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This morning, Amtrak 6 was running about 7 hours delayed. At the same time, the Westbound Z-CHIDEN collided with a truck in Exeter, NE and derailed. By the looks of things, 10-20 cars bunched up across the main, taking the track out of service. To get around the wreck, the California Zephyr detoured up the Giltner Subdivision, and joined the Ravenna Sub into Lincoln. Here they are only doing about 25mph through Ruby.
This winter has been an irruptive one for winter finches. I have been lucky enough to have a flock of 40-50+ redpolls come to my feeders nearly everyday. Here you can see these little birds feeding on Nyjer seeds, which they really like.
The only problem with having a flock of 50+ redpolls is that I stand by the window trying to count them whenever they drop in, which is quite difficult because they land on the ground, on the feeders, on the branches of the maple tree that is over the feeders. When they arrive, they are up and down, or suddenly half of the flock will lift into the tree. I find myself counting as many as I can in 15-20 seconds. I have counted as many as 57.
A second problem is constantly photographing these handsome winter finches. As all bird photographers know: there's always a better shot waiting.
The third problem is scanning for that elusive Hoary Redpoll, because one could always be in the flock, so I find myself snapping photos of every bird that is slightly 'frostier' than the rest and with fewer flank marks. So far no Hoary.
In short, a flock of Common Redpolls exacerbates obsessive-compulsive behavior, and what's wrong with that? After all, obsession leads to achievement.
There was no music, no fanfare, just a simple message….
‘People of Earth, your attention please’.........
… As you will no doubt be aware, the plans for development of the outlying regions of the galaxy require the building of a hyperspatial express route through your star system, and regrettably your planet is one of those scheduled for demolition. The process will take slightly less than two of your Earth minutes. Thank you…….
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"....
Enjoy the full Hitchhiker album here..
I lucked out when I noticed a bunch of Cedar Waxwings hanging around in one of the trees in the backyard and they were kind enough to stick around while I went inside to change my lens.
They weren't exactly the most cooperative models, but I eventually managed a pretty clear shot.
Hope everyone is doing well and staying safe.
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