Birds!

Here's another shot from last year's trip to California, some nesting seabirds at Point Lobos near Monterey. I've got a lot more to come from this beautiful park.

Camera Critters

Saturday's Critters

Emu, Toronto 1988

Camera Critters

Saturday's Critters

One More Folly Beach Bird

Camera Critters

Saturday's Critters

Another Folly Beach Bird

Camera Critters

Saturday's Critters

Birds, Birds, Birds!

Skywatch Friday

Seagull

Camera Critters

I'd Rather B Birdin'

Saturday's Critters

Pelican

Taken at Pismo Beach in central California last year.

Camera Critters

I'd Rather Be Birdin'

Saturday's Critters

Swans!

Camera Critters

Saturday's Critters

Ducks & Gulls

Camera Critters

I'd-Rather-B-Birdin'

Saturday's Critters

San Fran Gull

Camera Critters
I'd Rather B Birdin'

Saturday's Critters

Beach Bird

Here's another photo from Pismo Beach in central California. I loved the sunset silhouettes!

Camera Critters

Saturday's Critters
I'd Rather B Birdin'

Avila Seagull

I tried taking some seagull photos on Avila Beach and the pier, and this was my favorite as the bird posed beautifully for me and let me get quite close.

I'm linking this to Camera Critters, a meme I need to join more often, and to the I'd Rather B Birdin' blog too. It's the last of my beach photos from this year.

Office Owl

An owl has been hanging around our office in the daylight hours. There's an owlprint on one of the windows, so we think he flew into a window and got injured. He's doing much better now, and is flying around properly again. Hopefully he will remember that he's not supposed to be out in the daytime!

 I'm keeping an eye on you!

He's landing on top of the building. I wish I'd caught this a split-second earlier and had his whole reflection.

All these photos were cropped and slightly sharpened using the free GIMP photo editing software. It's been a while since I've entered the Camera Critters meme, but this seems like a perfect entry for it.

Air Force Falcon

The mascot at the Air Force Academy is the falcon, and they have several live ones. Here is a young one, on his trainer's hand. These are flash photos taken at night.

What amazing birds to see up close! And for more interesting sights, visit My World Tuesday.

Birds and Flowers

For My World Tuesday today, I'm going to publish two photos taken in my yard over the last week. I'm also entering it into Camera Critters because of the birds.

We get birds that nest on the ground in our yard, digging into tufts of grass. Their eggs have hatched, and here's a photo of them.

The bushes in front of our door suddenly burst into flower, and the smell is wonderful, almost overwhelming every time I walk outside. (Yes, spring can be late here.)

And there are a couple of pieces of the world in my yard over the last week!

Soccer Gull

This was taken last fall at my granddaughters' soccer game. It looks like some kind of gull to me, but I'm not convinced since I live in Colorado.

Lots more furry and feathered friends can be found at the Camera Critters meme.

Friendly Ducks

Here are some Camera Critters from last weekend at Westlands Park - there were lots of ducks in a pond, and somebody was feeding them so they got quite close.

For more fine animals of all kinds, visit the Camera Critters meme.

Seabirds

Here is a picture of some type of seabird coming in to land, and a couple of pictures of a very friendly gull. These were taken on or near the pier in Santa Barbara.

Baby Birds

Our house is surrounded by prairie grass that can get fairly tall in the summer. Birds nest on the ground, digging into clumps of the grass; I don't cut this natural grass back, and as a result we have a lot of birds around our house. The eggs have now hatched.

Mount Cutler Trail

This morning I went for a hike on the Mount Cutler trail, on the west side of Colorado Springs. The weather was overcast and misty but here are a couple of highlights.

At various points on the trail you can see the Seven Falls area off to the side.

I though the mountains fading into the mist was a lovely sight. Usually it's either very clear or thundering intensely, so we don't often see sights like this.

Finally, I managed to get a shot of a flying bird. I'm no bird expert but I suspect it's a hawk.