Good morning everyone. I'm pleased to present my first pic of a Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) in over 2 1/2 years. Adult too. The last time I photographed one was in February 2017, with it being a juvenile. While they are fairly common and I see them often, getting a decent picture of one isn't easy since they are extremely wary birds.

As a side note, it was nice to get a pic of it against the Fall foliage.

Thank you for stopping by...and I hope you're having a truly nice week.

Lacey

ISO1600, aperture f/8, exposure .003 seconds (1/320) focal length 630mm

Tags:   Cooper's Hawk Accipiter cooperii hawk raptor bird of prey bird avian wildlife nature fauna telephoto teleconverter pentax K-3 avianexcellence birdshare audubon Indiana November

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Good morning everyone and I hope you had a nice weekend. And for those of you in the United States and our neighbors up north in Canada, a nice Veteran's and Remembrance Day yesterday.

As the title indicates, just a short series today on the Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor). A cute little year around resident of which two pair, plus some of their offspring, visit on a daily basis.

Only three photos, of which the other two can be found in the comment section and my stream.

Thank you for stopping by...and I hope you're having a truly nice week.

Lacey

ISO1600, aperture f/8, exposure .003 seconds (1/320) focal length 630mm

Tags:   Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor Titmouse bird avian wildlife nature fauna telephoto teleconverter pentax K-3 avianexcellence birdshare audubon Indiana November

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The Tufted Titmouse is a small North American songbird in the tit and chickadee family Paridae. Body length is 4.5 - 5.5 inches (11.5 - 14 cm) with a wing span 7.9 - 10.2 inches
(20 - 26 cm).

They have grey upperparts and white underparts with a white face, a grey crest, a dark forehead on top of a short stout bill, and rust or peach colored flanks. A black eye-ring surrounding the black eye makes the eye look particularly large for this small bird. Adult males and females are similar in appearance and size and nearly impossible to distinguish apart.

Habitat is deciduous and mixed woods as well as gardens, parks and shrubland in the eastern United States; they barely range into southeastern Canada in the Great Lakes region. Tufted Titmice only occur in areas where rainfall is greater than 24 inches per year, and is more common where rainfall exceeds 32 inches/year. They are year-round residents in the area effectively circumscribed by the Great Plains, the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Their range is expanding northwards, possibly due to increased availability of winter food at bird feeders.

Tufted Titmice eat mainly insects in the summer, including caterpillars, beetles, ants and wasps, stink bugs, and treehoppers, as well as spiders and snails. Tufted Titmice also eat seeds, nuts, and berries, including acorns and beech nuts. Experiments with Tufted Titmice indicate they always choose the largest seeds they can when foraging.

Tufted Titmice nest in a hole in a tree, either a natural cavity or sometimes an old woodpecker nest. They line the nest with soft materials, sometimes plucking hair from a live animal such as a dog. If they find shed snake skin, they will try to incorporate pieces of it in their nest. Their eggs are under an inch long and are white or cream-colored with brownish or purplish spots. Sometimes, a bird born the year before remains to help its parents raise the next year's young. The pair may remain together and defend their territory year-round.

Titmice often join small mixed flocks in winter that may include chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers.

ISO1600, aperture f/8 exposure .002 seconds (1/500) focal length 630mm

Tags:   Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor Titmouse bird avian wildlife nature fauna telephoto teleconverter pentax K-3

© All Rights Reserved

The Tufted Titmouse is a small North American songbird in the tit and chickadee family Paridae. Body length is 4.5 - 5.5 inches (11.5 - 14 cm) with a wing span 7.9 - 10.2 inches
(20 - 26 cm).

They have grey upperparts and white underparts with a white face, a grey crest, a dark forehead on top of a short stout bill, and rust or peach colored flanks. A black eye-ring surrounding the black eye makes the eye look particularly large for this small bird. Adult males and females are similar in appearance and size and nearly impossible to distinguish apart.

Habitat is deciduous and mixed woods as well as gardens, parks and shrubland in the eastern United States; they barely range into southeastern Canada in the Great Lakes region. Tufted Titmice only occur in areas where rainfall is greater than 24 inches per year, and is more common where rainfall exceeds 32 inches/year. They are year-round residents in the area effectively circumscribed by the Great Plains, the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Their range is expanding northwards, possibly due to increased availability of winter food at bird feeders.

Tufted Titmice eat mainly insects in the summer, including caterpillars, beetles, ants and wasps, stink bugs, and treehoppers, as well as spiders and snails. Tufted Titmice also eat seeds, nuts, and berries, including acorns and beech nuts. Experiments with Tufted Titmice indicate they always choose the largest seeds they can when foraging.

Tufted Titmice nest in a hole in a tree, either a natural cavity or sometimes an old woodpecker nest. They line the nest with soft materials, sometimes plucking hair from a live animal such as a dog. If they find shed snake skin, they will try to incorporate pieces of it in their nest. Their eggs are under an inch long and are white or cream-colored with brownish or purplish spots. Sometimes, a bird born the year before remains to help its parents raise the next year's young. The pair may remain together and defend their territory year-round.

Titmice often join small mixed flocks in winter that may include chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers.

ISO1600, aperture f/8 exposure .003 seconds (1/400) focal length 630mm

Tags:   Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor Titmouse bird avian wildlife nature fauna telephoto teleconverter pentax K-3

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Good morning everyone. And I'm pleased to present today a series on the Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura). A very common bird in the United States and there's probably not a area in the lower forty-eight states where you wouldn't see them. So common they're like the American Robin and over looked and under appreciated.

Five pics in total of which the other four can be found in the comment section and my stream.

Thank you for stopping by...and I hope you're having a truly nice week.

Lacey

ISO1600, aperture f/8, exposure .003 seconds (1/320) focal length 630mm

Tags:   Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura Dove bird avian wildlife nature fauna telephoto teleconverter pentax K-3 avianexcellence audubon birdshare Indiana October

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