"Bone crusher, San Diego Zoo," April 2006

Eurasian bearded vulture, originally uploaded by DC Products.

I was thinking of talons or teeth for something sharp, and then I came across this big guy. I wouldn't want to face that beak without a cage between us. I'm shuddering a little just looking at it.

"Plumpy parrot," New Jersey, January 2006

"Plumpy parrot," New Jersey, January 2006
I've previously posted a shot of these guys and intended to go back for more, but I haven't made it up the street with my camera lately. I should, because when the light is right, they come out so beautifully. I have a handful of other shots from this day, and even though it's a good shot of the bird, they tend to be in shadow and not as brilliantly colored as a result. 

A parrot in Edgewater, January 2006

There are a flock of Quaker parrots that build what amount to nest condos in trees and, unfortunately, on power lines and connectors to utility poles in Edgewater, New Jersey. They're true Jersey dwellers now -- they don't flee in the winter. Even now, if you come down the cliff from Cliffside Park on Route 5, after the hairpin turn, if you find yourself far enough back at a red light, all you have to do is turn off the radio to hear the squawking from above. The cacophony of dozens of birds is loud enough to be heard through closed windows. It's beautiful.

Perched, January 2006

There are advantages to sitting next to the only window in the office, particularly when it's a wide panoramic series of panes that stretch from one wall to the other. I've seen this hawk before, but on this day -- the first day I had my new digital SLR up and running -- I was ready. And he was accomodating, swooping down from over the roof, right past the window near where I sit, and gliding to his perch on a branch not much more than 100 feet across the parking lot. That was nice of him.

A full-sized version can be found here.