Archive for the ‘osprey’ Category
Sunday, May 2nd, 2010
Visited the Tri-Cities area of south-central Washington (Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco) in order to visit some wildlife refuges in the area. Stayed a few days at an Army Corps of Engineers campground along the Snake River. Part of the McNary Wildlife Refuge is right next to the campground. Saw the Kingfisher above in a marsh area there.
It is the season to start seeing osprey nests.
Below, a coyote in the refuge.
Next drove through Hanford Reach National Monument. The Hanford Site is where Plutonium reactors were built in 1943 to make the atom bomb dropped on Japan in 1945. The reactors are now inactive and being dismantled. The Site is on the Columbia River and a wide area of land around it that served as a security buffer is now the Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge.
There was a severe wind alert throughout Washington and parts of Oregon and Idaho. I drove on to Toppenish to stay till they passed. The winds really shook my trailer and blew open the heavy cover on the bed of my truck. Luckily, the farmland I was parked next to had a crop growing on it, so I didn’t get a lot of topsoil blown my way.
Above, a California quail at the Toppenish Wildlife Refuge.
Below, northeast Oregon farmland along I-84. It snowed a little past where this picture was taken. Enjoyed the drive along the I-84, with all it’s rest stops.
Posted in Pasco, Toppenish, coyote, kingfisher, osprey, quail, squirrel | 1 Comment »
Friday, December 25th, 2009
Red tailed hawk (top) over a farm field. An osprey and a brown pelican near where I’m staying.
At Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge saw an osprey eating a fish on the beach. A ruddy turnstone was walking in figure-eights in front of him and occasionally getting a bite. There was also a seagull around 15 feet away waiting for the osprey to finish and leave him the leftovers. Last year when I was here I saw the same configuration of three birds and thought the turnstone had a lot of nerve. The osprey could easily kill him. Don’t know if the trio this year are the exact same birds, just thought it was interesting to see it again.
Above, a loggerhead shrike with some kind of sea creature. The shrike was acting cat like, letting the creature crawl a short distance before bringing him back. The loggerhead shrike is a small bird of prey. The only other one I’ve seen has also been here at Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge.
Ferral hogs at Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge. Had never seen them before. The refuge considers them a problem and holds special hunts for them intermittently.
One day leaving the park where I’m staying, saw a kingfisher slapping a fish back and forth against the railing. It’s throwing it up in the air in the picture above.
When I was Falcon State Park last year heard about a mascot roadrunner who, when given a hotdog, would slap it back and forth on the ground like it was a snake.
I enjoy feeding the green jays by my rv. Recently saw a Harris’s hawk perched near me (below). Have to be careful that I don’t provide him with a meal.
Posted in Arroyo City, hog, kingfisher, osprey, pelican, shrike, wildlife refuge | No Comments »
Monday, December 7th, 2009
I am visiting Choke Canyon State Park, between San Antonio and Corpus Christi, Texas. Was here once before during Thanksgiving, when it was really crowded. Now there are only a handful of people here. The birding is amazing. I decided not to go to Brazos Bend State Park, one of my favorites, this year and am finding Choke Canyon a worthy substitute. They even have alligators.
Yesterday kept intermittently hearing a strange sound that didn’t sound like birds. Finally stepped out of my rv to investigate and saw a bobcat in the brush. It looked at me briefly and then went about it’s business of looking for prey.
When I arrived at my campsite, there was a resident vermilion flycatcher hunting there.
Scissor-tailed flycatcher. First one I’ve seen.
Osprey diving into the water. Didn’t get the fish.
A kingbird, either a tropical or Cassin’s, both uncommon.
Crested caracara
Posted in State, armadillo, bobcat, caracara, flycatcher, kingbird, osprey | No Comments »
Saturday, July 25th, 2009
Have been in Heyburn State Park in Idaho for close to a week. Had a hard time finding an rv spot. They are doing a lot of construction work here and visitor’s are kind of on their own. After about an hour, I did find a nice spot. It has been warm, but being surrounded by trees cools things off. Have not had to use my air conditioner.
One thing the park has going for it is the 73-mile Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes paved trail that passes through it. Above you see the path crossing Chalcolet Lake. There are three osprey nesting near this crossing. The one in the top picture is right over the path. It was not happy with my walking under it’s nest.
An osprey doing some redecorating with a long branch.
Cedar waxwing with a berry it subsequently swallows whole.
Western tanager with fledgling.
Pretty dragonfly and a beaver in a marsh area.
Parent, on right, the same osprey as in the top picture, with a soon-to-be fledgling on the left.
Below, campsite at Heyburn.
Posted in Airstream, Plummer, State, beaver, cedar waxwing, osprey, tanager | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009
I am visiting Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, around 20 miles from the Canadian Border. The cedar waxwing, above, has some fledglings in the berry bush. The leaves were so dense, I couldn’t get a good picture of them.
On reading about Bonners Ferry on Wikipedia, found that it is near where the Ruby Ridge incident occurred. The write up on Wikipedia about this is like a novel. There are lots of places in the woods around here to try and escape society.
It is really crowded here with rv’s and motorcycles. I stopped by Glacier National Park on the way, but it was also jammed. Hope to get back there. A Canadian radio station made the comment that they just have two seasons: winter and July. This may have something to do with the crowds. It’s the best weather of the year.
Have seen this moose and calf three times. The adult always detects when people stop to watch her with the calf and she heads back into the tall grass.
Osprey. An adult was two posts down from it eating a fish.
On leaving the refuge one day, I noticed the silhouette of the back of an owl on a utility pole. I slowing walked towards it, not wanting it to fly away. Came to find it was a fake owl! Read where they were put on utility poles to keep osprey from nesting, but the osprey ended up using the fake owls in their nests.
Young deer going out into a wheat field where an adult was grazing.
Posted in Bonners Ferry, cedar waxwing, deer, geese, moose, osprey, wildlife refuge | No Comments »
Thursday, January 8th, 2009
Riding my bike I came across these male turkey’s preening and flexing their feathers.
Two different osprey.
Catbird
Brown thrasher
There is a small harbor near the park where night herons nest during the day and egrets nest at night.
At the refuge, saw two bucks fighting over a female. Could not see them as much as hear their snorting and their antlers clicking.
Posted in Arroyo City, County, catbird, deer, osprey, thrasher, turkeys, wildlife refuge | No Comments »
Friday, January 2nd, 2009
Loggerhead shrike at the refuge. This is a small predator bird that kills by biting the back of its’ victims neck to sever the spinal cord. No wonder the birds eating my grapefruit are always on high alert, very aware of their surroundings.
Wild male turkey’s congregate in one pack and female’s in another near where I am camped.
Lots of osprey in the area.
Harris’ hawks, parent in top photo, young one in lower. I was afraid the young one might have a problem with his wing. He was sleeping on a picnic table in the picture. Have since seen him with two other hawks flying without difficulty.
Roseate spoonbill at the refuge.
Posted in Arroyo City, County, San Diego, egret, green jay, hawk, osprey, roseate spoonbill, shrike, turkeys, wildlife refuge | Comments Off
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008
Moved from Rancho Jurupa Park to Prado Regional Park because I had used up Jurupa’s 14 day limit and needed to stay in the area a little longer. Prado is in Chino, 15 or 20 miles from Rancho Jurupa. It is on land leased from the Army Corps of Engineers…2,000 acres of parkland and a 60 acre lake. Found it to be a birder’s paradise. It’s rare to see so many different birds in one place. About 70% of the lake is lined with willows and other marsh plants, so there are lots of places for birds to nest and hide. There are also woods next to the lake that herons and other birds often fly to and probably nest in.
Prado Park also includes Prado Dog Park, for training work and hunting dogs; a shooting range (used in the 1984 Olympics); a radio controlled air park; an equestrian center; and a golf course.
Adult black-crowned night heron. Have never seen so many.
Juvenile black-crowned night heron.
Commorant
An osprey. Note the powerful legs and feet.
It was so good to see and hear a Western grebe again. There were a number of pairs of them. They tend to stay in the middle part of the lake, so it’s hard to get a good picture.
Geese and ducks of course.
Birds seen but not pictured: black-necked stilt, black phoebe, common tern, common moorhen, egret, turkey vulture, coot.
Campground at Prado. If you squint, you can see my rv in the center.
Posted in Airstream, Chino, County, cormorants, ducks, geese, grebe, heron, osprey | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
The above photos are from the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge visitor center area. The top ones are a gila woodpecker and green jays enjoying a grapefruit. (I put an orange on a tree by my rv and also attracted these two birds). The rabbit is to tame for its own good. I have seen it every time I have been at the visitor center.
A kestral overlooking Laguna Madre.
An osprey taking off with a fish.
South Padre Island from the refuge. There is a wreck of some sort on the left, can’t tell what it is. The dark spot on the lower right is a heron. Even though it is quite a distance from the shore, you can see how shallow the water is.
Driving home from the refuge had to stop for some turkey’s crossing the street. It was near 7 p.m., so there was very little light, but this puffed up guy caught my attention.
Posted in American kestrel, County, National, Texas, osprey, rabbit, wildlife refuge, woodpecker | No Comments »
Saturday, March 1st, 2008
I’m currently visiting the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in south Texas. It is summer here, in the 80′s, with a warm Santa Ana type wind off the ocean. Winter Texan’s in south Texas are starting to think about heading north, as after March it gets pretty warm here. Next winter, I want to come to this area by December.
A green jay, the first one I’ve even seen, is shown above. They are just found in south Texas, Mexico, and South America.
Above is a view of Laguna Madre from the wildlife refuge’s 15 mile auto tour route. The yucca are in bloom and Padre Island is off in the distance. The refuge has the largest protected area of natural habitat left in the Lower Rio Grande Valley–88,000 acres.
A pair of crested caracara, seen on the 15 mile tour route.
This picture was taken a few days after the one showing the caracara on the ground. It might well be the same two.
Posted in County, Texas, caracara, green jay, osprey, wildlife refuge | No Comments »
