More from my recent photo dump. The Mountain Bluebird was in the mountains. The first Bald Eagle was at a lake, photographed at dusk from a boat. The Turkey Vulture, Western Bluebird feeding young and the last Bald Eagle are from here at home.
Tag Archives: bluebirds
Sky and I got away for three days last week. The weather continues to be fairly cool, well cold, most days. The dog water froze outside each night and I was grateful for a working heater in the camper. We walked and walked and walked and saw a fair number of deer. There was one otter that entertained me for an afternoon. We also saw a skunk on one of our rambles in the hills. Luckily, I saw it before it saw us! I identified 64 bird species and am sure I missed some whose songs I didn’t recognize. We had a fine campsite overlooking a small lake with a variety of waterfowl and one lone swan. There were numerous buttercups in bloom and one Astragulus and some tiny lomatiums. The snow had just finished melting and while we were there, we had one impressive snow squall that left the hills white til the sun came out again. Mountain Bluebirds were everywhere! Red-winged Blackbirds, American Robins and Canada Geese woke us each morning with their songs and calls.
Here is my bird list for the three days:
Canada Goose
Tundra Swan
Wood Duck
American Wigeon
Mallard
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Greater Scaup
Bufflehead
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
California Quail
Ruffed Grouse
Dusky Grouse
Pied-billed Grebe
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Virginia Rail
American Coot
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Great Horned Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Red-naped Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Say’s Phoebe
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Pygmy Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Bewick’s Wren
American Dipper
European Starling
Western Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
American Robin
House Finch
Cassin’s Finch
Pine Siskin
Chipping Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Spotted Towhee
Western Meadowlark
Red-winged Blackbird
Brewer’s Blackbird
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Or maybe it should be End of Winter Birds or Blues. Spring doesn’t begin til Sunday in the northern hemisphere. We still have some snow on the ground but it is decreasing everyday. Say’s Phoebes and Violet-green Swallows are here along the Western and Mountain Bluebirds, Western Meadowlarks and the Dusky Grouse are making appearances too. Here are a few bluebirds and a Western Meadowlark from recent walks on our hill
Speaking of motherhood, and fatherhood, a pair of Mountain Bluebirds has chosen one of our nest boxes to set up housekeeping. This is very exciting! Normally both Mountain and Western Bluebirds nest reasonably far away from our house so we see them only on our walks or at the bird bath. The box they’ve chosen is attached to the bottom of our deck and easily seen from inside the house and from the porch so we get to see them often. The Violet-green Swallows who have traditionally used this box are not happy.
Violet-green Swallow
female Mountain Bluebird
male Mountain Bluebirds
The girls and I enjoyed a good hike in the hills on Saturday.
Remnants of ranch life
Lots of water from snowmelt
This male bluebird was trying really hard to impress a female with his choice of a nesting cavity
Dusky Grouse
Stunning mountain views
Dead aspens
Aspens returning
Last year’s mariposa lily
Last year’s fireweed
My twelve-year-old hiking girl
Let’s go!
My Everyday Photos 