Occasionally I like to post a few photos of birds I’ve spent time with recently that haven’t made it to my blog for various reasons. Some were taken under difficult conditions, some have obvious flaws and for others the timing just wasn’t right but all of them have strengths or are interesting and I think they deserve to be seen.
All photos were taken in the mountains, in the desert or at bird refuges in the last ten days. Sorry, no image techs today. Once again I ran out of time.
A male Yellow Warbler who looked my way just long enough for two quick photos. The other one was soft.
A female Yellow Warbler in a demure pose and with a tail feather askew. I photographed both warblers on the same morning in the same small area so it’s possible they’re a mated pair.
A couple of Red-tailed Hawk chicks in their cliff nest.
They look hot but it was a cool morning so I don’t believe they were. Originally there were three chicks in the nest but by the time this photo was taken only two were left. At this point they’ve lost most of their gray down feathers, many of which can be seen littering the outside of the nest.
It makes me smile because I think the shadow on the rock thrown by one of the chicks looks like a chicken.
A Long-billed Curlew chick foraging near the Bear River.
This youngster was in a group of chicks of at least three distinct and different ages which is something I don’t remember seeing with this species in the past. Cornell’s Birds of the World says “adoption of chicks into broods of similar age does occur” but many of these chicks certainly weren’t what I’d call ‘of similar ages’. I thought it was a bit curious.
This is the adult female (I believe, based on bill size and shape) Long-billed Curlew that was watching over the entire mixed brood of chicks. She was side lit and it was fairly late in the morning so I was disappointed to not get any light in her eye. The Bear River is in the background, thus the vertical reflections from vegetation at the far shore behind her at the top of the frame.
A recently fledged Short-eared Owl in very early morning light.
The entire family of owls was in the area but this side lit cutie was closest and most exposed. I don’t get to see the ‘short’ ear tufts of this species raised very often, especially in owls this young, And this bird raised its right foot for a moment to match its raised ear tufts.
I’ll conclude with a singing male Lazuli Bunting.
He was one of four or five males that were constantly chasing each other around and through the tree but only once did one of them perch long enough out in the open for clean and unobstructed photos. I like this singing pose but was disappointed by the out of focus branch in front of his face. I’m less bothered by his partially hidden tail tip.
I’ve been hunkering down at home in recent days because of cold and stormy weather not conducive to photography. It’s almost July and there’s significant new snow in the mountains and destructive wildfires out of control in the valleys, many caused by illegal fireworks. It’s crazy around here.
But starting later today weather is forecast to improve significantly so hopefully I’ll have new and interesting photos to post soon.
Ron
For those interested: Yesterday I received my repair estimate from Canon for my malfunctioning 1.4 teleconverter – $138 + $25 shipping. I told them to proceed with the repair even though they didn’t tell me what needed to be fixed.
In the meantime I’ve purchased a new teleconverter so I’ll either keep the old one for backup or sell it.
I like the variety of shots, especially the short-eared owl. The weather has been dreary but our grass is green and happy. With so many sunny days in the forecast the brown’s are waiting to appear.
Thanks for the great photos, Ron
What a great time of year to be able to locate bird families and when possible come away with a few images! Thank you so much for sharing these, Ron.
Of course, in your case, the “images” are jealousy-inducing high quality photographs which showcase the subject’s beauty and document unique behavior. I mean, you know, once we wade through all the flaws and stuff.
But seriously, we are each definitely our own worst critics. My wife constantly ensures me that if I would just quit pointing out all the mistakes, no one would notice. (Hah! I know better.)
On the weather front (yeah, I did that) – I’ll keep my fingers crossed for a big old rain storm on the Fourth for you. Nature’s fireworks are much more impressive and maybe the lightning will keep a few morons inside.
Thank you, Wally.
I’m not a praying man but I just might considering praying (not likely, but maybe…) for a deluge for the July 4th “celebration” from about 8 PM until dawn the next morning. Same thing goes for the July 24th holiday, which around here is a far bigger deal than plain old Independence Day with far more fireworks. I’m not kidding, it really is.
We don’t need the lightning though.
I love all your birdpourri posts! So much fun to see the variety and especially fun to see all the fuzzies. 😍
I love the way your first two shots line up — it looks like the diagonal branch continues between the two shots.
While all the public fireworks shows in our county have been cancelled because of the COVID spike, individual assholes are busy setting them off in our neighborhood and scaring the crap out of my already terrified foster kittens. NOT looking forward to this weekend and CA has already had some devastating wildfires this season.
It’s possible it’s parts of the same branch in both shots, Marty. Can’t remember.
Good luck to us all with the fireworks. And the assholes.
A truly delightful potpourri. I do have ‘favourites’ but would be more than happy to see any one of them. And probably close to exstatic if I managed to photograph any of them.
I hope (fervently) that your wildfires dire out. It is a measure of how strong ours were that for the first time in yonks our New Year wasn’t celebrated with fireworks. A move I welcomed for multiple reasons.
Here in Utah we have two fireworks laden holidays coming up next month. I’m so dreading it.
A great smorgasbord for the eyes! Love the RedTail chicks and of course the ShortEar is to die for! I usually see the male Yellow Warbler for some reason. There are two willow wetlands near here that have a lot of yellow warblers nesting this year. They really seem to like the willows…I did catch a siting of a female this morning (I believe it was female) but she disappeared before I could zero in on her. Those ear tufts and that slightly raised foot is beautiful…looks like you are getting the nod of approval with a high five to boot! 🙂
Kathy, those males are so bright and flashy it’s hard not to see them, even from a distance. Getting them to hold still for a photo is another matter.
A wonderful variety of beautiful birds today, happy to see them all, but especially the growing RT hawk chicks (sorry they lost a sib) and SEO.
Thanks also for links to Granite Mtn Hot Shots and juniper tree videos — hard to believe it’s seven years ago. What a loss. Hoping we will not experience more wildfire tragedies in the coming months.
Thank you, Chris.
With our lax fireworks laws here in Utah combined with more than our share of clueless people I’m confident our fire situation will only get worse. And target shooters using exploding targets are causing some of our fires too . Stupid humans…
Sadly, we have ONE city in Ventura Co. that allows fireworks sales! And after it suffered a pretty scary brush fire last fall, you’d think catch a clue ….
On a happier note, I joined a HawkWatch online session earlier today and got to gaze upon the beauty of your little friend Galileo — what a charmer! So grateful you & Mia were there to rescue him from that nasty barbed wire fence in the nick of time!
I was wondering if they’d feature Galileo in that session. Thanks for letting me know, Chris – wish I had watched it.
Very nice collection to drink coffee with.
Good!
Another thanks, Ron, for your posting of the Hotshots memorial video–
it’s a beautiful reminder of the dedication of all of the other wildlands firefighters
all across the world to their mission of saving habitat and to each other’s
welfare. I found it very moving.
You’re welcome, Kris. They certainly deserve to be remembered. And honored.
I love potpourri days. They are always a treat!
Of course, I love the baby redtails! I can also tell you that it might be possible to use those shedded down feathers to hold aircraft together! They’re just that sticky. I can’t get out of the house without at least two or three of them stuck to me in various places. Removing them is a huge challenge since they stick like they’re glued to you!
The brood of adopted long-billed curlews is very interesting, however, I’ve witnessed first-hand how strong that parental urge is. The call of a hungry baby is irresistible, even sometimes across species as evidenced by the redtail chick in the eagle nest!
The look of surprised curiosity on the short-eared owl’s face is just flat CUTE! But overall, that’s the job of babies 😉
Love the yellow warblers and the Lazuli bunting!
Sorry you’re having bad weather, but that low-pressure system brought us some “cool” weather. Here in AZ, the 90s pass as cool–all things being relative. LOL!
Laura, I know what you mean about the sticky down feathers from the days when I raised pigeons as a kid. My mom was always complaining about the feathers I tracked into the house. But she usually complained with a smile because the thought my pigeons “kept me out of trouble”. And they did, mostly.
That you were able to find all these species and capture such beautiful images In just ten days (and there are undoubtedly more) is a real showcase for the talent and experience you have achieved through your years of photography. Inclement weather keeping you at home certainly has its rewards for us.
Thanks very much, Lyle. But I’m ready for some sunshine!
This was a wonderful, varied and lively “wild bunch” this morning–thanks !
In thinking of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, I like to remember how much
habitat they were successful in saving before they themselves were lost.
Anyone interested should look up the classic, proud photo of them in and
in front of a massive, very old Juniper tree on Granite Mountain that they
were proud to have saved from a wildfire just days before they themselves
were claimed.
Kris, Here’s a link to the photo.
https://prestonm.com/granite-mountain-hotshots-juniper/
And here’s an interesting clip about the tree and the hotshot memorial at the tree.
Any morning that ends with a beautiful Azuli Bunting can be considered successful. Interesting weather observations. We enter July tomorrow as we await our much needed monsoon season. Today at 4:42 pm our churches who have bells will be ringing them in remembrance of our 19 Prescott Hot Shots who died at that time in Yarnell AZ 7 years ago.
Thanks, Everett. I remember the tragic loss of those hotshots.
Ron – I was just coming back here in the late afternoon to delete e-mails I have read, but decided to check in and was delighted to discover that you have added this video of our Granite Mountain Hotshots and the now famous giant juniper tree.
Margaret and I have hiked out there four or five times and always a little emotional when we get there. I did not personally know any of the guys, but she once took a photo with them up on our Thumb Butte where they were training and she was training for one of her three Grand Canyon rim to rim hikes.
Everett
I’m glad you came back to see that the links were added, Everett.
Such a wonderful bird “quilt” this morning! I love the varieties and the expressions! Also I enjoyed seeing the owl’s short ears! After an almost drought her in N. Massachusetts we have had a couple of days of lightening, thunder, and rain rain rain!! More to come. It is so green here in the forest and lots of birds singing! Come visit sometime!
Mary, years ago I spent some time at Harvard – my first trip to the state and I was very impressed by how green it was.
One of my regrets was that I didn’t know at the time that my direct paternal ancestor, Gov. Thomas Dudley, signed the original charter for Harvard and founded Cambridge. If I’d known I certainly would have poked around more of the historical sites that now have significant meaning to my family.
Beautiful shots.
Thanks, Jean.
Wonderful series! Love the young Curlew – have never seen one before. It IS curious about the various ages in the group. Red Tailed Hawk chicks and SEO are always a treat. 🙂
2″ rain over about 24 hrs. here – needed……. 🙂 It’s been and is a strange year weather wise!
Judy, we’re also having an unusually cool and wet early summer. Hopefully it’ll at least slow down the disappearing Great Salt Lake.