365 Theme 50: Circle

The sun, taken through a special solar filter. As you can see there are no spots. And this has been the norm for a while now. 2008 was the quietest year on the sun since 1913, and 2009 is shaping up to be even quieter. The sun was actually slightly less luminous last year, by 0.02% in visible light and ~ 6% in extreme UV since the last solar minimum in 1996 (they happen every 11 years or so, on a regular cycle). You can read more about it at this NASA page.

365 Theme 162: Jumping, Leaping, Bouncing

I'm not sure which species these rays are. Nor why they were jumping. And jumping they were. All week long we would see them swimming in schools just under the surface and for no discernible reason they would jump out of the water. Apparently no one else is really sure either, as noted on this site, which also mentions the difficulty of species identification. 

These images were difficult to capture as I was rather far from the action, shooting early in the morning in dim light, and had to get lucky for a ray to jump where I had the camera aimed. I got a lot of splash images before I just aimed in the direction of the last leap and waited. It was very cool to watch through binoculars as the school swam by.

365 Theme 250: Rainbow

On our first morning in Mexico, we headed out for breakfast. And I took this image in our cab, when it was lined up for sunlight to come in the back window and reflect off this CD at just the right angle.

In With The Old, Week Thirteen

Red-headed Woodpecker (March 2005)

Another use for dead trees. There were several pairs of red-headed woodpeckers nesting in the Batsto Village area of the Wharton State Forest. This one was flying about the picnic area and I followed it back to its nest tree. I wasn't really this close; this is a crop of an image made using a 100 - 400 mm zoom lens at 400 with a 1.4x teleconverter. 

I mentioned the access restrictions placed on the great horned owl nest in my March 22nd Sunday Six set. Nesting birds can be very sensitive to activity around them and humans are rather large animals. To much activity too close and the bird may abandon the nest site.  Clearly some birds are more tolerant than others. The great horned owl that nested in the parking lot at the Everglades visitor center, shown in the Sparkle theme shot for the 366 Project, didn't mind the commotion below. But is prudent to err on the side of caution and leave nesting birds in peace. And keep saving for the 600 mm f/2. 

365 Theme 82: Eating Establishments

When I first went to see the owls shown in my Eyes theme image and again in my March 22nd Sunday Six, my friend and park naturalist Kristina told me that a repeated suggestion was that they "clean the place up" by getting rid of all the dead trees. One of the best things you can do for wildlife is to keep dead trees around. The owl nest is in a dead tree. And this one has provided many a woodpecker with a meal.

If you've got a dead tree on your property, and it's not a threat to fall on anything then leave it be. Mother Nature will thank you.

365 Theme 278: Shades of Gray

A good bird gone bad. This laughing gull is giving smoking at try. But after chewing on this cigarette butt for awhile it decided smoking wasn't its thing. 

It's no laughing matter when when people throw their butts on the ground. Can someone explain to me why tossing cigarette butts out of car window is acceptable to so many people? I just don't get it. Seems pretty black and white to me, littering is littering.

Sunday Six: March 22nd

                                   Great Horned Owl

This owl roosts behind my office. I originally thought there was a nesting pair, but it seems this owl is only using this nest as a roost. Owls don't build nests. This one was used by a pair of red-tailed hawks the past two years. I wonder what they thought of the new tenant?

                                   Great Horned Owlet

This is the same nest as shown in the Eyes 365 theme. There are three owlets in this nest, but I did not see them. The nest area is now roped off and access is limited. This was the only sightline I had to the nest. It seems some idiots were going up and banging on the tree to get the owls to poke their heads out. How would you like someone pounding on the walls of you home when you're trying to sleep?

                                   Which Way?

The gray trail leads to the owls. As can be clearly seen, the trail is straight. Yet there are two right turns and one left indicated here. Fortunately, I had been to the nest before and didn't get lost.

                                   Brown Creeper

This elusive bird is hard to find let alone photograph. This was the only shot I got before it flew off.

                                   Seed Pods

These were rattling in the wind along the trail back to the nature center.

                                   White Tailed Deer

The Key Deer in my March 1st six are endangered. These are anything but. I saw at least thirty today. Many hiding in plain sight. I'm sure I walked right by plenty more. There are no predators to keep the population in check, and these deer will eat the entire understory of the woods. This is a problem throughout New Jersey  and much of the northeastern US.