View allAll Photos Tagged LEAST
( 244 of 365 )
The Olde Washing Log at Earlswood Lakes - no ceremony here , just hop on and wash away !!
A bacon bap time and a few snaps while we were here . I did get a shot of at least ten Canadian Geese flying in head on from the top lake , but they were coming in low and got terribly mixed up in the background - so I was a bit disappointed that shot was not so good . However , working only with the 18-135 lens , the log bathroom was a better prospect with so many makes of birds having a wash .
At least I hope you see it too. I even see it's eye, whiskers, all of it. The spirits in the sky never cease to amaze me and spark my imagination. It's soul food to me.
The least sandpiper is the smallest shorebird. Often found in small loose groups, but not in large, tight flocks like Semipalmated or Western Sandpipers. Prefers drier mud, often on the higher edges of mudflats or small patches of water in marshes.
ebird.org
The furtive Least Bittern is often little more than a voice in the reeds that is frustratingly difficult to locate. But these diminutive herons reward patience and will charm birders persistent enough to discover them in their wetland haunts.
Both Least Tern shots were heavily cropped and much too small for printing (even though I had no intention to print). But I ran these shots through Topaz Gigapixel to enlarge just to see how it did. I was pleasantly surprised, and it would definitely make these shots printable at a decent size if needed. I have re-sized for my standard web size posting (from the enlarged image) before posting here...
Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, June 28, 2021.
Went out on the pontoon boat to get away from the heat. Spotted this least bittern along the marsh edge.
They are about 11.0-14.2 in ( 28-36 cm) long.
Ixobrychus exilis
Perhaps surprisingly, tiny Least Bitterns use areas with deeper water than the much larger, longer-legged American Bittern. Least Bitterns can do this because their long, agile toes and curved claws allow them to grasp reeds and hunt small prey while suspended from these precarious over-water perches.
Small, slender sparrow with short bill and long, narrow tail. Plain grayish breast, rusty cap, and black eyeline in breeding season. Not as bright in winter, but still shows a brown cap and dark eyeline. Juveniles are extensively streaky. Common and widespread throughout most of North America. Usually found in open woodlands, scrubby areas, or even in suburban settings. Often gathers in flocks in fall and winter. Visits feeders. Frequently heard singing a fairly dry trill. Compare with similar Clay-colored, American Tree, and Brewer's sparrows, but look for Chipping Sparrow's gray rump and dark eyeline.
Stony Swamp, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. May 2016.
A Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutia) searching fro a morsel along the shores of Miquelon Lake southeast of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
8 September, 2013.
Slide # GWB_20130808_7878.CR2
Use of this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission is not permitted.
© Gerard W. Beyersbergen - All Rights Reserved Worldwide In Perpetuity - No Unauthorized Use.
Least Sandpiper at the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, NJ
Huge numbers of migratory shorebirds have arrived as can be seen in the photograph at the top of the comment box
Species 132 for the Challenge 150
2017_05_03_EOS 7D_4917_V1
Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Sept 5, 2018.
We found this one while out on the pontoon, cruising the edge of the marsh.
Ixobrychus exilis
Perhaps surprisingly, tiny Least Bitterns use areas with deeper water than the much larger, longer-legged American Bittern. Least Bitterns can do this because their long, agile toes and curved claws allow them to grasp reeds and hunt small prey while suspended from these precarious over-water perches.
source -https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Least_Bittern/
Jordan, en route to Petra. A city built symmetrically around a temple. One road into the city, one road out. I do note a lack of park lands also I suspect there is a camel in the shot somewhere. Every house we passed in this land seemed to own at least one camel. I was warned off taking pictures of people a number of times. Not an area I would care to revisit but grateful we had the unique opportunity to visit it once. It is a rare experience to touch land that dates back to Jesus. The furthest we go back in North America is buying a hamburger at the original McDonald's Restaurant in San Bernardino, California.
Anyway - back to camels - let me know if you spot one.
Group travel is always fraught, not least because there is always one individual in every group who is so self-aware, they never stop to consider anybody around them. This man was a serial photobomber on this particular tour.
We were in Gibraltar and had stopped for the obligatory Barbary Ape photoshoot. The Ape posed perfectly for me, and then our photobomber stepped into the frame. The Ape knew the routine, she put out a hand to stop the him, but to no avail.
Not far outside Baxter State Park. I came back to this spot a few weeks later and the water had risen at least a foot after heavy rains, so most of the aquatic plants shown here were submerged.
Though mostly a Central and South America bird, this grebe can be found in very south South Texas. (This was quite an exposure challenge: low sun, white sky reflecting off a glaring pond and a dark gray subject.)
I was planning on going to Clague Park this morning to try and capture my nemesis the Belted Kingfisher, but instead went to the Rocky River Reservation Metro Park. Naturally, I found out later from another photographer that the Kingfisher was at Clague and giving some really good looks. Meanwhile, I had to settle for this Red-bellied Woodpecker who at least posed in a spot with a nice background and turned to face the early morning sunlight.
Escorted by a phalanx of bodyguards, a Least Sandpiper delivers a marine worm back to the mudflat it just departed. One second the flock is contentedly feeding, the next second they have all launched in unison for no apparent reason only to make a couple of circuits and then settle back down just as they were, on Horsepen Bayou.
I've seen and photographed quite a few Least Chipmunks over the years, but this is the first one sighted and shot in Badlands National Park. As you can see, this smallest chipmunk species has evolved a paler color to blend in to the badlands terrain. A mountain version of the Least Chipmunk is shown in comments for comparison.
The badlands was the first stop on our third excursion of 2024 as my year in review continues.