Common Grackle

All posts tagged Common Grackle

Wednesday ~ April 04, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on April 4, 2018
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

Happy Wednesday!

I have three images from Sunday’s session for today.  For my Facebook Friends, you will need to click on the link to see all three.  Also please remember you can click on any of the images to see a larger more detailed version of the image.

I was checking out A.Y. McDonald Park Sunday, when I came around a corner I saw a man (I could only see the top half of him because he was down on the boat ramp) throw what looked like a large bottle of pop into the river.  I decided to investigate.  He was actually working with his dog on retrieving birds and had a couple of training birds that he would throw for the dog to retrieve.

I thought the water looked awfully cold but the dog seemed to be having a good time.

A common red-winged black bird looking for food.  Couldn’t help myself and had to photograph it.

Finally on my way out of the park there were several common grackles in a tree.  I watched them for a while and thought this guy was getting ready to take flight so I tried to capture that moment.  He was just shifting his position a bit.  🙂

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Saturday ~ May 20, 2017

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 20, 2017
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Happy Saturday!

I have three images for today.  Yesterday was a miserable day weather wise.  Constant rain, temperature only about 42 degrees and windy.  Not a good day for photography.  I had an appointment to get my hair cut yesterday morning and then an hour to kill before meeting my good friend Mike for lunch at Mario’s Italian Restaurant.  One of my favorite places to eat in Dubuque.

Even though the weather was unfavorable for photography I decided to drive down to the river to see what was going on.  As luck would have it there were two large barges parked one in front of the other waiting their turn to lock through the dam.  I have never seen that before and decided on my return trip I would capture some images.  I drove on to the lock and as I pulled into the parking lot there was a turkey vulture sitting on the asphalt.  I have never been that close to one of them before.  Now the camera is in the back seat still in the bag, it’s raining hard, and the vulture is giving me a close look.

Sure enough when I stopped the car he started unfolding his wings and as soon as I opened my door to get the camera he flew a few feet away to a large rock.  Not too bad, still well within range of my big lens.  Just got the camera out and a train came though.  The tracks run between the bluff and the parking lot, so away he flew and I couldn’t find him after that.  😦

This lonely pelican was floating near the lock so I thought I would capture him since I already had my long lens on the camera.  Back in the car, I dried off the equipment and then headed out to see if anything was going on at McDonald park.  Of course I had forgotten about the two barges sitting there.  It  was raining harder and I’ll admit I didn’t want to get out and change lenses in the rain.  So I just continued on my way to the park.

The only thing I found of interest at the park were some Common Grackles feeding on some berries.  They looked miserable in the cold rain but at least I was able to photograph them from the dryness of the car.  🙂

Do you get the idea that I’m somewhat of a fair weather photographer?  I don’t mind getting wet but I don’t like getting my gear wet and of course I forgot to pack my rain pouch for the camera.

Anyway it was time to meet my friend for lunch.  We had a great lunch with wonderful conversation and a few self-deprecating jabs.  Then home for a nap.  🙂

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Tuesday ~ May 17, 2016

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 17, 2016
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , .

May-16-2016-B

Happy Tuesday!

I have some random images for you today that have nothing in common, other than I like them all.  🙂

The Common Grackle is “common” in these parts and we see them all the time.  I love the piercing eyes and iridescent coloration of the bird.  I captured this image at Mud Lake Park, where along the shore line there are lots of dead trees that have been carried by the current to their final resting place.  There were several grackles foraging for food and I couldn’t resist making some images of one of my favorite birds.

You can click on the images to make them larger and see more detail.

May-16-2016-A

The ubiquitous American Coot.   “The American coot, also known as a mud hen, is a bird of the family Rallidae. Though commonly mistaken to be ducks, American coots belong to a distinct order” (~ source Wikipedia.)  I made this image at Green Island a couple of weeks ago.  They are everywhere at Green Island and although some people find them to be a nuisance I personally enjoy watching them interact with their environment and each other.

May-16-2016

Finally I’ll leave you with this landscape I capture yesterday at Twin Springs bridge.  It caught my eye on my way to Bankston, Iowa so on the return trip I stopped and photographed it.  It use to be much prettier before the flood of a few years ago.  The raging waters from that flood rearranged the stream and left some debris in its wake.  Still on a cloudy afternoon I’m pleased with this image.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Wednesday ~ April 29, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on April 29, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

April-26-2015-3A

Happy Hump Day!

Here is the image of a Double Crested Cormorant.  This is a bird that I have never photographed before.  This was as close as I could get to him so it’s not the best image, but since it is my first I thought I would share it.

April-26-2015-3B

This image demonstrates their habit of spreading their wings to dry them. It’s not a sharp image (too much camera shake) but again I wanted to capture this amazing looking bird.

Double-crested Cormorant
The gangly Double-crested Cormorant is a prehistoric-looking, matte-black fishing bird with yellow-orange facial skin. Though they look like a combination of a goose and a loon, they are relatives of frigatebirds and boobies and are a common sight around fresh and salt water across North America—perhaps attracting the most attention when they stand on docks, rocky islands, and channel markers, their wings spread out to dry. These solid, heavy-boned birds are experts at diving to catch small fish. ~ source www.allaboutbirds.org

April-26-2015-3C

Above a common grackle.  I know you see them all the time but I love their piercing eyes and this one sitting on a branch with the river in the background was too good to pass up.  🙂

That’s it for today.  I hope you have a good day.  Thanks for stopping by the blog and be careful.

Wednesday ~ April 02, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on April 2, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

Communal Bath

Happy Wednesday!  ~  352

Here are some Common Grackles and a Red-Winged black bird sharing a communal bath.  You can click on the image to have a larger image to view.  I love how the water drops are all over the image.

I’m taking a PTO (paid time off) today to catch up on some unfinished projects and I’m going to rewire my project on the Phantom to see if I can get things working.  I wrote to several sites seeking advice but received no responses so I’ll watch the video again and take it step by step.

Ring-Billed Gull

I’m not sure gulls can be considered beautiful but I really like this image of this gull.   It is one of my favorite shots from the weekend.

Common Grackle

Finally I’ll leave you with this lone Common Grackle.  I like their coloration and this was taken with the fading light of the day.  I’m not a student of wildlife species or a bird watcher for that matter.  But I do enjoy taking images of birds.    The only reason I know this guy is a Common Grackle is because my friend Andreas correctly named one that I took last year.  I called it a Brewer’s Black Bird.  🙂

That’s it for today.  Hope the rewiring project is successful.  I’ll let you know tomorrow.  Enjoy your wet day and be careful.  Thanks for stopping by.