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Dusky or Hammond Flycatcher?

Here is the bird that I cant quite nail down as to what it is, the Dusky and Hammond Flycatcher look like each other enough that I cant tell and a few other people have told me both ways. What do you think?

Its Spring Time! 05-19-2011

When people think about spring time in nature one of the first thoughts that come to mind is twiterpation and  babies! Well something that is even more prevalent than these two things is COLOR. It is everywhere the birds, the mammals, the reptiles, the plants, everything is bright and beautiful.

As I have looked around specifically at the birds I thought “well camouflage just got thrown out the window”. If you look at the bullock's oriole below what part of this bird says I am camouflaged so you cant see me, it must be the bright orange. I am unsure why there are so many bright birds but I am sure there is some purpose for their color even if it is just for our enjoyment.

Bullock’s Oriole, Rexburg, ID. 05-16-2011, Canon 60D.

Bullock’s Oriole, Rexburg, ID. 05-16-2011, Canon 60D.

Speaking of camouflage I am surprised that I caught a glimpse of this guy he was pretty well hid in the top of this tree. These raccoons do a pretty good job of keeping a low profile one rason is they do blend in pretty well but they also are less active in the daylight hours. This is actually the first raccoon that I can remember seeing outside of California. 

Raccoon, Rexburg, ID. 05-14-2011, Canon 60D

Raccoon, Rexburg, ID. 05-14-2011, Canon 60D

It is a great time to be out and enjoy nature, it is one of the most active times of the year, the water is running high, migration is at its peak, a lot of mammals are waking up or becoming more active, trees and flowers are starting to bloom, and it just makes you want to sing.

Red-winged Blackbird, Rexburg, ID. 05-19-2011, Canon 60D

It is so nice to see all of the green this time of year especially when the trees start to match the color of the grass. I don’t even mind the dandelions, I know they are a big pain to have in the lawn but think of what this picture (below) would look like with out the dandelions I just think that it would be missing something. Also if you look around notice the honey bees around already and notice the only real flower in bloom, well put two and two together. The dandelions are important to the honey bees right now and to all the beekeepers bring there bees back from California.

Osprey, Rexburg, ID. 05-16-2011, Canon 60D

Even this well camouflaged turtle has a bright side to him, I don’t know if he would have caught my attention if he was not displaying his belly. I have actually seen 4 turtles this year already at two different locations, I had no idea they would hang out here in freezing Idaho.

Turtle, Rexburg, ID. 05-16-2011, Canon 60D

I have seen hundreds of American Kestrels before but I have never noticed all the color these guys display. What caught my attention the most was the ring on his beak.

American Kestrel, Rexburg, ID, 05-12-2011, Canon 60D

American Kestrel, Rexburg, ID, 05-12-2011, Canon 60D

Below is not the greatest shot of what I saw so let me tell you what it was I saw. I was walking along the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River as the sun was setting down river. The sun was making a beautiful red and orange reflection across the river. Now if you have ever watched a Western Grebe you know they can pop out just about anywhere and that is what this one did. So I just followed him down river watching him pop up and down as all the colors were on display across the river.

Western Grebe, Rexburg, ID, 05-12-2011, Canon 60D

There seems to be a lot of yellow birds or birds with yellow on them, this one is the first of its kind that I have seen. It is a Western Kingbird and it was not shy I parked a cross the road and watched as it flew out over the water feasting on insects and then come back to its resting place on the fence.

Western Kingbird, Rexburg, ID. 05-16-2011, Canon 60D

Western Kingbird, Rexburg, ID. 05-16-2011, Canon 60D

Speaking of colors this Wood Duck is not lacking in any, green, brown, tan, white, red, black, and maybe a few more. I spent three days wandering seeing the same wood duck just as it would go out of view or fly away. I kept looking, it had been my first time ever seeing a wood duck and I wanted to have a chance to really look at one. They have a lot of colors but they sure do camouflage well for the first while every time I saw one it took so real looking to find it and then confirm what it was. After all this looking one day I gave up and was headed somewhere else and here was a Wood Duck just sitting on some guys chimney. What's the chance of that.

Wood Duck, Rexburg, ID. 05-16-2011, Canon 60D

Wood Duck, Rexburg, ID. 05-16-2011, Canon 60D

Here is another first the Lewis Woodpecker the first time I saw this bird I could not decide (looking through a dirty window at dusk a good distance off) if this bird was red or if it was blood stained. If you look t the picture below I thought it might have been eating a mouse or something. After getting a better look I did recognize that it had a red belly and then a day latter I got a better view of him.

Lewis Woodpecker, Rexburg, ID. 05-16-2011, Canon 60D

Lewis Woodpecker, Rexburg, ID. 05-19-2011, Canon 60D

To end one day a little light and a little color.

Sunset, Rexburg, ID. 05-18-2011, Canon 60D

Lessons from Dad! 05-08,09-2011

Saturday morning I received a call from my dad who was in town seeing if I wanted to go birding with him. We went our for an hour or so and had a good time, we were out for just a short time and as I was watching him I learned a lot that can apply for wildlife watching or anything else. Usually when I go out, not always, I am very fast paced, I look around don’t see anything and move on. While I was with my dad he slowed me down he stopped me in a few places and really observed when he was out looking. I have seen Canadian Geese a hundred times this year and did not think much of them when I saw them. On the other my dad pointed out some geese and noticed that she was nesting on goslings which soon got up and waddled around. If you are out and about enjoy yourself take time to observe and learn something, make it a goal to not move on until you have seen something new, because something new is out there.

I took this in to practice yesterday I was out looking for a great Gray Owl, hooting for it and quite a few Great Horned Owls respond. Some ended up being really close so I went and was able to take some decent pictures of them. After they had flown off I wandered around a little bit and notice a nest with a giant fir ball in it. After observing for a few minutes I saw that they were two Great Horned Owl Chicks. Had I seen the owls, and then just left I would have missed the owl chicks not only this time but in the future as I revisit this area.

Great Horned Owl, 05-08-2011, Rexburg, ID, Canon 60D, 500mm.

Great Horned Owl Chicks, 05-08-2011, Rexburg, ID, Canon 60D, 500mm.

As I was looking at the owl chicks I also noticed this osprey in the tree, knowing that the owl chicks were not going anywhere I took a second to snap a few shots. I am glad I did for a couple of reasons 1 I have never been close enough to an osprey to recognize details.Like the eyes they seem huge  it is almost like it was raised by owls I would guess this helps in seeing into the water.

Osprey, 05-08-2011, Rexburg, ID, Canon 60D, 500mm.

Osprey, 05-08-2011, Rexburg, ID, Canon 60D, 500mm.

At the end of the day I saw this Western Grebe letting the current take it down stream. It is to bad that my abilities did not allow me to capture what this scene really looked like as the sunset.

Western Grebe, 05-08-2011, Rexburg, ID, Canon 60D, 500mm.

3 ponds 3 hours 04-29-2011

I got a tip about a couple of ponds in the area that have some birds hanging out that I had not seen before or seen this year. Going and checking them out sure paid off, one pond I had to get permission from the owner before I could go down and look around but it was worth it. 

Everyday that I go out and look at birds I become even more amazed about how many different species there are and how different each one is.  I am also amazed at how each one acts so differently. For example a Great Blue heron spots me a hundred yards off and it is gone. Whereas I am on the shore of a pond and a Common Loon will swim right by me.  I am starting to notice and learn different ways to observe birds based on what I know they will do and always giving them plenty of room. Most of shots are taken with a 500mm lens so I can creep up on them from behind a tree.

Here are a couple of Mourning doves trying to soak up what ever sun they can after a few inches of snow fell last night.

Mourning Dove, 04-29-2011, Rexburg, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

Here is one of my lifers from today an Eared Greebe another one of those birds that could careless if you hung around for a little bit.

Eared Greebe, 04-29-2011, Rexburg, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

I have been able to see a lot of Greater and Lesser Scaups but never close enough to get a good picture. While I was at one of the ponds today hiding behind some willows these two floated right on pass.

Greater Scaup, 04-29-2011, Rexburg, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

The pond was covered in different swallows hovering over the water feasting on whatever insects were there to take advantage of.

Swallow, 04-29-2011, Rexburg, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

Killdeer were all over the place trying to lead me away from where they wanted to be.

Killdeer, 04-29-2011, Rexburg, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

My favorite bird that I saw today that is a lifer and one of the type of birds that I can remember wanting to see for half of my life.  I lived for a while close to a lake in the Sierra Nevada's called Loon lake and I been heard about the loons in the area but never saw them that I can remember.

Something that I thought that was interesting is I could hear a loon calling in the distance and it looked like this one was answering. But I was pretty close ad it would open its mouth and no sound would follow.

Common Loon, 04-29-2011, Rexburg, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

Common Loon, 04-29-2011, Rexburg, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

Common Loon, 04-29-2011, Rexburg, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

One of the birds that is most elusive when ever I find one in the perfect pose for a picture. I have tried everything to circle back and get a picture and they are always to fast and I miss the shot.

Great Blue Heron, 04-29-2011, Rexburg, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

Todays List

Common Loon, Eared Greebe, Forster's Tern, Ruddy Duck, Greater Scaup, Bald Eagle, American Pipit, Gray Partridge, Western Grebe, Hooded Merganser, American Avocet, American Coot, Black-crowned Night Heron, Great Blue Heron, Mallards, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Merganser, Sand piper, Mourning Dove, Lesser Yellowlegs, Western Meadow Lark, Swainson's hawk, and Double Crested Cormorant.

Lifers and other sightings 04-26-2011

This last week I got a call from Darren Clark and was told about a little bird that had lost its way, a Yellow-throated Warbler. The Yellow-throated Warbler is most commonly found in the Easter United States and migrates into Mexico. Somehow one of these birds made its way to Idaho and it was recorded as the fourth one in Idaho. I went up to the Ashton, ID fish hatchery where it was first seen and was given some direction as to where it had been seen. After waiting and looking for not to long I first heard it then found it, it came out close and jumped around for awhile then disappeared for a few minutes and soon came back. In total I watched it for about 45 min before I had to go. I came back again the next day 4-24-2011 and found and watched it for another 20 min before I went and talked with the new manager of the hatchery while our families hung out together. The yellow throat is a pretty distinguishing mark on this bird you will also notice the black and white stripes in its wing.

Yellow-throated Warbler, 4-23-2011, Ashton Fish Hatchery, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

Yellow-throated Warbler, 4-23-2011, Ashton Fish Hatchery, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

Yellow-throated Warbler, 4-23-2011, Ashton Fish Hatchery, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

Yellow-throated Warbler, 4-23-2011, Ashton Fish Hatchery, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

Yellow-throated Warbler, 4-23-2011, Ashton Fish Hatchery, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

Don’t mistake this next one for the Yellow-throated Warbler, when I first saw this bird buzzing around I saw the yellow and thought I was looking at the warbling.  I was told that this is actually a pretty common bird in the area also a warbler, a Yellow-rumped Warbler a lifer.

Yellow-rumped Warbler, 4-23-2011, Ashton Fish Hatchery, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

This night heron hung out in the tree while we were searching for the Yellow-throated Warbler another lifer.

Night Heron, 4-23-2011, Ashton Fish Hatchery, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

While I was visiting the Fish Hatchery I saw a few other birds not all I got picture of. Some of them were lifers and other I had seen before, including Evening Grosbeak, Crossbill, Cassin’s Finch, Goldfinch, Junco, Mallards, Cinnamon Teal, and others.

Dark-eyes Junco, 4-24-2011, Ashton Fish Hatchery, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

Both days that I was at the fish hatchery I saw a Muskrat, the manager latter told me that there is 5 or 6 of them around as well as a beaver, otter sign and he was told that there has been mink in the area.

Muskrat, 4-24-2011, Ashton Fish Hatchery, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

After I visited the hatchery I went on a nice hike through the Cartier Slough, there was not a lot around compared to past visits probably due to the shotguns going off. I still saw a good variety of birds though at one time I thought I saw some sort of Ibis. After walking a half mile I came across a couple of Willets hanging out with a Wilson’s Snipe.

Wilson’s Snipe, 4-23-2011, Cartier Slough, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

Willet, 4-23-2011, Cartier Slough, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

Willet, 4-23-2011, Cartier Slough, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

These two American Kestrels below I had a lot of chances to take pictures of. Every time they would fly away they would always come and land at the same place. I think that they probably had a nest in the area, at one time I startled a Red-tailed Hawk from its nest and the two Kestrels started dive bombing it trying to drive it away.

American Kestrel, Cartier Slough, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

American Kestrel, 4-23-2011, Cartier Slough, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

This is the Red-tailed Hawk that sat calmly in the tree as two upset Kestrels tried to drive it off.

Red-tailed Hawk, 4-23-2011, Cartier Slough, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

Sunday Morning I also found a couple hoping around in my year also a lifer.

White-crowned Sparrows , 4-24-2011, Rexburg, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.