Piccies of Birds and Bees

flisssweetpea

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I was trying to name this thread in a way that wouldn't get it censored.


Here are some piccies of birds and bees and a couple of other things that I snapped on my days off work
The first ones were taken at a kind of rescue centre/bird park called Tropical Birdland.

Duyvenbode's Lorikeets - these little guys sat on our shoulder/hung from the camera strap/dangled from my cardigan sleeve etc all the way round the park





A native Chaffinch taking advantage of the bird food in parrot aviary



Parrots and Cockatoos











These two had been fighting a moment before, but decided to make up




A little bird from my garden - they are called Long-Tailed Tits. They are really tiny birds, the body is about the length of a man's thumb and they are so cute. This little guy kept me company while I was taking photographs.
 
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flisssweetpea

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The bees - some taken at this former open cast coalmine, now a nature reserve





and the rest in my back garden on Oregano flowers





Marmalade Hoverfly on Fennel flowers



Mushrooms growing in the garden



and, finally, a Guava flower. We grew these trees from pips taken from a guava fruit bought in the supermarket. We don't have a good enough climate to get fruit, but we do get these amazing flowers
 

hopehacker

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They are great pictures, but I don't for the life of me, know how you have the nerve to take up close pictures of Bee's. I am absolutely terrified of Bee's.
 

clixpix

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I love the pictures Beth!
That lorikeet is adorable, and would have loved to be escorted by him!


What kind of bee is that with the red behind? I've never seen one like it! It's so pretty!
 

dawnofsierra

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Originally Posted by flisssweetpea

I was trying to name this thread in a way that wouldn't get it censored.
Watch it now, I've got my eye on you


Your little friend as you strolled around Tropical Birdland is so cute! Looks as if we a have a couple of love birds there
Your Long Tailed Tits are such lovely birds with such darling little faces! Your bees are just outstanding as they enjoy such pretty flowers, as is your Marmalade Hoverfly!

You saved my favorites for last
Wow! What adorable little mushrooms! They're so tiny and beautiful! The detail of your gorgeous Guava flower is just oustanding, and how amazing that you grew your tree from the seeds of a Guava from the market!


Thank you so much for sharing these, Beth, they're wonderful!
 

kristykitty

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wow, great pics! So beautiful! These are like something I would see in National Geographic or something
Those birds are so cute
I would probably think bees were cute too if they didn't sting
because they are fuzzy like kitties.
 

babywukong

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Wow what beautiful photos! I love the Lorikeet, its got such a cute silly face... Also like the pic with the macaws kissing and making up after a squabble. And the Long-tailed Tit is adorable
 

alleygirl

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Originally Posted by HopeHacker

They are great pictures, but I don't for the life of me, know how you have the nerve to take up close pictures of Bee's. I am absolutely terrified of Bee's.


Beautiful pictures!
 

addiebee

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I love the little lorikeet. He looks sweet and mischevious... like he's smiling.

And are you sure that long-tailed tit isn't actually a cat bird - b/c he's greeting you with his bum in that first pic!


This is what I found on the lorikeets online:
Lories are popular companion birds due to their intelligence, entertaining personality and stunning beauty. They are also quite easily bred, so there are readily available. Their expected lifespan is 28+ years. Most stay tame, even in maturity.

They are affectionate, curious, extroverted and clowny and exhibit some unique behaviors. Some like to wrap themselves up in a blanket for sleeping. At times, they can even be seen sleeping on their backs. They are capable of aggressive behavior if their territory and possessions are not respected. They are demanding in care requirements (especially diet preparations) and require a lot of attention. Daily baths or showers should be part of their grooming regimen.

I was also curious about the bumblebee... it is called a red-tailed bumble bee!
 
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flisssweetpea

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Thank you all for your lovely comments - I find taking the photographs so relaxing and enjoyable, it's lovely to be able to share them.

Originally Posted by HopeHacker

They are great pictures, but I don't for the life of me, know how you have the nerve to take up close pictures of Bee's. I am absolutely terrified of Bee's.
Funnily enough, you really don't have to worry about the bees. Unlike the wasps that we have here, the bees are not really interested in people. Now, I wouldn't take a photo of a wasp close up at all, I would be very worried as they are very aggressive.

The bees on the other hand are only interested in the flowers. Only if they feel threatened by sudden movement do they get worried, but then they usually just fly away. They are known to be very docile.

Originally Posted by clixpix

What kind of bee is that with the red behind? I've never seen one like it! It's so pretty!
Addiebee (a little further on) did a bit of digging around and as she rightly says, it's a red-tailed bumble bee. Like other bumble bees they are becoming less common as their habitat is destroyed and people grow fewer flowers in their gardens


Originally Posted by DawnofSierra

Watch it now, I've got my eye on you
oh-oh better be careful, the mods are watching me



Originally Posted by DawnofSierra

You saved my favorites for last
Wow! What adorable little mushrooms! They're so tiny and beautiful! The detail of your gorgeous Guava flower is just oustanding, and how amazing that you grew your tree from the seeds of a Guava from the market!
We've had a go at growing most things that we pick up from the supermarket and have grown a couple of orange and lemon trees and a passion fruit plant in our time. Our passion fruit plant actually successfully grew and ripened 7 fruit in our conservatory


Originally Posted by BabyWukong

Wow what beautiful photos! I love the Lorikeet, its got such a cute silly face... Also like the pic with the macaws kissing and making up after a squabble. And the Long-tailed Tit is adorable
The Lorikeets were so gorgeous - you're right, his/her face is so full of character.

Originally Posted by AddieBee

I love the little lorikeet. He looks sweet and mischevious... like he's smiling.

And are you sure that long-tailed tit isn't actually a cat bird - b/c he's greeting you with his bum in that first pic!


This is what I found on the lorikeets online:
Lories are popular companion birds due to their intelligence, entertaining personality and stunning beauty. They are also quite easily bred, so there are readily available. Their expected lifespan is 28+ years. Most stay tame, even in maturity.

They are affectionate, curious, extroverted and clowny and exhibit some unique behaviors. Some like to wrap themselves up in a blanket for sleeping. At times, they can even be seen sleeping on their backs. They are capable of aggressive behavior if their territory and possessions are not respected. They are demanding in care requirements (especially diet preparations) and require a lot of attention. Daily baths or showers should be part of their grooming regimen.

I was also curious about the bumblebee... it is called a red-tailed bumble bee!
Yes, that little long-tailed tit was certainly putting his best show on wasn't he! He was darting around the tree so much it was difficult to get a shot of him. He was chattering the whole time and they have a lovely voice.

We had two little Lorikeets accompanying us - they certainly were very sociable, and demanding. They were juveniles that had been hand-reared at the centre and LOVED people. They were some of the free-flying birds, so even though we walked around about 14 acres of parkland, they were with us the whole time.

You're right - the bee is a red-tailed bumble bee
 

russian blue

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Wonderful pics! Thanks for sharing!


Originally Posted by flisssweetpea

Funnily enough, you really don't have to worry about the bees. Unlike the wasps that we have here, the bees are not really interested in people. Now, I wouldn't take a photo of a wasp close up at all, I would be very worried as they are very aggressive.
I totally agree. That's the only reason I've been taking pics of only the bees, not afraid of them at all.





Originally Posted by flisssweetpea

You're right - the bee is a red-tailed bumble bee
That's so cute!
 

addiebee

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Originally Posted by flisssweetpea

Yes, that little long-tailed tit was certainly putting his best show on wasn't he! He was darting around the tree so much it was difficult to get a shot of him. He was chattering the whole time and they have a lovely voice.

We had two little Lorikeets accompanying us - they certainly were very sociable, and demanding. They were juveniles that had been hand-reared at the centre and LOVED people. They were some of the free-flying birds, so even though we walked around about 14 acres of parkland, they were with us the whole time.

You're right - the bee is a red-tailed bumble bee
We do have some species of tits here in Michigan - the one the comes to mind immediately is the tufted titmouse. Looking on the Internet, I guess the black capped chickadee is a relative. We have tons of those here. I have a warm spot for "keets"... my sis has three - the last one passed on just a few weeks ago ... parakeets - not the more exotic type.
Sorry to hear about the bumble bee - I see lots of the black and yellow variety around here. They seemed to love the flowers on the spirea bushes out front of the house.

I have noticed changes in fauna mostly around here since I was a girl. There used to be lots of toads to catch -- in even the lawn ... not anymore. Not sure what has killed them off.
 

xocats

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You are a multifaceted woman Beth.

These photos could be published in a magazine.


Your bird pictures are beautiful...
I have no doubt that there is a community of tiny beings living in your mushroom forest.

I hope that we see more of your work soon.
 

carolpetunia

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Your photos are exquisite! And like everyone else, I'm in love with that lorikeet!


And the iridescent wings of that bee -- what an amazing capture!
 

stampit3d

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What WONDERFUL pictures.
You ought to submit them to a gardening or wildlife mag to be published!
Boy, would my cats LOVE those birds! Maybe you should have taken an audio tape to play along with the pics so the cats could go enjoy them online!
(I have gone to sites where they have bird calls....drives my cats BONKERS trying to find the birds that they are sure are somewhere in the apartment!)
He he he
Linda
 
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flisssweetpea

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Thank you all for your lovely comments....you really are so sweet


Originally Posted by AddieBee

We do have some species of tits here in Michigan - the one the comes to mind immediately is the tufted titmouse. Looking on the Internet, I guess the black capped chickadee is a relative. We have tons of those here. I have a warm spot for "keets"... my sis has three - the last one passed on just a few weeks ago ... parakeets - not the more exotic type.
Ah, I looked at your tufted titmouse and black-capped chickadee on the internet - yes they are both of the same family as the long-tailed tit. We have a number of other members of the same family that frequent our garden, the great tit, blue tit and coal tit as well as the long tailed tits. They are the most beautiful little girls.

Sorry to hear that your sister lost her parakeet recently, they are such endearing birds.

Originally Posted by xocats

You are a multifaceted woman Beth.

These photos could be published in a magazine.


Your bird pictures are beautiful...
I have no doubt that there is a community of tiny beings living in your mushroom forest.

I hope that we see more of your work soon.
Thank you Lei
I am sure that there would have been the potential for a host of tiny beings in the mushroom forest except.......the little forest is right outside the door to the chicken run. When I let the chickens out for a forage around the garden, the first thing they do is make for that spot and dig around for the goodies


Originally Posted by stampit3d

What WONDERFUL pictures.
You ought to submit them to a gardening or wildlife mag to be published!
Boy, would my cats LOVE those birds! Maybe you should have taken an audio tape to play along with the pics so the cats could go enjoy them online!
(I have gone to sites where they have bird calls....drives my cats BONKERS trying to find the birds that they are sure are somewhere in the apartment!)
He he he
Linda
Thank you Linda
I found one of those sites with bird calls on, in fact one of our TCS friends (Captiva) passed it on to me. It drove Lily and Tolly absolutely crackers trying to find the birds
 

xocats

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"the little forest is right outside the door to the chicken run. When I let the chickens out for a forage around the garden, the first thing they do is make for that spot and dig around for the goodies."

I hope that soon, you share photos of your lovely girlies with us Beth.
 
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