on the wing

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Willet ~ Tringa semipalmata ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved." ~ Helen Keller
willet Tringa semipalmata Southern Outer Banks North Carolina piercing calls distinctive wing markings shorebird beach coastline bird striking white and black stripes on wing in flight runner barrier island water's edge chunky shape subdued plumage Eastern Seaboard Atlantic Ocean Crystal Coast seaside nature birthday
From *master gallery
Ring-billed Gull, Strolling ~ Larus delawarensis ~ Old Saugatuck
"Jonathan Seagull discovered that boredom and fear and anger are the reasons that a gull's life is so short, and with those gone from his thought, he lived a long fine life indeed." ~ Richard Bach
Old Saugatuck Michigan Great Lakes Lake Michigan shore water tide sociable ringbilled gull Larus delawarensis bird beach sand acrobat opportunistic feeder forager birthday
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Sanderling ~ Calidris alba ~ Southern Outer Banks
"When we show respect for other living things, they show respect for us." ~ Arapaho proverb
sanderling Calidris alba shorebird bird Southern Outer Banks Crystal Coast Emerald Isle island Atlantic Ocean sandpiper wavechasers beach sand sandy beach peep forager probing migrant nature outdoors seacoast seaside ocean birthday
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Downy Woodpecker ~ Picoides pubescens ~ Huron River and Watershed
"The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it." ~ Peter Pan
downy woodpecker picoides pubescens Huron River Watershed bird acrobatic forager blackandwite red patch undulating flight path birthday
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Old Colony Council ~ Southern Outer Banks
"I don't mind being bones and feathers. I just want to know what I can do in the air and what I can't, that's all. I just want to know." ~ J. L. Seagull
Larus delawarensis Southern Outer Banks North Carolina shorebird Emerald Isle Bogue Banks seacoast Atlantic Ocean seaside beach sand dune colony bird acrobats coastal black band encircling yellow bill gull sociable nimble flyers opportunistic feeder assembly feathers ringbilled gull ocean coast birthday
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Sanderlings ~ Calidris alba ~ Southern Outer Banks
"The truth is, sometimes things don't happen to you for a reason. Sometimes it's just about being in the right place at the right time for someone else." ~ Jodi Picoult
calidris alba sanderling beach evening sand bird shorebird sandpiper sandy.beach water peeps wavewashed beach wavechasers surf Southern Outer Banks North Carolina Bogue Banks Crystal Coast Atlantic Ocean seacoast ocean sea island nature outdoors feast birthday
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Between Sky and Sand ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Photography is by nature a documentary art." ~ August Sander
willet tringa semipalmata crabbing piercing calls distinctive wing markings shorebird bird beach coast coastline Atlantic Ocean sea ocean feeding male spends the night on the next pretend to be disabled sandy waves outdoor nature Southern Outer Banks Bogue Banks Crystal Coast island North Carolina shore feed both night and day sand crabs sky between sky and sand birthday
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Evening Glow ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Wherever there is light, one can photograph." ~ Alfred Stieglitz
evening Atlantic.Ocean Southern Outer Banks Crystal Coast Bogue Banks coast sea ocean Pine Knoll Shores North Carolina bird ringbilled gull gull beach sand golden seagull shoreline coastline nature outdoor Eastern Seaboard birthday
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Mute Swan in Winter ~ Cygnus olor ~ Huron River
"Beauty, picturesqueness, and all loveliness are the food of art." ~ Henry Peach Robinson
swan mute swan Cygnus.olor winter Huron River exotic elegant Russian ballets European fairytales not native to North America nature outdoors river bird waterfowl orange bill with black base white floating monogamous The Ugly Duckling birthday
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Evening on the Beach ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Nothing in nature has a hard outline, but everything is seen against something else, and its outlines fade gently into something else." ~ Peter Henry Emerson
Southern Outer Banks North Carolina seagull colony Pine Knoll Shores Bogue Banks Crystal Coast ringbilled gull bird beach Larus delawarensis shoreline coastline evening black band encircling yellow bill gull sociable nature outdoor Atlantic Ocean Eastern Seaboard birthday
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Red-tailed Hawk ~ Buteo jamaicensis ~ Huron River and Watershed
"The camera is a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity.” ~ Henri Cartier-Bresson
redtailed hawk Buteo jamaicensis Huron River Watershed hawk bird soaring dark bars on leading edge of wings raptor broad round wings short wide tail nature outdoor birthday
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Double-crested cormorant ~ Phalacrocorax auritus ~ Southern Outer Banks
“La terre est le probable paradis perdu.” ~ de Federico Garcia Lorca
Doublecrested cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus Southern Outer Banks North Carolina Emerald Isle Bogue Banks bird diving bird inflight marsh
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Lesson for a Canada Gosling ~ Branta canadensis ~ Huron River and Watershed
"What if I fall? Oh, my Darling, what if you fly?" ~ Eric Hanson
Canada gosling branta canadensis goose Huron River Watershed yellow young
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Something of Value ~ Great Egret ~ Ardea alba ~ Huron River and Watershed
"I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value." ~ Hermann Hesse
Great Egret Ardea alba Huron River Watershed Michigan holding pond birthday
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early evening ~ Southern Outer Banks
"By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea!
You and me, you and me, oh how happy we'll be!"
~ Harold Atteridge/Harry Carroll
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Cedar Waxwing, Juvenile ~ Bombycilla cedrorum ~ Huron River and Watershed
"Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must." ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Cedar Waxwing juvenile Bombycilla cedrorum Huron River Watershed Michigan bird
From *master gallery
Ring-billed Gull ~ Larus delawarensis ~ Southern Outer Banks
"The quieter you become, the more you can hear...." ~ Ram Dass
Ringbilled Gull Larus delawarensis Southern Outer Banks Crystal Coast North Carolina Bogue Banks Emerald Isle birdinflight bird gull acrobat island sociable nimble.flyer opportunistic.feeder coast Atlantic Ocean seaside ocean beach isle sea coast outdoor animal birthday
From *master gallery
Northern Cardinal ~ Cardinalis cardinalis ~ Michigan
"There is no discovery without risk and what you risk reveals what you value." ~ Jeanette Winterson
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis red bird perching bird sweet whistles in the morning songbird crest sunflower seeds nature outdoor animal
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European Starling ~ Sturnus vulgaris ~ Michigan
"If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin." ~ Ivan Turgenev
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris bird Shakespeare mumation songbird dark and glossy in summer perching bird Darwinian Dance roost nature outdoor
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Great Egret, breeding plumage ~ Ardea alba ~ Southern Outer Banks
“On foot its movements are as graceful as those of the Louisiana Heron, its steps measured, its long neck gracefully retracted and curved, and its silk train reminded one of the flowing robes of the noble ladies of Europe. The train of this Egret ... makes its appearance a few weeks previous to the love season, continues to grow and increase in beauty, until incubation has commenced.” ~ John James Audubon
Great Egret breeding plumage Ardea alba Southern Outer Banks North Carolina Atlantic Ocean Bogue Banks Bogue Sound Emerald Isle Crystal Coast bird wings white
From *master gallery
Double-crested Cormorant ~ Phalacrocorax auritus ~ Southern Outer Banks
"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."
~ T. S. Eliot
Doublecrested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus gangly cormorant Intracoastal waterway marina North Carolina prehistoriclooking fishing.bird relative of frigatebird and boobie diving bird waterbird float low on the water bird black sshaped neck sun themselves with wings widespread Emerald Isle island Crystal Coast Bogue Banks seacoast Atlantic Ocean seaside barrier island
From *master gallery
The Harmony of Starlings ~ European Starling, Juvenile ~ Sturnus vulgaris ~ Michigan
"After a visit to the Wordsworths in the Lake District,
Coleridge caught a glimpse from his stagecoach
Of a gigantic flock of birds as it swooped, rose then fell
Above the frozen, wintry fields of a passing farm.

It was November 1799 and he described the phenomenon
As “a vision” in his Journal, then detailed the way
This “vast flight” drove along “like smoke, and expanded
Then condensed”, then continually shifted shape.

First he saw the starlings as an arc, then as a globe –
A force field of matter that changed from an oblong
Into an ellipse, “glimmering & shivering, dim & shadowy,
Now thickening, deepening and blackening!”

The vision stayed with him all his life – a mystery as to how
“The one be many.” How thousands of creatures
Operated as a single entity, performing extreme stunts
Of swirling acrobatics – free from gravitational pull.

Coleridge was at the time devising an ideal community,
A utopia, which he called a Pantisocracy,
And which, together with his fellow poet, Robert Southey,
He planned to introduce to America.

Now here were starlings creating a miraculous order
Just by instinct. It was an object lesson,
Spelled out by nature herself, as to how human beings
Might happily interact and co-operate.

Watching starlings, on Otmoor, two hundred years later
I saw them spelling out the same lesson:
A towering organism was moving in perfect formation
With no discernible leader. No President.

It whooshed through the air at forty miles an hour.
Each bird reacted to another bird’s movement
In a hundredth of a millisecond. They tumbled and banked
In synchronized, spatial symmetry – collision free.

They moved like iron filings drawn by a magnetic field
To create their sophisticated, aerial society;
A society that flies, instead of creeping along, suborned
By unnatural pressures and alien orders,

And the flock’s structure echoes the physics of magnetism
With each particle’s electron spin
Aligning with its neighbor’s in a symbiotic harmony
Like a metal entity becoming magnetized.

It hints at the discovery of a universal principle
Which seems to tap into a natural order:
A physiological mechanism, happening almost simultaneously,
In birds that are separated by hundreds of feet.

starling 2
Since they can mimic us with an unusual facility
It shouldn’t be too hard to mimic them:
To rise high on nature rather than wrecking it;
To enjoy a life that no one can condemn.

There are no controlling starlings exercising force;
Not a single bird’s left behind in isolation.
Not one wastes time voting – they’d lose height if they did –
It’s anarchy in motion, and a glorious revelation."

~ Heathcote Williams
perching bird Michigan European Starling Sturnus.vulgaris Shakespeare songbird bird dazzling like fourpointed stars in flight serial ballet Darwinian dance murmation juvenile slender beak outdoor nature animal
From *master gallery
Berry Brush, with Cedar Waxwings Feasting ~ Bombycilla cedrorum ~ Croatan National Forest, North Carolina
"The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself." ~ Henry Miller
berries Cedar Waxwing feast Bombycilla cedrorum Croatan National Forest North Carolina Eastern North Carolina masked bandit
From *master gallery
Forster's Tern ~ Sterna forsteri ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Isn't it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back everything is different...." C. S. Lewis
Forster's.Tern Sterna.forsteri Southern Outer Banks Atlantic Ocean North Carolina tern commashaped black ear patch forked.tail coastal beach plunger bird birdinflight Emerald Isle Bogue Banks Crystal Coast ocean seaside Atlantic outdoor water splash
From *master gallery
Red-breasted Merganser, Female ~ Mergus serrator ~ Southern Outer Banks
"The truth is, of course, that what one regards as interruptions are precisely one’s life." ~ C. S. Lewis
Redbreasted Merganser Female Mergus serrator Southern Outer Banks Crystal Coast North Carolina Bogue Banks Atlantic Ocean bird duck Emerald Isle water birthday
From *master gallery
Song of the Brown Pelican ~ Pelecanus occidentalis ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Those who wish to sing...always find a song." ~ Swedish Proverb
Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis elegant Atlantic Ocean Crystal Coast Southern Outer Banks bird birdinflight soaring Bogue Banks glider surf coast coastal Carolinas seashore seaside sea isle island echo of the waves diver seabird Emerald Isle ocean outdoor nature cover
From *master gallery
Osprey ~ Pandion haliaetus ~ Croatan National Forest, North Carolina
for Richard GG ~ fellow photographer and friend ~ who showed me the way to the Osprey
Osprey Pandion haliaetus Croatan National Forest North Carolina birdinflight soaring bird of prey raptor
From *master gallery
Willet ~ Tringa semipalmata ~ Southern Outer Banks
“Each fresh peak ascended teaches something.” — Sir Martin Convay
Willet Tringa semipalmata Southern Outer Banks Emerald Isle North Carolina island Atlantic Ocean ocean seaside seashore sea nature bird
From *master gallery
Brown Pelican ~ Pelecanus occidentalis ~ Southern Outer Banks
"I knew when I met you an adventure was going to happen.” ~ A. A. Milne
Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis elegant Atlantic Ocean Crystal Coast Southern Outer Banks bird birdinflight soaring Bogue Banks glider surf coast coastal Carolinas sea shore seaside sea isle island echo of the waves diver seabird Emerald Isle ocean outdoor North Carolina nature
From *master gallery
Willet ~ Tringa semipalmata ~ Southern Outer Banks
"In the end, we all become stories." ~ Margaret Atwood
willet tringa semipalmata Southern Outer Banks North Carolina Atlantic Ocean seashore Emerald Island Crystal Coast Bogue Banks island sand water shoreline beach bird
From *master gallery
Horned Grebe, transitioning into breeding plumage ~ Podiceps auritus ~ Southern Outer Banks
"If we could see the miracle in a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. " - Buddha
Horned Grebe Podiceps auritus breeding plumage Southern Outer Banks North Carolina bird duck redeyed marina Emerald Isle island Intracoastal Waterway Bogue Banks nature
From *master gallery
Red-breasted Merganser, Male ~ Mergus serrator ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Our greatest experiences are our quietest moments." ~ Friedrick Neitzsche
Redbreasted Merganser Male Mergus serrator Southern Outer Banks Crystal Coast island Emerald Isle Bogue Banks water bird duck birthday
From *master gallery
Double-crested Cormorant ~ Phalacrocorax auritus ~ Southern Outer Banks
Harbor Master
harbor master Doublecrested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus Southern Outer Banks North Carolina Crystal Coast Bogue Banks Bogue Sound Emerald Isle bird sunning birthday
From *master gallery
White Ibis ~ Eudocimus albus ~ Southern Outer Banks
"We are always the same age inside." ~ Gertrude Stein
White Ibis Eudocimus albus Southern Outer Banks marsh Crystal Coast North Carolina Bogue Banks Emerald Isle birdinflight bird sky
From *master gallery
Double-crested Cormorant ~ Phalacrocorax auritus ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the places and moments that take our breath away." ~ Unknown
Doublecrested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus Southern Outer Banks North Carolina Crystal Coast Bogue Banks Bogue Sound Emerald Isle bird
From *master gallery
Great Egret, in flight ~ Ardea alba ~ Southern Outer Banks
“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”
Great Egret Ardea alba Southern Outer Banks North Carolina Bogue Banks Crystal Coast Atlantic Ocean Emerald Isle birdinflight bird
From *master gallery
White Ibis ~ Eudocimus albus ~ Southern Outer Banks
“I turn my heart to the light and receive its beauty and nourishment. I turn my heart to the shadows as they reveal hues, shades and textures that contrast the light. I turn my heart to them both and embrace their gifts, for they have graced me with blessings untold.” ~ Kristin Granger
From *master gallery
Royal Tern in Flight ~ Thalasseus maximus ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Nature, whose sweet rains fall of just and unjust alike, will have clefts in the rocks where I may hide, and secret valleys in whose silence I may weep undetected. She will hang the night with stars so that I may walk abroad in the darkness without stumbling, and send the wind over my footprints so that none may track me to my hurt: she will cleanse me in great waters, and with bitter herbs make me whole." ~ Oscar Wilde
From *master gallery
Sanderlings ~ Calidris alba ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Everyone else my age is an adult, whereas I am merely in disguise." ~ Margaret Atwood
From *master gallery
Brown Pelican ~ Pelecanus occidentalis ~ Southern Outer Banks
"In the midst of winter, I found that there lies, within me, an invincible summer." ~ Albert Camus
2016
From *master gallery
Great Blue Heron ~ Ardea herodias ~ Southern Outer Banks
"In the quiet morning." ~ Mimi Fariña, sister of Joan Baez
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flying White Ibis ~ Eudocimus albus ~ Southern Outer Banks
“I go to seek a Great Perhaps.” ~ François Rabelais
2016
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Great Egret ~ Ardea alba ~ Great Lakes and Watershed
"If I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes." ~ Charles Lindbergh
2015
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American Goldfinch, winter plumage ~ Spinus tristis ~ Huron River and Watershed
"There are adventures of the spirit...as long as one has friends to help, gardens to enjoy and books to read in the long winter evenings." ~ D. E. Stevenson
2015
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Detroit, across the Belle Isle Bridge
"Everything you can imagine is real." ~ Pablo Picasso
2015
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American Avocets, breeding plumage ~ Recurvirostra americana ~ solo road trip to Lake Michigan to visit with cousin and family ~ July 2014
"Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead." ~ Louisa May Alcott
2014 American Avocets
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evening by the sea ~ Southern Outer Banks
"For whatever we lose (like a you or a me), it's always our self we find in the sea." ~ e. e. cummings
2015
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Cessna 195 and Monocoupe 110 Special "Gee Bee" (keepsakes)
"Flyers feel a certain kinship with the sight of the earth unencrusted by humanity, they want to see it that way in one sweeping view, in reassurance that nature still exists on her own, without a chain-link fence to hold her." ~ Richard Bach
2014
From *master gallery

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