Intheyonderconifers

Songbirds were not happy with this owl's presence. I would never have had this encounter if I hadn't checked out their alarm calls. This will never happen again.

Blue Jay gamboling with un-depicted peers. The jays were moving from tree to tree giving alarm calls. I think they were playing at mobbing via harassing blackbirds because I couldn't identify any predatory bird threat.

@NatureEnjoyer_ @catholic_woods CONES WITHOUT THORNS EXIST?!? Snow never sticks here so we lobbed pine cones at each other as kids. The trick was to find one that had been open long enough to still have heft but not so much it would invite rock throwing. Lobbing a green cone would invite a retaliatory rock.

@catholic_woods Dang i’ve never seen pinecones with thorns on them, that’s crazy lol

If you’ve ever walked barefoot in the North and the South, you may have noticed that southern pine cones hurt more to step on. There’s a good reason for that. The white pine, which is common up North doesn’t have prickles on its cones like the loblollies down South.

@LAChas77 Two line statement supremacy. Remember when it was 140 characters because that's all that would fit in an SMS message?

@openshutter21 A little wildlife, a little landscape. Can't nobody tell you what's right to frame.

I don't do a lot of wildlife usually because my equipment isn't wildlife centric. I don't have super long lenses or ai object tracking but if I see something in the landscape and it sits still long enough, then I'll take the snap.

Great Blue Heron, mid-meal.

@ok_listener Unmistakable illustrations. The man is a genius.

@Intheyonconifer Yes I love this book!!

lying dumbbell face smash, works the triceps apparently but I’m not sure it’s worth it?

@candiburke I have one (1) pic of a display and it's not even in focus. Had to have a whole squad of Audubon folks point it out to me on a walk too. They are so danged fast you should be proud of an in focus shot with even a little bit showing.

So challenging for me to even catch a glimpse of the ruby crown on this kinglet

@RecyclingMS As far as I know, yes. Had a park that I go to regularly get completely transformed in one section due to ALL the pine trees in a section being affected had clear out a good 2-acres of them.

@Intheyonconifer Is that why the beetles are so bad and so many dead trees?

Rotted Tree. Our pine trees across Mississippi were hit with a drought a few years ago which dried out their sap and allowed pine beetles to kill many thousands of them. It's been a slow clean up. Trees that weren't taken down early on steadily fall apart.

Take Flight. Stay Grounded.

@Brandon93Smith Ain't nothin' going on ,and that's why people leave. Clarksdale is in talks to get a datacenter and they are ecstatic. That same town that has a lot of blues tourism due to its association with Robert Johnson's legend and Morgan Freeman's club, Ground Zero. It's a county seat.

Has there been something specific going on in the Mississippi Delta recently?

@Brians_birds Nice to see the big 600 isn't the universal tool. I got a 400mm f4.5 for birds and been happy fiddling with it. Glass isn't everything! Skill and craft get the shot!

I took delivery of a used Canon EF 300mm f2.8 lens today and took it for a whirl at St James' park this afternoon. I got it for diving Gannets and certain birds in flight and it feels so light compared to my big 600. This is one of the park's resident Pelicans - so far so good!

@StuartH89403516 Thank you! Enjoyed getting these

@Intheyonconifer A wonderful set!

Redwing Blackbird (male) They are calling constantly during daylight hours. I think my favorite thing about them is their ability and penchant to perch on ANYTHING so they can call

@funtapaz Orange tabbies are genetically pre-disposed to be 'interesting'. The orange color in males (the majority of them) is tied to higher production of testosterone. The one brain-cell meme is a shade of this; they deal with danger differently. Mine is still scared of stuff, of course!

@Intheyonconifer I've told you the next is going to have to be an orange tabby, right? I think the interesting combo would be a straight black and an orange tabby.

Show me your cats please. I'll be back to review in the morning.

@operatorihc "He is joking" *Zoom* SONUVA-

@Intheyonconifer Oh, crap, there's F-35s in one of those photos, too! Wouldn't have even noticed unless you said something!

Birds

@Brians_birds Very nice details around the eyes and the hints of the colors underneath interacting with the main plumage. I don't see crossbills where I am so yours look just fine!

Had another go at editing the crossbill photos to make them a tad less cloying and orange! Looking forward to revisiting soon to get a clearer look!

@LFauexProd This is a naming 'controversy' we could all solve rather quickly. "Greater or Lesser" should be struck from the books as a description.

It breaks my heart, that anyone could ever even think to call them this.