View allAll Photos Tagged fluffball
The first time I have caught up with Sanderlings this year. The tide was very full and they, and lots of Turnstones, Ringed Plovers and a few Dunlin were feeding on the washed up seaweed
Found this male Hooded Merganser busy diving for breakfast and was astonished by the size of the Frog-leg meal he found. Bottoms up… so to speak : )
Adult males are a sight to behold, with sharp black-and-white patterns set off by chestnut flanks. Females get their own distinctive elegance from their cinnamon crest.
Hooded Mergansers are fairly common on small ponds and rivers, where they dive for fish, crayfish, and other food, seizing it in their thin, serrated bills. They find their prey underwater by sight. They can actually change the refractive properties of their eyes to improve their underwater vision. In addition, they have an extra eyelid, called a “nictitating membrane,” which is transparent and helps protect the eye during swimming, like a pair of goggles.
Hooded Merganser ducklings leave their nest cavity within 24 hours of hatching. First, their mother checks the area around the nest and calls to the nestlings from ground level. From inside the nest, the little fluffballs scramble up to the entrance hole and then flutter to the ground, which may be 50 feet or more below them. In some cases, they have to walk half a mile or more with their mother to the nearest body of water.
The oldest recorded Hooded Merganser was a male and at least 14 years, 6 months old when he was shot in Mississippi in 2009. He had been banded in Minnesota in 1995.
(600 mm, 1/1600 @ F/10, ISO 1250)
The blue-eyed fluffball in the garden today. After a long boring winter he is very busy now as the bees have returned and the birds are very active too. Luckily the coronavirus doesn't affect cats and they can just continue to do what they want. This is at least something positive in these worrying times.
A shot of a Great Horned Owlet taken this week. There are three of these cute fluffballs in the nest but while was there this one had ventured onto another branch of the tree to get some alone time I figure.
It was a cloudy day so I dropped my shutter speed to get a better ISO. I was shooting handheld and was worried I would get a little blur in the shot but was very happy with how it turned out. Hope you enjoy!
Shutter looking as relaxed as can be (albeit a little out of focus, sorry), while Sprocket works to settle into that zone. Probably due to the cooler weather, they have been cozying up to each other more often in their improvised retreat, normally around sundown.
This picture is from the same session that yielded a black-and-white submission a few weeks earlier.
Just got back from a morning at the Jersey shore with Piping Plovers and some shorebirds. Here is a peek of some fluffy cuteness that will be coming up.
Caption: Marching Fluffball... Fluffy Soldier.... Bigfoot???
Due to various challenges lately, it's been a while since Sprocket (left) and Shutter have made Caturday appearances. This time around, the girls got their opportunity.
The little fluffball arrived on Thursday. He is a mixed breed and one of the kittens of an "unwanted litter" which ended up at my vet's because they were very sick.The vet asked me if I wanted to take him and I decided to give it a try. I don't know yet if he will stay, there are moments when I doubt it because he may look like an innocent baby bear but he is a hissing and spitting little monster, especially when it comes to other cats. His behaviour has earned him the provisional name "Dragon". He isn't spitting fire (yet) but I'm sure he would if he could. The Dragon is quite nice with people, though, and everybody who has met him so far is in love with him. In case he shouldn't get along with Fynn on the long run, several people have already told me that they want him, among them my niece.
Sorry, I'm terribly behind with commenting, the cats are keeping me busy as I constantly have to keep an eye on them to avoid trouble. I will try to catch up tomorrow.
Sprocket (left) and Shutter in their container of sorts; a repurposed container originally designed to ferry laundry to and from laundry facilities. I was about to let loose a pun on the concept of a basket case; judging from their contented looks, the idea seemed so far from the truth, I decided against it.
A package arrived today with some almost 'last minute' Christmas presents, I always do my Christmas shopping 'just in time'. No, the cat isn't the present, although the fluffball has quite a lot of fans among family and friends, mainly because he is probably the most open-minded and easy-going cat on this planet. The first words of visitors usually aren't 'how are you doing', not even 'hello', but 'where is Tofu' ! :)
Posted for the Happy Caturday theme "Time Passages".
This is a photo of Tofu as a kitten. He was lying on the fluffy white blanket which he still loves. :) The photo was taken a day or two after he came to me and he was about 4 months old at the time. I think he hasn't changed much over the years although he of course looks more adult now. In the comments I add another capture of Tofu which shows him when he was allowed to go out onto my roof terrace for the first time. This photo shows even better that he was a fluffball from day one. :)
Happy Caturday !
Easter is over, the new catnip toys aren't new anymore and the treats have disappeared in the tummy. Now what ? We finally have some nice spring weather and life should be full of possibilities but Linus is just BORED ! Fynn and Cleo don't pay much attention to him, THE BIRDS aren't what they used to be (which means that they have learnt that the ginger fluffball may not be the smartest kitty on this planet but is still quite dangerous) and digging out the new begonia bulbs is strictly forbidden (of course, rules are meant to be broken, but you shouldn't do it while somebody points a camera at you). Sigh !
I believe this is fleabane - would someone in the know please verify or correct this in a comment. Thank you!!
On the first morning of our Sanibel stay I was cruising around one of my favorite spots, the Bailey Tract. Bailey Tract is part of the Ding Darling NWR and is a popular spot for critter watching, bike riding and hiking. One can find alligators, lizards, turtles, river otters, bobcats, coyotes and a myriad of bird species. I was looking for black-necked stilts, and even more specifically, baby stilts. I found a female that appeared to be tending a nest scrape, although it was hidden by some grasses. I watched for a while and moved on. Over the next few days, I saw a pair of proud and watchful parents and four tiny fluffballs. Unfortunately, they were always too far away to get any decent shots.
Fast forward to eleven days after I initially saw the female. The fluffballs had grown considerably and were venturing out all over the pond. (im)Patiently I stopped and waited and was soon rewarded by the chicks coming very close by me. Here, one is foraging through the shallow water, probing the mud for insects. My how fast they grow!
My sincere thanks to all who spend the time to view, like or comment on my photos. It is much appreciated!
© 2024 Craig Goettsch - All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use without permission is prohibited.
Some more little creations by Aardvark :
Happy Hammie Hamster is available at Access
Puff Paw Pastry you can find at the Aardvark mainstore
Those cute pocket-sized fluffballs are sitting on the table from New Year's Collection by [Oh Deer] That was a really nice bonus (also there is a version with PBR textures) Teleport to the mainstore
Shutter and Sprocket, perfectly content with a no-frills staycation, especially now that the summer heat has returned and forecast to stick around for a while. Given the abundance of caution justified by the pandemic, it's a good thing.
Sprocket, very comfortable in her home town, nicknamed “America's Finest City.” I must say she's one of many fine kitties around the world; well, all of them are the finest.