Camas National Wildlife Refuge Part 2 03-26-2011

Birds in abundance, they were all over, some were there by the thousands and others were a treat to see by themselves. I will be back several times this spring to try and get the full effect of what a migration really is.

One of the first birds to see and hear were Sandhill Cranes, They ended up being all over the refuge. The first time that I can ever remember seeing a Sandhill Crane was on a campout with my Boy Scout troop. I was up early one morning and I could hear them and then spotted them through some cheap binoculars. I told the leader that was with me that there were a couple deer put in the distance. He looked and informed me that they were Sandhill Cranes, that made more since once they flew away.  I have done that several time since with their size and color they might be mixed up with deer (especially when their heads are down).  When you see them up a little closer you will notice that they are not very colorful except for a portion of their head that holds some bright red.

03-26-2011, Camas National Wildlife Refuge, ID. Canon T2i. (edited in Camera Raw)

03-26-2011, Camas National Wildlife Refuge, ID. Canon T2i. (edited in Camera Raw)

Notice how well they blend in, can you find both of the cranes?

03-26-2011, Camas National Wildlife Refuge, ID. Canon T2i. (edited in Camera Raw)

03-26-2011, Camas National Wildlife Refuge, ID. Canon T2i. (edited in Camera Raw)

03-26-2011, Camas National Wildlife Refuge, ID. Canon T2i. (edited in Camera Raw)

03-26-2011, Camas National Wildlife Refuge, ID. Canon T2i. (edited in Camera Raw)

I saw quite a few cranes in flight and it was really neat to watch them land.

03-26-2011, Camas National Wildlife Refuge, ID. Canon T2i. (edited in Camera Raw)

While I was out I probably saw close to  40 cranes, most of them were groups of 5 or so but there was a couple groups of about ten.

Northern Harrier, I am not sure how many I saw but they were all over the place, I watched them enough that I should never mistake what they look like again. A few very distinct characteristics would include a white strip between their back and tail and the tips of their wings are dark brown to black while the rest of the wing are more white. (the tips of the wings is more prevalent in the males).

There were thousands of Snow Geese coming in to land I was told that there was some Ross Geese in with them as well but my eye is not that good yet.

This is a pano of all the Snow Geese in the pond, all the white from left to center are snow geese and the white on the right are Trumpeter Swans. If I was to print this pano it would be a foot by 23 feet long.

A male Pheasant is pretty hard to mistake for any other bird with the bright colors and long tail. These guys are fast this one ducked its head and ran, it was pretty hard to keep up with my camera.

With all the bright colors it is still amazing how well they blend into their surroundings.

This is the second time that I have seen a Hooded Merganser and the first time I was close enough to get a decent picture. The first time I saw them I was thinking that I was looking at a Bufflehead, the head markings are very similar. If you really take a loo at both birds you will notice there is quite a bit a difference, the first detail I notice to recognize any merganser it its beak. Their beaks are long and almost pointed.

Here are some Red-breasted Mergansers again with the long pointy beak, and add a bad hair dew to that. Although the Common Merganser Female seems to share that trait.

This American Coot was one of several to be seen today basically a black body and white beak will give them away. Also if you ever watch one they swim very funny when they are trying to speed up it is like they are scooting forward in the water.

The Say’s Phoebe was a first for me I am still working on ways that I can really identify it. It does have a yellowish underbelly but if I were to see the backside I would still have problems getting it right.

All the birds below are going to pretty familiar, and some of my favorite shots of the day.

My first migration! 03-25-2011

I have done a lot of reading about the migration this year so that I can keep up to date on what is taking place.  On top of that I have become involved in the incorporations of the  Henry’s  Fork Audubon Society that is currently being developed for Fremont, Teton, and Madison counties in Idaho. So I feel I need to become a bit more educated in a lot of areas.  In my reading I learned that this year and in years past that the Snow Geese stop for a while west of Rigby ID. I was in Idaho Falls picking up my camera replacement and decided to try and find the area on the way back. Well we found it and there were hundreds if not thousands of Snow Geese present.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

03-25-2011 West of Rigby, ID.  Canon T2i, (Camera Raw edits)

03-25-2011 West of Rigby, ID.  Canon T2i, (Camera Raw edits)

03-25-2011 West of Rigby, ID.  Canon T2i, (Camera Raw edits)

Just about as soon as a I arrived they all took off at once, and it was a spectacle to see. The sun was setting and nobody knew where they were going they went back and forth for awhile before they came back down.

This was my first time ever seeing so many birds at one time, I have always know that birds migrate but not until recently have I really understood what that meant. I knew what it meant in the literal since, it meant birds flying from one place to another. But now I realize the mass of birds that come with the migration and that they don’t just fly across continents in a day. The migration for many birds could take weeks to months, they have to stop and rest and eat to get the energy stored up to keep going. In Idaho we are part of two flyways for birds during the migration the Pacific and Central flyways.