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Showing posts from February, 2012

A tail to tell.

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A tail to tell. , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. Welcome to the old swimming hole. Who wants to go in first?

greetings from the landfill

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greetings from the landfill , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. Birders get to go to the nicest places. We also visit sewage lagoons. In our crowded environment you go where the birds are.

Why don't you go fly a kite?

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Why don't you go fly a kite? , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. Well, that's exactly what a lot of people did at a kite festival on South Padre Island, Texas. They ranged fron fairly simple ones to 40 foot long tube kites that were about 8 feet in diamater. I could only capture a small portition of the kites that were flying at any time.

Least grebe

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Least grebe , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. He's small but has attitude, at least when he's wet. About 8-10 inches long and weighs around 5.5 oz. Dives and disappears then pops up a good distance away Cornell Lab of Ornithology says- The smallest grebe in the Americas, the Least Grebe inhabits both temporary and permanent wetlands from south Texas to Argentina. Easily overlooked because of its size, coloration, and habits, it remains the most poorly understood of North American grebes. www.birds.cornell.edu/

Caution, raw nature

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Caution, raw nature , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. Never insult an alligator until you have crossed the river. This racoon didn't pay enough attention when it came to the waters edge.

Can we talk about this?

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Can we talk about this? , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. No

Mondays make my head feel heavy.

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Mondays make my head feel heavy. , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. Why is the greenest grass always at the top of a hill? It's 75 degrees and I'm still wearing a fur coat. I have two horns and don't know how to play either one. No, I am not a buffalo.

caracara

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caracara , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. These large predators are in the falcon family but are slow movers and often scavenge food. This one was sitting near the road and let me get reasonably close. Happy Feathery Friday.

My, what big feet you have.

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My, what big feet you have. , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. All the better to walk across mud flats with my dear. The American coot has HUGE feet to allow it to walk across marsh vegitation and mud flats with out sinking in. They have an odd walk and are fun to watch.

Will it fit?

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Will it fit? , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. We watched this egret catch a rather large fish. Earlier he caught a much smaller fish which went down with no problem. He tossed this one around and, with one gulp, it slid down.

A tired chair

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A tired chair , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr.

How to break a car.

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How to break a car. , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. Some signs say speed bump, some a speed hump. This is the first one I've seen that threatens to break your car if you don't brake your car.

GET off my feeder!!!!

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GET off my feeder!!!! , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. Love the colour of the tongue.

It's just a hop, skip and jump away.

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It's just a hop, skip and jump away. , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. Practicing for track and field. From the boardwalk on South Padre Island, Texas at low tide.

Red lored parrots

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Red lored parrots , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. At least that's what they appear to be. If anyone can confirm or correct the id we would appreciate receiving a comment. We saw about 120 of these birds on a telepone wire in Harlingen Texas. Load and raucous, they displayed for about 30 minutes at sunset and then they left and settled into nearby trees. I had to set the white balance very high as the lighting was poor.