American Tree Sparrow

We have had the privilege of having American Tree Sparrows in our yard. They are interesting to watch. They have a rusty cap on their heads, and have a streaked brown back. Their breast is a smooth gray and they have a dark smudge in the centre of the breast.

They are smaller than the Fox Sparrow that I put up last week, but act very similar, eating grass and weed seeds. They also like to perch in the open/

These birds are in our area during the migration seasons. Often we see them in the winter, but it's usually in the spring and fall that we see them the most. They enjoy the bird feeders.

In the summer, they migrate to northern Canada, which is their breeding grounds.

It's interesting to see the birds as they migrate through the area. And it's interesting thinking about how God made them to migrate.

Fox Sparrow

We've had a visitor in our yard for the last few days. We didn't recognize the bird, so I contacted one of my expert friends who identified it for us. He said it is a fox sparrow, and apparently it only shows up in our area for a few weeks in the spring and fall as it migrates.  He also said that it is a high boreal/subarctic breeder.

When I checked for information, I found that we have an eastern type which is mostly brick red with gray. It is much larger than the other sparrows in our yard. 

I haven't seen it in trees or bushes. It mostly scratches on the ground, kicking up leaves and looking for food. They have a pretty song, although I have not heard it around here yet. You can listen to it here.

The fox sparrow has a "clump" of dark colour on its breast. It was hard to get a picture of it from the front because of its scratching.

God created the birds just as He created everything else. We can enjoy them.

Grass Lake Planet

I've been experimenting with "small planet" pictures. This is a picture of our lake. We went out into the middle of the lake, and I took photos while I turned around, and eventually had a 360 degree view of our lake. Then I used Photoshop Elements to put them together as a panorama, and then into the small planet. You can see my shadow, and my husband standing on the ice. Our house is behind trees somewhere around the 3 o'clock position.

The following is the original panorama that was made by stitching the pictures together. You can find out how to make a small planet at Gavin Hoey's tutorial.

More Photos of Butterflies

I'm still having some difficulty with my website - www.bettymoorephotography.ca  Please be patient - I will get it working soon. It doesn't seem to be sending emails out with updates.

A few weeks ago I posted some pictures of different butterflies that I was able to take when we were at the Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara Falls. There were too many for one post, so I thought I would add this one with some more photos.

 

While I was there I had another "photography lesson" from a man who was also taking photos. He was quite anxious to give me some advice about how to take a picture ... interesting. It sounds like he goes there quite often to take photos.

 

Enjoy the photos.

God has provided such a variety of birds, animals and butterflies for us to enjoy. I think butterflies are some of the most fascinating of the insects to watch.

O Lord, what a variety of things you have made!
In wisdom you have made them all.

The earth is full of your creatures.
Psalm 104:24

Hearts in Water Drops

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Last week I posted some happy face pictures I took in water drops that were dripping from a faucet. At the same time I tried using a couple of other backgrounds. The first picture is of a heart. You can see the original heart in the background and the inverted heart in the bubbles.

This next one was of a pattern. I was just interested in seeing what the different colours would look like.

When the water drops are coming down, it takes some perseverance to catch a photo of the drop. I found if I counted between the time one drop fell to the time the next one fell, I was able to guess when it would be a good time to take a photo. 

Using a flash unit really helps when trying to catch a water drop. I aimed it at the back drop which helped. The kitchen area around the faucet area is white, so the light bounced around, which I liked. You also need to crop your photo so that it shows up well. 

 For all things in heaven and on earth
were created in Him. 
Colossians 1:16