I first went to the public library where I knew of a number of nests. Right off I found 6 or 7 nests. I saw birds in two of the areas, but no chicks. I then walked the neighborhood to scope out other nests. Across the street from the library I found 3 nests. All were occupied, but only one had chicks visible. Apparently there were chicks in one of the other nests, but for some reason they were much more skittish than the first one I found. I spent the next 3 hours watching the chicks. At first I was in the street, not wanting to tresspass on the property, but the homeowner came out and invited me to view the nest from his yard. Thank you Peter!!

The Cape Coral Owls are known to have some highly variable eye color, but the nest I photographed had the usual yellow eyes. When I first arrived, the sun had just risen, so their pupils were fully dilated.  Both the chicks and the adults watched me very closely when I first arrived, but after a while they just ignored me, no longer seeing me as a threat. For most of the time I was there, I saw 3 chicks. Only once or twice were all 4 out of the burrow. I was not entirely sure which was mama and which was papa, but I guessed that this was mama, as she spent a lot of time feeding and grooming the chicks.  The male spent most of his time protecting the chicks from a Northern Mockingbird. This bird was very agressive, attacking the male multiple times while I was there. I am sure the Mockingbird had a nest nearby.  The chicks were just learning to fly. At this point, it was more of a long hop with flapping wings. It was very cute to watch.  I am guessing the chicks were about 3 weeks old. They took frequent naps while I was there. This little one looks like the nap was imminent.  Owl chicks are so entertaining to watch. If I did not have a plane to catch, I would have been there all day. Here are a few more images I captured.  Doing its best Swan immitation.    The chicks were also very watchful for the Mockingbird. They looked up every time the Mockingbird flew by.  Many thanks to the town of Cape Coral for protecting these threatened birds. I am also glad that you have created a tourist attraction so that people like me can come to view these wonderful Owls.   

First, the Wood Storks, very funny looking adults and chicks!      Chicks are very sturdy looking.   Second, the Anhinga, known for their amazing fish tossing ability.         They are very beautiful birds in the right light.     The babies are very odd looking with a pouch under their bills.    Tricolored Heron have an amazing method of fishing. The birds dance across the water, while intermittently dragging their bills in the water. Another photographer described it as a ballet. It was beautiful to watch.   It is amazing to me that this method is efficient enough to catch fish, but apparently it works.   There was a Tricolored Heron nest right by the walkway, giving us very good views of the chicks. There was just one spot to stand where you could see the chicks well. In the audio, you can here a woman stating to me that I had the best spot (sub text, she wanted me to move). We ended up rotating giving each person a chance to see the chicks.    I loved this view of the Purple Gallinule in the purple flowers.    This Purple Gallinule was determined to reach the tasty seeds at the end of this flower stalk.   He munched on the seeds and flowers for a long time.     The more numerous type of Gallinule is the Common Gallinule. What is interesting about this next photo is that I think there are two generations of chicks here. The gray bird on the left looks to be a several month old chick, but was very actively helping to feed the few day old chicks. I LOVE the coloration of the chicks!  The Least Bittern was the biggest surprise for me. They are tiny birds, maybe half the size of a Green Heron, very secretive, but I kept seeing them over and over. Here he was hunting. I will be writing up a whole separate blog post about this tiny Bittern.      Last but not least, The Alligators. There was one HUGE male alligator named Big George. Much to my surprise, a small female approached him to show him her affections. It was a very graceful dance she did aound him. Fascinating to watch.    I would love to go back to Wakodahatchee many more times to see it in different seasons.    

I have had the surprise of a lifetime this week. I spotted a bird in my back yard that I did not recognize. So, I posted a picture on a birding site on Facebook. There were many random guesses, but one gal thought it was a Red-flanked Bluetail. I laughed and decided to post my querie on the Tweeters Listserve for a "real" answer. Low and behold, the FB gal was right. For only the 3rd time in history, this bird has been spotted in Washington State. It is normally found in Asia and Russia. Here is the yucky photo that got the birding world in an uproar (shot through my kitchen window from 40 yards away): I honestly thought it it was some juvenile form of a Yellow-rumped Warbler. I had not yet seen the tail, as it was dark and rainy when I first spotted her. By late afternoon that day, I was well aware of the uniqueness of the find. By Friday, my neighborhood was overrun with birders. They were covering every spot they could get access to. The end result was that the Bluetail was chased out of my yard, and was not seen for the next two days. The main problem was that folks were trying to get a view into my back yard, so they entered my neighbor's yard (with permission) and flocked to the back fence. This was where the Bluetail hangs out, but was frightened off. I had to ask my neighbor to deny access to her back yard. Within one hour, the Bluetail returned and foraged in my yard for the rest of the afternoon. I then figured out a solution to this problem: I set up a viewing area in my side yard. This area is a safe distance from my back fence, and has a very clear view of the Bluetail's favorite foraging areas. Win-win. I put up a rope to keep encroachment at bay, and it worked very well. I put out a call on Tweeters that I had a viewing area set up for all to enjoy. This kept the gawkers from trying to look over my back fence. I had 40 to 50 birders show up on Tuesday, and every single one of them got a good view of the bird. The rule was that you had to leave once you got a good view to make room for those that had not seen it. This worked remarkably well since the Bluetail was out foraging all afternoon. It was also a beautiful sunny day, which helped.

I finally had a chance to get some shots of my own, but she pretty much stuck to the dark shady areas, so my pictures are fairly grainy. Not that I am complaining! The Bluetail had a favorite perch under my forsythia. She foraged from there a lot (I call her she, but it may as well be a juvenile of either sex). This next photo is of her diving to the ground after an insect.   One of my favorite shots was an out of focus shot of her flying away. It clearly showed the blue on her back.  It took me two days to finally get a shot of her away from the Forsythia. She perched on a fence and on a brush pile.  This last shot was the one shot I was waiting for. Not in the sunshine, but a bit more open. She is a beautiful bird, and I hope for a few more days to spend with her.

One of the most amazing side benefits of this surprising find was that I have met a never ending stream of amazingly nice people. I am glowing with joy from all the warmth from everyone! Thanks one and all for making this journey a warm fuzzy experience.

One last look at that beautuiful tail!

Day 22 - The chicks are still tied to the nest, but look how big they are!:   On Day 22, I witnessed my first short flight. At this stage, they could only fly a very short distance, and only to a lower elevation:  Since they could only fly down, they had to climb back up to the nest. This one was trying to navigate his way back up: Day 23, the nest was still their home base. They would return back for a rest after venturing to the outer branches of the nest tree: Day 24, they are becoming more aware of the world. In this case, a Kingfisher was flying by and making quite a racket:  On day 24, the nest was still their home base:  Another short flight, again, not yet able to fight gravity: Day 25 - This very proud little guy flew all the way to a floating log. It was my first time seeing them fly away from the nest tree: Drinking water, likely the first time, and learning how to hunt: One of the siblings was not as fortunate: it likely did not understand the properties of water, and learned pretty quickly that you cannot stand on it: This poor little one spent the next hour up on a sunny branch drying out its wings:  Day 26 - The chick on the left had caught a Dragonfly, but the one on the right decided to try to steal it away: The were still hanging out pretty closely together, but no longer in the nest: Day 27 - When I arrived in the morning I could not find the chicks. I finally realized that all three were in the huge Cottonwood tree on the other side of the river from the nest tree. They all had the hang of flying a distance: Two of the chicks flew off, but one stayed to explore the tree and environs. First order of business was practicing fishing: One trick is learning what to fish for:  As the chick proceeded to explore the tree, I set up my tripod nearby to follow its progress: It also afforded me a one time opportunity for closeups. As the chick explored the tree, it had no idea I was quietly standing nearby (about 20 feet away): At one point he stared right at me, but I did not move a muscle, so he did not get frightened off:  The chick explored the tree for another 15 minutes, but when it was ready to leave, I got my first shot of a chick flying upward, now able to defy gravity: Day 28, one month old and still practicing that all important hunting skill: They were getting better and better at catching Dragonflies:  By Day 29, they were venturing farther and farther from the nest, and therefore harder and harder to photograph. But I was left with the great satisfaction that I got to watch these three chicks grow from hatching to fledging. I will likely never get an opportunity like this again, since it is very rare to have good visibilty into a Green Heron nest. But, I will return to the area next year in my kayak to get to see the Herons again. Have a safe flight south little ones!     

On day 8 they were still very downy, but starting to develop feathers:  They also were trying out those wings, hoping to figure out what these appendages were for:  The challenge of photographing chicks in a nest is the uneven light. Sun becomes your enemy. On day 8 we had some clouds, enabling us to get better video:  Day 9 also had some clouds, enabling a more even exposure. You can see the beginnings on feathers on those wings:  We started getting some good views of the chicks feeding. They grab onto the parent's beak and pull it down, forcing the parent to regurgitate the food:  This is the best video I have of a feeding. There are two separate feedings in this one video:   Day 10, the chicks are still hanging out under parent:   For most of the other videos, the soundtrack was removed, but for this one it was kept it in to show what the birds were reacting to:  On day 9, we saw many instances of the parents refusing to feed the chicks. Had the soundtrack been kept in this video, you would have heard me gasp. The video was slowed down to allow a better view of the interaction:   It is not clear why the parents went to the nest at all, because they did nothing but block the chicks from trying to feed:   This is a good example of what we were dealing with when the sun came out. It is much harder to see with the light and dark areas:   A favorite moment, as the chicks were learning to explore their world:   Day 11, and the chicks are stretching out those growing wings:   You can see the color starting to develop in those wing feathers:   Day 12, it was so cute watching the chicks interact:   They are getting a better and better idea what to do with those wings:   When the wings are not outstretched, the chicks still look so young:  There are a number of interesting things in this video. The chicks are aware that the second parent has arrived, but it does not stop them from trying to get a feeding from the first parent. Also, it is always interesting to see how the parents greet each other:   Starting to venture a bit out of the nest:   Getting comfortable with the idea of being out of the nest:   Getting soooo big:   The chicks were getting more and more active, and preparing for that all important step up and out of the nest:   Day 13, on the cusp of learning to leave the nest:    And they are out:   Truly branching out. The chicks ventured about 15 feet away from the nest:  Week two was highly entertaining. They went from little fuzz balls just developing feathers, to teenagers branching out. We were so fortunate to have good views into the nest to be able to document all these changes. 

We were not able to get to the nest until July 8th, but this is what we found: There is a good chance these chicks were a day or two old at that point, but for record keeping purposes, this was referred to this as day 1. We were able to observe our first feeding. Watch the video all the way to the end: The adult will regurgitate the food, then re-swallow anything that is not eaten. Seems pretty efficient!

Days 2 and 3 were challenging, photographically speaking. There were very few good views of the chicks.  There may not have been many good stills of the chicks that day, but we started observing what I referred to as the "Changing of the Guard". Mom and Pop trading places: Day 3 was also not a great day for chick sightings, but day 4 was when we finally started getting some good views:

We now knew that there were 3 chicks. We also got our first glimpse of how the chicks communicate to the parent that they are hungry: By Day 5, the chicks were getting big enough for us to see them really well. Look at the size of that lower jaw! By day 5, we were also getting really good glimpses into how the parents interact with each other: It would be great to know what this behavior is about. The departing parent bites at the beak of the arriving parent, then runs its beak along the length of the bird. We saw this behavior repeatedly, really interesting!

Day 6 provided a chance for a good clear view of the chicks begging for food.  We also got good views of the chicks feeding: 

The chick was not able to swallow that entire fish, but he sure tried. 

Day 7, the chicks are getting so big:  One of the best views of a fish being regurgitated: Another changing of the guard on Day 7, and our first chance to see how the chicks keep from smelling up their nest with poop. It was especially cute since the chick chose to poop betweem mama's legs: 

I will post a blog for each week of their development. It was a total joy and an honor to follow this very special nest. 

Here are some of my favorite photos from yesterday.  So, until I get the opportunity to view a Snowy Owl in a more natural environment, this was a golden opportunity to see a beautiful rare bird. 

The first target species was the Spotted Owl. Being a threatened bird, I was very excited about seeing this owl. Khanh's advance legwork paid off and we drove back roads for about an hour. We parked on a logging road and within minutes had sight of the male sitting near the road. He ultimately flew further into the forest to be nearer to his nest, but we got some great views. Good thing that owls sit so still, because the light was so low I had to use 1/10th of a second shutter speed. Here are two of my favorites of the Spotted Owl: The next targeted species was the Spruce Grouse. We got up at something like 3 am, then drove for over an hour on logging roads. Once reaching the location Khanh had scouted, it took about 20 or 30 minutes for him to locate one of the males. The sun was just about to rise. We spent about an hour with this male. They are totally unafraid of humans and are much more preoccupied with finding a willing female. Their display was so much fun to watch. Here are three of my favorite Spruce Grouse pictures: While driving back out of the mountains, we stopped at another location that Khanh had scouted for song birds. We found some very cooperative Hermit Warblers: We then had to drive on to Eastern Oregon, so most of the rest of that day was a travel day. That evening and the next morning we went to see Great Grey Owls, as well as anything else that chose to present itself. While driving up into the mountains early the next morning, we found a number of song birds I had never seen before. First was MacGillvray Warbler: And next was a Bobolink, a very rare sighting: We finally got up into the mountains not long after the sun rose. Khanh had scouted a location a few weeks earlier of a Great Grey Owl nest. The unusual aspect of this nest was that it is in a natural snag. Most often these Owls use man-made nesting boxes. We spent several hours in this location, but the day was heating up fast, so the female soon spent all her time shading the chick. Luckily we got some shots before it got too hot. Here are 3 of my favorite Great Grey shots: v This was a very hard act to follow, but we tore ourselves away from the Great Gray nest and found lots of other interesting birds. Right in the same field as the Great Gray was a new woodpecker for me, the Black-backed Woodpecker: From there we proceeded to drive back roads to locations Khanh had scouted earlier. We found Williamson's woodpeckers: And Ash-throated Flycatchers: And Lazuli Buntings: Yellow-breasted Chat: Canyon Wren: And last but not least: a Western Screech Owl. Unfortunately he played very hard to get, so this was the best I could do: Our last day with Khanh was a relatively slow one, but after all we had see on the first 3 days, I was not complaining. We saw some Cassin's Vireo.  And a Western Tanager: We also saw a Barn Owl, but we were never able to get a picture of him. All in all, it was one of the most amazing bird tours I have ever taken. I would highly recommend Khanh Tran for any birding tour. He does his homework, and your time is not wasted looking for the birds. Thank you Khanh for a truly memorable trip.

For the past few weeks I have been following an Osprey nest. It is one of the best nests I have seen in terms of visibility into the nest and proximity to a vantage point. There is one chick (one would normally expect two to three chicks), but this chick appeared to be healthy and thriving.  All was well and papa was fulfilling his role as provider. Here he is delivering a flounder to the nest: A few days later I went back to the nest to see how they were getting along. The chick was alone on the nest and practicing its flying moves: Papa was there and coaching the flying and delivering food: But, something was wrong. Mama was sitting on a nearby piling and had a huge gash in her abdomen: She did not look good at all and we realized that nothing would be the same from this point on. It was very unlikely that mama would survive this mortal wound. Most likely she sustained the injury while defending the nest.

The following day I returned to the nest to check on mama and the chick. Mama was still on the same piling looking no better. She had been without food at this point for two days. One of the most interesting things that happened that day was that papa flew over to her several time to do what I called "checking her vital signs". He jumped on her head and shoulders to see how she would respond; was she able to care for her chick?? Each time he jumped on her she could weakly lift her head and wings. She also tried her best to get him literally and figuratively off her back. The good news in all this is that the chick appeared to be well cared for. Papa continued to deliver food, and at this point the chick is old enough to feed itself (mama used to tear off pieces for the chick). What was intriguing was that it appeared that another male had stepped in to help care for the chick. I saw this male giving "flying lessons" to the chick: While we were encouraged that the chick was being well cared for, it was clear that mama was not going to make it. Sadly, the next morning she was no longer on the piling. May she rest in peace knowing that her chick is being well cared for. It takes a village:

Step one is mutual grooming. They will do this for hours. If you look closely, you will see that there are two birds in this photo: The next part of their courtship is for one of the pair to catch a fish: They then present it to their partner. The "receiving" bird always is in a crouched position: If all goes well, they then transfer the fish to the "receiving" bird: I watched one pair of birds do this fish sharing for several hours. My theory is that 1) the birds just completed a 1000 mile migration and they need to build back up their strength. 2) Each bird needs to prove that it is a good provider. They will be raising chicks together and will need a lot of fish. The last part of the courtship involves the pair running on top of the water side by side. I did not get any photos of that, but I think that this phase of the courtship comes after the birds have regained their strength. Maybe I will get to see it on my return trip.

I love the birds "graceful" approach to the dive:

My favorite part is just as the beak touches the water: They then dive into the water with enough force to capture fish several feet below the surface:  Once they surface, they have to battle off the scavenging gulls. They then can enjoy their reward: I had to tear myself away after spending three hours with these guys. I hope to get back another time, and hope I am lucky enough to arrive when there is a run on anchovies. 

I discovered a Western Grebe winter hangout last year, and fortunately they returned this year. I spent three days photographing these beautiful birds.  They are very tolerant of my being there, so I am pretty sure I photographed them without disturbing them. Just watching them sleep is enchanting. They sleep with their eyes open:

I also loved watching them preen. Goofy and beautiful at the same time: While preening, they will pull out their own feathers and eat them. It is thought that they do this to protect their stomachs from sharp fish bones: They are also really fun to watch while feeding.  They always to go the barges anchored in the area to feed. Most often they would surface with a fish, then dive under to consume it.  This one time, however, his eyes were bigger than his stomach. He spent 5 minutes trying to consume this fish, but in the end had to drop it: The rains have now closed in, and I will probably not be going back to this site for a while. I feel honored that I had those three wonderful days with them.

My quest was to find pelicans diving for fish, but once again, I only observed this from a distance and did not get any quality shots.  I did, however, get lots of flyovers and fishing (but not from heights).  After more or less satisfying my pelican craving, I started exploring other areas. I spent the bulk of my time at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. The only other location I visited was Upper Newport Bay with the local Audubon chapter. At that location, we saw many birds, a few of which were life birds for me. Including a Black Skimmer: I spent the remaining time at Bolsa Chica. It was one exciting viewing after another, including Black-crowned Night Herons, Yellow-crowned Night Heron family, Red-necked Phalarope, Peregrine Falcons hunting, egrets, and lots of shorebirds. The pièce de résistance however, was Belted Kingfishers dueling for the best real estate.  For an entire day, we saw the Kingfishers chasing each other and vocalizing almost constantly.  It was quite entertaining: By late afternoon, this squabble turned ugly. They started fighting each other. First in the air: Then in the water: I don't know which one was the victor, but by the next day, things were very quiet in the area, so I presume that the disagreement was settled.

The final thing I was hoping to witness was the Reddish Egret dancing while feeding.  It was not until the morning of my departure that I finally got to witness this.  The sun had just risen, so the light was low, but the dance was wonderful to watch:
I need to go back this area in the late fall to observe the Pelicans diving and feeding. There is so much to see here: I will come back!!

To see more photos from my trip, click on these links: September 18, 2018, September 19, 2018, September 20, 2018, September 21, 2018, September 22, 2018

We arrived at Yellowstone around 5 pm.  We settled in at the hotel, then went into the park an hour before sunset.  Within 5 minutes of entering the park, we saw a herd of Big Horn Sheep. Female Bighorned Sheep The following day, we entered the park an hour before sunrise and were in the Lamar Valley as it was getting light.  We saw a black bear, but the light was too low to get a good picture.  Our best sighting of the day were Bison as the sun was rising.   Bison taking a dust bath Male Bison Male Bison with birds We also got a great view if a Coyote catching and eating a ground squirrel. Coyote with ground squirrel We got one brief view of Sandhill Cranes, but for much of the trip, we could hear them calling, but got no close views. Sandhill Crane The second day was mostly driving. We needed to make it to Jackson, WY by late afternoon.  We meandered south slowly. Our best sighting of the day was an American Dipper. We spent almost an hour with this little guy.  He was very cooperative posing for us. American Dipper The next day was magical.  From the beginning to end we had wonderful wildlife sightings. We started before sunrise watching a family of elk crossing a river, Bald Eagles, Osprey and Common Mergansers everywhere.  However, my favorite sighting of the morning was the White Pelicans.  They flew in just as the sun was rising, and it created some beautiful lighting effects. White Pelican The other fun species there was a Spotted Sandpiper. He was working the bank for quite a while, but my biggest frustration was that he was always between me and the sun. Spotted Sandpiper We stopped that the Visitor's Center on our way back to the hotel to get information on the best place to see moose.  They suggested a local river, and boy were they right!  We got to see three Bull Moose and several females.   Bull Moose I learned that it is the willow that the moose are after. They prefer marshy settings, but they will forage in rocky rivers (their footing is unsteady on rocky river bottoms) if there is willow.

The next few days was our time to get DeMeaus settled at the Colorado School of Mines.  That was a fun trip in itself.  After three days in Colorado, Soo and I started our trip home. We drove across the state of Colorado and had one really good Big Horn Sheep viewing.  Big Horn Sheep calf That evening, we got the the Grand Junction area, and toured The Colorado National Monument.  Colorado National Monument

I saw another life bird just as the sun was setting: a Pinyon Jay. Pinyon Jay The following day was another one of those magical days.  We again got on the road before sunrise. We drove into Utah and followed the Colorado River.  It cuts through this wonderful canyon. There were lots of trees near the river, so we saw lots of birds, with two more life birds: a Blue Gray Gnatcatcher and a Blue Grosbeak. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Blue Grosbeak We got up to the Salt Lake area by late afternoon, so we checked into the hotel, and spent the remaining daylight hours at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.  This place is beyond description.  So many birds, and they are right by the road.  The sun was obscured by smoke almost an hour before sunset, but we were able to scope out where we wanted to visit the next day. We did, however, get some really good pictures of a Clark's Grebe, another life bird. Clark's Grebe We got up very early the next morning and spent many hours touring the Refuge again.  This time we knew exactly where to go to get the best morning light. We had great views of White-faced Ibis, Avocet, Black-necked Stilt and Solitary Sandpipers (another life bird). We also got a very good view of a Burrowing Owl before the sun rose. We spent a while viewing the Western and Clark's Grebe area, but the sun angle was not optimal. To end our visit to the Refuge, we saw a pond with many Wilson's Phalaropes. They were doing their spinning method of fishing. It was now late afternoon, so we had to hightail it to Idaho. On the way, we stopped at the Brockman's Hummingbird Feeding station south of Twin Falls.  Photography was challenging there, as the feeders were all in the shade, but it is a fun place to visit.

Our final day of photography was spent in Idaho. We spent the morning at the Silver Creek Preserve north of Twin Falls.  Even before we were out of the parking lot, I saw a Cowbird chick being fed by a tiny female Lazuli Bunting.  Poor mama! There were lots of birds feeding on the numerous berry plants. I saw another life bird, the Yellow Breasted Chat. Just before leaving the preserve, the caretakers told Soo and I about a campground nearby that had lots of Common Nighthawks.  Neither of us had ever seen one, so off we went.  The campground was very close by, and the trees were full of Nighthawks. It was amazing.  We got some great closeups, as well as flight shots. Very very cool! The trip was exhausting, but something I will treasure for many years to come.  I need to get back out there to explore some of these areas further!!!

I got the opportunity to go on a 54' sailboat up to Desolation Sound.  The Nawalak is owned by Emerald Isle Sailing Charter, captained by Dave Lutz. It was a magical experience to be aboard a sailboat, touring some of the most beautiful spots on earth.  The winds were calm, so we ended up having to motor much of the way, but it was still beautiful.  Our first stop was to clear customs in Bedwell Harbor.  A River Otter kept us entertained for much of our wait. We motored north and spent the night in Pirates Cove, a beautiful protected harbor.  Before departing the next morning, we took a hike on the island.  My favorite find was an Anemone in a tidepool eating a crab.  Who knew? While motoring north to Nanaimo, we passed by a huge sandstone cliff loaded with nesting Cormorants.  As best I could tell, there were both Pelagic and Double-crested. The double-crested were the most interesting, as there was a leucistic chick: After leaving Nanaimo the next morning, we were even more surprised to find a leucistic Great Blue Heron (what is in the water?): The next day was our best day for wildlife photography. We saw many harbor seals and their pups: And one of my favorites, the Oystercatcher: Apparently there was something dead up on the cliff, because there were lots of Turkey Vultures: That evening we had a spectacular smoky sunset, then a smoky full moon rise: This area was also rich in wildlife.  Lots of harbor seals and oystercatchers, but also a new bird for me, the Black Turnstone: There was also a Bald Eagle nest on the adjoining island. The folks were hanging out trying to relax a bit: That day ended up being a long journey to our destination: Desolation Sound. The sky was smoky, creating an element of mystery as we sailed (yes, we finally sailed a bit, but the winds died again): The water up there was the most spectacular color blue: The terrain is so steep, we had to use a stern tie for the first time in the trip: We spent the entire day the next day swimming in the warm waters of Desolation Sound.  I got a tremendous sunburn, as I kind of lost my head swimming in these lovely waters. The next day we motored down to Refuge Cove. We only stopped for provisions and ice cream, but I think it was one of my favorite spots.  Really pretty spot, and very friendly people: That evening we anchored in probably the prettiest harbor of the whole trip. We were in Prideaux Haven, and there were at least 30 other boats anchored there when we arrived.  We found a fine spot to anchor and did not have to do a stern tie. The next morning, after a wonderful kayak trip around the area, we motored out into Georgia Straight.  It was dead calm and glassy smooth.  In this gorgeous calm water, we got our best sighting of Humpback Whales: There were 4 whales total, each pair was a juvenile and its mom. They had been breaching before we got there (darn, I missed it again), but we got the closest views I have ever had of a humpback: The next day we had to motorsail back across Georgia Straight. By now the wind had picked up, and I got to learn first hand how rough it can get out there.  It was only blowing about 15mph, but the trip over to Nanaimo was pretty rough.  I loved it, and actually took a nap so that I could enjoy the feeling of being rocked to sleep.

We spent the night in Nanaimo harbor, and then headed south.  We passed by the Cormorant colony again to look for the Leucistic chick again. No luck (it had fledged), but I got some great shots of a Pelagic Cormorant flying around with nesting material in its mouth: The final night out, we had a beautiful sunset, the end to an idyllic trip:

I believe I found the nest on the day the chicks hatched. I was thrilled to see these little black fluff balls: I had no idea how many chicks there were. Both Mom and Dad were helping to raise them, and the group was widely disbursed as they foraged through the grass and mud flats.  I think there were 5 chicks, but that is just a guess. There was almost always one chick under a parent.  These chicks would get fed by the parent. For some reason, I was not able to find the chicks on day two. I was probably there when they were all sleeping. On day three I decided to arrive at 5:30 am to catch the early morning foraging.  To my horror, I was greeted by a raccoon as he was raiding the nest.  I know we are not meant to intervene with nature, but my gut instinct took over, and I started yelling at the raccoon with my alpha voice.  He stood up and looked at me, then disappeared into the grass. I decided to leave the area, as there was nothing I could do at that point.  I returned one hour later, and much to my amazement, all chicks seem to have survived the attack. A short while later I was able to get a photo of 5 of the 7 members of the family. (I have no photos showing the entire family). On day 4, I chose to stay well back, so as to not stress the family. They had been through enough the day before with the raccoon. By day 5, however, I finally had a major breakthrough in my understanding of Rail behavior. I stayed well back on day 4, because they were vocalizing a lot, and I was concerned that I was making them nervous.  On day 5, however, they were vocalizing a lot even before I arrived.  I finally figured out that they are vocalizing constantly to keep in touch with each other.  It is the two parents who are calling constantly.  I think it is to let each other know where they are at any time, but also to keep the chicks nearby.  Once I realized this, I felt comfortable approaching much closer.  On average I think I stayed about 20 yards away from them, and they continued to forage, unconcerned about my presence.  The constant calling made it very easy to find them at any given time.  I spent almost 4 hours with them on that day. It was a good thing too, because this was their last day together. The parents kept tag-teaming each other. One would fly to "the mainland" (the nest was on a small island), while the other stayed behind.  After a few hours of this, finally both parents flew off for a brief vacation. The chicks took this opportunity to start venturing out away from the island. When I departed, both parents were back and foraging with the chicks. This was the last I saw of the family.  I returned on day 6, and searched for several hours. I saw no sign of adults or chicks. When they disburse, they really disburse.  I wish them all well, and it was an honor to spend the nestling period with them.

There was one juvenile eagle present just about all morning, but he barely moved off of his perch.  

Juvenile Bald Eagle However, I was treated to many Belted Kingfisher sightings, including two successful fishing ventures.  

Male Belted Kingfisher The most entertaining part of the morning was the Purple Martins.  Many of the dock owners have gourds for the Martins to nest in, but the one pier without gourds had a Martin family nesting in a piling.  I got permission from the dock owner, and I spent the next hour watching the Martins.

This is Mama:

Female Purple Martin This is Papa:

Male Purple Martin in flight And this is the chick with papa:

Male Purple Martin with chick And the whole family:

Purple Martin family

I was thoroughly entertained for the hour, but I moved on from there to see what other species I could find. I headed up to Indianola and found a small restored area with lots of wildlife:

Even before I got out of my car I was treated to a White-crowned Sparrow family:

White Crowned Sparrow with chick I watched them for quite some time. There were two chicks, and I had just one opportunity to get them both in the same plane of focus:

White-crowned sparrow chicks While watching the chicks, I noticed something in a far away tree.  It was at least 150 yards away, so I took a picture to ID it.  While snapping the picture, what turned out to be a crow was regurgitating up a pellet.  I did not even know they did that. It is a lousy photo, but that is all I got:

Crow regurgitating a pellet Also in the area was a lot of Poison Hemlock.  It got me wondering whether the bees who feed upon it get poisoned. It turns out the answer is no.  The bees are just fine.

Honey bee on Poison Hemlock flower Just before I left the nature preserve, I heard the unmistakable chirping of a Douglass Squirrel, so I felt obliged to take his picture.

Douglass Squirrel I drove from there up to Point-no-Point.  I have always wanted to visit the area.  I know that it is a very famous migratory bird area. I had no expectation for what I would find, seeing as this is not a time of migration. It turns out that there was a flock of Steller's Jays there and they were constantly in motion.  I took probably 100 photos of them flying over my head, of which maybe 5 came out.  Hazy sky and dark birds do not make the best combination:

Steller's Jay I finally got one perched just before I left.  The end to a fruitful day:

Steller's Jay

American Avocet mating dance American Avocet mating American Avocet post-mating dance American Avocet post-mating dance This "bill crossing" is the closest thing I have seen to a kiss.  It was very beautiful to watch.

Sunrise over Kenmore The day started out well. I got some great views of a juvenile Bald Eagle hunting:

Juvenile Eagle Hunting Juvenile Eagle Hunting He caught a good sized perch, and flew off to enjoy his catch:

Juvenile Eagle Hunting Unfortunately, things are never easy. The eagle was pursued by several other eagles wanting his catch:

Juvenile Bald Eagles In the end, an adult eagle caused the juvenile to drop the fish.  The adult flew down and retrieved it.  Seems pretty unfair!

I also spent a lot of time photographing baby fish (salmon fry?) jumping. They were feeding on the numerous mayflies hovering over the water:

Baby fish jumping in Lake Washington I then hung out with some baby Mallard Ducklings. They also were feasting on the Mayflies:

Baby Mallard eating May Flies Lastly, I spent the early evening in my kayak.  I got one of my best views ever of a Cinnamon Teal.

Cinnamon Teal

It was a really great day from beginning to end. I wish every day could be so much fun and productive!

We started by looking for the Virginia Rail.  This is all I saw at first: his reflection while hiding in the bushes Reflection of a hiding Virginia Rail Then a peek-a-boo look at him in the bushes Virginia Rail hiding in the shadow Finally he came out into the open Virginia Rail Second, we got to see a pheasant. Really beautiful birds. Pheasant

There were lots of Black-necked Stilt Black-necked Stilt And Northern Harrier building their nests Northern Harrier carrying nesting material Ruddy Ducks in their breeding plumage Ruddy Duck in breeding plumage Redheads Redheads And last, but not least, very cute ground squirrels Belding's Ground Squirrel  

Burrowing Owl in flight:

Burrowing Owl in flight Sage Thrasher was a life bird for me Sage Thrasher Meadowlarks were everywhere Meadowlark There were still some Sandhill Cranes around. This guy was dancing, but his mate just stood and watched Sandhill Crane

We saw at least 3 Great Horned Owl nests while on the trip Great Horned Owl Swainson's Hawk, another life bird Swainson's Hawk Long-billed Curlew, my first time seeing them up close Long-billed Curlew There were huge flocks of White-faced Ibis, another life bird White-faced Ibis White-faced Ibis Male Northern Harrier, the Grey Ghost.  I have never seen one perched before Male Northern Harrier

Redhead Redhead duck Willet Willet Franklin's Gull Franklin's Gull

Black-necked Stilt Black-necked Stilt Sora Sora Wilson's Snipe Wilson's Snipe My one and only flight shot of the Long-billed Curlew Long-billed Curlew I will get part two of the trip assembled soon (southern section).

Great Horned Owl nest.

Fledged Great Horned Owls

Horned Lark

Sandhill Cranes 

Marmot

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Burrowing Owls

Alpacas just outside of Pendelton, OR

Pronghorns in Eastern Oregon

Sandhill Cranes in Eastern Oregon

Coyote sizing up whether it was worth attacking the cranes.  The answer was no.

Horned Grebe Horned Grebe Horned Grebe Horned Grebe Horned Grebe Horned Grebe Horned Grebe Horned Grebe Is that clear enough that I am enamored with these exotic looking birds? I sure would love to photograph them in their breeding grounds, but that is far to the north.

Horned Grebe Horned Grebe Horned Grebe There was also a Barrow's Goldeneye hanging out pretty close to the dock

Barrows Goldeneye There were no females around, but he kept displaying to the Horned Grebe

Barrows Goldeneye I have never had a chance to shoot a White-winged Scoter up close, but lots were flying by

White-winged Scoter We also had a close encounter with a Common Loon.  It was fishing along the jetty, so I got many opportunities to photograph it as it rose up out of the water.  I had hoped that it would have a crab in its mouth, but no such luck

Common Loon Common Loon Common Loon Common Loon Common Loon We went on a 45 minute boat ride, and the highlight was a Bald Eagle chasing gulls and cormorants. The Eagle was not successful.

Double-crested Cormorant Bald Eagle For the last part of the day we headed over to Semiahmoo. The highlight for me was a close encounter with two Black Oystercatchers.  They were eating clams, not oyster, but close enough.

Black Oystercatcher Black Oystercatcher Black Oystercatcher It was a gorgeous day, and we felt a tinge of guilt not attending the lectures, but we sure enjoyed the day.

The Lewis's Woodpecker was a lifer for me.  They are spectacularly beautiful birds!

Lewis's Woodpecker Lewis's Woodpecker Lewis's Woodpecker Lewis's Woodpecker The bonus for this trip was to find the one and only Acorn Woodpecker at the Park.  They normally do not come this far north, but this one managed to find the dozens of Gary Oak Trees planted on the property.  Gary oak is one of their preferred food sources.

Gary Oak Acorn Acorn Woodpecker One thing that really surprised us all was to watch the Acorn Woodpecker sallying (catching insects on the fly). I did not know that woodpeckers did this. That is one reason I have this hobby. I learn something new every day.  This next picture shows him eating an insect he just caught on the fly.

Acorn Woodpecker Lastly, I saw a Downy Woodpecker as well.  The final icing on the cake:

Downy Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker We ended the day by looking at the very early wildflowers that have emerged.  I am guessing that the first one is a type of Fritillaria, but that is only a guess.

Wildflower I don't know who the rest are, but they sure are pretty:

Wildflower with insect Wildflower Wildflowers Fort Simcoe is a great place for bird watching, but if you go at this time of year, watch out for the electric fence.  it is not well marked and it is live.  We presumed that it was to keep grazing cattle out, but that was not clear, because there were cow pies everywhere. 

First they prepare for the hot date:

Wood Duck Second, the female lets him know that she is available:

Wood Duck mating Third, he swims around like a dork for about 5 minutes.

Wood Duck mating Fourth, he finally figures out what he is supposed to do:

Wood Duck mating Fifth, she totally sinks under his weight:

Wood Duck mating Sixth, he grabs a tuft of her feathers to hold her head up out of the water.  It was very sweet to watch:

Wood Duck mating Seventh, they hold this position for about a minute: 

Wood Duck mating Eighth, he dunks her head under water, then pulls it up again.  It looked like a baptism!

Wood Duck mating Wood Duck mating Lastly, the dismount.

Wood Duck mating Get a room!

He had just arrived with this poor unfortunate female Common Merganser.  She apparently had just had a very good fishing session, because there was still fish in her mouth.

The current was very strong in the slough, so I found a log to wedge myself against, and watched the Eagle for 25 minutes as he consumed the merganser.  

  A buddy of his flew in, and I thought for sure there was going to be a fight. But alas, the other just sat and watched

I only had about one more hour to tour around before i had to head back.  There were lots and lots of birds out, but most were too skittish to let me close.  This male Common Merganser was the best I could do.

There were lots and lots of Wood Ducks, but they were hiding in the brush surrounding the lake, and they would not let me any where near.  I hope this means that they are starting to nest.  I will keep an eye out in the next few months for baby Wood Ducks.

Red-winged Blackbird Red-winged Blackbird Red-winged Blackbird This boy has a future in modeling, and I hear he works for CHEEP!

Pelagic Cormorant Pelagic Cormorant Pelagic Cormorant Pelagic Cormorant Pelagic Cormorant Pelagic Cormorant They are either very beautiful or extremely drab depending on how you catch them.  

I arrived at sunrise to try to capture the good light:

Ducks at sunrise I really liked the lighting on this Bald Eagle:

Bald Eagle at sunrise The Olympic Mountains at sunrise: Olympic Mountains at sunrise The back-lighting was really good for the water birds, so I worked on that task for a while:

Great Blue Heron at sunrise Great Blue Heron at sunrise Bufflehead Female Bufflehead Once the sun was up, I could start to work on other subjects. The harriers were having all sorts of fun flying over my head:

Northern Harrier In addition, I got to see a dark morph of the Rough-legged Hawk:

Rough-legged Hawk The air was so clear, and the light superb, so I decided to join the masses and capture a few images of the Snow Geese with Mount Baker as a backdrop.

Snow Geese in the Skagit Valley It was finally time to head home, but I decided to take the back roads instead of the highway.  I wanted to see if any Kestrel were hunting over the farm fields.  I found a Kestrel within minutes of my drive:

Kestrel It was a great day up in the Skagit.  I need to head back because there is so much more to see. 

This was my first view of the scene.  There is no way this is going down easily.

Double-crested Cormorant There were several occasions where he seemed to be about to swallow it, but he had to spit it out repeatedly to get it re-positioned.

Double-crested Cormorant Finally the competition arrived.  Both the Gull and another Cormorant wanted that fish badly.

Double-crested Cormorant Double-crested Cormorant Then it got really interesting when a second Cormorant entered the fray. 

Double-crested Cormorant I guess the Cormorants will bite the neck to force the first one to regurgitate the fish.  Thankfully it did not work and the first Cormorant got to keep his fish. He finally got to swallow it. This has GOT to be painful:

Double-crested Cormorant Even as he was swallowing it, he was attacked one last time by the other Cormorant:

Double-crested Cormorant But, none of the antics worked and he was able to FINALLY swallow the fish.  The entire drama took 3 minutes. 

Double-crested Cormorant

If you want to see more pictures from the day, click here: February 1, 2018

The sun got stronger and stronger as the day went on.  I got some pretty good shots of the male hummingbird's iridescence.

Anna's Hummingbird Anna's Hummingbird They were feeding on the "Arthur Menzies" just about constantly:

Anna's Hummingbird And last, but not least, I got a few good shots of the Townsend's Warbler:

Townsend's Warbler Townsend's Warbler All in all, it was a very successful day, and it will just have to hold me until we get another bout of sunshine.   To see more shots from the day, click here: January 30, 2018

Mount Baker from Semiahmoo We saw lots of Common Loons, but I managed to finally capture one Red-throated Loon

Red-throated Loon Common Loon eating a crab:

Common Loon eating a crab I had the closest encounters with a Harlequin Duck I have ever had:

Harlequin Duck Harlequin Duck One of the missions of the trip was to see the Long-tailed Duck.  The main group of ducks stayed well offshore, but one lone female swam closer to us.

Female Long-tailed Duck They are very dramatic when they dive, and throw up a beautiful spray:

Long-tailed duck diving spray Just before we were ready to leave, a male Long-tailed Duck started drifting toward shore.  He was sound asleep:

Male Long-tailed Duck sleeping He finally woke up once he hit shore, but he never seemed fully aware of where he was. He just bobbed in the waves for a minute or more:

Male Long-tailed Duck He finally turned around and started swimming, but he still seemed pretty out of it:

Male Long-tailed Duck Our last big show of the day was the Red-breasted Mergansers.  They have this wonderfully amusing way of chasing the one that caught the fish.  Seems counter-productive, but that is what they do.

Red-breasted Merganser The have to swallow their prey while swimming at high speed:

Red-breasted Merganser Semiahmoo is a fabulous location, and if the rain ever stops, I will head back up there.  In the meantime, I just get to work on my blog entries! 

To see more pictures from the day, click here: Semiahmoo

The Harbor Seals are always a joy to watch: Harbor Seal having a good laugh Then Pelagic cormorants: Pelagic Cormorant And, as you may have guessed from my earlier posts, the Forster's Terns are always fun to watch: Forster's Tern Now, the Sea Otters: very cute, especially when with their young: Sea Otter But something I started noticing was that just about every female had severe damage to her nose.   Sea Otter I had to research this when I got home, and I was not at all amused with the answer: Here is an excerpt from an article called "The Dark Side of California Sea Otters" in a blog called Out of the Fog: 

Sea otter males pursue the females relentlessly during mating season. Even after they are caught, female sea otters vigorously resist mating. So vigorously, that the males hold the female’s head underwater to subdue her. Sometimes females drown during mating.

Because the male bites the female on the head to subdue her, females suffer serious wounds during mating – often biting the nose off of her face. In one survey, 4% of female sea otter deaths came from these wounds. And males will continue attempting to mate with dead females.

As if this was not depressing enough, I observed another upsetting thing in the slough as well.  At first I noticed Honey Bees landing on my boat.  No big deal.  Then I noticed them landing in the water (salt water). Honey Bee in Elkhorn Slough Pretty soon there were 100's if not 1000's of bees landing and  drowning in the water. I am going to have to research this to find out what was happening.

So, the good, the bad and the ugly.  It was an interesting day, but sometimes nature can be harsh.

To see more pictures from the day, click here: Elkhorn Slough Pictures

Step one, catch the fish:

's

Step two, kill the fish:

Western Grebe Step three, present the fish:

Western Grebe Step four, accept the fish:

Western Grebe Step five, consume the fish under the careful supervision of the presenter: Western Grebe The captor of the fish kept his/her crest flared the whole time.  It was amusing to see how closely he/she watched the acceptor. It is reminiscent of a parent-chick relationship. I think there will be some baby Grebes in the not too distant future.

It started with a Say's Phoebe.

Say's Phoebe

Then a Yellow-rumped warbler:

Yellow-rumped Warbler American Pipit:

Pipit Great Egret:

Great Egret Black Phoebe:

Black Phoebe Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed hawk eating a Coot. Eared Grebe:

Eared Grebe Ruddy Duck

Ruddy Duck And lastly a Double-crested Cormorant

Double-crested cormorant It was a fun day to watch the birds while they were nice and calm.

They always cruise about 20 feet above the water looking for fish.

Forster's Tern Once they spot a fish, they do all sorts of wonderful aerial acrobatics:

Forster's Tern

Then the dramatic dive:

Forster's Tern Forster's Tern

And the landing:

Forster's Tern

Forster's Tern Success!

Forster's Tern I will likely spend many more hours with these birds.  They ae soooo much fun to watch!

Kestrel eating its breakfast Once on the trail leading down the peninsula, we were treated to one sight after another.  We had more Northern Harrier sightings than I think I have ever had before.

Northern Harrier

One of the biggest treats was viewing hundreds of Tule Elk.  This is a new animal for me, and a huge treat.  They were almost hunted to extinction 100 years ago.

Tule Elk We were also treated to dozens of hawk sightings.  Some of whom I recognized, some not.

Unknown Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

As if these sightings were not enough, we then got to see a coyote hunting for a vole.

Coyote hunting for voles

Coyote hunting for voles

Enough you say?  No, the day was not over yet. Even though we reluctantly drove away (but Dave's convertible made the departure tolerable!), we had one more sighting awaiting us: a bobcat!  We had heard from another visitor that they had seen one, but bobcats are VERY hard to see, so it is not as though we were spending any time looking for it.  We were now out of the park and driving through pasture land.

Bobcat Unbelievable day from one end to the other.  Thanks Dave for a great trip.

To see more photos from the day, click here: Point Reyes Photos

It all started out innocently enough

White-tailed Kite Then the fun began

White-tailed Kites fighting White-tailed Kites fighting Eventually they ended up locking talons and spiraling to earth

White-tailed Kites fighting White-tailed Kites fighting

As far as I could tell, no one got hurt. It sure was fun to watch!! White-tailed Kite

I went out again just before sunrise, and caught a cormorant taking off from his post.  

Cormorant at sunrise After that, I headed over to my favorite part of the lake where the Western Grebes hang out.  It is at the very north end of the lake near where the Kenmore Air planes take off.  There is also a gravel and cement company up there, and most of these pictures were taken by a HUGE rusty barge that was being loaded with gravel.  The rusted metal provided a really nice hue to the pictures.

Western grebe The Grebes were so relaxed while I was there they even took a nap. It is nice that they do not see me as a threat.

Western grebe asleep My favorite, however, is when they look over or swim toward me.  You then get that lovely look of that crest.

Western grebe Western grebe They also preened for a while, giving some really nice photo ops.

Western grebe Western grebe They spent a huge amount of time fishing, but not once did I see them surface with a fish in their mouths.  I guess I will have to go back again. Darn!

My first Canvasbacks and Bufflehead of the year.

Canvasbacks and Bufflehead hanging together right at sunrise I found a tree that appears to be a favorite kingfisher hangout.  I predict I will be spending a lot of time at this tree.

Belted Kingfisher The sun finally came up and the world started to look a whole lot brighter.

Sunrise in Kenmore My favorite catch of the day was a group of Western Grebes.  I have only photographed one before, and it was at quite a distance. These guys were pretty chill as I drifted around.   Western Grebe Western Grebe As I was paddling back to shore, I had to pass a cormorant hangout.  I got some pretty good shots of them posing and flying.

Double-Crested Cormorant Double-Crested Cormorant

As I approached my landing spot, a raft of Coots and Wigeons were there to greet me.

Coots and Wigeon It was a fantastic morning, and I look forward to many many more hours in that delightful kayak.

To see more photos from the day, click here: October 23, 2017

I watched this drama for about 20 minutes.  During that time the Eagle had to take several breaks because he was getting so exhausted.  About one hour later, I was in a different part of Juanita Park when the Eagle flew in with a Coot in the talons.  So, likely the Eagle attacks the raft of Coots enough times to finally exhaust the Coots as well.  Whoever has the most stamina wins.

The male then started getting affectionate (?) 

Male and Female Gadwall The female seemed ok with it until he got a bit too close

Male and female Gadwall At this point, she nailed him

Male and Female Gadwall fighting Did this deflate his ego? Apparently not.  He still did the happy dance as though they had mated

Gadwall Editors note: I may be a tad anthropormorphizing here!

Digger wasp carrying a paralyzed grasshopper

Digger wasp digging its den At this point I started videoing the process.  This was all set up very last minute, and my video skills are not the best, so the videos are a bit jumpy. But, I think they captured what the wasp was doing.

Digger Wasp digging its den The den seemed to collapse, but he kept at it and made it much deeper.

Digger Wasp digging its den He then started working on a second den.  This second one ended up being the final resting place for the paralyzed grasshopper.

Digger Wasp digging its second den Digger Wasp digging a second den It now was time to size up the grasshopper to see if the den was large enough to store him.  The wasp mounted the grasshopper and moved it a few inches.

Digger Wasp digging its den He just moved it a bit, then dismounted and ran off to dig the den deeper, leaving the paralyzed grasshopper to just sit there in the sun.

Paralyzed grasshopper Once the den was deemed to be adequate, the wasp came back and mounted the grasshopper for one last journey to the den.  Sorry about the poor video quality.  The wasp was moving really fast, and was very hard to track.

Digger wasp carrying the paralyzed grasshopper to its den Once the grasshopper is safely in the den, the digger wasp lays an egg on the grasshopper.  The growing larva will then feed on the grasshopper.  Pretty gruesome, but absolutely fascinating.  I never thought I would have a chance to witness this in action.

I am heading out to Mount Rainier tomorrow to photograph wildflowers.  We'll see if I can get some good images.

Merlin Merlin Merlin I photographed a Merlin flying overhead with a bird in its talons.  Sorry, it is very hard to see in this photo: Merlin carrying a bird it just caught on the wing I then photographed him for the next 20 minutes as he consumed the bird.  It was tough to get good images because he chose a branch in the shade, so I did the best I could:

Merlin Merlin Merlin Merlin I kept hoping that it would take him longer to eat the bird, because the sun was just about to reach that branch. But, no luck. At least I got some usable images.
To see more pictures from the day: click here: July 30, 2017

Caspian Tern hunting Caspian Tern hunting Caspian Tern hunting Caspian Tern hunting I did not photograph this Tern catching the Plainfin Midshipman, but at least I caught him flying home with it.

Caspian Tern

Great Blue Heron Great Blue Heron Great Blue Heron Great Blue Heron And last but not least, the water lilies are at their peak of beauty right now, so I could not resist:

Water lily To see more pictures from the day, click here: July 25, 2017

Belted Kingfisher Belted Kingfisher Belted Kingfisher Belted Kingfisher Belted Kingfisher For more images from the day, click here: July 11, 2017

Female belted kingfisher The second kingfisher (a male I think) caught this sunfish.  He dropped it before he returned to his perch.  This big one got away.

Belted kingfisher

The heron never landed on the water. He just scooped up the fish and flew off.  I learn something new every day watching these guys.

To see more pictures from the day, click here: June 26, 2017

Osprey hunting Osprey hunting Osprey hunting There were bazillions of gnats all along the dock.  Pretty annoying!

Millions of gnats were along the dock. Kind of annoying! We also got to see an eagle catch a fish.  It was a great morning!

Bald Eagle

The first thing I saw was lots of males around with not a whole lot to do.  They are now all fully out of breeding plumage.

Male wood duck in non-breeding plumage  Not to be judgemental or anything, but Wood Ducks can look awfully goofy when viewed straight on:

Male wood duck in non-breeding plumage While these guys were drifting along aimlessly, the mama was tending the chicks.  Very cute bunch I must say:

Female Wood Duck with two of her chicks

While photographing the chicks, I noticed that this mama and chick started looking up:

Female Wood Duck and her chick looking up at a red-tailed hawk They did this long enough that it prompted me to look up too. There were two Red-tailed Hawks being pursued by two crows. 

Red-tailed Hawk being pursued by two crows Both hawks looked pretty beat up:

Red-tailed hawk Nobody got consumed, so all was well with the Wood Duck chicks. To see more pictures from the day, click here: June 23, 2017

First stop we saw the most variety of birds, and my one rare bird sighting.  The Veery is a type of Thrush found in the northern US (except west of the Cascade Mountains).  It is not common in the Cle Elum, but the call was very Thrush-like.  Very eerie.  I was very pleased when one showed up right by the river, giving me a good chance to get off a few shots.

Veery

Also at that location we found a Warbling Vireo (life bird number two for the day):

Warbling Vireo

And a Western Wood-Pewee (life bird number 3 for the day). Western Wood-Pewee

On to site number two. It was fairly quiet, except we found the best activity along a fairly quiet river bank.

A Bullock's Oriole (life bird number 4 for the day)

Bullock's Oriole

And there was probably a Yellow Warbler nesting area.  We never saw the nest, but we did see lots of food gathering activity.

Yellow Warbler

On to site number 4, a road leading up a large hill.  We went through an old burn area, so lots of dead tree snags. The best sighting of that section, though, was a cliff with many bird nests, including a Turkey Vulture nest.  The chicks took off just as we were arriving. This is not a life bird, but it is my first good photo of one.

Turkey Vulture chicks I also got a peek-a-boo view of a Western Tanager.  Always a treat:

Western Tanager On to the last location. A wind-swept hillside with a few bluebird boxes along the road. We only saw a few bluebirds, but we saw many Cassin's Finches. He was sitting with his back to the wind, so it gave him this funky hairdo.

Cassins' Finch It was a great day of birding. I will go back at different times of the year to see what we can catch.  There is a Kestrel that lives up on that hill, and we got a very distant view of him hunting, but we hope for a better view next time.

Lastly, just a few wildflower pictures from the day:

Baby Common mergansers fighting their way upstream. In all there were ten teenage chicks.  You would think that among the ten they would have some common sense and just stay put and let mama find them, but no, they decided to work their way back upstream.  Remember, this is a raging torrent!  They stuck close to shore and worked their way upstream:

Baby Common mergansers fighting their way upstream.

They rested when they could in some calm waters, but this next picture also gives a good view of how rough the water is in the center of the river.

Baby Common mergansers fighting their way upstream. Did they just stay and rest in the calm water, no, they continued upstream. I was pretty concerned for the chicks at this point, because they must have been exhausted, and just upstream of this point was another side stream feeding into the Yakima.  

Baby Common mergansers fighting their way upstream. This is not a good photo, but the chicks are fighting those rapids to get up the side stream.  At this point I lost track of them.  I don't know how they got into this predicament in the first place, but I sure hope they made it home safely, or mom came and found them.  Quite the drama.

Flicker defending the nest

The flickers did everything they could to drive the raccoon away.

Flicker defending the nest I thought that it was interesting that Crows entered the fray.  I not sure exactly why.

Flicker defending the nest

Flicker defending their nest I never saw any chicks pulled out of the nest, so the cavity must be quite deep.  To see more pictures from the day, click here: June 4, 2017

Update: I went back to the nest today, and the parents are showing up feeding (although the chicks must be very young, as I could not see them): 

June 5th, daddy feeding at the nest

Papa carried out a fecal pouch, so we know the chick are alive and pooping:

Male flicker carrying out a fecal sack

Yea! Happy ending!

Rufous Hummingbird

Rufous Hummingbird

Rufous Hummingbird

This last photo is just slightly cropped because she was close to the bottom of the frame.  It was a very exciting encounter for my first sighting. Most likely she has a nest somewhere in the vicinity because she came back to these Lonicera numerous times.

Common Yellowthroat

Common Yellowthroat

Common Yellowthroat

I can finally check this bird off my list of the "next to impossible to get a good picture" list. For more photos from the day, click here: May 27, 2017

Cliff Swallows building their nests

The mud gathering was incredibly fascinating.  I need to make a video of it.  Their wings were beating at VERY high speed.  I presume this was to give them leverage to scoop up the mud. Cliff Swallows gathering mud for their nests

Cliff Swallows gathering mud for their nests

After scooping up the mud, they flew off to the nest.

Cliff Swallows gathering mud for their nests

To see more pictures from the day, click here: May 21, 2017

Red-winged blackbird and chick

Red-winged blackbird and chick

To see more pictures from the day, click here: May 10, 2017

American Bittern

In addition, we got some great shots of a Marsh Wren collecting cattail fluff for its nest:

Marsh Wren

Marsh Wren

We then left the area (don't even know what to call it, sorry), and drove on to Van Doren's.  We had just arrived when we ran into two gals just leaving the area.  Christine and Xanthia were searching for the Yellow-headed Blackbird, so we asked if we could join them.  We drove to several sites and searched and searched, but never found the blackbirds.  As a group, we then decided to go on to Boeing Ponds to check out the Coots and the potential for chicks this year.  There were lots of Coots, so the area is well worth checking out in a few weeks.  But, we were treated to a sighting of a Northern Rough-winged Swallow (my second lifer for the day).

Northern Rough-winged swallow

As a group, we then headed back to our first site of the day to try to show Xanthia and Christine the Bittern and Cinnamon Teal.  We were successful on both counts:

Cinnamon Teal

After seeing the Bittern and Teal, I was treated to my third life bird of the day: two Western Tanagers:

Western Tanager

The last few minutes of the day I decided to focus on my original mission of the day: to get a half-way decent photo of a Common Yellowthroat.  I think I finally succeeded: 

Common Yellowthroat

All in all, it was a spectacular day, thanks to Michelle, Dave, Christine and Xanthia. If you want to see more pictures from the day, click here: May 7, 2017.

Northern Flickers

Northern Flickers

Northern Flicker

My main objective for the day was to get the swallows dipping into the water, but I could not resist getting them flying overhead as well: 

Tree Swallow I only partially succeeded in getting images of them flying over and into the water.  

Tree Swallow

Tree Swallow

Juvenile Tree Swallow Tree Swallow Where I totally failed was getting images of them dipping into the water.  Every time I got an image, it was out of focus.  

Tree Swallow I also tried to get images of them diving into the water.  I was partially successful:

Tree Swallow diving Tree Swallow diving Lastly, I got just a few images of some Barn Swallows.  They were even more difficult to capture than the Tree Swallows.  I did not think that this was possible.

Barn Swallow

The chicks wanted nothing to do with jumping off that cliff Mama and Papa tried repeatedly to teach the chicks to jump off the curb:

Mama trying to teach the chick to jump down

The chicks wanted nothing to do with jumping off: 

Mama tried repeatedly to teach them to jump

The chicks were frightened for very good reason:

The chicks were afraid of jumping down to the road for very good reason.

The chicks were so frightened that they repeatedly dove under mama or papa:

The chicks got so frightened of the jump, the repeatedly dove under mama.

Finally Papa had had it will this wussy behavior, so he knocked one chick down with his wing: 

Finally papa had had it with the wussy behavior. He knocked one chick down with his wing.

This left the remaining chick with a major dilemma: 

The remaining chick was now confronted with a major dilemma.

I did not see the second chick jump, but he must have, because suddenly the family was reunited:

i did not see the second chick jump, but there he was, and the family was reunited.

Now the next obstacle: that darned curb on the other side:

Now the chicks had a new dilemma

Mama and Papa tried repeatedly to get the chicks to jump up, but the reality finally dawned on them that they were asking the impossible, and they led them around the obstacle. 

After repeated attempts to coax the chicks to jump up, they wisely decided to lead them around the formidable curb

The chicks were now in the relative safety of the large field:

Finally to the relative safety of the large field.

But, crows and Brewer's Blackbirds were swooping through the area:

A crow came swooping through So, the chicks did what they know best, they dove under mama and papa.

The chicks dove for cover at the sign of the crow

Life is going to be tough for these little guys.  Let's wish them well! If you want to see more picture from the day, go to my full album: April 15, 2017

Hummingbird chick

I loved this image of mama flying in to feed the chick. Mama flying in to fee the hummingbird chick Mama feeding Hummingbird chick

The chicks were practicing their flying a lot.  It was very cute to watch. Hummingbird chick

I was definitely being watched.  But, these two have been so photographed over the past month, I don't think camera's phase them very much. Hummingbird chick

Orange-crowned warbler Orange-crowned warbler  

Eurasian collared doveEurasian collared dove Red-throated Loon Semi-palmated plover Brewer's blackbird Western grebe Sanderling

Killdeer mama sits on the nest as papa keeps watch.

Killdeer mama sits on the nest After getting her on the nest, I stood up to go.  My back was to her as I packed my camera away.  I heard her call, and I turned around and she was off the nest doing the broken wing thing:

Killdeer mama doing the broken wing deception I have no idea if it was me who scared her, or if it was something else since my back was turned when she left the nest.  I did decide that this may well be my one and only chance to see how many eggs were in the nest, so I got off one shot quickly and then vacated the area.

Two killdeer eggs I will keep an eye out over the next few weeks to see when the chicks hatch.  Incubation is 22 to 28 days.