Saturday, August 4, 2012

Young 'uns

It is a perversely human perception that animals in their native habitat are running wild. 
~Robert Brault

Summer is that wonderful time of year when we get to see young animals learn to fend for themselves. I've posted about baby geese and raccoons semi-recently but I've collected a few more images of maturing babies to share with you. I hope you enjoy them.


crow baby2
I had a wonderful morning watching a crow family, early in July. The young were almost fully-grown but their behaviour told me that they were still newbies. They allowed me to approach within a few feet - that wouldn't happen with adult crows. Their parents, atop a nearby tree grew a bit concerned and tried to caw-tion them about the crazy two-footed beast with a lens growing out of its face.





baby crow 6
The fledglings seemed unconcerned about me but responded to their parents with pleas of "Come feed me!" Note the bright red mouth on this youngster. According to a few birding sites, crows (and some other birds) call attention to their parents with their red mouths. It makes these otherwise black birds easier to locate than by just the sound of their calls.





young robin
Last year, we happened upon quite a few robin's nests but I never saw a single one, this year. That doesn't mean that the robin population is struggling - not by a long shot. I've seen numerous fledglings around and about - like this lovely speckled-breasted cutie.





triplet quack
Meet the triplets - Daffy, Dawn and Della. Daffy and Della are quiet but as you can see, Dawn is rather vocal. At this age, they do more peeping than quacking but that won't keep me from captioning this image "The Quack of Dawn."





ducklet cutie
Della is not amused.





three little ones
Looking down at the dam, I spotted the triplets out for a little stroll one day. It must have been fowl weather.






jay baby
Beautiful blue jays - they're sharp, no-nonsense kind of birds. The adults, that is. The young ones are a bit awkward, kind of goofy and awfully cute. This one is looking just a little perplexed about where to find the peanuts that Frank has scattered for them. When in doubt, it's best to call in the experts.






feed me
Wings droop and and mouth gapes - international bird sign language for "Take care of me!"






night heron juv
This is a juvenile Black-crowned night heron. He's yet to grow his black cap but he was quite capable of fishing for himself. Aren't those red eyes wonderful?






black crowned night heron2
In case you're curious, this is what he'll look like when he begins to grow into his adult feathers.





young gull
This young gull kept a wary eye on me. It's interesting how much their feathers will change as they reach maturity. Adult gulls are mostly pure white with black.





baby bunny
Of course birds are not the only baby game in town. There are several bunnies to be seen most evenings. This little one was keeping very still as bunnies tend to do. I'm sure he believed himself invisible. He's a cute little thing, don't you think?





Lily coy
And speaking of cute little ones, I couldn't possibly complete this post without a photo of one of my favourite little kittens - my sweet neighbour, Lily.

That's it for today. My posting and visits to your fine blogs seems to have slowed down a bit. That's par for the course during summer, for me. I'll be around eventually. That's a promise!

59 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOVE the photo of the triplets out for a stroll. So cute. aren't they!

Jinksy said...

Lily is the sweetest flower I've seen all day! Your baby birds were pretty cute, too... LOL ♥

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

If Della wasn't amused by the "Quack of Dawn" comment, she was the ONLY one who wasn't. :)

Tabor said...

Awwww!

DJan said...

They are all wonderful shots, of course, being taken by your amazing eye, but those triplets strolling is just simply heartwarming. How can you tell the difference in those ducklings? :-)

Lynne with an e said...

What a privilege to see the young birds up close, which I've never been able to do. And I actually learned a few things here today, as well as having a few chuckles, if not outright groans of delight(?)from your punnage. The other youngsters featured here, bunny and baby, are adorable.

Brian Miller said...

awww...the ducks at the dam...really great job framing that one hilary....cool on the little ones you caught...the crows, intimidating, you know...smiles....

Bob Bushell said...

Wowee, what a bunch that is, beautiful is the only word I can use. And what about the little girl, that is some hands she's got. Lol.

ADRIAN said...

Another superb set....Peerfect.

TexWisGirl said...

a cute post of little ones! love those triplet ducklings! and the young dappled robin, too. :)

messymimi said...

The puns have me smiling as much as the pictures! Thanks for both on this busy Saturday morning.

Frank Baron said...

Nice collection of critters. :)

Gail Dixon said...

So many cute baby shots which get my own maternal instincts going. Love the baby robin--have never seen one with a speckled breast like that. The triplets and baby blue jay were too cute for words. Great job, Hilary!

CorvusCorax12 said...

love, love , love the picture

ellen abbott said...

love all the young birds. and that Lily. such a cutie.

Rosaria Williams said...

Thanks for these beautiful observations.

joeh said...

Damn! Who knew perspectives means comments? Took 15 minutes to figure out how to comment, now I am pissed forgot what i wanted to say...Oh yeah,

Loved the baby bird pics, I am a big time bird watcher...not an expert, but I notice. THis reminded me of a baby duck story I think i will post in the future!

Thx
cranky

Joanna Jenkins said...

The triplets are adorable but Miss Lily stole my heart.

All beautiful photos, as always, Hilary. Thanks for sharing them with us. You are clearly enjoying summer :-)
xo jj

L. D. said...

These are cool photos of young things. The little girl is such a sweetie. I shot a photo this am of a young cardinal who was soaked from a rain. Great shots.

Kerry said...

So adorable! Just what I needed today, just exactly.

lime said...

those ducks on the dam are probably my favorite. and lily is just adorable.

stephen Hayes said...

You always manage to thrill me with your photographs. Thanks.

Rob-bear said...

They are all just so cute! Good photography, Hilary!

Cloudia said...

You are a healer of souls. Thank you




Have a Sweet Weekend -
Aloha from Waikiki
Comfort Spiral
<(-'.'-)>

> < } } ( ° >

Ruth Hiebert said...

Lily definitely wins first prize in the cut category.

yaya said...

You have such a way with words! And with a camera lens! Great shots and even some instruction on our winged friends. That Lily is a cutie!

Red said...

Awesome post on young wildlife. I really like your picture of the night heron. We don't have night herons here.

Unknown said...

Cute babies all and you are'pun'ny!!

Anonymous said...

Such wonderful shots! Love the first ones of the crow - and, of course, of the little one at the end.

Dave said...

I enjoyed all of your pictures Hilary and your 'corney' comments with them. Well done! :-) - Dave

Sueann said...

All your pics are fabulous but Lily is the best one by far!!! Grins!!
Hugs
SueAnn

sage said...

A great collection of photos!

Sandi McBride said...

I can always count on you to make my day. I love your photos so much. Since I am now allowed to sit up with my foot firmly on the floor for more than 15 minutes at a time (2 hours now) I decided to do abit of blogging catch up...love those birds...love that bunny and Lily is the cutest nearly hairless kitten I've seen in a while...you're a mess...and in Southern lingo, that's a big deal lol
hugs
Sandi

Anita said...

You and Frank use your time wonderfully; and then you share the awesome results with us. Thank you! :)

CiCi said...

The picture of the triplets is my favorite. All of them are awesome. And your wit makes me smile.

Dan said...

I enjoyed this 'themed' blog entry and I left wondering. Are you adding a newbie to the clan?

Either way, I also wondered about daycare centres for birdies. :)

Kerri Farley said...

Sweet babies!

Gillian Olson said...

Great collection of little 'uns, the triplets are very cute and seemed to know it too. The little girl is precious.

Indrani said...

I wish I had more time to bird watch. Great captures.

steviewren said...

As always, your photography is superb!

Unknown said...

Okay Hilary, you've inspired me to feature my first picture blog post on Monday! The Robins are gorgeous and Lily is a surely a sweet kid to have as a neighbor! Hope you're weekend was nice! :)

Pierre BOYER said...

Nice serie with a lovely ladie on the last one...
Best regards from Paris,

Pierre

NitWit1 said...

You really have a lot of wildlife. I need a much stronger lens to capture birds. and then I see a shot while driving--not the best thing to do --shot a photo while at the wheel. I saw a yellow finch yesterday.

Half of my blog list is inactive, and I am slowed by health to just get through a normal day.

But we have trip coming up, and then I will have a heart procedure, to write about in the next month or so.

Right now we are enduring the worst drought Arkansas has seen. How bad is it? All but 3 counties (along the lower Mississippi) in Arkansas have total fire bans on.

Nadezda said...

Hilary, what a lovely kid! I'd love to have a granddaughter like Lily is! From the birds I liked the heron, is cute bird.

Sharon Wagner said...

I feel the sudden to need to put on red lipstick. Hopefully it will attract the attention of some one willing to bring me lunch. And hopefully from my favorite restaurant! I've had a family of J's in my yard as well. I found one of their feathers and it even inspired a craft project. It will hit my blog sooner or later.

Daryl said...

sweet babes of summer ... especially Ms Lily

Dianne said...

I really like crows, it surprises me that many people don't
to me they're like rock stars

Lily is a sweetie

I laughed at fowl weather

photowannabe said...

I am such a softie for babies of any kind, human or critter.
Terrific photos and I love your tongue in cheek comments.
Lilly is definitely a cutie.

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

Every single photo is delightful, but I am partial to the duckling triplets and their downy-ness. And I had hoped you would include a picture of sweet Lily!
Happy summer! :)

Midlife Roadtripper said...

Summer does tend to slow us down. That's a good thing, I think.

Love the ducks. We have a new family at the lake. And just like the other group that never goes far from my dock, there is one that quacks all the time. The others silent.

Friko said...

It's a universal truth: young 'uns are the pretty ones.

christopher said...

I love the true colors and clarity of your photos.

And I have been lucky enough to have a birds nest in my New York back yard for the second year....last year Bluejay...this year Robin.

Jo said...

I'm a big time baby-lover, this was such a treat. I've never seen a baby gull, so sweet...and the 3 ducks in a row...and your darling neighbor. Precious, Hilary.

Pauline said...

Fabulous babies, all! I read somewhere that we perceive babies as cute so we'll be persuaded to care for them. Obviously that works!

Claudya Martinez said...

Lily is a showstopper.

Anonymous said...

Your commentated photos are very interesting, you must have been very patient to collect them.
My attention was caught by the shape of feathers on the blue jay's head, I've never noticed that. You're right, the jay looks somewhat lost...

Fragrant Liar said...

Gorgeous, especially the blue jays and the neighbor kid. Full of sweetness.

Zuzana said...

Great captures and narrative of nature's babies, you have a keen eye of an avid observer.;))
This post truly puts emphasis on how alike we are with animals and how we are all connected through nature.;))
xoxo

SandyCarlson said...

Those triplets are like little Rockettes!