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Tag Archives: birds

Early Morning Birdwalk

I was up early and out on the wet hillside this morning, hoping to hear birds and try to figure out which ones were singing. It was a glorious morning after all the rain we’ve had this week. Rubber boots were the fashion statement of the morning. I meant to take the big camera but, somehow managed to leave it behind so once again, Instagram to the rescue. Really, I mean to get serious about photography again. Soon. Really.

 

That’s our nicest pine tree

 

The ground is starting to heal nicely after the April 17th brush fire

 

Sunrise!

 

I think these are Douglas sunflowers

 

I don’t think the pines down in the draw are going to survive

 

Here’s something new

 

Lots of chokecherry blossoms this year

 

Target practice?

 And birds. Here is the list of birds I was able to identify by sight or sound:

California Quail

Dusky Grouse

Red-tailed Hawk

Mourning Dove

Rufous Hummingbird

Calliope Hummingbird

Northern Flicker

Western Wood-Pewee

Willow Flycatcher

Say’s Phoebe

Warbling Vireo

Red-eyed Vireo

Common Raven

Tree Swallow

Violet-green Swallow

Black-capped Chickadee

Mountain Chickadee

House Wren

Western Bluebird

Mountain Bluebird

American Robin

Gray Catbird

Orange-crowned Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Spotted Towhee

Western Tanager

Black-headed Grosbeak

Brewer’s Blackbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Cassin’s Finch

Pine Siskin

Exploring the Cypress Swamps

We spent a day visiting Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and the Six Mile Cypress Preserve. Both places were full of wildlife and exotic (to us) plants and trees. They also feature boardwalks for safe and dry walking conditions. Also lots of good interpretive material to teach us about this exotic place. Much of Florida is developed for human habitation so these preserves represent small islands of what Florida used to be.

 A Red-shouldered Hawk, related to, but smaller than Red-tailed Hawk

We saw lots of kinds of turtles. I think these two are cooters

Watch out for this guy

Lunch?

Somehow the turtle escaped!

I think he was giving the wildlife watchers the evil eye because most of us were rooting for the turtle.

I need to find out the name of this snake. We saw several black racers but this one has a pattern on its face so it must be some other species.

Butterflies are so hard to photograph

I loved seeing the air plants and bromeliads in their native habitats!

Wood Stork

Green Heron

There were lots of kinds of fish. Some are introduced species, dumped out of people’s aquariums.

Another kind of turtle whose name escapes me. Ken will remember.

I think this one is a painted turtle like the ones that live here.

Lizards were always rustling in the brush. Also hard to photograph.

 

Little Blue Heron

Common Moorhen, similar to an American Coot

Yellow-crowned Nightheron

Small alligator, less than three feet long.

The egret in front was chased all over this pond by the other egret and a heron. We couldn’t figure out why its presence was not appreciated.

Glossy Ibis, very similar to White-faced Ibis

Coming in for a landing

Anhinga

The Anhinga uses its tail as a rudder underwater

White Ibis

Anhinga and turtle in the late afternoon sun

Spring Cleaning

Spring is the time to clean out the nest boxes around here. We enjoy the birds year ’round and especially like to have secure places for them to nest and raise their young before moving on. Violet-green Swallows and Tree Swallows, Mountain and Western Bluebirds are all nesting birds we like to encourage. Unfortunately we have learned that the diminutive House Wrens will wreak havoc on other nesting birds, especially the swallows. The tiny wrens will fill a box with sticks, even if there is already another nest present and they’ve been know to attack and kill the bigger swallows. It’s a tough world out there.

 

Fence post yard art

 

Pulling out an old swallow nest

 

The Mountain Chickadees followed us and kept up a running dialogue on our efforts

 

Ken points to a tiny skeleton of a baby bird that did not fledge

 

Here is a beautiful swallow nest lined with soft feathers. The adults collect these feathers to provide a cushy setting for the eggs and babies.

 

There’s one of those chickadees. They do not use our nest boxes for nesting although they do use them for winter night roosts.

 

 

 More yard art, this time in the snow

 

This tiny chickadee must have been sick and died over the winter in one of the boxes.

 

Why Did The Grouse Cross the Road?

Ruffed Grouse on Lester Road yesterday. I love their slooowwww, measured steps. It’s almost as if the bird is thinking ‘if I take it easy and don’t make any sudden moves, no one will notice me on this snow-covered road’.

 

 

 

 

To get to the other side, silly.

 

 

 

 

Less than desirable photo quality is due to shooting through the windshield.

The Newport Aquarium

Once we left the interior of Oregon, we headed straight out to the coast and set up camp at Carl G. Washburn State Park between Newport and Florence. The weather wasn’t always nice and we spent one day at the Newport Aquarium. It was a great way to while away a rainy day full of fascinating animals displayed in large spaces with great viewing opportunties. Being near the end of the school year, there were many student groups out on field trips. They were having lots of fun and maybe learning something too.

 

Some of the displays surround the viewer with water all around. This is looking straight up.

 

 

 

These jellyfish – Sea Nettles – were my favorite.

 

 

Moon Jellies

 

Not all the species were water based.

 

Tufted Puffin

 

Common Murre

 

The seals and sea lions looked like they were having so much fun gliding through the water.