Starling hunting in summer

In the hotter summer months, Starlings are quite active, if you know where to find them. Personally, I have not found much time this summer to search them out, with work and studying, but if you do, this is definitely a challenging type of hunting.

Hunting during this time is nothing like Spring or Winter, when the main concept is to wait for a Starling to perch in a tree. Without searching, the only ones that you'll see will  be those in the air. The cause for this is that when Summer rolls around, the parents merge with others and their young, forming compact bands which are constantly on the move from one feeding ground to another, attempting to satisfy the brown immatures endless hunger, leaving them little time for sitting in trees!

So how to find them? The feeding grounds which Starlings utilize at this time are usually fields bordered by protective brush, to enable the clumsy young to reach safety s rapidly as possible. When one such location is found, the flock descends, and begins to search for invertebrates. When the field is covered, they move on in search of another such location.

Trying to sneak up on a flock of this sort can be tricky, with several parents on the alert, but even if you do spook them, the first place they'll fly to is into the brush. Here, you can get quite close and search for the young ones hiding within. This kind of hunting works best with a smaller gun, such as my Umarex Steelstorm, as you will need space to maneuver in the brush.

As for me, I am still busy trying to wrap up Precal. These past few weeks have certainly been busy ones! Last Sat. was Chad and Angie's wedding, of which you have a sneak peak on Mazzou's Memories. This Friday is my little sisters birthday, as well as a friends B-day party, and many other similar events are creeping up fast. I also was working at the Larimore plantation of course. Besides grass cutting, I did a lot of driveway sealing, buried a wire, planted some grass, and cut down some brush.
A little while back, I got permission from Meagan Wanschura (Carpe Diem Photography) to draw Ella, a cute little 4 year old with amazing eyes! :) I will start that as soon as I finish Rena.

Conference, 2011

    I know I'm late in putting this post out, but I was busy with the Principles of Management CLEP, and Principles of Supervision Dantes tests.

    This Conference was certainly a fun one, with lots of good speakers and homeschooling families! Sadly I wasn't able to get as many photos as usual, or as I hoped to, maybe I'll do better next yr.! Here are some of my photos from the event. (Some of these you may have seen on my sister's blog).

My little sister, Elodie, Amy A., Meg H., Mrs. H., ?, & Tessa W. stripping armbands.

Elodie & Tessa, Matching up maps.

                    The escalator! It's where you can see all your friends, in a compact view!


Whittingtons and Tornatores




At the top. Note Nathan M., on escalator,
 trying to look natural among his family with a stack of new books...

The guilt of his deed is getting the better of him, as he peers over his shoulder. 
Darcie & Leah are suspicious!

 


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Down to the left, (and above this photo) we see that Nathan has decided to return the books to their rightful owner. The righteousness of his decision brings a smile to his face! :)

The Dischers

Nick Burns, one of the filmers for the conference, behind another industrious character

Example of bad ethics on an escalator!

Example of Innovation on an escalator!

Example of, well, loneliness on an escalator.

My sisters and some friends, talking

Vendor Hall

My sister at our booth, Civil War...and More!

A Dwyer session.
Variety is what homeschool conferences are about!

Dwyer himself

Headless boys (left) are a common sight... (zzzzzz!)

My sister, Jessie's notes

                    My sisters, Elodie and Jessie, and Leah & Amelia M. The latter is trying to pretend she doesn't see the camera...

Row of faces

Amelia wishes I would stop ;)

                                            The rest of these are taken by my sister, Marjo


A scene to spark the imagination! :) Note the mischeivous head, peeking above the stroller!

Me and Matthew T. Check out the guy who's armed to the teeth, behind us!



Me and my brother, Alexandre (center) at a Potter session

Burns and Belleys: Sara, Elodie, Nikola, Jessie, Peter, and myself.

Other Mixed Subjects

The Outdoors in May is (or should I say was!) an amazing place to be! I love the diversity of wildlife it brings!

A young mourning dove, about to take flight.



Peeking Blue Jay

WANTED (for bird assassinations)

These are photos from an area behind our place that's great for birdwatching! (and bug watching!)

A Wooly Bear Bee Fly, not a bee! Those huge compound eyes give him away. The mimicry is for protection from predators.

 After I finish my current drawing project, Rena (near completion), I think I'll do one of these two. This is actually a friend of Rena's, Mary-anne. Just a great little ten-year-old! (I took these photos after my sisters graduation). I'll probably go for the top one since it looks more natural. Tell me if you think otherwise.

Today just so happens to be the setup day for the CHEF conference! I am going to be helping to setup our booth and others. Wer'e planning on leaving at 9:15, so I gotta get crackin'! Here is a general sample of last years photos.


 

One of my favorites from last yr.

Up the escalator, by Mazzou

Great Snakes!

I usually can't resist catching snakes when the opportunity arises, especially the large ones, like this Rat snake! They are usually more challenging to get around and catch than smaller snakes. One advantage in going for the big guys is that they rarely use their musk glands for defence once they attain near full-size.

This rat snake put up a good fight, but I finally managed to catch him. (No he's not dead, I would never kill a good snake like this one!)



 These two photos are of a bigger Rat snake from last yr. He was almost as tall as me then, and when I found him again this year, he was taller than me! (these 2 photos by Mazzou sorry, didn't get photos of him this yr.)

Here's a vicious Black Racer I caught not far from where I found the smaller Rat snake. Sadly, being a small specimen, he didn't hesitate to make use of his musk glands!:(

Insisted on keeping his mouth open for the pictures!

VERY Busy

It seems I've written a few like this before!
Yes, right now I am VERY busy, and have only been able to shoot one House Sparrow lately, with the Steelstorm.
A little while back, I added the Hooded Warbler to my life list. I will try to put up a picture of it (a first spring female) as soon as possible.
As I mentioned in another post, I took my sisters senior photos awhile back, and she now has a post out with them (along with a goofy picture of the photographer himself).
Otherwise, I am mostly working and studying.

These photos are by "Mazzou"

Me working (on the neighbor's lawn)

Me, riding home from working at the Larimore Plantation

Recent Birds: Photos

Here are the birds that I have recently been writing about.



American White Pelicans at Columbia Bottoms Conservation Area




American Coots at C. Bottoms





Panorama of American Coot flock, C. Bottoms

 



The Ducks that visited our pond. Left are 3 Blue-winged teals (Female behind plant on far left), to the right is the pair of Mallards, and the 3rd male Teal behind them.

 


Mrs. Mallard in flight!



The female Teal, a little better view

The Little Blue heron, another visitor.



The Green Heron also a pond visitor, along with...




this Solitary Sandpiper (there are 2 this yr.)

These Canada geese visited the field in front of us a few months ago, but they can represent the lone goose that is usually found there right now.

 

The friendly pair





 Why the grin? Do I look THAT funny to you?

 



Looking off into the distance: I love this ridiculously dramatic pose!

 BTW I did pass the Nat. Sciences CLEP, though it was a low score of 53. No matter, that tells me I saved time!