The Cormorant, the Dragonfly, and the Bee: ducks

Showing posts with label ducks. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 15, 2021

Very Friendly Animals

We have friends that invited us for a walk and lunch. We knew they had chickens and ducks, and had recently installed a new duck pond, so we were anxious to visit and see the animals doing animal things.

During our walk, we encountered these additional friendly animals in a neighbor's yard.

Yummy Grass

After returning, we spent time at the duck pond along with its local inhabitants.

Ribbit!

The chickens were an unexpected attraction. I'd no idea how photogenic chickens could be.

Why the Face?

Here are the three ducks frolicking happily in their new pond.

Paddle Powered

Headstrong

I had to sneak in a flower photo among all these friendly animals.

Top Petals Show Off

Livin' the Life

Monday, January 27, 2020

Farm Pond and Cushing

Cushing Memorial Park's perimeter walking loop is a favorite among locals, I suppose for its convenience and simplicity. It is paved, which is normally a detriment, in my view, being less "natural." Yet in the winter, the town seems to plow most of it after storms, so the paved feature provides a place to walk when other more woodsy trails require extra dedication to be able to access.

Just across the street from Cushing is an area called Farm Pond. One can walk along the edge of Farm Pond using a portion of the "Aqueduct" trail system, which is a cooperative between the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA), City of Framingham, and MassTrails. It is not paved, and though it is currently winter, I took these photos when the snow had melted just to the point where the edge path was passable wearing ordinary hiking boots.

In this first photo, I'm looking across Farm pond, at the ice, the ducks and other birds, the freight train, and the urban skyline.

The Scene Across Farm Pond

Here's a slightly different view. Notice the ducks have a relatively circular pool of water within the ice in which to swim and fish.

Duck Pool

The next several shots are taken slightly further away from the water's edge within the strip of land between Cushing Memorial Park and Farm Pond.

This small stream is completely filled with green plant material.

Green River

There's a very healthy grove of trees that always seems to pull me in and encourage me to look skyward.

Shadows in the Sky

Here are some patterns in the bark of those trees:

Bark Chips

Try to find the tiny dark sideways (virtually perfectly formed) heart in this next one. Then look slightly above and to the left. You may see people.

Bark Islands

These next two photos are near a small church within Cushing Memorial Park.

Winter Respite

For those that like red and blue...

Red Globes

Finally, this is a window on the back of that church. I'm not exactly sure why there's a green patch near the bottom of the glass. I don't think it's a plant. The photo shows exactly the way it looked. It sets off nicely against the glowing gold.

Mottled Glass

Sunday, May 13, 2018

Colors of Spring

Spring has arrived! We've had beautiful, stunning weather. The trees and plants are very happy and have most definitely figured out that it is time to bloom. It's a great time of year to be a photographer; plants have so much color and they pose very nicely, hardly moving, except when it's windy.

Below are some recent captures, mostly all spring flowers, with an occasional bird, bee, or duck thrown in for good measure.

This first photo is a very tiny portion of the most magnificent pair of trees gracing Wellesley College's Pomeroy Hall in the Quad courtyard.

Centerpiece

These next photos are taken in our garden.

Curves

Daffodil Orange

Through the magic of the camera lens, we get to see some mid-flight pollination in this next photo.

Bee Work

Late Day Reach

Edging

Deb planted some unique daffodils last fall for new color in the garden this spring. I think Deb forgot she ordered these mini-daffodils; they were a nice surprise for both of us.

Standing Pretty

This shot is almost directly into the sun. I'm intentionally causing lens flare side effects. What you see here is exactly how the camera caught the image.

Ray Drenched

Photographers often talk about "bird in flight" shots (because they're so dang hard to pull off well.) One doesn't hear so much about "bee in flight" shots. That's one of our cherry trees above this bee.

Bee Best in the Golden Hour

Glowing Daffodil

The next couple of photos were taken at a nearby park where I frequently walk.

Painted Tulip

I was delighted to come across this fellow. He was having a good old time performing acrobatic tricks in this tree, singing all the while.

Baltimore Oriole

We visited Arnold Arboretum a few days before "Lilac Sunday" and the row of lilacs did not disappoint. They also had a wide variety of wisteria. This one, from China, was the furthest along and outstanding.

Hanging Wisteria

Negative Space

Lilac goodness. They have many unique varieties of lilacs at the Arboretum.

Bunches of Color

Reflective Wading

White Cups

After leaving the Arboretum we visited the nearby Allandale Farm garden center. Deb bought some new additions for our garden while I snapped some pictures.

Petals in the Sun

Rose Layers

Reaching For the Sun

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Buttonwood Park Zoo and New Bedford Fishing Trawlers

Deb had an all day meeting in New Bedford. I skipped the meeting and went hunting for good photo fodder instead.

It'd been awhile since I've been to a zoo, and I'd forgotten how much fun it can be, especially on a nice sunny day, armed with a camera. New Bedford's Buttonwood Park Zoo is a small zoo, so instead of being overwhelmed with throngs of people, it was very approachable, pleasant, and fun to visit. There were many moms and children enjoying the day, with an occasional dad or two, along with perhaps two photographers: myself and another fellow I met. One could get quite close to most of the animals. All shots are handheld, with my telephoto.

I was fortunate to visit the zoo just when it was time for them to feed a couple of newly adopted bobcats. These animals were roughly four to six weeks old, I believe, the zoo having adopted them after they were found motherless. The resemblance to household cats is remarkable, but make no mistake: these are wild animals, just very young ones!

Several photos, including this first one, are at ISO 3200, as we were mostly in the shade for the bobcat feeding.

Bobcat Face 1

My, what big paws you have!

Big Paws

Bobcat Face 2

I rather enjoy this next photo due to the swirling quality of the parts surrounding the bobcat's face.

Bobcat Face 3

Pointy Ears

These girls watched the bobcats with great interest.

Mesmerized

Check out this elephant's skin tone.

Elephant's Eye

Furry Friends

I spent a fair amount of time observing the ducks. They were an active, colorful, and splashy group!

This first photo is of a species not native to North America, but of an endangered typical merganser from temperate East Asia.

Scaly-sided Merganser

These next blue-billed ducks are a bit of a mystery to me. I think they may be hybrids or perhaps diet has affected their bill color. The baby or sky blue bill color captured is precisely how it looked to me. I wrote to the zoo asking them what kind of ducks these are, but I've received no reply so far. If anyone knows, please comment!

Brown and Blue

Brown Eyes in the Sun

Wet Bill

I've never seen a Wood duck in the wild, though they do frequent North America. Extremely colorful!

Wood Duck 1

Wood Duck 2

Here's a sandhill crane:

S-shape

Adult Bobcat

Pig in Mud 1

Pig in Mud 2

This sunflower was watching over the pig in mud. It was quite high up: perhaps ten feet.

Sunflower

Here's the same sunflower photo cropped closer.

Sunflower Detail

Cute Zoo Train

And a closer crop:

Cute Kids on the Cute Train

Sea World

The previous and next shot were through glass.

Bear

Common Tern

Thus ends the zoo part of the show.

I left the zoo, and moved on to the New Bedford waterfront and decided the sides of the rusty fishing trawlers provided some good abstract art, and some fun color, in any case.