Wonderfully Made

"Wonderfully Made"
Judy Royal Glenn Photography  

I found this Black Buck Antelope at the Wild Animal Safari and fell in love.  He is beautiful head to toe.  

The Lord made so many neat creatures.  We too are wonderfully made and made in His image:)  

Location:  Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain, Georgia 

Hummingbird Burrito

"Hummingbird Burrito" 

Judy Royal Glenn  

I went to the Smith-Gilbert Gardens In Kennesaw, Georgia Saturday to observe hummingbirds being banned.  I was excited about the day and left Athens about 6:15 am to arrive at the garden by 8:00.  The roads were already packed with people walking to the garden, and cars were lined up along the road until the gates were open.  

(Note the one red and one rare green gorget feather on the hummingbird's throat.)

The little Ruby-throated hummingbirds are captured by an enclosure that surrounds a feeder, and once the hummingbirds enter the enclosure, the trap door is pulled shut.  They are then brought to the person banding the hummingbird.  The lady banding the hummingbirds is named Julia a.k.a. the "Hummingbird Whisperer."  There are only around 100 people in the United States that are trained to band them.

She carefully places the hummingbird in a women's footy that is used in stores to try on shoes and places a tiny band on the hummingbird's ankle.  Five numbers are stamped on the band.  It does not hurt the hummingbird and is not heavy. The band gives important information to researchers concerning migration, life-span and survival rate, success in reproduction and population, and other helpful knowledge conceding birds.  

 A lot of information about the hummingbird in hand is retrieved.  The hummingbird is weighed, it's sex and age are determined, and other measurements.  Here in this photo Julia is observing the hummingbird's bill to see the amount of fine etchings or corrugations on its bill. Younger hummingbirds  have corrugations on its upper bill which begin to smooth out starting at the tip of the bill.  Usually, the upper part of the bill will be completely smooth after 4-6 months.  Some adults keep as much as 10% of the etchings at the base of it's bill.  A bander looks at the bill to help determine the hummingbird's age. 

 Hummingbirds are super small and weigh a little more than a penny.  The females are 15-25 bigger than the males.  Their overall length from the tip of its tail to the tip of its bill ranges from about 70mm (2.76) inches to about 90mm (3.54) in females.

The "Hummingbird Whisper", Julia, holds up the tiny hummingbird to show the anxious crowds awaiting at a glance of the tiny wonders.

The Hummingbird Trail at The State Botanical Garden makes front page of the Athens Banner-Herald

I am honored and privileged an article concerning my photography and work to design the Hummingbird Trail at The State Botanical Garden of Georgia made the front page of the Athens Banner-Herald this morning.

Many thanks to Anne, Cora, Billie, Shelly, and Lisa, the wonderful staff at The State Botanical Garden of Georgia, for their hard work and dedication to this project.

Click HERE to view the online article.

Correction to the online captions under the photos (my fault for the mix up): the large photo is a Ruby-throated hummingbird feeding on the pink Canna Lily at marker #5. The left photo displays an immature male Ruby-throated hummingbird defending his territory after he fed on the Lantana at marker #14. The right photo displays a mature male Ruby-throated hummingbird sitting on the Major Wheeler Trumpet Honeysuckle at marker #18.

Broken

"Broken" 

Judy Royal Glenn Photography  

The Athens Photography Guild was given special permission to photograph at the Oconee Hill Cemetery August 16, 2014.  Thirteen members from APG enjoyed photographing this amazing landmark.  

This shot I titled "Broken" because I was trying to hide the fact that his right arm was broken off.  During editing of the photo, I noticed his big toe was also broken off.

We met for a quick group photo then spread out our separate ways.  The cemetery expands 100 acres so trying to keep everyone together would have been impossible. 

  I have only taken a few photos of cemeteries in my life, so I was intrigued with the rocks I found on the headstones.  When the Sexton of the cemetery drove up, I asked him why there were rocks on the markers.  He gave me an explanation, then once I got home, I did a little research.

I read the origin of the rocks on grave stones is uncertain, but the basic meaning from what I understand is a stones symbolizes that someone has come to visit, the loved one is not forgotten, or it may be a symbol of enduring love for the departed.  I also read that it may have stemmed for the ancient tradition of marking graves with a pile of stones.  One person also wrote that it was a Jewish custom because flowers are not permitted in a Jewish cemetery.

What is truth or hearsay I don't know, but I thought it was a neat gesture.  This headstone had 33 rocks on it.

Toward the end of the morning I came upon small headstones very close together, and they were scattered everywhere.  I was saddened and started to get tears in my eyes when I figured what the markers represented.  They were the markers of infant deaths.  Some markers represented a single child buried there with the infants name month and year etched on the stone.  I found a few stones where twins were buried.  One stone I found told of a really sad story.  A couple had an infant son who lived from 1935-1937, then an infant daughter who died in 1938.

Balanced

"Balanced" 

Judy Royal Glenn Photography

I love photographing at Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge in Townsend, Georgia. The refuge is a former WWII Army airfield.

There is an abundance of wildlife on the 2,762 acres which consists of saltwater marsh, cropland, grassland, and mixed deciduous woods.

This Anhinga was perched on the tree "sunbathing" when I first walked up. The Red-winged blackbird decorates the top of the tree.

Torn

"Torn" 

Judy Royal Glenn Photography 

My family and I went to the Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain, Georgia this past weekend.  I love going there and photographing the wildlife.  This is one of my favorite shots of the day.  To me, I captured the essence of this animal.  

I titled this photograph "Torn" because of the animal's ear.

Vigilance

"Vigilance" 

Judy Royal Glenn Photography  

When a photographer posts an image, the viewer does not get to see the effort and vigilance it took to capture the photo.  

This was one of the first photographs I took when I saw this Great Blue Heron, but of course I was not satisfied with this shot.

I quickly walked through the woods until I knew where he would be, then I slowed down and tried to be quiet.  I knelt down to take a quick shot then moved quickly to try and get ahead of him.

There were a lot of trees and branches blocking my view, so I moved around the bend of the lake and waited for him to walk closer to me.

He walked out on the limb of a dead tree that was over the lake.  He scratched and stood on the branch for a very long time.  He did not mind my presence, so......

I waited until I got my shot!