Northern Pygmy-Owl

Tags

birding, birds, hunting, Northern Pygmy-Owl, owl, winter

I had been noticing a number of Northern Pygmy Owl sightings in Wyoming via the social media loop. Thus, I decided to head out and look for my own. I went to an area in which I had suspected this fierce, small owl may live. I had heard calls in the springtime for several years but had no luck in finding this raptor. Trudging through the deep snow, I was not seeing or hearing a single bird. I eventually turned around and headed back to the car. Sure enough, silhouetted against the skyline, sat my owl in a dead evergreen. I watched this little owl from a distance as it hunted the edge of an open meadow. I could not believe the speed in which it could fly as it changed it’s lookout. It sat at the top of an evergreen for quite some time and then disappeared deep into the forest out of sight. I was thrilled this small hunter had shown itself to me!

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Virginia Rail Plucking Feather

Tags

feathers, plucking, preening, Rallus limicola, VIRA, Virginia Rail, wetland, Wyoming

I have been having a ball following and photographing a family of Virginia Rails this summer. Virginia Rails are small, marsh birds that are not often seen as they are secretive in nature. These birds live in wetlands, moving around the base of cattails and sedges, not a place too many people enjoy in the buggy, summer months. I was photographing this particular rail as it preened. I watched it pull a primary feather from it’s wing and drop it on the water. I was ready as it started to work on the second wing, sure enough, it grabbed onto a primary, plucked it from it’s wing, and dropped it neatly onto the other feather. Here is the series of photos.

Young of the Year

Tags

Burrowing Owl, fledgling, Great Gray Owl, Great Horned Owl, Long-eared Owl, nesting, owls, sagebrush, Spring

It has been a busy but great spring, lots of rain and lots of rodents. The excessive amount of rodents has given plenty of food to a variety of predators including our local owls. A number of the nests I have been observing had larger clutches this year having been well fed on voles, ground squirrels, and cottontail rabbits. Great Horned Owls were the first to fledge with late April being the beginning of the exodus from the nest. This bird can be found nesting in a variety of habitats including cottonwood trees, cliffs, red-tailed hawk nests, and evergreen forests. A number of nests I had been observing this spring, fledged a group of four. It seemed I could not go anywhere without running into a family of these beautiful owls.Next to fledge was a family of Long-eared Owls which started setting on eggs by late March of this year. The adults fledged six little ones into the willows surrounding the nest sight making for difficult visuals for photographs, branches being everywhere. Still, with six young, at least one would be more visible than the others allowing for a somewhat clear photo. These small versions of the Great Horned Owl would watch cautiously as I moved around, not turning just their heads but there whole bodies in unison to my movements. Very fun to watch!

I also had the honor to witness and photograph a family of Great Gray Owls this spring. While walking to the nest sight I felt as though I needed to be very quiet and walk gently through the trees so as not to disturb this precious nursery. This large bird can be quite tame and come in very close, seemingly fearless of human presence. On several occasions the female flew silently just over my head to land on a low perch just above me to hunt. It was truly an awesome moment in my life. This behavior of being fearless was almost it’s demise in the early part of the previous century. A nest of three, they fledged in early June. One owlet was in the top of a “leaner” aspen, another on the ground, and the third still lingering in the nest when I left this family.

The last of my owls to fledge is the Burrowing Owl with nine young still in the natal burrow. These young are quite comical and have funny antics as they scurry around the top of the burrow awaiting dinner to be presented to them via mom or dad. They are eating a number of voles with an occasional bird brought in by the adults. Typically the male has been the hunter while the female stays close to the burrow. A transfer of the vole is then made from the male to the female with the female delivering and feeding the young. A sudden call of intruder can be made at any time by either adult which will send the little ones scurrying down the hole into the safety zone. These birds are little gems of our sagebrush areas.

There are numerous owls, adult and juvenile, in this place I call home. Summer starts tomorrow, I hope to continue to photograph a few of these owls as they mature into great hunters of this over-abundance of rodents!

International Migratory Bird Day

Tags

birding, birds, International Migratory Bird Day, Killdeer, snow, Snowing, Spring

In honor of International Migratory Bird Day, this year on May 9, I decided to spend the entire day birding. I was not going for a big day, just spending the day outside watching birds. The weather, cool and very overcast, was not the best for birding. It had been raining several days prior to the day thus the “gravel” (dirt) roads were already somewhat messy. I decided to stick to driving on pavement and hiking several known areas. By afternoon the sky opened up and snow started to fall, numerous birds had stalled out from their spring migration. The water birds were just fine but when I entered the sage brush habitat all seemed to be quiet. I captured this lone Killdeer in a pasture, standing in the snow, I am sure there was another close by sitting on eggs. All in all it was a great day to be out: 77 species and 1761 birds recorded.

Catch of the Day

Tags

American White Pelican, birds, Feeding, fishing, flying, Green River, landing, Rainbow Trout

I was photographing an Eared Grebe on the Green River and watched this American White Pelican fly over and circle back. I set my camera on the bird as it came in for a landing on the river. Little did I know this bird would hit the water, go under, and come up with a fish in its bill, a quite large Rainbow Trout. Here is the series of images.

Coots, Mallards, and Swans

Tags

American Coot, birds, Feeding, Mallard, Trumpeter Swan, waterfowl

I like to check out the Swans on Flat Creek when I visit Jackson, Wyoming. It was a day that was too warm for December and the light was a bit contrasty. The creek was wide open with no ice and the swans were scattered with the exception of a group of three feeding close to the viewing platform on the northern edge of town. I sat and ate my lunch and watched the small group of swans feeding. I noticed the coots and mallards coming in really close to the up-ended birds.  I then realized they were scavenging odds and ends that the swans were stirring up from the bottom. The coots were in and out between the family of three swans with one swan giving it an annoyed bite as it approached too close. The mallards also occasionally went at the coots being protective of their feeding turf. The coots were diligent and every so often they found a morsel to feed on. Photographing this behavior was not easy as I had to be quick with the focusing and exposure compensation. The birds were constantly moving making sharpness and depth of field a non-stop problem. My slow photo day turned into a fun December afternoon watching the birds and practicing my camera skills.

 

 

Reflective Mornings

Tags

Common Merganser, Killdeer, Lesser Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitcher, reflections, Spotted Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope

By mid August early signs of fall migration are starting and a number of different bird species will head south via western Wyoming. I like to keep an eye on a local mudflat and watch the shorebirds come through, practicing my “non-breeding” plumage ID. This can be challenging and it is a necessity to pay attention to size and shape. Now, Sublette County is not known for it’s large flocks of shorebirds such as you may see on the coast or near large, inland lakes but we do get small flocks and individual birds that keep me guessing; such as the bird at the top of this blog. Is it a Long-billed or a Short-billed Dowitcher.  It hasn’t made a call thus I have no voice for help.  I, along with several experts, are hedging towards a Long-billed but it is in the process of molting, making it difficult to be positive, and the two birds, Long and Short-billed  are very similar in appearance.

I like to sit at this stinky, bug ridden mudflat as the foliage reflecting on the water creates great color for the background of my photographs.  It is beautiful on a calm morning with first light coming over the mountains. A different cast of characters is present each day, never numerous, but there has been at least one cooperative soul each morning.

Initially a small group of juvenile Wilson’s Phalarope were working the water surface, several of whom were quite fearless of me as they came in too close for my lens to focus. They were gone this morning thus I am believing they have moved on with the recent storms. I hope for a few more to stop and refuel on their journey south. They were quite entertaining, chasing after a variety of insects on the surface of the water.

A Lesser Yellowlegs was present on several mornings. Very aware, he chose to ignore my presence on several occasions and came in close for photos. He was beautiful and easier to keep in focus than the phalaropes which were in constant motion with bobbing heads.

A family group of Common Mergansers have been in the area all summer and they make quite a ruckus as they snorkel under water looking and then chasing their prey. I did receive a brief encounter (as they are very wary). I was sitting around a corner and a juvenile came snorkeling by getting sight of me on the second head lift. I was ready and fired off several quick photos. With the reflective water, it was a beautiful set up.

The local Killdeer and Spotted Sandpipers have been scattered along the shoreline also.  I felt as though I was “winning” if the alarmist Killdeer did not call out my presence to the other birds. I did notice all of the birds would raise their heads and pay attention to what this small shorebird was reporting. The Killdeer and the Spotted Sandpipers are wary of my lens but on rare occasions they did approach close for photos.  The photos showed various amounts of down on these birds telling me they are young of the year.  The Killdeer still had down on the end of the tail feathers and the Spotted Sandpipers had various amounts of down hanging on to the edge of their feathers looking quite comical and scruffy.

 

The Foxtail grass is starting to lose it’s color now, decreasing the vibrance of the reflective water.  I will continue to work the shoreline in hopes of numerous migrants coming through. It is good practice to ID these birds and to also sit quietly in one place, something we don’t do much of these days.

 

 

 

Mountain Bluebirds

Tags

Mountain Bluebirds

I find it hard to resist this beautiful bird. I headed out one morning to specifically get a good, morning-light fix.  I was well aware the Mountain Bluebirds had fledged their young at this time but I decided to go anyways. I set up on the lichen covered sandstone and awaited sunrise and the arrival of the birds.  Sure enough the rocks lit up and the bluebirds arrived and greeted the morning sunrise.  Now I am well aware this rarely happens to a photographer but on this particular morning it did and I enjoyed the sweet light on this bluebird family!!

Going to the Birds

Tags

Mountain Bluebirds, Sage Thrasher

I have mentioned this abandoned RV camp once before in a discussion on Mountain Bluebirds. I have noticed a number of different birds in this particular area over the past several years thus it has become a stop on my birding route along the Green River. This year a pair of Say’s Phoebes were nesting in the concrete block building. They built a thick, warm-looking nest on top of a wall-hung box with an open lid which provided a sheltered nest site. The parents were feeding young at this time and would enter the nest from both sides making it impossible to photograph their entry.  They would often stop, prior or after delivery of their insect dinners, on the edge of the window sill allowing several photos. While photographing this pair feeding their young, I seemed to bring out the curiosity of a few other birds nesting in the area. A Sage Thrasher came in and sat on the top of the building’s air vent to take a long look at me.  A family of bluebirds had just fledged from their RV hook-up box and enjoyed hanging out on the roof or in the rafters making their “mewing” calls to each other as they learned to catch insects. Several pieces of furniture were left to disintegrate outside of the building. The batting on the inside of the chair was providing an Eastern Kingbird with a soft lining of nest material.  She would stop by to fill her beak and then take off for the river bottom;  her distinctive black and white feathering set off by the faded orange armchair.

A Loggerhead Shrike arrived to inspect the inside of the building eventually finding a snack for it’s little ones. (I was hoping the young Phoebes were too big by this time and were not being eyed by this “raptor of the passerines”.) Vesper Sparrows, Horned Lark’s, a Western Kingbird all stopped in along with a lone Northern Mockingbird. My “first of the year” Common Nighthawk flew over letting me know he had arrived with it’s “peent” calls from the sky above me. All in all, a very birdy spot this beautiful morning.  My thoughts were: it is nice to know, we can abandon an area and leave quite a mess behind but it may someday go back to the birds.

 

 

Trumpeter Swans

What a grand sight it is to see and hear this beautiful bird, especially in flight. It is spring here in Wyoming and these birds are passing through on their way north. A few will stay and raise young in the area but the majority will continue northward.  We have had several pairs spend the winter allowing me a number of cold mornings of photography sitting under a blind.  They are wary birds and it took time and patience to approach the pond and give the swans time to relax and move within camera distance.  This particular morning it was cold and the frost was still visible on the birds feathers. Unlike myself, they had no concerns over the sub-zero temperature. I watched them awaken and toss water over their heads to rid their feathers of the frost crystals.  The water literally rolled off their backs just like a duck!! The reality of the warmth of their feathering really hit home.

The Trumpeter Swan is a large, white bird that was at one time headed for extinction.  It’s numbers have now increased but it is still easily disturbed at it’s nesting sight.  It lives along waterways, lakes, and in marshes eating submerged vegetation.  The call of this swan is described as a “ko-hoh” which can easily distinguish it from a Tundra Swan, a much smaller waterfowl that typically has a yellow spot on it’s upper mandible. Both can be seen during the migratory season in Wyoming thus it is always good to take a second look. The Trumpeter Swan can often be heard calling in flight and I thoroughly enjoy seeing a family group winging by on a cold, winter/spring day!