on the wing

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Ruby-throated Hummingbird ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” ~ John Hughes
Rubythroated.Hummingbird hummer on the wing bird hummingbird Huron River and Watershed Michigan fauna
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"A day without laughter is a day wasted." ~ Charlie Chaplin
Rubythroated.Hummingbird hummer on the wing bird hummingbird Huron River and Watershed Michigan fauna
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"May the forces of evil get confused on the way to your house." ~ George Carlin
Rubythroated.Hummingbird hummer on the wing bird hummingbird Huron River and Watershed Michigan fauna
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
Rubythroated Hummingbird Hummer on the wing bird hummingbird Huron River and Watershed Michigan fauna
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Female ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
“The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” ~ Bertrand Russell
Rubythroated Hummingbird Hummer on the wing bird hummingbird Huon River and Watershed Michigan fauna
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Female ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"Forget the failures. Keep the lessons." ~ Dalai Lama
Rubythroated Hummingbird on the wing Huron River and Watershed Michigan fauna hummer bird hummingbird
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Female ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
“In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence.” ~ \Robert Lynd
RubyThroated Hummingbird hummer on the wing bird hummingbird Huron River and Watershed Michigan fauna
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Female ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
“The daily hummingbird assaults existence with improbability.” ~ Ursula K. Le Guin
Rubythroated Hummingbird hummer on the wing bird hummingbird Huron River and Watershed Michigan fauna
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Wrapping All These Beautiful Pixels Around this Sweet Little Jewel ~ Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Female ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"To know someone here or there with whom you can feel there is understanding in spite of distances or thoughts expressed... That can make life a garden." ~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
RubyThroated Hummingbird bird hummer Huron River and Watershet Michigan on the wing fauna
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Hummer's World ~ Ruby-throated Hummingbird ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"A route of evanescence
With a revolving wheel;
A resonance of emerald,
A rush of cochineal;
And every blossom on the bush
Adjusts its tumbled head, —
The mail from Tunis, probably,
An easy morning's ride."
Emily Dickinson, "The Humming-Bird"
RubyThroated Hummingbird hummer bird Archilochus colubris on the wing Huron River and Watershed Michigan fauna
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"Listen to the hummingbird whose wings you cannot see. Listen to the hummingbird, don't listen to me." ~ Leonard Cohen
Rubythroated Hummingbird on the wing Huron River and Watershed Michigan fauna hummer bird hummingbird
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American Goldfinch ~ Spinus tristis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
This regular visitor to our hummingbird feeder carefully shimmies down the pole and turns upside down to help himself to a few sips of water from the ant moat ~ he seems to prefer the moat over our mister and birdbath.
Goldfinch spinus tristis bird finch acrobat shortdistance migrant
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Female ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"Soyez gentil et ayez du courage." ~ Anne Frank
Rubythroated Hummingbird hummer bird hummingbird fauna on the wing Huron River and Watershed Michigan
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Coming in for a Landing ~ Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Female ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." ~ John Muir
Michigan Huron River and Watershed Rubythroated Hummingbird hummer bird hummingbird fauna on the wing
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One Last Sip Just Before the Storm ~ Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Female ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail." ~ Edwin Land
Michigan fauna Huron River and Watershed on the wing Rubythroated Hummingbird hummer bird hummingbird
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"For the poor Wren. The most diminutive of birds, will fight, Her young ones in her nest, against the owl." ~ William Shakespeare
House Wren Troglodytes aedon on the wint bird nest box fauna songbird forager
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Male ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"Think and wonder, wonder and think." ~ Dr. Seuss
on the wing bird hummingbird Rubythroated Hummingbird fauna Huron River and Watershed Male Archilochus colubris Huron River and Watershed Michigan nature
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Downy Woodpecker, Leaning Against Stiffened Tail Feathers for Support ~ Dryobates pubescens ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
Downy Woodpecker Dryobates pubescens Huron River and Watershed Michigan bird acrobatic forager black and white fauna frequent members of mixed flocks drum rather than sing songs oldest almost 12 years short bill white spotting males have red nape shrill whinnying call eat mainly insects excavating nest holes takes 1 to 3 weeks undulating flight pattern
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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
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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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Downy Woodpecker ~ Dryobates pubescens ~ Huron River and Watershed
"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." ~ Albert Einstein. Thank you, Carl Berger.
Downy Woodpecker Dryobates pubescens Huron River and Watershed Michigan bird nature acrobatic forager joins mixed flocks drummers don't sing songs undulating fliers Pico Pubescente Pic mineur small versions of classic woodpeckers males have small red patch on back of head common feeder bird fauna
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Tufted Titmouse ~ Baeolophus Bicolor ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"I once met a man who said he had visited every exotic place from the Grand Canyon to the Great Wall, but when I questioned him closely I discovered he hadn't seen the songbirds in his own backyard." ~ Richard Bode
Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor bird echoing voice songbird nature on the wing fauna forager acrobat
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Black-capped Chickadee ~ Poecile atricapillus ~ Huron River and Watershed
"Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best." ~ Author unknown, quoted in The Ladies Repository: A Monthly Periodical, Devoted to Literature, Arts, and Religion, September 1874, commonly misattributed to Henry Van Dyke and Henry David Thoreau
curious.and.social Blackcapped.Chickadee Poecile atricapillus acrobats presence may indicate other migrants communications complex and language like old brain neurons replaced by new for adaptation purposes Huron River and Watershed fauna on the wing songbird not migratory nature
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Happy Thanksgiving from Michigan!
"When I was younger, I used to drive up to a bunch of turkeys, roll down the window and say something. They'd all gobble back at once." ~ Levon Helm
Huron.River.and.Watershed fauna on the wing nature bird Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo feathers gobblers only 1 of 2 domesticate birds native to new world may be named after country Turkey some turkey fossils date from more than 5 millions years ago can swim game bird unfeathered head black and red wattles bronze and green iridescent plumage roost in trees travel roost and forage in flocks responds well to efforts of game maangers 2nd most sought game after deer give soft purring sounds while on ground
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White-Breasted Nuthatch, with Photographer in Background ~ Sitta carolinensis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." ~ proverbial saying
White breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis Huron River and Watershed Michigan bird bird food nature fauna
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Fluffy White-breasted Nuthatch ~ Sitta carolinensis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"I don’t think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains." ~ Anne Frank
White breasted Nuthatch bird Sitta carolinensis Huron River Watershed Michigan feeder bird on the wing fauna
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Natural Beauty ~ Huron River and Watershed
"The butterfly is a flying flower, the flower a tethered butterfly." ~ Ponce Denis Ecouchard Lebrun
butterfly natural beauty yellow wings antenae petals nature on the wing flowers flora
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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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Ranger, the Red-tailed Hawk ~ Buteo jamaicensis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
Note tethering and perching gear for this rescued beauty of nature.
Ranger RedTailed Hawk bird captive bird Buteo.jamaicensis raptor shrill cry oldest known 30 years red tail broad round wings short wide tail 2nd largest buteo hawk residentshort distance migrant
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Red-Bellied Woodpecker Takes the Peanut ~ Melanerpes carolinus ~ Huron River and Watershed
“Great photography is about depth of feeling, not depth of field.” ~ Peter Adams
Redbellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus barred backs red cap oldest12 years pale belly red nape clings to tree bark undulating flight pattern bird
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Blue Jay with Peanut and Friend ~ Cyanocitta cristata ~ Huron River and Watershed
"Taking pictures is like tiptoeing into the kitchen late at night and stealing Oreo cookies.” ~ Diane Arbus
Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata Huron River and Watershed Michigan bird songbird complex social system tight family bonds fondness for acorns sometimes migratory mimi calls of hawks tool user blue oldest known 26 years prominent crest bold black necklace bold white wingbar wings tail barred wblack abundant near forest edges knnown for intelligence often mate for life communicate vocally wbody language immense vocabulary excellent mimics gular pouch
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Mama Sandhill Crane and Her Endearing Canada Gosling ~ Branta canadensis and Antigone canadensis ~ Kensington Metropark, Michigan
10 days later and never leaving the other's side.
Canada Gosling Canada Goose Branta canadensis Sandhill Crane family Kensington Metropark Michigan birds gosling waterfowl bird adopted gosling unlikely pairing on the wing fauna animal nature wildlife adopted Huron River watershed Antigone canadensis
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Family ~ Adopted Canada Gosling, Mama Sandhill Crane, and Papa Sandhill Crane keeping watch over his family ~ Branta canadensis and Antigone canadensis ~ Kensington Metropark, Michigan
"Sandhill Cranes with Canada Goose Gosling"
Canada Gosling Canada Goose Branta canadensis Sandhill Crane family Kensington Metropark Michigan birds gosling waterfowl bird adopted gosling unlikely pairing on the wing fauna animal nature wildlife adopted Huron River watershed Antigone canadensis
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Family ~ Adopted Canada Gosling, Mom Sandhill Crane Stretching, and Brother Sandhill Crane Colt ~ Branta canadensis and Antigone canadensis ~ Kensington Metropark, Michigan
"Sandhill Crane Plays Mother Goose to Adopted Gosling at Kensington Metropark"
Canada Gosling Canada Goose Branta.canadensis Sandhill Crane family Kensington Metropark Michigan birds gosling waterfowl bird adopted gosling unlikely pairing on the wing fauna animal nature wildlife Antigone canadensis Huron River Watershed adopted
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Adopted Canada Gosling and Mama Sandhill Crane ~ Branta canadensis, Antigone canadensis ~ Kensington Metropark, Michigan
"This Sandhill Crane Couple Adopted Baby Goose"
Canada Gosling Canada Goose Branta.canadensis Sandhill Crane family Kensington Metropark Michigan birds gosling waterfowl bird adopted gosling unlikely pairing on the wing fauna animal nature wildlife Antigone canadensis Huron River Watershed adopted
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Adopted Canada Gosling and Mama Sandhill Crane ~ Branta canadensis, Antigone canadensis ~ Kensington Metropark, Michigan
For the dear adopted gosling who touched so many of our lives in his sweet earnestness to keep up with and protect Mama and Papa Sandhill Crane and Brother Colt and for the unwavering and loving devotion of Mama and Papa Sandhill Crane to both of their young ones. "Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again." ~ Mary Oliver
Canada Gosling Canada Goose Branta.canadensis Sandhill Crane family Kensington Metropark Michigan birds gosling waterfowl bird adopted gosling unlikely pairing on the wing fauna animal nature wildlife Antigone canadensis Huron River Watershed adopted
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Peek-a-Boo ~ Sandhill Crane Colt ~ Antigone canadensis ~ Huron River Watershed, Michigan
“Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.” ~ Marc Riboud
Antigone canadensis waterfowl Sandhill Crane oldest Sandhill Crane 36 years old bird crimsoncapped trumpeters known for dancing skills oldest knonwn fossil 2.5 million years old broad wings omnivorous mate for life resident to long distance migrant
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Fluffy Northern Cardinal ~ Cardinalis cardinalis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
“What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.”
– Karl Lagerfeld
fauna Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis bird red Huron River Watershed Michigan sweet whistle nonmigratory songbird state bird of 7 states male black mask and throat like sunflower seeds males spread wings to protect young from sun
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Ranger, the Red-tailed Hawk ~ Buteo jamaicensis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
Notice tethering and perching gear for this rescued beauty.
Ranger Redtailed Hawk bird captive bird Buteo jamaicensis raptor shrill cry oldest known 30 years Michigan red tail broad round wings short wide tail 2nd largest buteo hawk resident shortdistance migrant
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White-breasted Nuthatch ~ Sitta carolinensis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
“The reason birds can fly and we can't is simply because they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.” ~ J.M. Barrie
Whitebreasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis Huron River and Watershed Michigan bird short tailed bird black cap rusty spots on belly clings to tree bark moves at odd angles perch upside down on trees largest nuthatch gray blue on back white face and underparts hood birds of mature woods small bird with big voice on the wing fauna
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Barn Swallow ~ Hirundo rustica ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"In many parts of the world, having Barn Swallows nesting on one's property is considered a sign of good fortune or a harbinger of spring. Legend has it that Barn Swallows consoled Christ on the cross by trying to remove the crown of thorns from his head and attempting to divert those coming to arrest him in the Garden of Gethsemane. Stories are told that Barn Swallows got their forked tails because they stole fire from the gods to give to the people, and their central tail feathers were shortened when they were burnt off by a firebrand hurled by a wrathful deity. Other legends have it that cows will give bloody milk or go dry if anything inopportune happens to the Barn Swallows nesting on a farm; lightning may even strike a house if a Barn Swallow nest is removed." ~ Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica bird blue on the wing feathers bill colbalt blue tawny below agile flyer deeply forked tail nests almost exclusively on human built structures winters in Southern Hemisphere sparrow sized swallow rusty throat and forehead white spots under tail seen only in flight feed almost exclusively in flight long distance migrant fauna
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Cedar Waxwing ~ Bombycilla cedrorum ~ Huron River and Watershed
"Some birds are not meant to be caged, that's all." ~ Stephen King
Bombycilla cedrorum Cedar Waxwing Huron River and Watershed bird wings feathers tail red wax droplets eat berries fauna onthewing waxy red secretions specializes in eating fruiut prominant crest pale hellow belly mediumsized bird social bird short to longdistance migration
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Red-bellied Woodpecker ~ Melanerpes carolinus ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit." ~ Stephen Hawking
Redbellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus bird Michigan woodpecker Huron River and Watershed red cap bills wings feathers beak woods on the wing
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Sandhill Crane, Keeping Watch over His Family ~ Antigone canadensis ~ Huron River and Watershed
"Magic birds were dancing in the mystic marsh. The grass swayed with them, and the shallow waters, and the earth fluttered under them. The earth was dancing with the cranes, and the low sun, and the wind and the sky." ~ Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
j van cise photos
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Mom Sandhill Crane Teaching Her Adopted Canada Gosling ~ Branta canadensis, Antigone canadensis ~ Kensington Metropark, Michigan
"The Goose that Thought He was a Sandhill Crane"
Canada Gosling Canada Goose Branta.canadensis Sandhill Crane family Kensington Metropark Michigan birds gosling waterfowl bird adopted gosling unlikely pairing on the wing fauna animal nature wildlife Antigone canadensis Huron River Watershed adopted
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Northern Cardinal, Male ~ Cardinalis cardinalis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"May you come to find comfort in and remember ~ cardinals appear when angels are near. So go now, sit outside and drink your tea. Keep a look out for the little red bird ~ it is there your loved ones will be." ~ Victoria McGovern
Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis bird Huron River and Watershed red wings feathers bill beak tail nonmigratory do.not.molt prefer sunflower seeds songbird state bird of 7 states prominent crest thick bill black mask male longtailed 16 different calls
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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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