" alt="Trumpeter Swan" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3403/3177937866_9654948e48.jpg" width="500" /></a><br /><br /><a title="Trumpeter Swan by CKM_Photography, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3177937896/"><img height="333" alt="Trumpeter Swan" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3340/3177937896_7ccebb43e9.jpg" width="500" /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25989592.post-46553717317038015152009-01-12T08:12:00.001-06:002009-01-12T10:40:30.231-06:00Macro MondayI've been working more on my macro photography so I thought I would start doing a Macro Monday shot. Here's the first one! :)<br /><br />White Sea Shell:<br /><a title="White Sea Shell by CKM_Photography, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10305948@N00/3179906053/"><img height="333" alt="White Sea Shell" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3502/3179906053_9d29e62221.jpg" width="500" /></a>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418754313820334476noreply@blogger.com