Where my soul finds peace

American Kestrel
Spotted on River Road, Baton Rouge, 12/29/12
Not the best shot, but he was probably 150' away, so I was lucky to get this.

Great Egret
LSU Lakes, Baton Rouge, 12/30/12

Great Egret after a drink
LSU Lakes, Baton Rouge, 12/30/12

Snowy Egret
LSU Lakes, Baton Rouge, 12/30/12

Snowy Egret
LSU Lakes, Baton Rouge, 12/30/12

Great Egret
LSU Lakes, Baton Rouge, 12/30/12

Great and Snowy Egrets
LSU Lakes, Baton Rouge, 1/3/13

Snowy Egrets
LSU Lakes, Baton Rouge, 12/30/12

Muscovy Duck
LSU Lakes, Baton Rouge, 1/4/13

Snowy Egret (Gene Simmons impersonator)
LSU Lakes, Baton Rouge, 1/4/13

Snowy Egrets
LSU Lakes, Baton Rouge, 1/4/13

House Finch
Backyard, Baton Rouge, 12/22/12

Chickadee
Backyard, Baton Rouge, 12/22/12

Chickadee
Backyard, Baton Rouge, 12/22/12

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A few ruffled feathers

Can we at least try to get along?

I guess we're at an impasse.

Look Charles, I caught a feather!

Do I look sexy?

You look ridiculous and you need to lose a few feathers. The one in your mouth isn't helping. :/

How about this?

Sorry you lost the feather, Gertrude. Let me sing you a song.

Eh, you're a little pitchy.

I'm too sexy for my feathers...too sex-y!

Charles, shut UP! You're embarrassing both of us! The entire flock is laughing!
Oh, how will I hold my head up during migration?!

I don't care what you say. I don't play the same games you play! La la la la la.

You WILL care when you are laughed out of this lake!

La la la la la....I can't hear you, Gertrude!

Excuse me while I kiss the sky!

My ears are bleeding! Please, for the love of all that is pure and holy, STOP!

Where're you goin'?

That's it! I've had enough of your nonsense! Goodbye, Charles.
Forever!

Good riddance!

I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD!

Gertrude! I'm sorry! I'm lost without you...ooohh...ooohh!

Loggerhead Shrike

Beyond excited to see my very first loggerhead shrike! I started to ignore this little bird thinking it was a chickadee or a sparrow, but when I enlarged it on the computer I realized how wrong I was. It pays to trust your instincts, people. I googled "gray bird with black mask" and VOILA! Known as the "Butcher Bird", they impale their prey on thorns because their talons aren't strong enough to get the job done.

This was my first sighting on 12/30/12. As you can see, he was very far away, so even through the viewfinder, I couldn't quite tell what I had.

I returned to the lakes today and my persistence paid off.

I stalked Zorro from one end of the lake to the other.

I think he's ready to gouge my eyes out. Or something.

Bertha and I are learning to co-exist. When she is paired with the 100-400mm lens, adequate light is a necessity, so I've accepted that if there isn't enough light, to wait. Also, I am now using back-button focusing instead of using the shutter button to focus. Enabling the back button next to the AF point button allows me to lock focus. In other words you don't have to keep pressing and refocusing if something enters the picture that might interfere with the initial focus. There is a good blog post here, which explains it much better! This is particularly helpful for sports and nature photographers. That one little change has made photography a little easier for me. 

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Camera Critters

Pelican Yoga

It's been an exciting few days around the lakes. Birds acting like rock stars and now YOGA! What a strange and beautiful world we live in!

According to National Geographic, pelicans perform exercises to stretch and maintain their pouch.

"Ah, much better!"

Reaching the zen state

What's next in the exciting world of birds? Ballet? Racing? Bird olympics? One thing you can bet on: this bird-nerd be watching! My mission today is to buy a bird blind with some of my Christmas money at Cabela's or Bass Pro Shop. Watch out, bird world! Here I come.

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My Word!

The trend of adopting a word for the year finally has my undivided attention. I pondered several words to see how they fit, and finally settled on PEACE.

My favorite prayer and saint. The rest of the prayer can be found here.

Peace eluded me for most of 2012, and my heart's greatest desire is to experience it despite circumstances swirling around me. I'm currently reading a devotional book called Moments of Peace in the Presence of God which further solidified my decision to choose Peace as my word for 2013. Mother Teresa said, "Peace begins with a smile." I think I'll start there.

Finally, I want to thank all of you who have supported me the last couple of years, offering encouragement, humor, prayers, advice, friendship, and much more. I'm grateful for your posts and photos which inspired, enlightened, consoled, and tickled my funny bone.

What a wonderful community we have created together! Here's to a marvelous new beginning for each of us. I heart you all!!!!

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