SkyWatch Friday No. 43

Sunrise, St. Joseph County, Indiana, May 6, 2009


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Hey! Why Don't You Turkeys Get a Room?

While backing out of the garage this morning, I caught this sight in the rear view mirror. Although not quite in flagrante delicto, this pair of wild turkeys were either getting ready to or had just mated. The tom, ever the romantic, is holding the hen down by standing on her back.

Tweeting

I don't tweet on Twitter. I haven't tried it. I haven't followed other twits, or tweeters, or whatever they're called. The fact that Ashton Kutcher seems to be deeply involved with tweeting was reason enough for me to stay away.

But now an event has occurred that has strengthened my resolve to avoid Twitter--Sarah Palin is tweeting.

I think this phenomenon will prove to be the Pet Rock of the early 21st Century. Apparently, the fad is already passing, with the retention rate for Twitter users down to 40%.

Feeding Time

Today after work, I swung by the red-tailed hawk's nest, and she happened to be feeding her chick. As far as I can tell, there is only one in the nest. I pulled off the highway, just past the sign which reads "No parking. No stopping or standing." As the traffic whizzed by, I lowered the window of the truck halfway, tossed my homemade beanbag (a gallon zip-loc bag full of bird seed) over the edge of the window, rested the telephoto lens on the bag, and fired away.

This is the best of the photos I got. It won't win any contests, but you can clearly see the chick being fed, especially if you click to enlarge the image.

This pic was taken from across the highway. By the time I went to the next exit and turned around to try to get a picture from the same side as the tree, Mom had flown off to get dessert.

Red Tailed Hawk

Mary spotted this red tailed hawk and its nest in a grove of trees next to a local highway. I tried a couple times to get pictures with a point and shoot. Unfortunately, I couldn't get close enough to get decent pictures. I was able to see one chick poking its head out of the nest on one attempt. I went back tonight with the Nikon D90 and the big lens. The hawk was off the nest and I couldn't see a chick this time. I'll keep trying.

Sunrise

I took this picture Friday morning, but am just now getting it online. The picturesque collection of farm buildings will be gone before long, as a big development is getting underway in this area.


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Spring Birds

Catbird

Baltimore Oriole

See more nature pictures at Rambling Woods' Nature Notes Meme.

Snaky Sunday

A family of garter snakes has taken up residence around our pond.

More Spring Blooms

This time taken with a macro lens and tripod, enhanced by a few raindrops. Click to enlarge.

Canada Goose

Although plentiful to the point of being a nuisance, Canada geese possess a certain beauty. I captured this image at a retention pond in a local business park with a Nikon Coolpix S630 in early morning light.