Friday Night Photos Feathered Friends Edition

Happy Friday everyone. I hope everybody is doing well. Post any photos, memes, or music you like.

The days are getting shorter. Temperatures are dropping. Leaves are turning colors. Fall is in the air. That means our avian guests from up north have started arriving in the county for the winter. 

White Pelicans preening.
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Black-crowned Night Heron
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Nonbreeding adult/immature Pied-billed Grebe
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Male Mallard
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Orange-billed Mustard Duck (very rare)
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Adult Sora
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Snowy Egret
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Male Cinnamon Teal
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Female White-breasted Nuthatch and photo-bombing rodent
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Male Wood Duck reaching escape velocity
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QMS's picture

for the camera. Good catch! And the rodent in the hole?
That will be one surprised Nuthatch.

Thanks for the precision photos!

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Socialprogressive's picture

@QMS
I have a bunch of shots of Mallards that look like they're smiling. Maybe the should have been named Smiling ducks instead of Mallards. As for the Nuthatch, I don't know if it was looking for a place to nest that was already in use by the rodent or if the rodent was robbing the nest of the Nuthatch.

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QMS's picture

Salah Baazizi, Orange County, CA

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Great Blue Heron working on its catch, Bolsa Chica (CA)

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Elegant Tern, Double Crested Cormorant and a fish

https://500px.com/p/bmse?view=photos

https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2015/09/remarkable-high-speed-photos-of-b...

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Socialprogressive's picture

@QMS
I want to take photos like that.
Wow! Salah is an incredible photographer. Thanks for the links, QMS.

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janis b's picture

@QMS

Thank you for the link to Salah's amazing photos.

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dystopian's picture

Hi all, Hey SP!

GREAT bird photos SP! Outstanding work man. Beautiful stuff.

The rodent from what little I can see appears to be Neotoma sps. to me, the Woodrats or Packrats, and would be a likely candidate in that habitat.

Since you have aves covered... here's a Yucca, of the Spanish Dagger sort. Of which there are a dozen types, some called Spanish sword, not sure which one this is.

the leaves
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the flowers
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the full monty - with a fence to ruin it.
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I coulda changed angle a bit and probably lost the fence... get so mad at myself when I forgot to check backgrounds for extraeneous distractive crap...

Thanks for the great birds SP!

Have gooduns all!

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

Socialprogressive's picture

@dystopian
We have a variety of Yucca around here known as the Lords Candle that looks a lot like your Spanish Dagger. With such a beautiful display of flowers, who can blame you for not seeing the fence in the background.

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janis b's picture

@dystopian

To disappear the fence you might have had to sacrifice the brilliant white flowers against the dark trees which made it an exciting image.

Cheers

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orlbucfan's picture

Speaking of plants, we've got an aloe blooming in the backyard near our house. The blooms look like something from another universe. Smile Rec'd!!

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Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.

Socialprogressive's picture

@orlbucfan
We have aloe around here but I've never seen one in bloom. Maybe you could post a shot of yours.

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Lookout's picture

Terrific shots.

Here's a couple of shots from last winter in the Yucatan...
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Flamingos and Spoonbills
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Enjoy your weekend!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Socialprogressive's picture

@Lookout
Thanks for the Flamingos and Spoonbills. I would love to see them in the wild. The only place around here I can see them is at the Zoo or the safari park.

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janis b's picture

A thank you on the fly

Absolutely loved the night heron flying by in all its glory. Then the glorious snowy egret in perfect formation and colour ... and the sweet nuthatch and mysterious rat interested in the same beautifully mottled tree (sycamore tree?).

The music is the perfect cruisey flying music.

Be well all and see you later.

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Socialprogressive's picture

@janis b
You are correct. The tree is a sycamore. When I took that shot, I was so focused on the bird, I didn't notice the rat was in the knothole until I looked at the image on the computer.

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