The opportunity to travel freely from state to state in the vehicle of my choice with my family and friends and all my optical gear, field guides, smart phone, and so much more is afforded me because of the sacrifices of countless people. Some daily sacrifices seem small and essentially go unnoticed while others are more obvious and grand. Each of those sacrifices, regardless of scale, is sacred because individuals are giving of themselves for the benefit of others. Every wise choice made by freedom-loving people and their willingness to accept personal responsibility for their freedom help perpetuate the rule of law and make it possible for freedom to continue from generation to generation.
I'm posting this simple bird-styled tribute to our colors of freedom the day before we celebrate Independence Day in the United States of America to express my gratitude for all the people who love, safeguard, and perpetuate freedom with personal responsibility. I'll begin with one of my favorite images of our national bird and continue with some of my favorite images of birds that display the red, white, and blue colors of our nation's flag.
Happy Independence Day, America!
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| Bald Eagle at Lindon Marina in Lindon, UT |
RED
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| Summer Tanager Near Zion National Park in Springdale, UT |
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| Summer Tanager Near Zion National Park in Springdale, UT |
I'm not sure what it is with Cardinals, but someone should have told the two below to wipe their bills before posing for my camera.
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| Northern Cardinal at Granite Reef Recreation Site Maricopa County, AZ |
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| Northern Cardinal at Blue Point Picnic Area Maricopa County, AZ |
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| Vermilion Flycatcher in St George, UT |
WHITE
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| Great Egret at Pioneer Crossing in Lehi, UT |
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| Great Egret at Veteran's Oasis Park Maricopa County, AZ |
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| Snowy Egret Near Springville, UT |
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| Snowy Egrets and One Cattle Egret Over Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT |
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| Cattle Egret on Cattle (of course) Near Lakeshore, UT |
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| American White Pelican South Jordan, UT |
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| American White Pelican Over Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT |
BLUE
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| Lazuli Bunting in Pleasant Grove, UT |
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| Blue Grosbeak at Lindon Beach in Lindon, UT |
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| Blue Grosbeak Near Palymyra, UT |
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| Mountain Bluebird at Powder Mountain Ski Resort in Weber County, UT |
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| Steller's Jay at Brighton Ski Resort in Salt Lake County, UT |
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| Western Scrub-jay in Pleasant Grove, UT |
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| Indigo Bunting at McConnell Springs in Lexington, KY |
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| Great Blue Heron Long Beach, CA |
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| Great Blue Heron at American Fork Boat Harbor in American Fork, UT |
And we'll finish up with an image of a Greater Roadrunner I recently captured during my most recent road trip to southern Utah. Very few people realize that a bluish skin which take on a reddish color during breeding season exists just below the crown feathers of these unique birds. This guy is sporting a really cool bandanna with all three colors found on the flag of our country.
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Greater Roadrunner Sporting His Really Cool Red, White, and Blue Bandanna on Lytle Ranch Road
in Washington County, UT |
All my best to each of you and may God bless the USA!
Oh. My. Gosh! This batch is breath-taking. Seriously, Jeff. Someone should be paying you big bucks to use these photos. You should consider making them available through istockphoto or some place like that.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Karlene! You are very kind. I would love to make a living capturing images of nature and sharing them with others, but I haven't quite figured out that part. In the meantime I enjoy exploring, photographing, and sharing.
DeleteHere is a comment that came directly to me and wanted to be posted here:
ReplyDeleteHi Jeff,
Thank you for paying homage to many who serve and served our Country. WELL SAID. Freedom is NOT free. So many of us get so complacent and so bogged down with our own little daily world that we fail to see the BIGGER picture that we are enjoying the freedom and liberty BECAUSE someone has made sacrifice(s) and many have died for preserving and standing up for LIBERTY.
Independence Day is not about BBQ or Car Sales...IT is about celebrating our Constitution and our Independence.
Thank for this wonderful BLOG. I am amazed how majestic these birds look. AWESOME job!
Many thanks and bless you and your family.
Judi, Kiley, and Issie
Jeff, great job!! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete