Great shot. I had to look up the difference between cormorants and anhingas. The anhinga has a very long, pointed beak and a very slender head. The cormorant has a more "duck-like" head and a shorter beak with an almost blunt end. Both swim about the same with the body under the water and the head and neck above.

I had significant problems getting a sharp moon image because I was using too slow a shutter speed with a long lens. Albeit, my camera is a Nikon D7100 and I was using a Tamron 150-600 on a solid Benfro tripod with a heavy ball head. The problem was I was still getting camera "shake" at shutter release. Rule of thumb is shutter speed 1/max length of lens. With your set up, that would be 1/500 sec. With mine, it is (1/600) * 1.5 sec or 1/900 sec MINIMUM. Also, since the exposure is BRIGHT SUNLIGHT, the "Sunny 16" rule would apply. So I started shooting ISO 1600, at 1/1600 sec with f/16. I bracket half and 1 stop above and half and one stop below. My pictures are now sharper and I believe it is from the proper f/stop.

The rule of thumb I learned many years ago, was set the shutter speed at 1 over the focal length of the lens. For a zoom lens, always 1 over the longest focal length. It also helps to fudge that shutter speed higher. With the new cameras, increasing the ISO to allow for this is an option. When I tried it, I needed to find the ISO where noise became an issue. I shoot a Nikon D7100 and sometimes use a Tamron 150-600. I usually set the ISO at 1600 or 3200, use shutter priority at 1/1600 sec on bright days and the sharpness has gotten to where it should be.

BTW, my lens is a bear to handhold - period. I generally use a monopod in the field. That also doubles as a walking stick on occasion.

Great! The image evokes the great memories of all the Edgar Allan Poe literature I've read.

As to Question #2, if the cow happens to be a calf, then milk is the correct answer. This really demonstrates an age discriminatory test. I couldn't resist.

Personally, I think the shipping delay is a scam to get a person to enroll in Prime to get it shipped sooner!

Happy Birthday, Reese! I hope you have many, many more to come!

The Houston Police Department Had a video made called "Run, Hide, Fight" to give options for an active shooter event. It is considered one of the best teaching aids out there and is available on YouTube. It is worth checking out.

Pelicans always seem to fly in formation. I wonder if that is why a flock of pelicans is called a squadron?

I literally ran into Mr. Hockey at the Joe Louis Arena before a Red Wings Game. When I was working just south of Detroit, my wife and I became avid Red Wings fans and when we could get tickets we would go to the games. Once walking around the concourse as I was talking to my wife, a gentleman stepped out of a doorway directly in my path and I stepped into him. After I bounced off, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and another grasping my right hand in a shake. He asked if I was okay with a giant smile on his face. When I looked up, I realized it was Gordie Howe! We chatted for a few seconds and I went on my way. He never hurried and I felt he would have talked with me for a while longer with no pressure to stop. That was late 2001 or early 2002 and he was in his early seventies, but looked early fifties, and muscled like he was in his late twenties. That was a lifetime highlight I will never forget!

IMHO, art is meant to be interpreted by the viewer. The story it tells is personal to everyone. This seems to fill that bill.

Using the Cornell Lab's Merlin Bird ID software, it appears to be a Northern Mockingbird.

Thank God I'm a Red Wings fan!

I can barely draw a strait line with a ruler. I really hope you realize how truly blessed you are to have been given such a wonderful talent! These are magnificent.

to quote Mark Twain, "There are lies, damn lies, and statistics."