Birds of the Day — Mourning Dove, Tufted Titmouse, Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, Blue Jay, and Eastern Phoebe. One chick remains in the Eastern Phoebe nest. Waiting to see if it is an Eastern Phoebe or Brown-headed Cowbird.
Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Lots of Poppies. Even after the thunderstorm last night knocked the old flowers down, new ones opened this morning. Spring flowers of the day — Red, Pink, Icelandic, Oriental, and California Poppies. Foxglove, Spiderwort, Evening Primrose, Daisy, Sweet William, Lance-leaf Coreopsis, and Tulip Tree.
Poppies — Landscape. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Poppies — Portrait. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Poppies — Landscape. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Spring Wildflowers. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Daily Electric Energy Used (44.7 kWh) from meter reading. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (38.7 kWh) from meter reading. Clouds and rain. A surplus of 6.0 kWh. Two days in a row with power outage.
Norwegian Independence Day for those in Norway. A busy day today. The trap in the patio was set up overnight for the band of raccoons. Instead, early in the morning the young fox visited several times. Each time circling and sniffing the trap. Then it entered, tasted the apple scraps and backed out. The fox would have been OK, but got greedy. A minute later, it reentered and set off the trap. As soon as it was light out, I let him out of jail.
Springtime Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro OIS lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Birds observed on the patio or while on my daily backyard walkabout include American Crow, Northern Cardinal, House Finch, Brown-headed Cowbird, Gray Catbird, Tufted Titmouse, Eastern Phoebe, and Turkey Vulture. I finally got an image of the Eastern Phoebe sitting on its nest. I also captured an image an immature Northern Cardinal is being fed by its father. I observed this behavior six years ago while on a bird photography workshop in southern Texas. One of the images I took at that time was my most viewed and commented on the now defunct Google Plus.
Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Eastern Phoebe sitting in the nest. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 1600, 261 mm, f/11, 1/45 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Northern Cardinals. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Father feeding Immature Northern Cardinal. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)Male Northern Cardinal Feeding Breakfast to a Young Cardinal at a Private Ranch in Southern Texas. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 500 mm f/4 lens (ISO 500, 500 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec. (David J Mathre)Male Northern Cardinal Feeding Breakfast to a Young Cardinal at a Private Ranch in Southern Texas. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 140, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec. (David J Mathre)Male Northern Cardinal Feeding Breakfast to a Young Cardinal at a Private Ranch in Southern Texas. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 500 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec. (David J Mathre)
Spring flowers of the day include Five-spot, Dandelion, Johnny Jump Up, Rhododendron, Forget-me-not, Daisy, Flax, Sweet William, California Poppy, and Red Poppy.
Wildflowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Red and California Poppy Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Kermit along with his brother, cousin, and uncle (also named Kermit) out in the backyard pond.
Kermit Clan sunning at the backyard pond. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Daily Electric Energy Used (52.3 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (67.6 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Lots of Sun and intermittent clouds. A surplus of 15.3 kWh.
Weekly Electric Energy Used (356 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The weekly Solar Electric Energy Produced (514 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Finely, a week with a decent surplus (158 kWh).
Today was “Global Big Day” for observing and counting birds. Starting at first light in the morning I kept watch on the bird feeders and backyard. The outdoor temperatures dropped below freezing overnight, and the bird bath was frozen over. The bird feeder was stocked with a mixed feed (I was out of the high oil sunflower seeds) and an apple. By the end of the day I observed and took pictures of 15 bird species. Mourning Dove, Turkey Vulture, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Gray Catbird, American Robin, House Finch, Chipping Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, Northern Cardinal, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is new, and I only observed the female. Looking forward to seeing the male. The female is larger than the local sparrows and finches and does not have the rose coloration of the male. The large beak helps with the identification. The bird images from the day are presented based on observation time.
Female Rose-breasted Grosbeak (?). Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)
Birds 06:45 to 07:30. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Birds 12:20 to 13:00. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Birds 16:50 to 17:10. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Birds 17:50 to 18:00. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
19:50 to 20:00. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Daily Electric Energy Used (54.0 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (74.2 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Sunny in the morning with some clouds in the afternoon. A surplus of 20.2 kWh.
Morning birds: Blue Jay, Chipping Sparrow, and Turkey Vulture. Afternoon birds: Chipping Sparrow, Mourning Dove, House Finch, and Eastern Phoebe. I believe that it is the Eastern Phoebe that has built a nest above my front door. During my afternoon walkabout I continued to document the early May flowers: Daffodil, Johnny-Jump-Up, Blue Forget me Not, Plum Tree, Siberian Wallflower, Five-Spots, Prunella Vulgaris (also known as Self-Heal, Heal-All, and Woundwort), wild Violet (Viola), Jack in the Pulpit, Lilac (two varieties), California Poppy, Allium bud, Yellow Tulip, and Italian (red) Clover.
Morning Birds. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Afternoon Birds. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Early May Flowers (pt 1). Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Early May Flowers (pt 2). Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Daily Electric Energy Used (42.5 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (57.1 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. A surplus of 14.6 kWh.
Weekly Electric Energy Used (348 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. Weekly Solar Electric Energy Produced (336 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. A small deficit of 12 kWh.
Daily bird images. Early morning Female Northern Cardinal and Female Brown-headed Cowbird at the bird feeder, Mid-morning American Goldfinch, Male House Finch, and Male Northern Cardinal at the bird feeder, and Turkey Vulture soaring in the late afternoon.
Female Northern Cardinal. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1000, 600 mm, f/4, 1/1250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)Female Brown-headed Cowbird. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1250, 600 mm, f/4, 1/1250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)American Goldfinch. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1000, 600 mm, f/4, 1/1250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)American Goldfinch fighting. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 360, 600 mm, f/4, 1/1250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)American Goldfinch. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 250, 600 mm, f/4, 1/1250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)Male Northern Cardinal. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 280, 600 mm, f/4, 1/1250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)Male Northern Cardinal. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 280, 600 mm, f/4, 1/1250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)Male Northern Cardinal. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 400, 600 mm, f/4, 1/1250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)Turkey Vulture in flight. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 600 mm, f/5, 1/1250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Daily Electric Energy Used (53.7 kWh) from Sense Home Energy Monitor and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (71.3 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Lots of sun (some clouds). A surplus of 20.5 kWh.
