A male, Eastern towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus), is a striking bird of white, brown and black colors. It is a large bird for the sparrow kingdom, with a length around 8 inches and a wingspan of 11 inches. As its name implies, it's more common in the eastern U.S.
Photo # K04_0426a.
(c) Kelly Shipp
"Snow-capped Flight"
A Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) flys through the snow.
These small birds are friendly once they get used to you. They have quite an extensive language for small birds, have great memories and can handle very low temperatures. They tend to nest in small natural cavities, nesting boxes, and abandoned woodpecker cavities.
Photo # K03_9274m.
(c) Kelly Shipp
There's just something mesmerizing about waterfalls, but when you experience a wall of them, you become elated. This particular season, there was a large tree that had been lodged in the waterfalls. As photographers, we often have unexpected challenges. I used the tree as an anchor for the far side of the panorama. Comments welcome.
Natural Dam, Van Buren, Arkansas.
Photo # IMG_7537-8bws
(c) Kelly Shipp
"Artistic Layers"
Nature has many seasons and layers. Each layer has its own time in style and art. Change allows this to happen.
Reed detail, Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge, Arkansas.
Photo # K03_8112mod
(c) Kelly Shipp
A passage can be moving from one state to the next. Clouds provide us many passages, including the textures of light and moisture in the sky as well as land. I found this skyscape striking in textures, light, depth and shape.
Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge, Arkansas.
Photo # IM7_9891aencbw.
(c) Kelly Shipp
"Graceful Flight"
As most of you know one of my favorite subjects are birds of prey. I've studied them deeply for most of my life. This is a photograph of a Turkey Vulture in flight. I photographed this raptor at Petit Jean State Park in the winter of 2005.
What I like most about this photograph is that it represents the graceful flight of these vultures. They are masters of manuevering thermals, allowing effortless, endless flight time. These birds of prey aren't often appreciated for all the benefit they provide to nature, which among many, includes removing dead animals (carrion) before they can spread disease. Their highly acidic stomach acid allows them to eat carcasses without getting sick. They have a keen sense of smell, among the best in the bird world, and incredible vision. This species is the largest vulture in Arkansas, with a wingspan of 6-feet, standing about 30-inches tall.
One of the easiest distinguishing marks of this bird is the beautiful silver lining of the underside of the primary feathers, extending most of the length of each wing. Another mark is the red head. In flight, they are easily identifiable from their V-shaped wings in flight.
Comments welcome.
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura), Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas 2005.
Photo # set4_DSC_0174hdr
"Homesteads of Madison County"
I enjoy visiting Madison County and photographing its many stories.
This is a cool home built around 1900. It's a home where Walter Elmer Starnes (1878-1943) and wife Ethel (1883-1962) lived when they married in 1901.
Huntsville, Arkansas (Madison County)
Photo # IM7_9844-51abw.
(c) Kelly Shipp
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