A few folks asked for some recent shots of Coco, our African Grey Parrot. I finally got around to doing just that. Coco makes very few bird sounds, she mainly just talks English. She controls all the other animals in the house. When Sascha starts barking, she says “Sascha Phooey.” When Maggie makes her little…
Butterfly And Wildlife Gardening And Photography
Butterfly and Wildlife Gardening And Photography In Houston Texas
Monthly Archives: August 2009Another new image of something I’ve never been able to get a picture of. It’s a Eurasian Collared Dove. It’s somewhat of a rare Dove for Houston, and it’s non-native. Here’s the Eurasian Collared Dove. It’s quite a bit larger than the Mourning Dove and it also has that ring around its neck. Here’s a… Another first! We’ve seen the Giant Swallowtail adults, we’ve seen the Caterpillars, but we never have been able to find any of the Chrysalises. This is a Giant Swallowtail Chrysalis that we found on our Ruby Red Grapefruit tree. It’s only fair if I have to wear a silly looking hat, that somebody in the house should also have to be humiliated. Here’s Maggie (Golden Retriever) wearing my hat. She didn’t even seem to notice because she was chewing on a bone. I was fortunate enough to get some pictures of the Ruby Throated Hummingbird in flight. In this first show it shows a Ruby Throated Hummingbird testing out one of the new feeders we bought this weekend (we bought two). Here’s a picture of a Hummer coming in for a landing. Last, but not least, is…  Today is the first time I’ve been table to take pictures of a male Ruby Throated Hummingbird. Actually it may not be the first time, but these are definitely more mature male Ruby Throated Hummers as evidenced by their red markings on their neck. This first shot is with the feeder by the bedroom window…. We did have a Queen Butterfly hatch from a Chrysalis yesterday. This may be her. Here’s a Queen Butterfly sipping nectar on a Purple Coneflower. Here’s another shot Ever had one of those days where nothing seems to go right? I’m having two of those days in terms of Photography. Yesterday (Saturday) I planned on waking up at first light to take pictures of the Birds (Backyard and Hummingbird). Well, it didn’t happen. I just felt tired. Last night, was all ready to… Scratch everything I said below. It didn’t work like I expected it to. I decided to change the theme (i.e., how everything appears) of the blog. While this theme may not be as colorful as the last one, it does have a feature that I really like. Notice how at the top of the page… Before I go into all the details, you don’t need to tell me I might be just a wee bit crazy. I realize that. Instead of using the term crazy, let’s just say I’m creative, okay? Allow me to introduce my latest Backyard Bird and Hummingbird Photography accessory. It’s a “One Man Chair Blind.” Sure… To capture this image I was using my new “Hummingbird Stalking Accessories.” What are those accessories? An iPhone application called iBird Explorer South and my new “One Man Chair Blind.” I would use the iPhone application to play a sound of the Ruby Throated Hummingbird while sitting in my “blind.” Here’s something I haven’t tried before. Taking a picture of a Ruby Throated Hummingbird, at dusk, using a Macro lens. I did a search on Google and apparently not too many others have tried to take pictures of Hummingbirds with a Macro lens either. I can’t decide if I like this picture or not. The… Finally! I’ve never been able to get a clear picture of a Giant Swallowtail up close. I’ve seen them around over the years and I’ve photographed the Caterpillars, but never was successful with an adult. These Butterflies are absolutely huge, and beautiful. Previously we’ve seen them lay eggs on our Improved Meyer Lemon, Ruby Red… Here’s something unusual, at least to me. I knew the Hummingbirds enjoyed their feeders, but I had no idea that Butterflies might enjoy it as well. Here’s a Gulf Fritillary, using its veeerrry long tongue, to sip at the sugar water. Here’s someone I haven’t seen in a while; a female Monarch. She looks so much bigger than some of the current Butterflies we’ve gotten used to during the summer. I wonder if she is migrating towards Mexico from Canada? If so, she’s an old soul now, but seeing her, regardless of her age, was a… |
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