Patience pays off 04-01-2011

Today was another day in Madison and Fremont Counties out to Warm Slough over to Beaver Dick Park, and back out to Salem. It was nice to see more than just birds out, I saw 3 moose today but none were in a good place for pictures as well as a few other mammals.

The four pictures of the Bald Eagle below took some patience but it paid off, these our four of many that I took as the Eagle left its perch.

Bald Eagle, 04-01-2011, Canon 60D.

Bald Eagle, 04-01-2011, Canon 60D.

Bald Eagle, 04-01-2011, Canon 60D.

Bald Eagle, 04-01-2011, Canon 60D.

I have seen Red-winged Blackbirds all over the place close to where I live outside of Rexburg, ID I have seen flocks of hundreds of them flying around. But this is how they are usually seen just one at a time hanging out in his territory.

Red-winged Blackbird, 04-01-2011, Canon 60D

One, two, then three, that is how many Muskrats were swimming around. One of them did not notice me as he swam around but the other two did and were under the water and gone in a second. Waiting on this one to get close enough for a decent shot took some time, at one point I thought it was gone then it turned around and came pretty close to where I  was at.

Muskrat, 04-01-2011, Canon 60D

While I was taking pictures of the Muskrat a goose flew in and landed in the water. It didn’t take much time for it to notice I was there and it took off. I had to lighten the image up because of how dark it was since it was a quick shot that I was not prepared for.

Canada Goose, 04-01-2011, Canon 60D

I have heard and seen a few Great Horned Owls in the last few weeks but I was actually able to get a decent shot with some daylight. I must say that the owls eyes are my favorite feature they are almost haunting.

Great Horned Owl, 04-01-2011, Canon 60D

More to a Mallard than just its head, the mallard is quite a beautiful bird. I have been trying to get a good picture of one in flight and this is the best I have done so far. When the mallard is flying so much more detail and color is visible in both the male and female.

Mallard, 04-01-2011, Canon 60D

To end the day when I got home we had this little cotton tail waiting for in the driveway.

Looking for the Mystery Bird 03-29-2011

I traveled around parts of Madison and Fremont counties looking for a mysterious bird and instead saw everything but what I went looking for. The bird that I was looking for is one that I have seen about three different times, main features white tail front and back and a mostly white head, I thought it was an osprey at first but I don’t know. Hopefully next time I see it I will have my camera with me.

This is another example of a Red-tailed Hawk, if you look at some of my previous posts you will notice how different each one can be.

Red-tailed Hawk, 03-29-2011, Canon 60D.

When I first came across this Great Blue Heron I thought it was a Sand Hill Crane, it was the first time that I had ever seen a Blue Heron stand erect. When I have seen Blue Herons in the past they have always been in their “stoop” with the curve in the neck.

Great Blue Heron, 03-29-2011, Canon 60D

If you read my last post you saw a picture of two different Mergansers this is another one the Common Merganser. 

Common Merganser, 03-29-2011, Canon 60D.

There was three moose out at Warm Slough two calves and a cow, looking at the cow she came out of the winter in rough shape.  The picture does not show it the best but she was quite skinny and her ribs were quite visible.

Moose, 3-29-2011, Canon 60D.

Moose, 3-29-2011, Canon 60D.

Moose, 3-29-2011, Canon 60D.

I got lucky catching this series of pictures of below, I was also lucky that there was no cars coming. I had to flip around real fast stop the car in the middle of the road and snap a few pictures.

Moose, 3-29-2011, Canon 60D.

Moose, 3-29-2011, Canon 60D.

Moose, 3-29-2011, Canon 60D.

I forgot to change the settings on my camera as I was taking some picture of a Red-tailed Hawk and they turned out pretty well. I brightened the image a bit to bring out the sky on both the pictures.

Red-tailed Hawk, 03-29-2011, Canon 60D.

Red-tailed Hawk, 03-29-2011, Canon 60D.

Red-tailed Hawk, 03-29-2011, Canon 60D.

This is the first Swainson’s Hawk that I have seen, one detail to note compared to the Red-tailed Hawk is how pointed the wings are.

Swainson’s Hawk, 03-29-2011, Canon 60D.

First Turkey Vulture that I have seen this year, notice the broad wings.

Turkey Vulture, 03-29-2011, Canon 60D.

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.

Camas National Wildlife Refuge Part 1 03-27-2011

Camas National Wildlife Refuge is outside of Hamer, ID. the refuge is over 10,000 acres and about half of that is water. During the peak migration this area will house almost 60,000 birds at once.

I made a visit out to the refuge yesterday the 27th of March and it was already quite a spectacle but from what I understand nothing like it will be. This was a great trip for several reasons one I was able to enjoy more wildlife than just birds this trip, and two I saw several “lifers” (birds that this is my first time seeing).

During the last few months I have seen quite a few deer and a couple of moose but compared to spending the last summer in Yellowstone this seems like nothing. It was nice to go out and get a few shots of a few mammals although it was still not much.

Porcupine 1, 03-26-2011, Camas National Wildlife Refuge, Canon T2i.

Guess which way the wind I blowing!

Porcupine 2, 03-26-2011, Camas National Wildlife Refuge, Canon T2i.

I was surprised that staring off we had only seen one porcupine, last time I came up in no time at all I had seen about 7. It took a little bit of time and driving to the far end of the refuge before I came across two within a couple hundred feet of each other and both on the road. Looking at them they look like they would be fun to pickup and walk around with. If you look closer you will notice that is not the case, if you pay attention to its backside and tail you will notice the quills. the quills become a lot more noticeable if the porcupine gets agitated, and I was not about to make this porcupine mad. 

The other mammal that I saw was completely by luck I was following a Northern Harrier in flight when through my lens I noticed a deer. The picture was not worth putting on so I didn’t.