Learning Something New

Since I love photographing nature, I'm being forced to learn about the creatures I shoot. I figure I should at least try to learn their names. I've got two easy ones today: a crow and a gray squirrel. Both of these animals are common in this area. The crow in the photo here is quite small, only 6 inches or so. It must be pretty young. The gray squirrel is the most common variety in the eastern USA. They are everywhere.
































Okay, so what have I learned? Well, if you look at my post from two days ago, you'll see a picture of a Red Eared Pond Turtle. It never occurred to me that the red patches were his (her) ears! As Mr. Spock (or Mr. Data) would say: fascinating!

The bird that I posted that day was obviously a male. I have since confirmed that he is a goldfinch. I didn't know that his breeding plumage (which I was lucky enough to capture in that shot) is significantly brighter than his ordinary plumage. I just figured male birds were always much more colorful than female ones.

Obviously, my Ph.D. is not in biology! I've got an awful lot to learn about the world around me. Isn't that pathetic? As long as I've lived on this planet, you'd think I'd know more about it. I'd better get to it.