It has been a long time...Let it load...lots of pics

I am certainly still around though. I've been working and doing the social media thing with Facebook and Twitter along with that other thing called work. But I still find time to wind down taking pics. Here are some from the spring. All were taken in my great state, not politically mind you, but in Texas.

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake










Eastern Racer or Yellow Bellied Racer




Great Plains Rat Snake


Potential dinner for the above reptiles


And now for my favorites, our feathered friends
Brown Crested Flycatcher


Eastern Phoebe


Mississippi Kite


Crested Caracara


Red Tailed Hawk


Monk Parakeet (wild parakeet that is from a population of escaped exotic birds that came to US decades ago)




Eastern Bluebird


Brown Thrasher


Dickcissel


Cedar Waxwing


Harris's Hawks










Buff Bellied Hummingbird





Great Kiskadee


Lazuli Bunting


Bewick's Wren


Carolina Wren


Red Bellied Woodpecker


Yellow Rumped Warbler


Scissor Tailed Flycatcher


Carolina Chickadee


And

American Goldfinch

How big is it?

The Mississippi Kite is about the size of a crow, but not as muscular as a crow. It is very falcon-like.

I hope you used a REALLY LONG telephoto lens for the rattlesnake.

The longest lens I used was a 300mm and the shortest I used was a 100mm. Distance wise I was as close as 4 ft once. Believe it or not rattlers are not aggressive. They posture and rattle their tails mostly. They do not want to waste their venom on some dumb human that is not going to be a meal. I took the rattler pics on a ranch in far south Texas. He had found the rattler in his stable. After the picture session he released far from his home and stables on the north side of his ranch. they are great for rodent control. :)

Nature is a big deal nowadays.

Why the hell did you annoy that rattlesnake?! They really don't like being annoyed.

Love that hummingbird. "I'm ready for my closeup, Mr DeMille."

Maestro, you have to have your pictures published in a book -- Texas: On The Wild Side

I love the yellow feet with the yellow floweres.

:o well worth the wait :)

thanks for posting them.

Nice to see you in the thread! :hi:

Been wondering where you've been. Glad you're still out there shooting. Thanx for sharing all of these with us. :hi:

Thank you for posting them. You were kinda close to that rattlesnake, weren't you???

I love the composition on the Carolina Wren. It looks very Japanese. :)

Breathtaking!
:yourock:

:hi:

This is the most enjoyable thread I have seen in months. Bookmarked.

Thank you.

Good to see you and your work! :hi:

Gorgeous!

:bounce:

as a matter of fact, all of those pictures are awesome!

You are very talented. Thank you for posting them.

I could feel my skin crawl looking at the closeness of the rattlesnakes mouth.

I always love to see your pics. Most awesome.

:applause::hi:

Thank you for stopping by & sharing these! :hi:

Thank you!!!

Thank you for posting these.

Good to see ya, buddy! :hi: I'm hardly ever here anymore, just poppin in recently. I'm on FB, too. Seems like a lotta DU'ers are there, too. PM me if ya wanna be cyberfriends in that domain as well. Best to your lovely wife, who has a fabulous, incredible name. ;)

:toast:

I'll give that wonderfully named wife a hello from you. :)

Startling use of the shape of the creature, there.

With the focus and distance and...uh, I know nothing about photography, but it's a pretty interesting photograph

It refers to the aperture of the lens. It was set wide to take in more light. This also has the effect of making a shallow depth of field which is way the only thing in focus is the face (where I had set my focus point). This has been a popular image for and it was taken in the wilds of my backyard. :)

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ESPECIALLY the close-up of the rattlesnake face.
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They are NOT cuddly creatures.
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Tucson area has much of the same type of fauna -- we have
two cool little geckos that hang out on the middle edge of our
sliding glass doors at night -- I presume for the bugs that are
attracted by our lights. They're not skittish (as our usual desert
lizards are) and will sit there moving maybe a centimeter or two
for better positioning to watch us when we approach VERY close
on the other side of the glass.
.

It has been too long.

I've never seen a Harris's Hawks they are handsome beings indeed.

Thanks for sharing

use Harris's Hawks. Sort of ironic since a hawk is not a falcon. :) Thanks for looking and commenting.

Every shot a winner!:)

still around, and glad that you (as opposed to me) are taking pics of rattlesnakes. ;-)

All of your photos are amazing, although I'm a bit partial to "Eastern Racer or Yellow Bellied Racer" and "Buff Bellied Hummingbird".

Thanks for posting! :) :hi:

Ah, there you are!

These are wonderful, maybe even more wonderful than your earlier pics...

You were always an excellent photographer, but these are superb!

I love how you use the shallow depth of field to show off the features, esp. in the snake pictures.

Just wonderful!

Now. Please don't stay away so long again, OK?

You were missed...

:hug:

And that parakeet is adorable!

does NOT look pleased at having his head mistaken for his belly!

heee heeeeeeeeeee :P





Awesome pics, THANK YOU!!!!! I needed a dose of HAPPY wildlife!!

It was a nice welcome back. I'm to the mountains of West Texas today. Look for more pics.

my favorite is the first picture of the racer. Love the way the snakes face pops out!

:D

I don't know how you do it...they are always so beautiful.

Thanks for sharing and good to see you back.

That diamondback looks like he's ready to molt soon-- getting a little flaky about the nose and all....