SHOT FROM THE FILE

Short-eared Owl – The Gentle Zephyr 

Short-eared Owl

Prelude: On gossamer wings a foraging Short-eared Owl silently swept the slough.  The Gentle Zephyr  The gentle zephyr quietly whispered secrets to the marsh, and the flora within the fen rhythmically rustled its acknowledgment by sensuously swaying to and fro.  Deep in the tangled depths of the wetland’s sedges, furry beasts of diminutive stature tunneled and scurried about in ways only voles understand and know how to do. Their secretiveness was practiced by design, for danger of immense magnitude ominously lurked overhead.  The menace from above came suddenly. It arrived without warning and was calmly delivered along with whispered secrets carried by the gentle zephyr. ~ Anecdote and Short-eared Owl capture, The Gentle Zephyr © Jerry L. Ferrara 

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Chestnut-backed Chickadee – Raindrops and Tears

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Raindrops and Tears The air expressed a gentle essence and was shower-bestrewnThe wind was truant and so the moisture plummeted unswervinglyCreatures in the midst of the storm waited with the raindrops and tears ~ Anecdote and Chestnut-backed Chickadee capture, Raindrops and Tears © Jerry L. Ferrara

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Northern Flicker – Waiting Out The Storm

Northern Flicker

Waiting Out The Storm Sporting a suave and striking red moustache, a male Northern Flicker waits out a snow storm. The debonair-looking avian is a member of the woodpecker clan [Picidae family]. ~ Anecdote and Northern Flicker capture, Waiting Out The Storm © Jerry L. Ferrara

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Polar Bear – Along a Rocky Polar Shore

Polar Bear

Along a Rocky Polar Shore Along a rocky polar shorestrides a beast the shade of hoar.Each day the bruin must face a testof what appears a ceaseless quest.Its massive frame requires much fare,in constant search be the Polar Bear.Along a rocky polar shorestrides a beast the shade of hoar. ~ Poem and Polar Bear capture, Along a Rocky Polar Shore © Jerry L. Ferrara, the Ormholet Channel, Svalbard Arctic Archipelago

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Red-breasted Nuthatch – Hoarders, Losers and Winners

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Hoarders, Losers and Winners For years now, we’ve been watching the bird feeders from our back porch. The energy displayed by the participants has been and is huge, especially demonstrated by the chickadees and nuthatches. They’re here at a feeder one moment grabbing an offering and gone in an instant only to return way too soon to have feasted. Perhaps they are storing for a ‘rainy day’? But where? Mystery solved. I finally caught one of the little stinkers [Red-breasted Nuthatch] in the act of pilfering and storing a peanut in the fungal folds of a lichen. Through the brambles and the brushThere always seems to be a rushWith a peanut firm in towOff to store it I will goSome will say I hoard ‘enough’But losers they when times are tough ~ Anecdote, poem and Red-breasted Nuthatch capture, Hoarders, Losers and Winners © Jerry L. Ferrara

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American Alligator – Only A Fool

American Alligator

Only A Fool Only a fool will go near the poolwhere there waits a dark, lurking monster.Fourteen feet long, bearing jaws steely strongcould very well end in disaster. ~ Poem and American Alligator capture, Only A Fool © Jerry L. Ferrara

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Bald Eagle – From An Alabaster Throne [Wintertide]

Bald Eagle

From An Alabaster Throne [Wintertide] In the wondrous quietude of a tender wintertide storm, a magnificent spirit surveys its serene surroundings from an alabaster throne. While making this image, the thing I recall most is not the visual experience. It was the auditory state that was most compelling, or more accurately, lack thereof. The impact of total silence married to the Eagle’s presence was breathtakingly beautiful. MERRY CHRISTMAS! ~ Anecdote and Bald Eagle capture, From An Alabaster Throne [Wintertide] © Jerry L. Ferrara

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Bald Eagle – Perfection’s Never Bought

Bald Eagle

Perfection’s Never Bought To make a score requires morethan aptitude and skill.A master knows, results will showfrom practice and great will.To dance the sky as eagles plyand snare a fish on wing,demonstrates what practice makes:rehearse is everything.Yet when a feat becomes completeand done without a thought,a master’s guess is not to rest,perfection’s never bought. ~ Poem and Bald Eagle capture, Perfection’s Never Bought © Jerry L. Ferrara, from the book, Wild North Idaho: Season of the Eagle

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Bald Eagle – The Counterpoint To A Faceless Storm

Bald Eagle

The Counterpoint To A Faceless Storm Standing in one spot waiting for a photo opportunity is one thing. Standing in a snow storm where at times visibility is questionable is another. When this magnificent creature emanated from the murky scape, its outline was vaguely defined. Was it real or a figment? Then the falling snow lightened. What came out of the storm was a creature on passage. In the fury of the stormLittle seems of solid formJust a sea of shapeless whiteBlowing left and flowing rightWhirls and whips the aerial seaA tumult in realitySlowly, though, a form takes shapeWithin the hoary-mantled drapeA feathered beast of royal formThe counterpoint to a faceless storm ~ Anecdote, poem and Bald Eagle capture, The Counterpoint To A Faceless Storm © Jerry L. Ferrara

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