Raptors (Updated)

Thanks to Accipiter Enterprises for making these photos possible.

American kestrel.

Barn owl.

Red-tailed hawk.

Peregrin falcon.

Harris's hawks.

Barred owl.
(Update, Dec. 11, 2010; The Nature Conservancy's
Daily Nature Photo, Dec. 8, 2010.)

Book Review; Birdscapes

I recently read "Birdscapes; Birds in Our Imagination and Experience" by Jeremy Mynott. Published by Princeton University Press, who provided me with the well-made, hardcover book for this review. It comes in at 367 pages, 66 of which are appendices and notes about the main text. The font is fairly small, but diagrams and illustrations break up the text.
Including references from mythology to modern culture, the main thrust of the book addresses how & why we think the way we do about birds in numerous contexts, from their appearance and attitude to the sound of their songs.
It was an interesting read, but may be somewhat confusing to non-birders. Written by an Englishman, he references birds like robins--but English robins are nothing like the robins we know in the U.S. He also tends to use "birder-speak" that may be common across the pond, but is definitely not the language used by your typical, American birder.
Despite the potential for some confustion, it was a well-thought out book, written in an easy, conversational style and would certainly be a nice gift for any naturalists or birders on your list.

A Few Birds

A few birds seen in our yard recently...

Male Eastern towhee, a large member of the sparrow family. Unfortunately his back is turned to us here, so his lovely, burnt-orange sides are barely noticeable.

A male downy woodpecker, North America's smallest, seen here once every year & a half or so (so I'm glad I got a few pictures this time.)

The first handful of Wintering American goldfinches arrived in the past couple of weeks.

Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers!

Fog at the Flatwoods, Pt. II + Art

Despite the title of this post, I've posted all of the fog shots that I'm going to in Pt. I. Here are other shots I took while I was there, including some after the fog lifted. WARNING (to those who don't like them); Spiders ahead!

The invasive yet lovely Chinese tallow.

Macro of dew on a plant. Click for detailed view.

I was into dewy macros that morning.

A clump of cut grass that appealed to me.

After the fog lifted, a couple shots of paths in the area.




Boardwalk and dew-covered web.

These grass spider webs are all over down here, but you don't see them unless they're covered in dew, like this one. Click for detailed view.

This dew-draped web (a featured image in the Ovation community photographer's group,) is the last non-spider image in this post.

Spider with pray (possibly an argiope aurantia.)

Mystery spider in dew-draped web.

Green lynx spider. I recommend clicking for the detailed view.
In art news, after work tonight I'll be going straight to the Madisonville Marketplace for their Winter Show opening reception (6-9pm.) Hope to see you there!

Fog at the Flatwoods, Pt. I

I half "came-to" early in the morning again a little while back and saw thick fog outside, so I dragged my tired butt out of bed, grabbed my camera and headed to the Abita Creek Flatwoods Preserve. I spent 2 hours there before the fog finally lifted.



One of the many bluebird houses at the site.

It may be stereotypical, but I converted a number of shots to black and white.

Dew-covered web (click for larger view.)

The sun got much higher than this before finally clearing the fog away (around 9:30am.)





There's more to share again, so stay tuned for Part II!

New Painting; Primaries II

Primaries II
40x30" acrylic and table salt on gallery-wrapped canvas

Details;

Funky Sunrise & Holiday Sales

I half-"came to" from sleep a while back to see a strange, orange glow through the windows. By the time I dragged my tired self out of bed & grabbed the camera it'd changed a bit, but it was still pretty cool.



I recently added more photos to the "shop now" tab of my Facebook page. I also slashed prices (and if you "like" my page, you get a 10% discount on top of that.) Photos make great holiday gifts!

My photos and paintings can also be ordered in a wide variety of formats; postcards (10 for $15, inc. ground shipping in the continental U.S.,) calendars, mugs, tote bags, cards, mouse pads, keychains, X-mas ornaments, sweat/t-shirts, towels, clipboards, aprons, bibs, candy tins, clocks, placemats, cutting boards, dog collars/leashes/bowls, keepsake boxes, magnets, ties, pajama pants, notepads, pillowcases, scarves, serving trays, stickers, address labels, trivets, etc.
E-mail me for more info!

Blogiversary and More

Today's the 3rd blogiversary of "The Dreaming Tree." Thanks to all of my readers, to those who shared it with others, to Google for pointing so many people in my direction and for hosting the blog, gratis, here on Blogger. It's be a fun ride for me--I hope it has been for you, as well.

In art news, I recently had another interview published. Also, tomorrow (from 4:30-9pm,) I'll be at Postal Plus for Arts Evening (in Slidell, LA,) again this year. Hope to see you there!

As previously promised, here are more shots from our recent, sunrise hike at Big Branch Marsh NWR...

Yaupon holly, a common, local, evergreen shrub.

As mentioned in a previous post, the marsh at Fontainebleau State Park goes on for miles, eventually becoming the marsh here at Big Branch Marsh NWR. Here's looking at it from the other side.

Mystery seed pod that I thought was kind of pretty.

Female rainbow scarab, a local dung beetle.

Mystery purple puff flower, no bigger than an inch across. ID suggestions welcome.

Saw palmetto with berries.

I liked the way the shadows almost paralleled the clouds here.

Water lilies, ubiquitous in much of the open water at this site.

Light in the pine savanna.

A broken, withered branch, yet very lovely.

Far from the water, a crab discarded or dropped on the grass.

Marsh grasses.

A variegated fritillary (thanks again to Vernon Antoine Brou for the ID!)

Don't forget to come see me at Arts Evening!