Archive for the ‘pelican’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge

Monday, June 15th, 2009

Have been staying at Lake Walcott State Park in south-central Idaho the past few days. The park is unique, in that it is located within the Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge. This allows parts of the refuge to be used by the public for boating, fishing and camping.

The weather has been nice. It usually ranges from the 50′s at night to the 70′s in the day. Clouds and light rain blow through at least once a day, but does not stay long. Have not had any thunder or hail yet.

Above, the old main highway that runs parallel to the Snake River (and the refuge) and the new I-84. Had the good luck to see the hawk while driving the road.

There is a large flock of white pelicans here. The one above is diving for a fish in an area of rapids on the Snake River.

Bullock’s oriole. Have also seen a cedar waxwing.

Eastern kingbird.

Magpie fledgling. There are five of them perched inside a small pine tree near where I am camped.

Robin fledgling following one of it’s parents around.

Think this is an Eastern kingbird fledgling.

The way here: Stayed two days at Bruneau Dunes State Park. It has sand dunes, small lakes, and an observatory. C.J. Strike Wildlife Management Area is also right next to it and has no hookup camping areas. I found some nice areas in the wildlife area, but no place I’d want to take my trailer. Really got my truck muddy driving through parts of it and had to use my 4-wheel drive at one point. Made me thankful to have it.

Western (top) and eastern (bottom) kingbirds seen at Bruneau Dunes State Park.

Posted in falcon, kingbird, magpie, Mountain Home, oriole, pelican, robin, Rupert, State, wildlife refuge | No Comments »

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

Monday, June 1st, 2009

Drove a little more than 100 miles from the Hart Antelope Refuge to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, which I visited last fall. Just stayed one day. Did not see any large flocks of any one bird, but rather a large variety of nesting birds.

Above, two cliff swallows in their mud mansion.

Think this is an ash-throated flycatcher.

Long-billed curlew

Yellow warbler

Posted in Burns, curlew, flycatcher, pelican, swallow, wildlife refuge, yellow warbler | Comments Off

More from Tulelake

Friday, May 29th, 2009

Yesterday afternoon, found the eagle at the same spot again. It had been sunny in the morning, but a thunderstorm swept through in the afternoon with rain and some hail. Just lasted around 20 minutes. You could see areas in the valley were sunny and some were getting rain and lightning.

Thunderstorm moves across the refuge road.

Western grebe, one of my favorite birds.

Eared grebe in the rain.

Cinnamon teals, a favorite duck of hunters.

Pelicans, cormorants, and terns resting and grooming after the rain. Have seen some juvenile pelicans, but no real young ones. There is a large group of white pelicans towards the middle of the lake.

Below, my campsite at the Tulelake Fairgrounds. This would be an idyllic  place except for all the chemicals used by the farmers. A crop duster flies over farmland almost every day. Hate to think of all the chemicals in the water at Tule Lake.

Posted in Airstream, cormorants, eagle, grebe, pelican, teal, tern, Tulelake, wildlife refuge | No Comments »

Salton Sea State Recreation Area

Monday, March 16th, 2009

Stayed at the Salton Sea State Park one night at their Salt Creek Campground. Enjoyed staying at the no hookup campground next to the water.

The pictures below were taken in the morning light. The protuberances seen on the beaks of the pelicans in the second picture had me concerned. Later found out adult pelicans have these in the breeding season.

Above: Get off my cloud! Some of the pelicans got protective of their fishing areas.

A variety of gulls, along with pelicans and a few herons and terns, roosted on sandbars. Gulls were continuously flying in and out of the roost.

When I went to close the door of my rv after it got dark, saw a lot of pelican activity on the water. Looks like they wanted a bedtime snack.

Posted in Airstream, heron, pelican, Salton Sea, State, tern | 1 Comment »

Estero Llano Grande State Park

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009

Have spent most of  my time at Estero Llano Grande State Park as they have the most birds. Above: A lone roseate spoonbill has been roosting with some black-bellied whistling ducks the few days I’ve checked. Nearby are some white pelicans.

A tricolored heron eyeing a small fish.

Grebe

When I started hearing great kiskadees in Arroyo City, it took me a while to recall the kiskadee’s distinct calls. You often hear them but not see them and they are often heard in stereo, with one on each side of you.

great_kiskadeecalls

A sora, the first one I’ve seen. A volunteer heading a bird walk mentioned you could often see one at this spot, and he was right. The park has some very knowledgeable birders.

There are a lot of moss covered trees at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, especially along the land near the Rio Grande River. I rode my bike on on their 7 mile paved road (cars are not allowed in the winter, just a tram) and walked most of their trails. Did not see a lot of birds. Saw scat left by small to medium sized animals, so there is a lot of wildlife there, just hidden in the woods.

A squirrel getting around a squirrel-proof bird feeder at Frontera Audubon Thicket.

Below, a malachite butterfly, also at Frontera.


Posted in Alamo, black-bellied whistling, butterfly, egret, grebe, heron, pelican, roseate spoonbill, sora, State, wildlife refuge | Comments Off

Goose Island State Park, Texas

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

Have been at Goose Island State Park, near Rockport, Texas for the past week. Glad to find it pretty much the same as last year. The big tree also made it through the hurricane ok.

Above, a rail, I think a clapper rail. Saw it while driving in the park and quickly grabbed my camera. My first picture of a rail.

Think this is a ruddy turnstone.

Drove 30 miles to Mustang Island State Park on a cold and windy day. The heron and the terns above were on the park beach. Maybe next year I’ll stay here a few days. It is a lot like South Padre Island, just not quite as over-developed. I like Goose Island State Park. I have an ocean view, good evdo internet coverage, and am near the town of Rockport and the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge sustained severe hurricane damage from salt water in the fresh water marshes. Most of the fresh water marshes are dry and you see piles of salt everywhere.

Birds seen but not pictured: night herons, crested caracara, roseate spoonbill, sandhill cranes, kestrel, snake bird. Also, saw a large group of ducks fly by as it got dark. 99.9% sure they were black-bellied whistling ducks just from their whistles.

Saw this muscovy duck last year near a privately owned pond near Goose Island park. There were two of them, but the second one has since been killed by a car. Feel sorry for this guy/girl, by itself. Guess the people around the pond give it a lot of attention.

Little blue heron at the same privately owned pond.

Have been trying to get a picture of a kingfisher for a long time. They are small and so quick to fly away, it’s hard to get close enough to get a good picture. Last year I saw a kingfisher on one of the private piers near the Goose Island park. Sure enough, found one again in the same area.

Posted in heron, kingfisher, muscovy, pelican, rail, State, tern, turnstone | Comments Off

Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge

Friday, October 17th, 2008

I’m here in Tulelake, California, with hunters and coyotes, at the Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge, where migrating birds are arriving.

Seeing a few sandhill cranes.

An eared grebe with a small fish.

Northern shoveler

Canvasback

Next to the refuge, there is a ranch house with a fenced garden with pumpkins and other squash. Don’t know if the owners wanted the mule deer inside their garden!

A parent western grebe giving its’ young one a small fish. The young one swallows it whole.

Posted in canvasback, coyote, deer, grebe, hawk, northern shoveler, pelican, ring-necked pheasant, sandhill crane, Tulelake | 2 Comments »

Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges

Saturday, June 14th, 2008

eagle.jpg

I came to Tulelake, California to visit the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge and the Tulelake National Wildlife Refuge, the two refuges in the Klamath Basin that are in California. I am staying at the local fairground’s rv park because I can get a full hookup site for just $13 per day with my Passport America discount card. It is nice, facing out to farmland. This is a very small farming town with no housing developments, no Walmart, no big grocery chain, or fast-food outlet, and hardly any traffic. People in town park their rv’s in front of their houses with no problems.

As you can see above, I got my first picture of a wild bald eagle! Saw it on the auto tour of the Tulelake refuge. Think the tall posts like it is on are put out to attract raptors, as there are no wires attached to it. Seeing eagles is common in the area. They have more eagles in the Klamath Basin than any where else in the U.S., except Alaska. Nearby Bear Valley National Wildlife Refuge is there to protect a major nesting area of eagles. Visitors are not allowed, but I’ve read where on winter mornings you can often see hundreds of eagles fly out to hunt for food from the highway near the refuge border.

earedgrebe1.jpg

A breeding adult eared grebe.

westerngrebe.jpg

A western grebe, one of my favorites.

avocetklamath.jpg

avocetklamath2.jpg

American avocet
whitepelicans1.jpg

whitepelicans2.jpg

As soon as these white pelicans saw me, they flew off to join a large group of pelicans on the lake.

ringneckedpheasant1.jpg

A male ring-necked pheasant. The female was very quick to run off, while the male just took his time.

When I passed through Klamath Falls last year, I was bugged. The bugs are still here. On visiting the Tulelake refuge in the morning, there were bugs swarming all over near the water: midges, mosquitoes, gnats, moths, etc. They covered my truck cover. I had to brave them to get my pictures. Think the midges outnumbered the mosquitoes, as I didn’t get any bites. When I returned later in the day, there were much fewer bugs, but fewer birds too! So I’ll just be sure to dress appropriately and take along repellent.

Birds seen but not pictured (so many): night herons, blue herons, egrets, ducks (many different kinds), geese, cormorants, red winged and yellow headed blackbirds, white faced ibis, black necked stilt, killdeer, and many more I can’t recall.

Second morning trip to Tulelake refuge.

eagle2.jpg

The eagle was there again, just on a different post.

klamathawk.jpg

There were a couple of hawks by the Visitor’s Center.

klamathpelicans.jpg

Pelicans fishing as a group.

midges.jpg

Some midges on the back of my truck.

Posted in black bird, cormorants, ducks, eagle, egret, geese, grebe, hawk, heron, Ibis, pelican, ring-necked pheasant, swallow, Tulelake, wildlife refuge | 1 Comment »

The Big Tree

Friday, January 4th, 2008

bigtree.jpg

The area around Goose Island State Park in Texas is primarily known for two things: the largest winter population of endangered whooping cranes and The Big Tree. This is a coastal live oak that is more than 1,000 years old. There are beautiful groves of oaks all over this area. Homes and roads are often built with a view towards saving all the oak trees they can.

oakstreet.jpg

oystercatcher.jpg

An American oystercatcher, a rare visitor from Mexico.

whiteibis.jpg

A white ibis, a rare visitor to muddy pools, marshes, and mudflats.

brownpelicans.jpg

Brown pelicans by the bait shop at Goose Island State Park.

pelicanfish.jpg

Pelicans watch intently as fishermen clean fish. You know pandemonium will break loose when any scraps are thrown their way.

fultonmansion.jpg

The Fulton Mansion in Rockport.  Built in 1877 by George Fulton, with indoor plumbing and central heating.

Posted in Ibis, Oystercatcher, pelican, Rockport, State | Comments Off

Los Angeles Area

Monday, December 10th, 2007

pelcor.jpg

Spent close to two weeks in the Los Angeles area. First in Riverside, at Rancho Jurupa County Park, then the KOA in Pomona. At Rancho Jurupa, the two pairs of ducks that were there before are still doing well. Also, in their small fishing pond, there were some visiting white pelicans, cormorants and a blue heron.

heroncor.jpg

There is no shallow area in the pond for the blue heron to wade in. It kept watching the cormorants catch fish and wanted in the water, but it was too deep.

I stayed a few days more than I had to in Pomona waiting for mail that had been forwarded to me. Finally had to give up on it and head down to San Diego. At least I payed all my bills online, so there should not be any outstanding bills.

Posted in cormorants, County, ducks, heron, Los Angeles, pelican, Riverside | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »