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Hi Jim, Here are some pictures for the blog. A large adult female Cooper’s Hawk. She has been hanging around our property for the past week. This is the first chance I had to get some decent pictures. Cooper’s Hawks are members of the accipiter family. They are primarily bird hunters. As  I said before I love to see and photograph any and all hawks.  Dave

I have been, pretty much, kept in these last 2 days because I had a “Blue Light” procedure done on my face to kill (hopefully) all those pre-cancers there.  Tomorrow I should be OK to go out.

Out is where I always want to live – where I can be in nature as close to my front door as possible – Block Island in Rhode Island, Texas Hill Country, Pennsylvania Appalachia mountains, and Drummond Island, Michigan have all been that way.  Of course TGO is on the fringe of nature (That is why it is called THE GREAT OUTDOORS).

So, when I read of Dave’s Cooper Hawk it made me think of the birds we arrange for gatherings – places where we can go to see them gather to eat or nest.  I put on a cowboy hat to shield my face from the sun and rode my bike to Lake Judy to see the Purple Martins.  I did not have my camera with me but here is what I saw: “Pure nature”

While there, I photographed what I saw in the lake, Lilly Pads moving in the breeze. Researchers call my condition pareidolia, which is the false perception of seeing a non-existent face or pattern in everyday objects:

DAVE WROTE:  Hi Jim, Here are some pictures for the blog. A Red-tailed Hawk that we found on the back fence behind the runway of the old air base here in Rome  NY.  Bird was quite cooperative and did not fly as we stopped the car opposite it. I believe this was a northern Canadian bird as they have migrated down to the upper US. Most local birds are so spooky that you can not even slow down before they fly off. As I have said before I especially love the raptors and love to photograph them. I was shooting with my big 500 mm so as the bird flew toward  me I  was not able to get it completely in the frame. A strange winter up here very mild. No snow at all here bare ground with green grass.  Dave

Bear with me – I am just starting to learn video.  This morning I was watching  a dozen birds perched on the ridge-line of my neighbors house.  What I enjoyed was the contest between two for the peak position.

I am learning to crop videos – this bird battle was pretty far away for my iphone to capture.  But with the cropping you can see that the bird on the peak is telling the other bird to “Get out of here, I own the peak.”:

TESTING LOW RESOLUTION=SMALLER VIDEO SIZE= FASTER LOADING???

DAVE WROTE:   Hi Jim, We took a ride up to Lake Ontario one day last week. Lake Ontario is about an hour and a half from Rome, NY. It is a great place to bird and photograph in the winter. It is a good place for wintering waterfowl and raptors. Here are a few pictures for the blog. A flying Red-tailed Hawk, Mute Swans, a Bufflehead and 2 Ruddy Duck. Mute Swans are not native to the US. They are established several places around theGreat Lakes and the Atlantic coat.  Dave

I loved seeing winter ducks when we lived up north – Places like Block Island, RI.  When I was watching Jeopardy last week, I knew they were Mute Swans and not Deaf Swans as I think one of the contestants said!

Since I love “street photography” (photographing what people or animals are doing in in their normal day-to-day activities), I see, in Dave’s photo of the swans, that one of the swans is listening to what the other one has to say about that duck swimming in front of them!

Like these two dogs in a Winter Park street, “What are they looking at?”:

Dave wrote:  Jim, Here are some pictures for the blog. These were all shot yesterday during our heavy snow storm. Male and female Cardinals a White-throated Sparrow and an Evening Grosbeak. NY state has been hit hard with snow this season. We have about a foot of snow on the ground but 1/2 to 3/4  hour north they have 4 feet on the ground. Dave

Dave was sensitive to the fact that some may be uncomfortable watching a hawk capture and feed on a bird.

Therefore, I posted three Photo-Art images, which I made from Christmas Parade  photos, first.   View them, then, you can read Dave’s information about the hawk and choose to not scroll down over the photos of the hawk feeding.

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DAVE WROTE:  Hi Jim, Here are a few pictures for the blog. We had a heavy snow storm today. As it was winding down we had an immature Sharp-shinned Hawk capture a Morning Dove in our back yard this afternoon. The hawk plucked and fed on the dove for 45 minutes or so. Great opportunity to photograph the action. Sharp-shins are a member of the accipiter family. They are primarily bird hunters. I know some people get upset when a hawk gets a bird from around the bird feeders. Well hawks have to eat too. We love having any hawks around our yard. Dave

Dave wrote:  Hi Jim, Here are some pictures for the blog. Cold here 16 degrees F. Ground is bare but we are supposed to get snow tonight and all day tomorrow. Oh well it is time for snow here in Rome, NY. I was out and about yesterday found some Crows that were quite tolerant. This is the American Crow not the Fish Crow that you have in Florida.   Dave

TheTGO  Nature Center had a golf cart in the Christmas Parade.  I went to the Manor Lot as 50 or so carts gathered to begin the parade.  Of course, I was there with my iphone camera and took hundreds of photos, mostly to practice using the video feature. But I was prompted to make-up a photo to honor our TGO Nature Center and Sandy, using some of the snapshots that I took at the parade gathering:

Dave wrote:  Hi Jim, Winter has arrived here in Rome,NY. The first shot is out our front window during yesterday’s storm. We have 14 or 15 inches  of snow on the level. The feeders are very busy with the snow covered ground. Fox Sparrows and a Carolina Wren. Supposed to warm up this week so hopefully it will knock down some of this snow.  Dave

NOW FOR MY PHOTO STORY:

Yesterday, I took the photo on the left to tell you the story about where the frog, that I posted a picture of previously, was hiding when I took the hangings down for the hurricane. BUT, this morning a new story was staring me in the face. So, I put three photos together to tell you this morning’s story!