Sandhill Crane

Jul 31, 2015 | 1 VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6, Birds, Daily Image 2015, Nikon 1 V3, Sandhill Crane, Wildlife

Sandhill Crane

Occasionally, it’s better to be lucky than good.  Early this morning, this Sandhill Crane was just walking about in the back and passed within 10 yards of the backyard window.  The Sandhill is one of a nesting pair that has come back each year for several years now.  Generally, I only actually see them once a year, but hear them almost every day.  Their nest can’t be more than 100 years away from my back patio, but it’s on the lake side of thick underbrush.  Glad to see that they are happy here.

F-4 Phantom

Jul 27, 2015 | AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, Aviation, Daily Image 2015, F-4 Phantom II, Military Aircraft, Nikon 1 V3

F-4 Phantom

The F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range, supersonic fighter-bomber developed by McDonnell Aircraft.  It first entered service in 1960 and by the mid 1960s, became a major part of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps air wings.  The Phantom is a large fighter with a top speed of over Mach 2.2 and it can carry more than 18,000 pounds of weapons on nine external hard points including air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, and various bombs, but without an internal cannon. Later models incorporated a M61 Vulcan rotary cannon.  Beginning in 1959, it set 15 world records for in-flight performance, including an absolute speed record, and an absolute altitude record.  During the Vietnam War,  the F-4 was used extensively as the principal Air Superiority fighter.