Picture-A-Week 2023 - Week 12

[pierces]

Pictures taken between Monday, March 13 and Sunday, March 19.

 

This is it! The Vernal Equinox has arrived! Depending on your hemisphere, Spring is springing or Fall is falling!

 

Take. Photos. Now.

 

 

Rules: See above

That's it. This isn't a contest.

All photos taken this week are welcome (not just cruising).

Prizes will not be awarded. Discovering the joy of photography is the prize.

The idea is to get folks out using their cameras for more than vacations and toddler birthdays.

Post one. Post many. Up to you.

Have fun with your camera and share your fun with others!

[marysb]

Emerald Princess Leaving Aruba on a tight turn.  (no colour enhancement - Thats the colour of the water in Aruba when the sand gets churned up)

[pierces]

Oops on the date for this week.

 

Pictures taken between Monday, March 20 and Sunday, March 26.

 

 

 

 

Dave

[pierces]

The camera used for this image arrived late Friday and I feel bad that all I have for this week is a meaningless test shot. Saturday was my birthday party, which was celebrated as John Wick Day with the whole family over to watch the first three movies before going to see the fourth. It was a very nice family day, but it was early Sunday before I was able to sit down and explore the shiny new tool. While sitting in the dark, setting options and poking through the menus, I shot this week’s photo. Even at -5 EV, the autofocus nailed the whimsical ducks (per Sheldon via The Big Bang Theory, the ducks are whimsical because they have umbrellas despite having neither the need for, nor the ability to use them). Now I need to get out and take some real pictures.

 

Whimsical Ducks

 

 

 

 

Dave

[pengu1n]

So what shiny new toy did you get for your birthday? That first test - mine is either one of my dogs or a salt/pepper shaker on the kitchen table to test DOF.

[pierces]

5 minutes ago, pengu1n said:

So what shiny new toy did you get for your birthday? That first test - mine is either one of my dogs or a salt/pepper shaker on the kitchen table to test DOF.

 

 

Not exactly for my birthday since it was sort of a planned upgrade. Last week, the A7rV was back in stock, so I assassinated the piggy bank and ordered one.

 

No regrets so far. It's pretty fantastic and I can't wait to put it to better use than ceramic ducks. (Though they are cute.)

 

Dave

[zackiedawg]

I assume the dates got copied wrong in the initial post - this should be Mar 20 - 26th, correct?

 

I checked and week 11 was 13-19, so I'm going with some shots taken on the 25th around the local wetlands:  It's the time of hatchlings everywhere now - all those nesting birds that have been sitting patiently on their eggs have paid off, and the wetlands are filled with thousands of chicks EVERYWHERE!  All kinds of species have hatched, or are hatching.  There are other things too - here's a mix:

 

A great egret chick, just a few days old:

 

Tricolored heron chicks, just an hour or so after popping out of their eggs:

 

A wood stork, using its wing to shelter its new chicks from the hot sun:

 

An alligator, enjoying the hot sunny day up on an island:

 

A very rare sighting in my area - a lovely swallow-tailed kite passing overhead.  We may get one week a year when they're passing through, so I'm lucky if I get a shot of one every 4-5 years:

 

A reddish-morph eastern screech owl hanging out in the pine forest, on a palm tree.  Looks like it might be choosing a spot to nest:

 

A pied-billed grebe cruising past:

[pierces]

25 minutes ago, zackiedawg said:

I assume the dates got copied wrong in the initial post - this should be Mar 20 - 26th, correct?

 

Yup.

 

Infallibility is overrated. 😉

 

Dave

[Host Bonjour]

Sorry everyone, I didn't pin week 13... not sure how that got away from me, but hope the posting and photography kept up! 🙂 📸

 

Colleen

[Host Bonjour]

On 3/29/2023 at 9:15 AM, zackiedawg said:

A great egret chick, just a few days old:

 

Kind of almost has it's full size head and those wispy hair-like feathers. 

 

Thanks for the amazing bird photos. Yes, I deliberately left out the gator😂 (great pic) they just creep me out to infinity...but that's a me problem!

[zackiedawg]

13 hours ago, Host Bonjour said:

 

Kind of almost has it's full size head and those wispy hair-like feathers. 

 

Thanks for the amazing bird photos. Yes, I deliberately left out the gator😂 (great pic) they just creep me out to infinity...but that's a me problem!

 

Many thanks on the photos.

 

You might come to appreciate gators a little more when you see their nests hatching.  For a cold-blooded reptile that looks like a brainless dinosaur, they are some of the best parents in the animal world.  The mother nearly starves guarding her nest for 2 months, on alert for 24 hours a day...then as they start making their little 'ribbit' noises in the egg, she'll start helping dig them up, load the babies in her mouth as they hatch, bring them down to the water, then spend weeks with them swimming around her, climbing up on her back, and trying to keep an eye on them.  Baby gators have an amazing number of predators and their odds of survival are tiny - as eggs, the snakes, raccoons, coyotes, etc will dig them up, when they hatch, they're eaten by egrets, herons, osprey, snakes, hawks, and turtles.  They have to grow up fast - and out of a batch of 30-40 eggs, 10-15 might make it to hatching, and 2-3 may survive to adulthood.

It's why I don't quite mind as much when alligators eat egrets, herons, and turtles...because they lost untold brothers and sisters to them - it's a fair turn of nature that the prey eventually turns the tables and becomes the predator!

 

BTW - alligators are a lot less aggressive than crocodiles.  I love all reptiles and I am comfortable being close to alligators, but even I'd exercise a lot of caution around the big salt water crocs of India, Africa, and Australia!

 

 

 

[Host Bonjour]

On 4/4/2023 at 10:10 AM, zackiedawg said:

BTW - alligators are a lot less aggressive than crocodiles.  I love all reptiles and I am comfortable being close to alligators, but even I'd exercise a lot of caution around the big salt water crocs of India, Africa, and Australia!

 

It reminds me of how the turtles are in such jeopardy once they are hatched and must get quickly from the beach into the sea because they have no protection.

 

It sounds like you might be a life-long (or long time) FL resident... another person once told me the same thing, that they're really comfortable around them, etc, even swam in the canals that they were in. My aunt had one as a pet, but that was a long time ago (I think it was a thing for a short time!) until it obviously got too big) and I wonder what it is about crocodiles being a bit more persnickety? 

You're absolutely right about everything working in its order in nature, which is actually quite amazing. We have the wonderful new Eurasian Eagle Owl living free in Central Park, folks wondered that it would struggle on its own as it was born in the zoo... I don't know why they fretted? Flaco is quite fine, living his best life, knew exactly how to owl in the park. 😂

 

Truly appreciate the thoughtful details too, thank you 🙂 

 

Colleen