Hawk, Birds, and Butterfly

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For a SmugMug slideshow, click HERE<<link. When you click the link, it will open in a new window, and you have two options:
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2) There’s a PLAY/PAUSE button at the Top-left of the screen with the transition set at about 5 seconds. Note: clicking the PLAY arrow activates the option for a full-screen slideshow. You can then still use the”<” and “>” symbols to the left or right of the photos (this will pause the slideshow).

If you want the full experience, keep reading.

This shy bird was photographed (hurriedly) in Kansas . . .

I spent a fair amount of time trying to find a good match for it . . . and the best I can do is Gray Hawk (LINK). I have a lower degree of confidence that it’s a Cooper Hawk (LINK). The only reason Cooper’s Hawk comes into the picture is that the eyes appear to be red in this next photo.

I mean the area around the iris. Unfortunately, we had an appointment to keep and I couldn’t hang around to watch it take flight. Regardless, the coloring variations for both the Gray and Cooper’s hawks make it difficult to decide since I don’t have a clear view of the tail feathers’ colors or the underwing markings.

I’m going with Gray Hawk, but some might disagree.

This next bird is a young House Finch (I think) . . . and it’s likely on crack.

Hummingbirds are tricksters . . . this hummer landed on a feeder . . .

I looked away, and when I looked back, it had set up a mirror . . .

I felt I’d seen this before . . . possibly in a Marx Brother’s skit . . . and, in fact, just like in the Marx Brother’s routine, they screwed up!

Next up, a bunch of photos . . . of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (LINK).

I say a bunch of photos because I couldn’t decide on which to share . . .

Of those, I like the last shot even though it’s not showing a lot of its colors . . .

This next series has it walking atop the flowers and then step off . . .

That last shot reminds me of Wily E. Coyote stepping off the edge of a cliff and forgetting (for a few seconds) to fall. Of course, the butterfly practically floats in the air, so it didn’t fall. I did catch it flying, but the photo was slightly out of focus. I tried sharpening it, but without messing it up, I couldn’t recover much sharpness.

The rest are all shots that will look the same to the casual observer.

This next two-shots sequence has a hummingbird land on the feeder and do its impression of the Fifth Element . . .

I’m closing with what I assume is a female finch . . . I could be wrong . . .

That’s it. This post has ended . . . except for the stuff below.

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