Messenger

A Tribute to the Red-tailed Hawk

The Hawk is one of my Life totems; she has inspired me to be creative and to inspire others to change the world for the better. I would like to showcase the power and beauty of this sacred bird. Hawk's message is to inspire creativity and action in others, to awaken one's life purpose, to initiate and lead for a better world, and to protect our natural world from future harm. It is the ethical and personal level we should all strive to reach. So now, enjoy these photos I have taken of Red-tailed Hawk in all her glory and remember, however common and abundant she may be, Hawk always brings new light.

* * Peace always,

Kristina * *

Could it Be?

...Could it be that spring is really here? It's hard to believe but...I think it's official! Over the past week, I've seen everything from American Wigeons to Ring-necked Ducks in my neighborhood ponds! I've been for quite a few walks around my development (which includes farmer's fields, three large ponds, and a few patches of woods.) and they've been quite exciting. So far, the early migrant list for my neighborhood includes:

American Wigeon (1)

Ring-Necked Duck (4)

Greater Scaup (1)

Hooded Merganser (3)

Gadwall (4) LIFE BIRD

White-throated Sparrow (7+)

Turkey Vulture (3+)

Song Sparrow (5+)

and a questionable Lesser Scaup...

And...the first antlered buck of the season! That's really exciting; for those who didn't know, I love watching deer as much as I love observing birds, and I have even began to catalog my neighborhood deer.

Combine that all with rain, and you've got SPRING!

Ring-necks, some of my most favourite waterfowl

Mrs. Gadwall puts on a show

"C'mon, honey, I don't like the look of that girl over there..."

Song sparrow say whaaat?

Landing gear in place!

Sorry for such a short post, but I was so happy about spring that I couldn't wait to share! Happy trails everyone, and don't forget to leave a comment if you liked what you read!

~ Peace always

Kristina ~

PS-- THE SPRING LAYOUT is now live on my blog! Look around...green is here!

Mallard Fight Club

Where: North Chagrin Nature Center / Cascade Park, Elyria, Ohio

When: January 27th 2011

In the morning, we took a visit to the snowy, cold, and blustery North Chagrin nature center. My fingers came close to falling off from frostbite. . . but I did manage a few shots.

Red-bellied Woodpecker:

Jump! goes the Nuthatch:

Annd. . . isn't ironic where these spots are, considering the chickadee belongs to the Tit family of birds? (wink wink, nudge nudge)

********

Goin' clubbin' with the Mallards. . . .sounds fun, right? Haha, this was one of my most favourite shoots in a while. . . it was cold but I got some wonderful shots! This visit was interesting... I witnessed many fights and matings. The half-frozen pond at Cascade Park is a great place to sit and observe the Mallards up close.

I have a big thing for water splashes in photos. This bathing Mallard supplied lots of them:

And I found this while editing photos: the water splash on the left looks like an icicle!

Then came the fights concerning drakes and females...

This pair might want to check into couples counseling...

"Are you suggesting I have problems?"

. . . .Um, apparently not?

Though she still looks uncomfortable. . .

. . .AND NOW, THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR. . .

Exciting, no? :-)

Until next time,

** Peace always,

Kristina **

**Remember to comment if you liked this post!

Thank you so much.**