The Birds of Rainbow Creek-Vol 9 by: brendasue

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Hi Everybody! Come In! 


We are going down to the creek again today to see the spring migration birds camping out on the lake edge trees. This has just been spectacular to witness these birds. I hope you will begin to see more birds and discover how cool they are!


The photostudy today spotlights the Great Egret.  I have copied you a link below so you can know more about this bird! Enjoy the pics!


http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/great-egret/

This long-legged, S-necked white bird is found throughout the Americas and around much of the world. It is typically the largest white egret occurring anywhere in its range (only the white-colored form of the great blue heron is larger).

Great egrets are found near water, salt or fresh, and feed in wetlands, streams, ponds, tidal flats, and other areas. They snare prey by walking slowly or standing still for long periods, waiting for an animal to come within range of their long necks and blade-like bills. The deathblow is delivered with a quick thrust of the sharp bill, and the prey is swallowed whole. Fish are a dietary staple, but great egrets use similar techniques to eat amphibians, reptiles, mice, and other small animals.

These birds nest in trees, near water and gather in groups called colonies, which may include other heron or egret species. They are monogamous, and both parents incubate their three to four eggs. Young egrets are aggressive towards one another in the nest, and stronger siblings often kill their weaker kin so that not all survive to fledge in two to three weeks.

The great egret is the symbol of the National Audubon Society and represents a conservation success story. The snowy white bird's beautiful plumage made it far too popular in 19th-century North America. Great egrets were decimated by plume hunters who supplied purveyors of the latest ladies' fashions. Their populations plunged by some 95 percent. Today the outlook is much brighter. The birds have enjoyed legal protection over the last century, and their numbers have increased substantially.

I hope you found the above article interesting. We need to see that bird feathers have  NO dollar value in making hats. How stupid was that idea? Who did that, anyone know?

The bottom line: if the birds become extinct so will the Humans

I encourage you to respect and enjoy the birds around you!

Photos by:  brendasue (the number one birdbrain as Dad would say!)

...this is brendasue signing off from rainbow creek!








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Rambo of Rainbow Creek Flies In On A North Wind for a Portrait! by: brendasue

Welcome Friends Around The World!  Please come join our little Nature Class for a few minutes and take a break!

Last of the Hot Summer Flowers.    (Bougainvillea)

 Rambo flies in from the North on a Cool Breeze!
She circles my Cabin, screaming for me to come outside!

 As soon as she sees me come outside, she lands in the tall Pine Trees.  Can You see her in the above photo?

 We can see her now. She is hunting by watching the ground to see what moves.  Hawks have very good eyesight and can see a bug moving in the grass from way up there in the tree.

 Hi Rambo.  You are looking beautiful today!
Rambo is a Red Shouldered Hawk. She was hatched from an egg in a nest in these tall trees 1 1/2 years ago!

It is highly unusual for these birds to be around humans. They live lonely lives, mostly by themselves except in spring when they mate.
For some reason, Rambo has attached to me and comes back to visit even though she does not stay here anymore.

When we hang out together, Rambo mostly cleans her feathers and takes Air Baths! I take pictures. I talk to her and yes, she does talk back. I just do not understand what she is talking about!

We just sit together. She has never come down to earth to be really close. We admire each other from a distance!

She sometimes sticks her foot out which I assume is a resting time.
You can see she is not on high alert ready to fly off.

Sometimes she waves that foot at me!  I wave at her from the ground. She is not afraid of me moving around or making noise. I whistle loud when she screams! She seems to like that as she will start screaming more!  She can scream loud.

Hello Everybody!  I am Rambo of Rainbow Creek!

She says I love You with her eyes!

There is the foot wave again!

She puffs out her feathers and looks larger than what she is. She is a very big bird compared to the hummingbirds.

She is watching the little King (dog) chase a squirrel. Rambo does eat squirrels, but seems to prefer frogs, snakes, moles (in that order).
She really screams if she has a frog!  Sometimes she flies over the creek close to the water with a snake hanging out of her mouth like a piece of spaghetti.

 Here she is saying:  I have to go now.  See you later!
She stayed about an hour hanging out with me and the King.
Then, on a silent wing, she took off high into the sky until she was just a little black dot on the big blue sky.
Bye Rambo!

I caught another Texas Sunset for You!  Enjoy!

And so ends another day.  Goodnight All.    Sweet Dreams!



















.....this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek
















katescabin@gmail.com








www.bluebonnetherbfarms.com












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Blue Hummingbirds Are Here Today! by: brendasue

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Welcome Aboard! 


Look at this Mallow that is blooming now (September) at Bluebonnet Herb Farm in Hempstead, Texas (Waller County). Linda has so many flowers blooming now that hummingbirds and butterflies Love!  A must see, must have situation! (Oh my!)


http://www.bluebonnetherbfarms.com/index.html

A Mellow Mallow     by: brendasue



Hi Everybody:
Please come in and we will get started on our photostudy today of the blue hummers. Just saying up front: all photos are of a hummingbird feeder and the little hummingbirds, and they are blue. Now if this sounds to boring for you, go ahead and click off now.


Well, for those of you who stayed, I will share this strange light with you in our photostudy!

Let The Class Begin!


This hummingbird feeder and the birds are the stars of our photostudy today. Now this photo was shot at high noon. You can see it is a clear glass feeder with clear nectar inside and red plastic trim outside.  It is hanging on a plain ole bungee cord.  The leaves on the trees are green and the sky is blue. This is what a would consider a normal photograph denoting a normal occurrence of birds feeding.


For the following photostudy, I am sitting in the same chair, in the same place, shooting the same camera only all the silhouettes turn blue. The time stamp on the first one is 5:27pm and the last one is 5:38pm (not quite twilight). I do not know why they turn blue, but is does only happen on days with clear blue sky. I do not (and never will) know photography well enough to do trick photography!  It is a trick for me just to try to do it right!  I do not use photoshop. I do not use any lights other than the sun. No flashes, no blue lights---simple just me (and the little king), the camera and the birds (and bee). If you come here, they will be blue for you too.   Enjoy!

This concludes our  Blue Hummer Special. Strange, huh???

http://picasaweb.google.com/KATESCABIN/WelcomeToAllMyNewFriendsByBrendasue#5487931746985537426

Please click on the above link to see my Welcome Album--I invite everyone to leave the name of the country you are in. I would like photo friends around the world!


...this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek


Goodnight-
















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