Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.
Linda Schaub
FIFTY FAVORITE PARK PHOTOS
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- Parker noshin’ nuts
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- Fox Squirrel
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- Black Squirrel
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- Parker, my Park cutie!
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- Pekin Duck
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- Mallard Hybrid Duck
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- Midnight munchin’ nuts
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- Mute Swan
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- Goslings
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- Mama Robin
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- Seagulls on ice floe
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- Great Blue Heron
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- Parker chowin’ down
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- Mallard Duck
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- Northern Cardinal
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- Great Blue Heron (“Harry”) fishing for shad
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- Parker: shameless begging
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- Viceroy Butterfly
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- Great Blue Heron
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- American Goldfinch
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- Seagull
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- Robin baby (not fledged yet)
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- Mallard Ducks
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- Robins almost ready to fledge
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- Parker angling for peanuts
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- Robin fledgling
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- Parker making a point that he wants peanuts
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- Parker smells peanuts
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- Parker with a peanut
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- Red-Winged Blackbird
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- Seagull
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- Red-Bellied Woodpecker
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- Pekin Duck
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- Starling
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- Canada Geese family
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- Canada Goose and goslings
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- Red-Winged Blackbird
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- Parker says candy is dandy.
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- Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly
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- American Goldfinch
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- Hunny Bunny
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- Parker looking for peanuts
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- The pier just past sunrise
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- Mute Swan
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- Parker in the snow
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- Parker and a treat
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- Great Blue Heron
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- Me and my shadow (a/k/a Parker)
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- Fox Squirrel
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- Seagull
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- Canada Goose
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- Mallard Ducks
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- Mute Swan
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- Fox Squirrel – Parker
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- Northern Cardinal
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BADGES
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- 02-02-2018
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- 03-13-2018
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- 03-25-2018
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- 03-26-2018
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- Year #6!! 02/2019
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- 04-13-2019
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- 11-21-19
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Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
You have a slew of interesting photographs here 🙂
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Thank you Anne! I couldn’t resist letting the Sandhill Cranes have an encore post as I took so many pictures of them.
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Wow – great photos. You got up close to them. Wonder what they were looking for? They like to eat snakes I think.
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Thanks Shelley! I was lucky to be just across a road from where they were grazing. I stayed there so they wouldn’t get spooked. I didn’t know if they were as skittish as herons or egrets and evidently not. They were just eating grass – Snakes – ugh. I saw one at Council Point Park the other day, a dead garter snake in the middle of the pathway. Never have seen a snake there before and figured it was a hawk carrying it and dropped it.
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Little did they know that when they landed there, they’d become internet stars on your blog!! 😁
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Ha ha – that was clever Shelley. 🙂 Look how many internet stars I’ve made, especially the fawn that I was so enamored with last Summer, not to mention Parker!
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You’re in excellent company!
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Ah, the 3 musketeers. I wondered what they looked like. Ha Great photos.
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Glad you liked them Peggy. I took so many pictures I decided to give them an encore post. I likely will never see them there again. The local birders and Detroit Audubon Society never mention sightings of them – it was my lucky day!
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❤️😊😊
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Very cool!
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Thank you Kate – it was a happy surprise to see them as they usually don’t hang out much in the area where I live.
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Wow! So cool that you got such a close up look at the cranes. I saw them only from a distance when we visited my son in Colorado, but got a chance to see them up close at my sister’s house in Florida. (Sorry for the recent silence – we just got back from Iceland!)
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It was so exciting to see them Laurie. Once I saw the trio landing, I recognized them from some birders’ posts on Twitter. Those birders are not photographing Sandhill Cranes in my area, so I figure this might be a one-time event.
Welcome back! I remember you mentioned an upcoming race in Iceland awhile ago, but I don’t know if you said when it took place. You and Bill have had a travel-filled, enjoyable Summer!
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Oh, my word! I love those cranes!
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They were amazing to see Zazzy, especially since I have never read about any sightings in my area – the northern, more rural areas yes, not near me. I was happy they weren’t skittish like herons or egrets and just grazed and I could watch and photograph them. What a day!
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I once had a whole bew of partridges land in my drive in Wyoming. They hung out for quite a while and I snapped as many pictures as I could without startling them. I never got that film developed, you know? But I never saw another partridge. I hope your cranes continue to visit.
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That would be exciting to me too Zazzy and I’d take a slew of pictures as well. I have never seen a partridge before. I hope the cranes return, but I do think it was a fluke, but you know I will look for them, just as much as hoping to find another doe and fawn. Do you know where your film is? My neighbors had an Kodak Instamatic camera and took one photo of their four kids every year in front of the Christmas tree. They never developed the film and after both parents passed away and the house was emptied to be sold, their four kids found the camera and film and had it developed. There was nothing wrong with film, though it was many decades old. Their parents never took other photos of them growing up, so it was a great flashback for them.
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They are impressive birds! So are your photos.
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Thank you Anne! I could not believe how big they were, nor the noise they made while preparing to land! I had to give them an encore post since I was able to get fairly close to them.
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Beautiful!
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Glad you liked them Jessica!
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These photos really show the red feather crown, 🙂 nice
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Thanks Sandra – I was glad I was able to get some shots of their red, heart-shaped faces. What a lucky find for me that day!
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Wonderful photos, Linda. Thanks for sharing.
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Glad you enjoyed them Rebecca. Since I had more photos, I thought they deserved an encore post!
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Definitely! 🙂
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I love sandhill cranes with their red crowns and distinctive, warble-y call! We saw them frequently during our 40 years in Florida; haven’t seen any at all since moving to Ohio. But that’s OK–now I get to enjoy other species: chickadees, tufted titmice, nuthatches, robins, wrens, purple finches, and many more!
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They sure are odd-sounding and unique-looking birds, that’s for sure Nancy. Did you see these cranes near the water in Florida? A fellow blogger from the UK photographs a lot of shore birds and said he would like to see one. I didn’t think a Sandhill Crane would float on the water, but they pull up their feet and go just like a duck or goose, or they also wade if it is shallow water. I like those other small birds you mention and I see most of them at the parks where I go. They are all so cute (the robin has the occasional attitude though). 🙂
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These cuties are delightful, Linda! I never see any birds like this where I lived in either NorCal or here in Eastern WA. Wonderful images and happy Wednesday to you!
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Thank you Terri! This was quite a treat for me as I never see any posts by local birders of Sandhill Cranes around my area. I was a little in awe of their unique markings. Same back at you!
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Great photos Linda! I don’t think I ever saw a sandhill crane before. I was able to get some good photos of our green heron last night and will be including them in my next post.
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Thank you Ruth! This was a real treat for me to see these Sandhill Cranes. I follow the Detroit Audubon site and a couple of birder/photographers from my area and I have never seen them posting any Sandhill Crane pictures. A former co-worker/friend lives in Oakland County (Milford) and she sees them at her bird feeder all the time. They tip the feeder to the side with the long bill, then eat the seed off the ground. I have only seen one Green Heron at the Ecorse Marina several years ago. I didn’t know what it was so sent the photo to the DNR and they identified it for me. It had its neck pulled down so I didn’t realize it was a heron.
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My sister lives in Lenox Township and a few years ago the property adjoining hers was turned into wetlands. She now has regular visits by sandhill cranes.
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I would love to see them visit on a regular basis Ruth. That is a marsh, so the wetlands experience would be the same for them there at Lake Erie Metropark. I am hopeful I can see them again.
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Just amazing! especially close up!
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I sure lucked out Joni! After they landed and walked around, I was taking pictures, but stayed put and they kept getting closer, so they were just across the vehicle road from me. They are unique looking but beautiful with the red, heart-shaped face!
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right place, right time that cannot be taught only experienced
great shots Linda!
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Thanks Wayne! Nothing like an unexpected treat. It was a wonderful morning and I enjoyed the experience of seeing and photographing them immensely!
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These look like such big birds, Linda. How big are they? Are they dangerous to go near, or are they more frightened of us humans?
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Hi Hugh – after I saw the Sandhill Cranes, I did some research on them, especially because the noise they made as they flew overhead and while landing was very loud. I learned they are one of the oldest bird species and have been around for at least 2 million years. They stand 3-4 feet (00 – 1.2 m) tall and have a wingspan of up to 7 feet (2.0 m). I also learned that they have at least 18 different vocalizations, including a piercing rattle that can be heard up to 2 ½ mils (4 km) away. The “rattling” noise was what made me look up in the air.
I also learned, they are not dangerous to go near, but people are not encouraged to feed them as they will peck you to ask for food. They are not afraid of humans and a former co-worker lives in a rural area and has birdfeeders. The Cranes come by and tilt the birdfeeders and knock seeds onto the ground. Our large Metroparks forbid feeding any of the wildlife, even the squirrels, as it encourages them to become dependent on humans and causes them to rush toward any human, not being able to recognize their benefactor(s) . They were just grazing, so I was not worried to be by them. It was a great experience!
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Talk about strutting your stuff!
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Indeed Ally and they have the stilt-y legs to do it!
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Sweet pics, Linda! Be careful (about humans) when you are out shooting.
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Thank you Tom! What a treat to see these huge and unique-looking birds. Funny you mention the humans, because my next post, this coming Monday, deals with my concern about being inside a wooded area. Working in the big City (Detroit) taught me to be wary about my surroundings at all times.
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I’ve never seen this bird before! Interesting features.
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A first for me too Esther, though I’ve seen them in pictures. Sandhill Cranes have been around for two million years! A few years ago, a woman photographer I follow on Twitter discovered a Sandhill Crane pair and their chick (a/k/a a “colt”) and they had adopted a Canada Goose gosling. It appeared to her the goose egg hatched the same time as the crane egg, so they nurtured the gosling like their own. I looked forward to her pictures every day of the two playing and growing up together. The gosling was just learning to fly and was found dead by a tree. The woman suspected some foul play and all of her followers, me included, were devastated to hear of the young goose’s demise. Up to then her pictures and the story was featured on social media, not just locally but nationally as well.
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I just love these birds and great pictures Linda. Is it unusual for them to be in Michigan?
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Thank you Diane! It was a first sighting for me, but they are in Michigan, but in the counties more rural and north of me. I am Facebook friends with a former co-worker and she puts out a birdfeeder and has taken pictures of the Sandhill Cranes tipping the birdfeeder with their long bills and eating the birdseed off the ground (which surprised me how they could do that with such a long bill?)
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Amazing creatures! Mother Nature is an artist with quite an imagination, isn’t she?
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Mother Nature sure is amazing sometimes Janis. They were amazing creatures, so tall and yet graceful (after their less-graceful landing). Whenever I see photos of Sandhill Cranes, people always try to capture the image of their feather bustle and red heart on their face, so I was happy to be able to do so too.
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I am still loving the cranes!
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I knew you would like this post JP since you liked the Monday post which was just a preview of those cranes. Since it was the first (and maybe the last) time to see them, I had to showcase how beautiful they were and give them their own post.
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Very handsome birds! I especially like the headshots highlighting those curious eyes and the striking patch of red.
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Thanks Barbara – they were so unique to see and watch. I wanted to get the headshots to hone in on the interesting red heart which is so striking. They were not skittish in the least, though I remained across the vehicle road from them. I was happy to see no cars (only because the pool and concession stand were closed I’m sure) and no other people to distract them.
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Falls in the categorie of non-scarry birds 🙂
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I was wondering how you would interpret it Jeanine. I know – it’s that red heart shape that on its head that makes it more acceptable then, maybe not cute, but unique. 🙂
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Oh no, my quirks are in your head, too! 🙂
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Well yes I do – but in this case, the Sandhill Crane is one of the oldest bird species and has been around for at least 2 million years. They have fossils of them. They look prehistoric looking too.
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Wow. I’ve tried to look up an Australian bird for you, really old but on the creepy site, but I cannot remember the name for the life of me! I’ll send you a link when it pops into my head 🙂
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OK, sounds good Jeanine. I follow a blogger from South Africa – she posts about all kinds of different things, but she is also a birder. She posts pics of some really odd-looking birds and some have some off-the-wall names, like “Streaker Seedeater” – it just strikes me as a weird name for a bird.
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