Monday, January 16, 2012

Talking Turkey with Mother Nature at Work

I know you guys are probably tired of seeing these guys. I take pictures of them ALL the time. They may not be the prettiest birds on the block but I just love them.
This past weekend they all decided to show me their plummage. They've NEVER opened their feathers for me before. They really are beautiful creatures.This picture shows the 3 toms with their feathers opened and if you look closely you'll see the 3 "babies".Talking Turkey, lol.This one turkey just put on a fashion show. Here is a really good look at his hind end. I wish he wasn't behind the fence, but oh well.Side view. He had ALL his feathers spread out. I was so excited to be able to see them in "full dress".
I had to be very patient here. If you look closely, you will see a bee in the flower in the middle near the bottom. Can't believe my camera got such a good shot. To the left is another shot of a bee on a flower. You can actually see his wing in this photo.
We have a small pond behind the State Farm building I work at. The turtles come out alot when it's sunny. I have to zoom in from across the pond though. I tried walking down to the water from the side closest to them and they all dove into the water. Wish I had a better camera with a lense that zoomed in more. I guess if I ever win the lottery I will buy one.

Mother Nature was out in full force this weekend. If you look really close at the middle of the picture you will see a female cardinal. I was so thrilled to be able to see her and for her to let me take some pictures of her. Another shot of her in the middle of the picture. She sure is hard to see. She blends right in with the scenery.Here's a really good shot of her. She has something in her mouth, not sure what. Looks like a piece of mulch. I sure am glad she let me get some great pictures of her.
Here is the love of her life. Mr. Cardinal. Isn't he gorgeous??? I was so blessed this past weekend to be able to get some pictures of them. They usually flitter around from tree, to bush, to wherever and I can't get them to stay still for a picture. This past weekend they both let me take a couple.Another beautiful shot of him. Isn't his red coloring just stunning?
My last shot of him. What a contrast between his red and the green on the bushes. Where you can't really see the female, the male just stands right out.
This is a Sandhill Crane. They are an endangered species here in Florida but we have quite a few on the property. This one looks like it only has one leg, but like the Flamingo, they will lift one up and "hide" it for whatever reason.Mr. Blue Jay. We have quite a few of them around, too. He's got a nut in his beak and he was trying to break it open on the branch.
What are you lookin' at? Peeking out between the branches.Not a great photo, but if you look close to the middle of the picture you will see a red-headed woodpecker. He was not very cooperative. He kept flying higher into the trees. So this is the best picture I could get of him.No, your not seeing double. These are two of the Sandhill Cranes looking for some yummies in the orange grove.Another shot of the turtles on the bank. I did not realize that I had also gotten a shot of the duck swimming in front of them.This is a Blue Heron. The turtles usually hang out with him all the time.


It was definitely a great time to work a weekend and have my camera with me. I hope you enjoyed seeing some Florida wildlife. I don't think I'll ever get tired of it and I hope you won't either.

1 comment:

Carole Burant said...

Wow, Bonnie, you really did get some excellent shots of the wildlife around there! I can't get over how the turkeys were putting on a modeling show for you!! lol Their plumage really is lovely, isn't it. Yup, I could see the bee on that flower:-) Our bees are all in hibernation right now, won't be seeing any flying around until Spring arrives.

I still say it's not fair that the male birds always have such colourful plumage while the females don't! lol The male cardinal and blue jay sure are gorgeous.

We actually get Sandhill Cranes around here in the summer time. Not far from here there are big open fields and that's where they hang out.

Thank you for sharing your pictures with us, I so enjoyed them:-) xoxo