SURVIVOR

This bald eagle image was my very first photograph of a raptor. I was chaperoning my students on a field trip to a renaissance festival near Dallas. The festival had a small birds of prey demonstration. As a science teacher, I was immediately drawn to it, as renaissance festivals are not known for their plethora of “sciencey” offerings. The star of the show was this bald eagle who was missing most of its right wing as a result of a hunting mishap several years earlier. 

Click in the image to see the high resolution version

Thankfully, the wounded bird had been brought to a licensed animal rehabilitator and made as full a recovery as possible. Since it could no longer fly without the missing wing, it joined this show as an education ambassador to help young people appreciate the majesty of our national bird, but also to gain a better understanding of responsible hunting here in Texas. It was very used to having people close by and I was able to get this shot. I particularly like the detail in both the feathers and the eye – the success of this shot inspired me to seek out future chances to capture other animals in “portrait” style images! 

Blue Lion Birds: The Exhibit (Part 3)

This is Part 3 of my series of bird images related to the exhibit mentioned below. Click HERE to see the images from Part 1 or HERE to see images from Part2. 

In conjunction with a local reading group called ALLen Reads, an exhibit of my bird images will be on display at the Allen Public Library for the entire month of February. In addition to the exhibit, I am honored to be a part of a panel discussion on February 7 at 7:30 pm with two wonderful local conservationists from the Connemara Conservancy and the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center. If you are in the Dallas area and wish to attend, the discussion titled, “It’s for the Birds”, – Here’s the press release for more information.  My photographs will be featured in the gallery case in the lobby as you enter the library. 

All prints at the exhibit as well as sets of exhibit greeting cards (10 per set) will be available for purchase at the Allen library’s circulation desk or by contacting me by email. (john @bluelionphotos(dot)com) You can also purchase prints by clicking on the image in these posts and then clicking the “buy” button in the upper right hand portion of your screen.

Since many of you do not live close enough to visit – I am taking this opportunity to share images from the exhibit here on the Blue Lion Blog. If you DO live close by, I hope you stop by the exhibit to take a look and support the both the Allen Library and ALLen Reads! 

(If you’d like a larger view of any image, just click it to enlarge it to better suit your screen size. )

Ever Watchful 

Resplendent Roller

HOWDY!



Stay tuned for the next installment in a couple days! 

Blue Lion Birds: The Exhibit (Part 2)

This is Part 2 of my series of bird images related to the exhibit mentioned below. Click HERE to see the images from Part 1. 

In conjunction with a local reading group called ALLen Reads, an exhibit of my bird images will be on display at the Allen Public Library for the entire month of February. In addition to the exhibit, I am honored to be a part of a panel discussion on February 7 at 7:30 pm with two wonderful local conservationists from the Connemara Conservancy and the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center. If you are in the Dallas area and wish to attend, the discussion titled, “It’s for the Birds”, – Here’s the press release for more information.  My photographs will be featured in the gallery case in the lobby as you enter the library. 

All prints at the exhibit as well as sets of exhibit greeting cards (10 per set) will be available for purchase at the Allen library’s circulation desk or by contacting me by email. (john @bluelionphotos(dot)com) You can also purchase prints by clicking on the image in these posts and then clicking the “buy” button in the upper right hand portion of your screen.

Since many of you do not live close enough to visit – I am taking this opportunity to share images from the exhibit here on the Blue Lion Blog. If you DO live close by, I hope you stop by the exhibit to take a look and support the both the Allen Library and ALLen Reads! 

(If you’d like a larger view of any image, just click it to enlarge it to better suit your screen size. )

Touchdown! 

Golden Eagle Stare Down

Spectacled Owl


Stay tuned for the next installment in a couple days! 

Blue Lion Birds: The Exhibit (Part 1)

In conjunction with a local reading group called ALLen Reads, an exhibit of my bird images will be on display at the Allen Public Library for the entire month of February. In addition to the exhibit, I am honored to be a part of a panel discussion on February 7 at 7:30 pm with two wonderful local conservationists from the Connemara Conservancy and the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center. If you are in the Dallas area and wish to attend, the discussion titled, “It’s for the Birds”, – Here’s the press release for more information.  My photographs will be featured in the gallery case in the lobby as you enter the library. 

All prints at the exhibit as well as sets of exhibit greeting cards (10 per set) will be available for purchase at the Allen library’s circulation desk or by contacting me by email. (john @bluelionphotos(dot)com) You can also purchase prints by clicking on the image in these posts and then clicking the “buy” button in the upper right hand portion of your screen.

Since many of you do not live close enough to visit – I am taking this opportunity to share images from the exhibit here on the Blue Lion Blog. If you DO live close by, I hope you stop by the exhibit to take a look and support the both the Allen Library and ALLen Reads! 

(If you’d like a larger view of any image, just click it to enlarge it to better suit your screen size. )

Steely Eyed Glare

Drying Darter

Night Watchman


Stay tuned for the next installment in a couple days! 
PART 2 is now posted! 
PART 3 is now Posted!

BPRC - Red Tailed Hawks

Last weekend I had the great pleasure to visit the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center on the shores of Lake Lavon just east of Plano, Texas. I had the privilege of meeting 11 birds of prey which I will  share here on the Blue Lion Blog over time. Each of the BPRC's educations birds are unable to survive in the wild due to either physical or behavioral issues that would prevent their adaptation to a wild state.The first installment features the Red Tailed Hawk. These are the largest hawks we have in North Texas and are a common sight in our skies. Because of their wide distribution in North America, you (assuming you're in North America!) you are probably familiar with them.  To learn more about these great birds, I strongly recommend Cornell University's Ornithology Lab as a fundamental resource regarding birds.

I hope you enjoyed these great raptors.... also feel free to visit Camera Critters for a wealth of other animals!

Thoughts on an Eagle's Eye.....

After having a great morning at the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center (BPRC) here in North Texas, I thought I'd share an image that I talked about with fellow photographers at the BPRC today.

In particular, we were discussing the fact that owls have small feathers on their eyelids and the discussion got around to the additional fact that many birds also posses a nictitating membrane which serves as a "middle" eyelid that allows the bird to blink without having to move the larger outer eyelid. The nictitating membrane allows most birds to blink but lets them to retain their vision as the membrane is usually semi-transparent. This membrane also moves differently from the usual eyelid as it closes horizontally over the eye rather than vertically. Occasionally when photographing birds, you may capture this nictitating membrane in mid blink and it creates a most interesting view as you see here. In this image I think the eagle looks like it could be a character out of the X - Men comics and movies.

Tawny eagle with nictitating membrane in place.

Here's an image of the same Tawny Eagle moments later....

By the way, you do not posses a nictitating membrane, but the corner of your eye next to your nose does have the remnants of an vestigial nictitating membrane called the plica semilunaris. To see other interesting animal postings, visit Camera Critters!

A Visit from our Local Cooper's Hawk

The Highly efficient visit of our neighborhood Cooper's Hawk last autumn.He was yet to read "To Kill A Mockingbird".

Click in any image to see it in the original gallery.

This is a post to WORDLESS WEDNESDAY, WORLD BIRD WEDNESDAY, & CAMERA CRITTERS.

FOCUS

"FOCUS"

Tawny Eagle

Center for Birds of Prey, Awendaw, South Carolina

Enjoy WORDLESS WEDNESDAY posts by clicking on the link.
Pay a visit to WORLD BIRD WEDNESDAY

Photo of the Year 2010 (Part 2)

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! Today I reveal the runner up to the 2010 Photo of the Year at Blue Lion Photos. This photo of a Eurasian Kestrel comes from the Center for Birds of Prey in Awendaw, South Carolina. This individual was being held by its trainer and was clearly eager to fly. I am fond of the depth in this image as you really get a feeling for the leading edge of the wings and how they create lift when the bird flaps its wings.

This image has the distinction of being my first front page photograph as it was featured on the front page of the Moultrie (South Carolina)News in order to promote the visit of Jack Hanna to the Center for Birds of Prey.

In addition, the this image was used by the Visit South website to promote the Center for Birds of Prey. The link to their page is HERE.

Come back tomorrow for the announcement of the 2010 Photo of the Year!

I wish all of you a safe and joyful New Year's Eve celebration!

Photos of the Week - Halloween 2010

In honor of Halloween, this week's Photo of the Week is shared between two images that capture different aspects of Halloween. The first image is titled, "BOO!" and relates the fun & playful factor that seems evident on this Eurasian Eagle Owl Chick's face. His orange eyes just screamed "Halloween" to me so clearly that I made him the "October" page of my 2011 Blue Lion Photos Calendar.

Click to see a higher resolution image

The second image is brand new to me as I took it yesterday (10/30/10) at the Dallas Zoo. The bird is the endangered Waldrapp Ibis (AKA – Northern Bald Ibis, or the Hermit Ibis). Oddly, this is the only member of the Ibis family that is NOT a wading bird. They lived in the Middle East & Northern Africa and have become critically endangered with only an estimated 500 wild birds remaining in a Moroccan population. One look at these birds reveals their "spooky" and "sinister" countenance. I especially find their neck feathers to be a great addition to their unique look. To me they seem to be the Edgar Allen Poe of birds. However, this bird's portly girth suggests a more "Alfred Hitchcock" look to some!

Click to see a higher resolution image

Enjoy your Halloween and may your treats outnumber the tricks!

John



Photo of the Week October 10-16

Greetings! This week's Photo of the Week (POTW) was a surprise to me. This photograph was seen on my site and then shared widely. As a result, the attention it received outstripped every other image on site as it garnered a stunning 35% of all hits to the website this week! (Our usual POTW has about 8-10% of the hits.) I always find it fascinating to learn where folks encounter my images and how they find their way to Blue Lion Photos. If you have never met me but found your way here, I'd love to get an email to hear of how you discovered Blue Lion Photos!

Click in the image for a higher resolution version

This image is a portrait of a Yellow Billed Kite (Milvus migrans parasitus) that I took this past summer during my visit to the Center for Birds of Prey in Awendaw, South Carolina. The Yellow Billed Kite is a bird of prey that lives primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa. It will spend much of its time in equatorial Africa and then migrate to breed in Southern Africa between September and December.

As you look at this image, I hope you can see that it a connection to its dinosaur ancestors. Since birds are the direct surviving link to the dinosaurs, I cannot help but feel that connection when I look at this Kite.

As an added bonus, I am posting this video clip (courtesy of http://www.earth-touch.com) which shows activity of young Yellow Billed Kite Chicks around their nest in South Africa.

On a final note, the science teacher in me is curious about the scientific name of this bird, Milvus migrans parasitus. The genus name (Milvus) is clearly the genus of the kites. The species name (migrans) reflects the migratory nature of the group. The intrigue for me comes with the subspecies name of parasitus. Nowhere in the meager online data about these birds is there any reference to any sort of parasitic behavior. I initially expected to find that they might lay eggs in the nests of other birds (called "brood parasitism") like Cuckoos or Cowbirds. My research did not support this hypothesis. Thus far, I can only attribute the parasitus name to two possible behaviors.


1) Kites occasionally will "reuse" the abandoned nest site of other species of birds.


2) Kites will steal or "pirate" food from other birds.


Neither of these seems to warrant the parasitus name in my opinion, so I will keep investigating. If any of you happen to be more expert in such matters, I would love to hear from you!

Thanks for visiting!
John

Photo of the Week - September 19-25

FOCUS

Like last week, the Photo of the Week comes from a visit I took to the Center for Birds of Prey in Awendaw, South Carolina. The title of his image is "Focus". The bird is a Tawny Eagle (Aquila rapax). This eagle is native to Africa both north and south of the Sahara Desert as well as to parts of southwestern Asia. Tawny eagles feed mostly on carrion as well small live prey including rabbits, and small lizards. It is also known to steal food from other raptors.
This individual was being handled by his trainer and was about to be fed. As such, his food was out of the scene to the right and he was VERY focused on getting that morsel. I particularly like the intensity of his eyes and the detail and texture of his feathers. He seems as though he will accomplish something significant with that look!

Cheers!

John

Click the image to see a higher resolution version

Are You My Lunch?

This week's Photo of the Week comes from a visit this past June to the Center for Birds of Prey in Awendaw, South Carolina. The title of  this week's "POTW" is "Are You My Lunch?"

This owl is a South American species called the Spectacled Owl (Pulsatrix perspicillata). Their name obviously comes from the very distinctive eye markings. Interestingly enough, the  juvenile version of this owl has the  same markings just in reverse!

Click for a higher resolution image