I took some video footage yesterday and I’m trying to upload it to youtube…and…I keep getting a “communication error”. Could it be because I have the words “illegal immigration” in the narrative?

Okay, maybe the internet is busy and people are uploading to youtube…I’ll just have to wait.

In the meantime, I tried out my new telephoto lens for my Panasonic Lumix camera. Boy, was I surprised when I showed up at my Dad’s and he had virtually the same camera! The telephoto lens that I’ve been waiting for showed up, –and I just couldn’t wait to even read the instructions…I gently unwrapped the parts, slowly screwed them onto the camera, and started shooting away when I got to the destination I was waiting to shoot photos of. I figured that this place would be the best place to test it out because there are always birds - very interesting birds - that are way out of reach of my camera lenses.

When I came home to upload what I shot, I was very pleasantly surprised. I had no idea if they would even be in focus, I was so excited, and the sun was so bright –and my hair was whipping into my eyes from the wind. But now I know I’ll be able to take some terrific pictures of the birds I’ve been gawking at my whole life, LOL…this - I think - is a big greyGreat Blue Heron. I don’t see the crest on his head; but I took a number of pictures one right after another. I think the green stuff in the background is duckweed…and I’m seeing it in a lot of places around here.

And maybe the crest that I’ve seen in pictures of herons that stands up like a mohawk is in fact laying flat in this picture…he has a little patch of black or very dark-colored feathers on his head, so…maybe he’s just laying his mohawk flat. Who knows.

I missed the part where he found something to eat, but I think this pose is after they’ve caught something and they’re digesting their catch. They are very fast, because it all happened when my back was turned and I was trying to take some shots of the cormorants and the terns.

In this little stretch of road, I can pull off to the side - and on one side is wetlands, and on the other side of the road is wetlands, so I find myself going from one side to another trying to locate some birds, or frogs, or–something else of interest.

I had thought that the big sliver of mud that the big white birds were hanging around on - had seagulls on it; but I discovered today that they’re in fact white terns…and are quite a bit larger than seagulls.

I hope I’m able to catch some of them in flight at some point…they are daredevils in the sky, and like to swoop and dive; and they have a lot of moves up their sleeves that I’ve never seen before. They do aerial acrobatics…and have a lot of power in their wings, because it doesn’t take much for them to cover a lot of ground…er…uh…as the crow flies, that is.

There were a number of very small birds flying overhead; but it will take some time before I can place what they are; I couldn’t tell if they were swallows, or some other kind of aquatic-type bird.

but all in all, this has been an exciting day where the camera is concerned!!!

And not so exciting where youtube is concerned. But I’ll try publishing the little flick later …or maybe in the wee hours of the morning.