Fauna

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Windswept Snowy Egret ~ Egretta thula ~ New Smyrna Beach, Florida
"It is never too late to go quietly to our lakes, rivers, oceans, even our small streams, and say to the sea gulls, the great blue herons, the bald eagles, the salmon, that we are sorry." ~ Brenda Peterson
windswept snowy egret Egretta thulla elegant heron white plumage yellow feet plumes New Smyrna Beach Florida beach coast water sand shells wings bird black bill beak feathers Atlantic Ocean Eastern Seaboard Atlantic Seaboard sea ocean may run the waves to forage threat is habitat loss
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Snowy Egret ~ egretta thula ~ Eastern Seaboard
“Photography is an austere and blazing poetry of the real.” ~ Ansel Adams
Snowy Egret bird Egretta thula beach shore Eastern Seaboard Florida seaside seashore sea coast white plumage black legs yellow feet curvy plumes shorebird oldest17 years heron mediumsized long slender bill spear fish waterbird forager migratory
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Snowy Egrets ~ Egretta thula ~ Eastern Seaboard
fauna Snowy.Egrets Egretta.thula New Smyrna Beach Florida Eastern Seaboard Heron white plumage shorebird oldest17yearsl bird
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Willets in Winter ~ Tringa semipalmata ~ New Smyrna Beach, Florida
"To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of years, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be." ~ Rachel Carson
Tringa semipalmata shorebird Willet Playero Aliblanco Chevalier semipalme feed day and night short to longdistance migrant sandpiper bird fauna. nature on the wing Florida New Smyrna Beach coastline wildlife sea tides
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Willets ~ Tringa semipalmata ~ New Smyrna Beach, Florida
"I have a room all to myself; it is nature." ~ Henry David Thoreau
Willet Tringa.semipalmata bird shoreline beach Atlantic Ocean Atlantic Seaboard seashore shells distinctive wing markings shorebird piercing call winter colors longlegged straightbilled coastline coast coastal water sand eggs apparently tasty oldest known willet least 10 years heavy barring on breast heavy motting on back feed day and night short to longdistance migrant sandpiper black and white stripe on each week only during flight
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Sanderling ~ Calidris alba ~ New Smyrna Beach, Florida
"May your love be firm, and may your dream of life together be a river between two shores - by day bathed in sunlight, and by night illuminated from within. May the heron carry news of you to the heavens, and the salmon bring the sea's blue grace. May your twin thoughts spiral upward like leafy vines, like fiddle strings in the wind, and be as noble as the Douglas fir. May you never find yourselves back to back without love pulling you around into each other's arms." ~ James Bertolino
Sanderling Calidris alba bird New Smyrna Beach Florida sand beach water wings beak bill Atlantic Oceean Atlantic Seaboard sea seaside seashore sea coast coastline coastal beach coast peeps sandpiper obsessive wave chasers extreme longdistance migrants breed on high Arctic tundra usually monogomous widespread shorebird stout black bill populations declining
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Snowy Egret ~ Egretta thula ~ New Smyrna Beach, Florida
"It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living." ~ David Attenborough
egret Snowy Egret New Smyrna Beach Florida ocean sea beach bird Atlantic Seaboard Atlantic Ocean heron white plumage black legs yellow feet coast breeding plumes once worth twice the cost of gold white heron sometimes chase prey through the waves water bird forager
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Close-Up of a Woodstork ~ Mycteria americana ~ New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Mycteria americana Wood Stork New Smyrna Beach Florida wader bird soars on thermals balheaded bird just over 3 feet tall harbingers of spring and birth in mythology oldest recorded was 20 years massive long heavy curved bill white bird black flight feathers scaly head football shaped body uncommon in U.S.federally threatened tántalo americano tantale d'amérique
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Snowy Egret ~ egretta thula ~ Eastern Seaboard
“If you see something that moves you, and then snap it, you keep a moment.” ~ Linda McCartney
on the wing fauna Snowy Egret bird Egretta thula Eastern Seaboard Florida seashore coast white plumage black legs yellow feet curvy plumes shorebird oldest 17 years spearfish water bird forager migratory long slender bill pond grass water
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Brown Pelican ~ Pelecanus occidentalis ~ New Smyrna Beach, Florida
"And to lose the chance to see frigatebirds soaring in circles above the storm, or a file of pelicans winging their way homeward across the crimson afterglow of the sunset, or a myriad terns flashing in the bright light of midday as they hover in a shifting maze above the beach -- why, the loss is like the loss of a gallery of the masterpieces of the artists of old time." ~ Theodore Roosevelt
brown pelican Florida Pelecanus occidentalis New Smyrna Beach onthewing Eastern Seaboard Fauna Atlantic Ocean seasde bird sinuous neck flight echoes waves plunge dive comeback thanks to pesticide regulations oldest recorded age 43 years giant bill seabird stocky graygrown yellow head white neck coast bird awkward gait on land masterful flier highly social
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The Patrol ~ Indian River North, Florida
Indian River North Florida Brown Pelicans birds sign patrol fauna onthewing
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Forster's Tern, in non-breeding plumage ~ Sterna forsteri ~ New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Forster's Tern Sterna forsteri bird birdinflight nonbreeding plumage New Smyrna Beach Florida wings beak shoreline coast seaside seashore tern waves water sky Atlantic Seaboard Eastern Seaboard onthewing fauna mediumsized tern masked bandit commashaped black ear patch in winter plunger Species of Moderate Concern
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Osprey ~ Pandion haliaetus ~ Canaveral National Seashore, Florida
Osprey Canaveral National Seashore Florida Pandion haliaetus bird birdinflight Atlantic Ocean Eastern Seaboard ocean raptor hawk reversible outer toe wings angler bird of prey bone breaker white underparts white head with brown line conservation success story hooked black beak
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Bird Flying High ~ Eastern Seaboard
"Bird flyin' high
You know how I feel
Sun in the sky
You know how I feel
Breeze drifting by
You know how I feel...."
~ Songwriters: Gladys Knight, Al Claiborne, G. Garcia, Edesio Alejandro Rodriguez
wings sunlight bird in flight sky clouds bird ocean sea
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Over the Ocean
soaring waves tide sea ocean pelicans Atlantic Ocean nature birds brown pelicans seaside birdsinflight water sky journey seacoast
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Mute Swan ~ Cygnus olor ~ Huron River
"To be born in a duck's nest, in a farmyard, is of no consequence to a bird, if it is hatched from a swan's egg." ~ Hans Christian Anderson
Mute Swan Cygnus olor bird Huron River elegant Russian ballets European fairytales imported from Europe form long lasting pair bonds white plumage black knob enormous appetite The Ugly Duckling waterfowl
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Straight on 'til Morning ~ Huron River
“Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning." ~ J.M. Barrie
nature fauna Canada Goose Branta canadensis birdsinflight bird geese Huron River Black necked white chinstrap honker northward range shift assortative mating 33 years oldest known wild Canada Goose waterbird waterfowl long webbed feet wide flat bill long neck dabbler grazer on the wing
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Migrating Double-crested Cormorant ~ Phalacrocorax auritus ~ Huron River Watershed, Michigan
"Fly silly sea bird, no dreams can possess you, no voices can blame you for sun on your wings." ~ Joni Mitchell
preening river wings beak feathers rock seabird DoublecrestedCormorant bird Phalacrocorax auritus Huron River Watershed Michigan gangly prehistoriclooking fishing bird frigate birds are relatives black waterbird migration colonial waterbird water
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Juvenile Sandhill Crane with Family, Keeping Watch and Foraging ~ Antigone canadensis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"One touch of nature makes the whole world kin." ~ Shakespeare
Sandhill Crane Antigone canadensis farmers field green bird gray body crimsoncapped elegant rolling cry gangly grace trumpeting sound dancing skill mate for life and yearround juvenile family oldest Sandhill Crane 36 years bugling call bustle of dropping feathers beak broad wings white throat tall bird foragers plumage feathers Huron River watershed Michigan pasture choose partner based on display dance survival tied to fate of habitat animal
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Great Blue Heron's Escape ~ Pointe Mouilee, Lake Erie
This Great Blue Heron had been, just moments before, majestically poised motionless along the Lake Erie freshwater marsh, scanning for prey. Suddenly, a juvenile Bald Eagle soared in and perched in high, dead tree branches just outside the wetland area, surveying the area and enjoying his grand visibility. Once spotting this "intruder," a colony of Caspian Terns from a nearby beach area immediately began aggressively harassing the Eagle in the tree, swooping down on him in droves, sounding their heron-like cries while protecting young Caspians in their colony. The Eagle then decided it was best to escape all the raucous. His escape flight path was nearly over the Great Blue Heron, and as soon as the Heron spotted the Eagle in the skies overhead, he immediately headed toward and landed in a herbaceous wetland thicket for cover. I managed to snap this photo of the Heron just before he disappeared into the brush. The Eagle shortly left the territory for more peaceful grounds, the Caspian Terns settled down and seemed satisfied that their young were safe once more, but the Great Blue Heron seemed happy to remain hidden in the thicket for at least quite a while.
hollow bones Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias Pointe Mouilee Michigan Lake Erie coastal wetland bird thicket marsh wetland animal nature Great Lakes heron bluegray plumage escape inflight
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Caspian Terns ~ Hydroprogne caspia ~ Pointe Mouilee, Michigan
"The oldest recorded wild Caspian Tern was at least 29 years, 7 months old when it was found in Louisiana in 1989. It had been banded in Michigan in 1959. The average life span of Great Lakes Caspian Terns is estimated to be 12 years." ~ Cornell Lab of Ornithology
aerial acrobats dark caps largest tern in world shallowforked tail bird tern Caspian tern Hydroprogne caspia Pagaza Piquirroja shoreline Lake Erie Michigan Pointe Mouilee aerial ballet divers drive away bald eagles to protect young Sterne caspienne sand water animal beach rock
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Caspian Tern, Juvenile ~ Hydroprogne caspia ~ Pointe Mouilee, Lake Erie
"I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright." ~ Henry David Thoreau
dark cap largest tern in world shallowforked tail bird tern Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia Pagaza Piquirroja shoreline Lake Erie Michigan Pointe Mouilee aerial ballet divers Sterne caspienne aerial acrobats drive away blad eagles to protect young water swallow name refers to Caspian Sea call is loud heronlike croak plungers highly vocal seabird monogamous animal sky flight bird in flight juvenile
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Mallard, Male ~ Anas platyrhynchos ~ Pointe Mouilee, Lake Erie
"To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place.... I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them." ~ Elliott Erwitt
allyellow.bill male duck bird eclipse plumage blue speculum with white border mallard Anas platyrhynchos water Lake Erie Great Lakes wings wild wetland North American Michigan Canard colvert ancestory of nearly all domestic ducks males don't quack dabbling duck generalist forager flapping wings drake wild drake nonbreeding omnivorous grazes animal ánade azulón
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Great Blue Heron ~ Ardea herodias ~ Pointe Mouillee, Lake Erie
“And I rose
In a rainy autumn
And walked abroad in shower of all my days
High tide and the heron dived when I took the road
Over the border
And the gates
Of the town closed as the town awoke.”
~ Dylan Thomas
Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias bird Pointe.Mouilee water animal nature Lake Erie Great Lakes heron majestic bluegray.plumage hollow bones
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Black-necked Stilt, Juvenile ~ Himantopus mexicanus ~ Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area, Ohio
forager; shallow water wetland; marsh; shorebird; bird; wader; animal; marsh; wetland; Metzger; Ohio; Great Lakes; watershed; water; waterfowl
j van cise photos
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Marsh Creature ~ Perhaps a Muskrat? ~ Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area, Ohio
“I have an immoderate passion for water; for the sea, though so vast, so restless, so beyond one's comprehension; for rivers, beautiful, yet fugitive and elusive; but especially for marshes, teeming with all that mysterious life of the creatures that haunt them. A marsh is a whole world within a world, a different world, with a life of its own, with its own permanent denizens, its passing visitors, its voices, its sounds, its own strange mystery.” ~ Guy de Maupassant
animal Metzger marsh wildlife Ohio semiaquatic rodent diver swimmer mammal riparian zone wetland Great Lakes Lake Erie plant lily nature water
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Three Little Goslings ~ Branta canadensis ~ Huron River, Michigan
"The early Celtic Christians called the Holy Spirit, 'the wild goose.' And the reason why is they knew that you cannot tame him." ~ John Eldredge
goslings Branta canadensis Huron River Michigan Canada Geese chilsrap honker vformations water animal river
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Mute Swan ~ Cygnus olor ~ Huron River
“Photography for me is not looking, it’s feeling. If you can’t feel what you’re looking at, then you’re never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures.” ~ Don McCullin
water adaptable cisne vulgar white bird elegant Huron River exotic cygnus olor mute swan swan aquatic habitats river
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Why did the turtle cross the road? ~ Huron River Watershed
"Because it wants to get to the other side!" ~ *The Knickerbocker* 1847
riddle turtle testudines bony shell cartilaginous shell shield diapsids reptile more ancient than snakes ectotherm coldblodded amniotes Chelonia shell Cryptodire carapace plastron road
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Sandhill Crane ~ Antigone canadensis ~ Huron River
"...nobility, won in the march of aeons." ~ Aldo Leopold
Sandhill Crane Antigone.canadensis elegance crimsoncapped gangly grace dancers trumpeters mate for life at least 2.5 millions years old live in open habitats buglers red crown large tall bird slate gray bird bird animal omnivorous Huron River
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when your rooster crows ~ Huron River and Watershed
"Don't think twice, it's all right." ~ Bob Dylan
rooster gamecock bird male chicke barnyard polygamous lookout cockadoodledo crows any time of day clucker hackles comb wattles feathers farm chicken farm Cobblestone Farm cockerel waltz Persian bird sacred in some cultures animal barn
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Brown Pelican, Atlantic ~ Pelecanus occidentals ~ Southern Outer Banks
“Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.” ~ Marc Riboud
bird pelican Brown Pelican Atlantic Ocean Pelecanus occidentals seabird brown skin on throat pouch graybrown bird ocean sea seaside coast water waves divers gliders broad wings wingbeats slow deep powerful sea coast nest in colonies island barrier island North Carolina Eastern Seaboard Eastern North Carolina birdinflight onthewing wave
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Wings of Willets ~ Tringa semipalmata ~ Emerald Isle, North Carolina
“In photography there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality.” ~ Ansel Adams
barrier island coastline shorebird North Carolina Crystal Coast Atlantic Ocean Emerald Isle birdinflight bird Tringa semipalmata willet waves sky water sea ocean animal wings
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Sandhill Crane ~ Antigone canadensis ~ Huron River Watershed, Michigan
"Nobility, won in the march of aeons." ~ Aldo Leopald
j van cise photos
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Cobblestone Farm ~ Huron River and Watershed
"If the beard were all, goats could preach." ~ Danish Proverb
goat domesticated ruminant animal barnyard farm horns milk meat skin lively frisky goatantelope subfamily 300 breeds ancestor likely bezoar ibex of Zagros Mountains livestock ungulate beard browsing animal used in production of tea in China agile complex communication intelligent able to form bonds herd animal cornucopia mutton in some parts of Asia conservation grazing textile industry mohair cashmere combat medics pet Yule goat Norse Mythology Tomb of the Lord of the Goats Pan barn
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Soul of a Percheron
Homestead on the Range
eye Percheron horse draft horse usually gray or black wellmuscled intelligent willing to work good disposition rugged easy keepers Tournament of Roses fauna mammal planteater equine steed harness animal
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Percherons ~ Greenfield Village
"It is easy to be impressed by what one does not understand very well." ~ G. H. Hardy
horse Percherons draft horse originated in France's Huise River Valley breed takes its name from former Perche province usually gray or black wellmuscled intelligent willing to work Arabian blood added to breed good dispositions rugged easy keepers Tournament of Roses Parade fauna mammal planteater equine steed harness
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Merino Sheep ~ Greenfield Village
"The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty. Plainly, the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of liberty." ~ Abraham Lincoln
merino sheep wool animal mammal grazing originated.in.Portugal forager El Buen Pastor ruminant cudchewing Ovis
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Relaxing in Warm, Summer Pastures ~ Greenfield Village
"We carry within us the wonders we seek without us". - Thomas Browne
horse summer pastures mammal animal singletoed equine equus hoofed fauna birthday
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In Silhouette ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
silhouette; Cormorant; birds; Huron River and Watershed; Michigan; in silhouette; image; solid shape; backlit sight of a Cormorant; emphasises outline; Etienne de Silhouette; outline portrait; profile; portrait; clouds; sky; bird; bird; tree; branches; limbs; perching; fauna
DSC0158 j van cise photos
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Ankole-Watusi ~ Huron River and Watershed
“I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn’t photograph them.” ~ Diane Arbus
ankole Huron River and Watershed AnkokeWatusi cattle Sanga very large horns central Africa American breed domestic zoo specimens usually red Domino's Farms highly social very active named after Watusi tribe of Africa strong protection instincts grazer animal fauna nature livestock Ankole longhorn status symbol Cattle of Kings symbolic importance dairy animal hybrid vigor novelty breed docile trainable hardy constitution prairie
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Ankole-Watusi (African Long-Horned) Bull ~ Domino's Farms, Michigan
Ankole-Watusi
Ankole Watusi African LongHorn Bull cattle African Cattle.of.Kings ancestry dates back more than 6000 years bovine animal horns considered sacred striking markings private herd birthday
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Black-capped Chickadee ~ Huron River Watershed, Michigan
"[1] Every autumn, Black-capped Chickadees allow brain neurons containing old information to die, replacing them with new neurons so they can adapt to changes in their social flocks and environment even with their tiny brains..... [2] Flocks have many calls with specific meanings, and they may contain some of the characteristics of human language." ~ Cornell Lab of Ornithology
bird Black capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus Huron River Watershed black cap hides seeds to eat later Chickadee flocks alert birders to migrants perching bird acrobats feathers leaves fauna nature
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Canada Geese ~ Branta canadensis ~ Huron River
"Time is the coin of your life. You spend it. Do not allow others to spend it for you." ~ Carl Sandburg
Michigan river Canada Goose Branta canadensis blacknecked signature white chinstrap mark honker waterbird bird birdsinflight field grazer vformation in flight water Huron River
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American Red Squirrel ~ Tamiasciurus hudsonicus ~ Huron River and Watershed
"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." ~ Albert Einstein
squirrel ground squirrel animal creature outdoors nature birthday white underbelly reddish fur diurnal mammal mammal mediumsized chickaree American Red Squirrel ruddy color chipmunklike white eyeliner pine squirrel North American Red Squirrel boomer
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House Finch ~ ~ Huron River Watershed
"I'm very happy being me, although sometimes I'd love to be a bird so that I could fly." ~ Joy Fielding
House Finch Finch Haemorhous mexicanus Perching.bird bird sparrow dipped in raspberry juice warbling song backyard animal
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Common Grackle ~ Quiscalus quiscula ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan (urban feeder)
Land I Love, Nappy Brown
grackle Quiscalus quiscula blackbird glossy iridescent body large and lanky long tail golden eye racuous chatter overall black plumage iridescent blue and bronze bronzed grackle bird tallest longesttailed blackbird nature outdoors birthday
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Feral Rock Pigeons in the Morning Sun ~ Columba livia ~ Huron River
"I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see....
The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow ~ ....
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,
And he sometimes gets so little that there's none of him at all." ~ Robert Louis Stevenson
Rock Pigeon feral Columba livia orange eyes shadows pigeon bird morning bridge nature outdoors sense earth's magnetic field domesticated more than 5K years ago birthday
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