*master gallery

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Little Blue Heron ~ Egretta caerulea ~ Port St. Lucie, Florida
"i'm very happy being me, although sometimes I'd love to be a bird so that I can fly." ~ Joy Fielding
blue and purple bird Egretta caerulea aigrette plumes white during first stage of life oldest known 13 years plus Little Blue Heron Garceta Azul Aigrette bleue daggerlike bill small heron purple maroon head dark blue body bird water yellow eyes stand and wait predator fauna Eastern Seaboard species of High Concern 2 rain
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
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
Snowy Egrets ~ Egretta thula ~ Eastern Seaboard
fauna Snowy.Egrets Egretta.thula New Smyrna Beach Florida Eastern Seaboard Heron white plumage shorebird oldest17yearsl bird
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
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
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
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
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
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
Skies over Canaveral Seas (Panorama)
"Tell me and I will forget, teach me and I will remember, involve me and I will learn." ~ Benjamin Franklin
sky clouds Canaveral National Seashore Atlantic Ocean Atlantic Seaboard water waves tide sand tidal pools white caps blue New Smyrna Beach Florida Eastern Seaboard beach beach flora seaside vista landscape seascape ocean sea
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
No Boundaries
“I like geography best, he said, because your mountains and rivers know the secret. Pay no attention to boundaries.” ~ Brian Andreas
Indian River Florida New Smyrna Beach river water sky clouds dock ripples boundaries
The Patrol ~ Indian River North, Florida
Indian River North Florida Brown Pelicans birds sign patrol fauna onthewing
Big Sky ~ Indian River, Florida
"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all." ~ Emily Dickinson
Indian River Florida clouds weather sunset New Smyrna Beach evening Eastern Seaboard atmosphere meteorological conditions climate
Black Vulture ~ Coragyps atratus ~ Canaveral National Seashore, Florida
black vulture Coragyps.atratus Canaveral National Seashore Florida bird black plumage bare black head poor sense of smell fierce family royalty most numerous vulture in Western Hemisphere 34 million year old fossils silvery patches on underside Atlantic Ocean Atlantic Seaboard follow Turkey Vultures to food monogamous beneficial scavenger
Lovely Florida Evening, with Silhouettes
palms Florida evening sunset tree clouds sky silhouette
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
Reaching for the Moon
Photo shot over Cape Canaveral National Seashore, Florida, on Sunday evening, January 20, 2019.
moon moonlight astronomical body natural satellite possibly 4.51 billion years old synchronous rotation Cape Canaveral National Seashore Florida volcanic maria ancient crustal highlands impact craters celestial object ocean and body tides Luna selenic terrae Near Side
Low Tide
"Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst." ~ Henri Cartier-Bresson
low tide seaside sea sea coast seashore seascape Atlantic Ocean water tide plants sea level sealevel fluctuation beach beach front sandy beach New Smyrna Beach Florida coast plants seaside garden shoreline shore flora
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
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
Over the Ocean
soaring waves tide sea ocean pelicans Atlantic Ocean nature birds brown pelicans seaside birdsinflight water sky journey seacoast
Sea and Sky ~ Southern Outer Banks, North Carolina
"I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over."
~ John Masefield
ocean sea pelicans Southern Outer Banks North Carolina water sky waves clouds birds seascape tide Eastern Seaboard
Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays!
Michigan in Winter
"Hill tops we sled down hill tops
As fast as we can go
Snow man we built a snow man
When came the first snow
Hot chocolate we sip, hot chocolate let it warm our soul
All the lakes are frozen over so ice fishing we go
It's winter time, winter time, winter time in Michigan."
~ Jetty Rae
fallow fields corn corn fields sky clouds snow winter trees
cos-scut-e-nong sebee
"The Huron River is a 130-mile-long (210 km) river in southeastern Michigan, rising out of the Huron Swamp in Springfield Township in northern Oakland County and flowing into Lake Erie on the boundary between Wayne County and Monroe County.... The Huron River is a typical Southeast Michigan stream; mud banks, slow stream flow and a low gradient define this river.... There are 24 major tributaries totaling about 370 miles (600 km) in addition to the mainstream. The Huron River watershed drains 908 square miles (2,350 km2). It is the only state-designated Country-Scenic Natural River in southeast Michigan. This includes 27.5 miles (44.3 km) of the mainstream, plus an additional 10.5 miles (16.9 km) of three tributaries. The river was named after the Huron band of Native Americans who lived in the area. In Native languages, it was called cos-scut-e-nong sebee or Giwitatigweiasibi. It was part of a Native American trade route." ~ Wikipedia
Huron River Michigan cosscuenong sebee river stream Country Scenic Natural River named after Native American tribe Native American trade route water cloudsk sky reflections dock trees Giwitatigweiasibi homes
River in Winter
"My favourite places on earth are the wild waterways where the forest opens its arms and a silver curve of river folds the traveller into its embrace." ~ Rory MacLeanr
clouds blue river trees sky lines reflections nature waterway curve of river water tree serene wood bridge
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
Early Morning Ripples ~ Huron River
“A good snapshot keeps a moment from running away.” ~ Eudora Welty
reflections Huron River ripples water tree fallen tree trees leaves sky blue clouds banks shore river landscape
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
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
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
USAF Thunderbird No. 5 ~ Thunder over Michigan Air Show ~ Willow Run Airport, Michigan
"Major Whit Collins is the Lead Solo Pilot for the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, flying the No. 5 jet. He earned his commission in 2006 as a graduate of The Citadel’s Air Force ROTC program. While studying Computer Science, he enjoyed playing intramural soccer and was president of the school’s aviation club.... Before joining the Thunderbirds, Collins served as an F-16 Operational Test and Evaluation Instructor Pilot at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. He has logged more than 1,500 flight hours as an Air Force pilot, with more than 150 combat hours. Collins is in his second season with the team and hails from Warner Robins, Georgia." ~ text from AFThunderbirds.com
United States Air Force USAF squadron Willow Run Airport Michigan flight Thunderbirds Thunder over Michigan pilot aviation military aviation aircraft airplane sky fighter technology start your engines airshow Thunderbird demonstration airman volunteer America's Ambassadors in Blue inflight precisionflying sharp choreography F16 Fighting Falcon opposing solo pilot cockpit jet wings contrail Thunderbird 5
Upside Down USAF Thunderbird #6 ~ Air Show ~ Willow Run Airport, Michigan
"Major Matt Kimmel is the Opposing Solo Pilot for the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron. flying the No. 6 jet. He earned his commission in 2008 as a graduate of the University of Southern California's Air Force ROTC program.... Before joining the Thunderbirds, Kimmel served as an F-16 Evaluator Pilot at Shaw AFB, South Carolina. He has logged more than 1,700 flight hours as an Air Force pilot, with more than 715 combat hours. Major Kimmel is in his first season with the team and hails from Vacaville, California." ~ text from AF Thunderbirds.com
United States Air Force USAF squadron Willow Run Airport Michigan flight Thunderbirds Thunder over Michigan pilot aviation military aviation aircraft airplane sky fighter technology start your engines airshow Thunderbird demonstration airman volunteer America's Ambassadors in Blue Thunderbird 6 maneuver inflight precisionflying sharp choreography F16 Fighting Falcon lead solo pilot cockpit jet wings 57th Wing
Thunder over Michigan ~ Willow Run Airport
Renowned aerobatics flyer and one of the Living Legends of Flight, Sean Doherty Tucker, pilots his stunt bi-plane, Oracle Challenger III, an Extra 300L. This was his final flight as a solo performance. "We did a ballet in the sky together." ~ Sean D. Tucker
Thunder over Michigan Willow Run Airport Michigan aerobatics smoke oil contrail nimble flyer flying Sean Tucker pilot stuntflying biplane Oracle Challenger Extra 300L solo performance last flight ballet in the sky aviation airshow Living Legends of Flight aviator Team.Oracle flight unlimited class aerobatic aircraft composite siting device cheater aileron spade propeller Lycoming.AE10540 engine Walter Extra extreme maneuverability small wingspan large rudders four blade Properller prop sky airplane aircraft
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
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
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
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
The Approach ~ 1978 Cessna 152
Fixed-wing, single-engine. Owner: Butternut Aviation, LLC, Jackson, Michigan.

"The engine is the heart of an airplane, but the pilot is its soul." ~ Walter Raleigh
aircraft airplane Cessna singleengine approach fixedwing flight inflight tricycle gear onthewing
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
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
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
Garden Path by the Sea ~ Maine Coast
"The artist is the confidant of nature, flowers carry on dialogues with him through the graceful bending of their stems and the harmoniously tinted nuances of their blossoms. Every flower has a cordial word which nature directs towards him." ~ Auguste Rodin
seacoast garden path garden path lupines flowers sea Atlantic Ocean Maine Eastern Seaboard purple lupinus lupin plant legume family ornamental plant food source perennial bluebonnets quaker bonnets legume macro flower
Low Tide ~ Winslow Cove, Maine Coast
"If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint,” then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced." ~ Vincent Van Gogh
Maine coast low tide Winslow Cove Penobscot cove water tide rocks ocean Atlantic Ocean Eastern Seaboard nature
Shakespeare in the Arb ~ *Romeo and Juliet*
"Rehearsal in progress ~ prop swords in use." Matthei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, University of Michigan. Live performance dates: June 7-10, 14-17, 21-24.
Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet tragedy Matthei Botanical Gardens Nichols Arboretum University of Michigan Shakespeare in the Arb dress rehearsal play starcrossed lovers romance Italian friends of Romeo and Juliet here

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