My Top 10 Favorite Images From My Blog for 2012~

This will be my first year to participate in

Jim Goldstein's Annual Blog Project.

 

It should be a fun way to share my top 10 favorite images from this past year. 

There are so many reasons that make certian images more special, more favored, so personal in nature to each of us who have the pleasure of viewing them. 

Like so many others, I take not hundreds, but thousands of images, every year. 

We then have to edit and then delete, or keep the best and then decide which of those we will share on our blog entries. 

Many times, I find that final selection the most difficult challenge and I end up using several in collages, and, or mosaics, and then can enjoy sharing more, than I could otherwise. 

This year was no exception, but I have narrowed my shares down to these final 10, and have left behind so many others that made something in my spirit soar.

I hope that these will be enjoyed by those who will have a chance to view once again, or possibly for the first time.

~ Happy New Year ~

Late emergence of a Monarch butterfly~

 First year Red-tailed Hawk ~

Gray phased Eastern Screech Owl...owlet~

Tree Swallow, one of my top 10 favorite birds~

Dusk in the mountains of southern Utah~

Final showing of wildflowers in Kentucky~

The above image was powerful to me, because of many reasons.

It is a hybrid...a cross breed of a Red-tailed Hawk and a Red-Shouldered Hawk.

A few weeks after photographing this beauty in nature, I was privileged to witness copulation of a male Red-shouldered Hawk and a female Red-tailed Hawk.

Then even later, I came upon the injured male Red-Shouldered Hawk and got it to Wingspan of Kentucky.  

He had severe head injuries, that would eventually take away his sight.  

After several months in his care, the manager peacefully put him down.

Nature at it's best, and worst~

Last January, the husby drove me to view the Sandhill Cranes in Tennessee. 

There were thousands of these gorgeous birds, and I can still remember fondly their voice sounds...it was amazing. 

My friend whom I met by doing a "Google"  search on love for Red-Shouldered Hawks...Vickie Henderson, was my inspiration for becoming a blogger going on 4 years ago. 

She also shares so much of her love for the Sandhill Cranes on her site and I had to include one of these images in my top 10 for 2012~

These last 2 images were taken during a snowfall on one of the

"Most Dangerous Roads in America"

also known as the

"Million Dollar Highway"

near Durango, Colorado~



Once Upon a Time, There Was a Screech-Owl Family...and

With the demise of World Bird Wednesday, (Dave, our friend Springman has taken a rest from his meme after over a year and a half).  
Happy resting Dave, and thank you!

Thank you to our friend Stewart M, of: 
Paying Ready Attention-Photo Gallery
who has stepped in and started a new meme.........  
Wild Bird Wednesday
To view other bird images shared from around the world, visit at :

(http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com.au/)

Back in the late 1970's, and early 1980's, when we had our federal permit to rehab and release Birds of Prey, the majority of what we received, were Eastern Screech-Owls. The Veterinarian from the Louisville Zoo would bring them to us and then whenever he did an educational series, or needed one for a television interview, he would borrow one of ours. They are delightful little Owls and they have great personalities and the voice they make, sounds like you have just entered a jungle environment...well just about. We really enjoyed them.

There are 2 colour variations, of gray and, or red.

Mid-May of this year, my sister who lives in Louisville rang me up one afternoon, and she was quite upset. Her exact words were..." You won't believe what I have in my bathtub." I said..." I cannot imagine, what is it?" "A baby Owlet, and it was on my front stoop and it was all wet from the rain, and I brought it in and placed it into a bucket and then put that in the bathtub and closed the door."
She has 3 cats and a dog, and she certainly did not desire them getting hold of the young one.  My sister is physically disabled, and she needed me to come to the rescue.

Once I arrived, and saw the little one, it was just adorable! First, I set out to find the trees near her front door stoop and try to figure out a plan. There were only 2 small trees, maybe 15 to 20 foot tall, a White Pine and a Holly tree, side by side. There was a very large Oak tree and Maple tree in from of those half way to the road. I had already decided on the tree, when I saw 2 other Owlets.
Perfect!  The proper tree choice had been selected.

Several weeks earlier, I had taken a few images of an adult Screech-Owl in my sister's backyard during daylight hours.
The Cardinals were having a fit, because they had a nest in the tree where the Owl set up to do it's daytime sleeping, but the Cardinals and other songbirds, were having none of this and had camped out to make sure that it left, and it did finally remove itself to a more hospitable area.

Back to the young Owlet...
I placed it on the lowest branch within my reach and tried to get it to grab on with it's talons.
As soon as I would back away a bit, it would begin to fall.
This went on until the adult Owls decided that they had enough of my interference and the more gloriously coloured one began to come after me, flying nearly sideways, click, click, clicking it's beak and passing me ever so close with it's talons.
The young Owlet fell a couple of times and then finally grabbed on and began to branch hop a little higher and then...it would fall again.
Geesh... and the one adult was in no good humor, and I was beginning to lose my good humor as well, but not my patience.
My sister's neighborhood has free roaming cats, raccoons, and who knows what else, and that little Owlet needed to be safe before I would leave.
It took a bit over an hour, but it finally settled onto a branch and was perched beautifully, as I departed.

The next day, I drove all the way back into town to check on the 3 Owlets and could see all 3 of them and that was all that I needed to give this up then to nature.
I like to imagine that all 3 survived and that is good enough for me.
Now tell me that these are not just about the cutest little Screech-Owls ever...