An excellent idea! #NewYearsEveIridescence Common Grackles bring the glitter! #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

We have two species of woodpeckers that occasionally visit us, and they both always announce themselves with a sharp PIP! This male hairy woodpecker landed at the very base of the tree before making his way up the trunk! #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

The cage that protects the Christmas tree had been removed. And Franklin, the reason for the cage, was initially almost overwhelmed. “Now which one should I destroy first?” 1/2 #Mammal

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec.24 Their slightly nasal sounding beep beep beeps are one of the best sounds during our long winters. This Red-breasted Nuthatch pauses briefly in the frosty branches before checking out the pine cone for seeds! #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

Kids at Christmas! @ellen-friedman.bsky.social

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec. 23 Crossbills love spruce and pine seeds. In the winter, when the trees are loaded with cones, flocks of crossbills will sometimes arrive in our area. This male White-winged Crossbill has plucked a spruce cone and is very focused on getting out all the seeds! #Birds 🪶

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec. 22 We never thought we’d get to see them living in their own home. But on a recent trip to Kruger Park, South Africa, we were fortunate to see a scene I’ll never forget. The Matriarch appeared out of the bush and slowly led her small elephant herd across the river. #Mammals

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec. 21 Crow is our friend. She has a damaged wing, but can fly, and has come back to nest in the area, and hang out in our yard, for the last few years. She’s getting a drink and is showing off the subtle iridescence that crow feathers have! #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec. 20 Horned grebes are a common bird in many of our marshes, usually alongside many ducks. Except in this marsh. THIS marsh belongs to THIS Horned Grebe and he is always looking for trespassers … he has just seen a duck, and is heading over to have a chat … quickly! #Birds 🪶

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec. 19 In the spring and fall, during migration, we often get some of the fancy sparrows visiting us. This Harris’s Sparrow stopped to have a quick drink from the creek before continuing on its journey south. #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec. 18 Soras are usually hiding in the reeds and not often seen. But what happens if you catch a nice juicy bug to take back to your kids, you’re at the edge of the reed bed, and you need to cross an open stretch of water? Well, this Sora decided to sprint for it! #Birds 🪶

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec. 17 Why use wings when you can just engage missile mode? This downy woodpecker male was foraging among the spruce trees, and decide that for this short journey, wings were not needed! #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec. 16 Tree Swallows love to hunt bugs around and over the marshes, but they also like to bath in them. This Tree Swallow had just flown into the water like a missile, submerged, and is emerging to fly away while shaking off the water! #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec. 15 House Sparrows live here year round and they often nest in our yard. They are wonderful parents and are constantly hunting bugs to feed their babies. This female paused a moment while looking for bugs in the flowering apple tree! #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec. 14 They are one of the tiny little birds that stay with us year round. In the winter they are especially busy, constantly foraging and talking. This red-breasted nuthatch has just plucked a small nut from a spruce cone and will either eat or stash it for later. #birds 🪶

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec. 13 A male common grackle in mid display trying to impress the females. I think he may have achieved peak iridescence! #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec. 12 Dee Dee Dee! Black-capped Chickadees stay with us all year round, and don’t seem to care about the cold at all. This little one was busy foraging in the frosty trees! #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec. 11 Mallard ducks are seemingly everywhere. The males often get most of the attention with their green heads, but the females are just as gorgeous. This female mallard is just taking off and is showing all her beautiful feathers! #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec. 10 There are many species of Hornbill in Kruger Park, South Africa and we were fortunate to see a few of them. This African Grey Hornbill was admiring the sunset while perched in the tree, before eventually taking flight! #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec. 9 They are around virtually every marsh and their calls are part of our summer soundtrack. This male Red-winged Blackbird was hanging out on the reeds surveying his kingdom! #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec. 8 They are common across North America, but are also shy and rarely seen. This Sora was hunting bugs in the marsh grasses when it decided to take a quick peek! #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec. 6 They are more than 5.5 meters tall and often tower above their surroundings. But in the forests they call home, giraffes are not always the tallest things around! This is a Southern, or Cape Giraffe in a lush forest area of Kruger National Park, SA. #Mammal

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec. 5 Tree swallows catch insects in flight and often hunt over marshes. But they also get thirsty. This Tree swallow has just finished scooping up some water to drink, just like a water bomber airplane filling up! #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec. 4 We don’t see them every winter, but in an irruption year, they come down from the Arctic and spend some winter time with us! This Common Redpoll paused a moment while foraging in the spruce trees. #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec. 3 An Eastern Kingbird flys over a prairie marsh hunting for insects. #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec. 2 A Lesser Yellowlegs forages in a small prairie marsh. #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

#ArtAdventCalendar Dec.1 A male white-winged crossbill with his spruce cone on a frosty winter day. #Birds #photography #wildlife

Our trip to Kruger Park, SA, was such a great opportunity to see birds we’d only read about. I’d never seen any species of stork before, and one early morning we turned a corner and this guy was there! This yellow-billed stork was just hanging out in its marsh looking like a star! #Birds 🪶

We had a couple wonderful encounters with Leopards in Kruger Park, SA. This female had finished eating and had just jumped down from a branch, when a Hyena came sniffing around. I believe the hyena asked if he could have some of her kill, and I’m pretty sure this is a fairly emphatic “NO!” #Mammals

African buffalo are one of the most dangerous animals in Africa. They can way 900 kg and are apparently considered grumpy. I’d be grumpy too if I had to carry a bunch of yelling red-billed oxpeckers around all the time! This bull was slowly eating his way down the Sabi River in Kruger Park, SA

There are a lot of different eagle and hawk species in South Africa, but there was one in particular that I was hoping to see. It was kind of hidden by branches, high in a tree , but then, this African Fish Eagle took off to check out the riverbank in the late evening light! #Birds 🪶

Hi there! This giraffe took time out from munching on leaves to check us out for a few seconds. At over 5 meters tall, they eat the leaves that no body else can reach! Taken in Kruger Park, South Africa #wildlife

Rollers are a group of birds that get their name from their dramatic tumbling flight during courtship and territorial displays. While we did see a bit of those displays, this Lilac-breasted Roller seemed mainly concerned with flashing his fancy colours! Kruger Park, South Africa #Birds 🪶

An adult Rhinoceros can weigh 5000 lbs, so it’s appropriate that a group of rhinoceroses is called a “crash”. They go where they want. These White Rhinoceroses were slowly eating their way across the plain. Mom is front and centre and always kept an eye on the “little” baby on the left! #mammal

The Aurora was out last night, and while it wasn’t as intense as the previous night, it still had its moments! #Aurora

Leopards are one of the apex predators in Africa and we were thrilled to have a couple encounters. Unlike lions, they are solitary animals and can drag a prey that’s twice their body weight up into a tree. This male had just finished a large meal of zebra and was resting in the shade. #mammal

I’m used to photographing a lot of small birds where we live, so I was hoping to see some bigger ones on our trip to South Africa. This one qualifies! Ostriches can be 9 feet tall, and this male seemed to be well aware of how impressive he looked! #Birds #photography #wildlife

Dung beetles know where they want to go. They roll, push or shove their dung ball & every few seconds they stop pushing to climb on top of the ball to make sure they are going in the right direction. This dung beetle male is just climbing down after a look around. More info in alt text #insects

We’re on our way home after an incredible safari in South Africa! One of the highlights was definitely all the dung beetles! This male has formed a dung ball and is rolling it off away from other males that will try and steal it! More info in the alt text. #insects #photography #wildlife

It was a rainy day and it was amazing. So many cool things, but this I will never forget. The matriarch of this African elephant herd leads them across the river and up the hill in Kruger National Park, South Africa. #Mammal #photography #wildlife

We are on a South African adventure and had the privilege of spending a bit of time with some very well dressed friends. This African Penguin was returning from a quick swim in the ocean and seemed quite happy about it! Listed as a critically endangered species. #Birds #photography #wildlife

It’s been such a warm Fall here, but apparently that’s changing tonight! But for now, we still have a few of the fancy sparrows visiting while they rest up before continuing their journey. One of my favourites is the Harris’s Sparrow and this one was having a good drink! #Birds 🪶

They are almost instantly recognizable, mostly due to having a 9 foot wingspan and being the size of a small car🤣 This white pelican was hanging out with a bunch of cormorants, when it decided it was time to go for a cruise around the lake! #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

Blue jays live year round here … kind of. They do, but they also take extended vacations through the year to who knows where! We hadn’t seen them in weeks, but they’re back now and making sure everyone heard about it! #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

It was a foggy morning, but the sun was starting to peek through. Out of nowhere a large bird appeared, flew low over the marsh grasses, and was gone. This Short-eared Owl was hunting the marsh … a perfect match for the silence of the fog!

It’s back to gracklepalooza! A lot of the grackles have left on their migration, but there are still quite a few hanging around. With his feathers fresh from the summer moult, this male Common Grackle, was foraging in the trees and decided to fly down to the creek for a drink! #Birds 🪶

The fancy sparrows are stopping by on their big trek south, and this morning these two showed up. White-crowned sparrows can winter in the southern U.S. down into Central America. These two decided the creek was for bathing and drinking! Adult in the creek and juvenile on the rock! #Birds 🪶

I can’t help it. The grackles are still here, and need to be photographed 🤣 The male Common Grackles usually take every opportunity to display, especially in the spring! But it’s Fall, and this male was displaying a lot! Apparently, he knows what he looks like🤣 #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

Gracklepalooza continues with no signs of slowing! This male Common Grackle was heading over to the tree nearer the creek. It always amazes me how birds fly among tree branches so easily! #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶