Refuge Sunday

A warmish but overcast day, we took off to the refuge. As always, we couldn't have anticipated what we saw.  

Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks greeted us on the way in. Then we spotted a coyote hunting in a field and spent 30 minutes or so watching it teach us how to hunt. Following along with the coyote were two Northern Harriers, apparently using the coyote as the point to flush out the prey. Fascinating. 

Kestrels, Pied-bill Grebes, Herons, and an unknown duck gave us the rest of the fun.

Enjoy! 

Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk...

Rough-legged Hawk - comes here in the winters from Northern Canada and Alaska

The hunters..

American Kestrel - sat here while I slowly rolled past it in the vehicle and took photos as I moved by.

Here's the duck and the Pied Bill Grebe..

Beautiful GBH..

A Pied Bill tries to sneak past the Coot with a fish in its mouth..often the Coot or another grebe will chase the successful hunter hoping to get the fish away from them..

Smoggy day photography

 Thursday the air was so bad it stunk! So I wasn't at all assured any photographs would turn out worth keeping. But both Molly and I needed to get out so we went to the refuge. 

In fact it wasn't all that bad, thanks in part to the processing software that helps clean up the pictures. The juvenile Red-tailed Hawks were out and posing for us, several Herons hung around also. Harriers and Kestrels did their fly byes and a couple of Bald Eagles hung out on the ice. Way out, too far for a photo. So the day was enjoyable and a couple of good photos. Enjoy!

The Harrier photo looks much better than reality thanks to the new Replace the Sky tools in Photoshop. 

Kestrel cutie..

Juvenile looks like it's just woken up!

This Heron flew west past me, then a few minutes later - and a few squawks later - it came back flying East with another one on it's tail!

So beautiful...

Bear River Refuge visit

 We took advantage of another sunny day...and made a lunch and drove to the Bear River Wildlife Refuge. So nice and quiet to get off the freeway and begin the drive to the refuge. Kestrels on the power lines, plenty of water in the river as it moved small pieces of broken ice along, glistening and shining as they moved in the current. 

Stopped to eat lunch where we could see small white dots in the distance - tundra swans a long ways away. Molly investigated with a lot of sniffing around. We later got a bit closer to some swans but still a long shot. 

A Bald Eagle and a Rough-legged Hawk on the way in; Northern Shovelers, Swans and Harriers along the way.  One GBH.

A long drive..think I'll stick with Farmington Bay..

Male Harrier - aka Grey Ghost

Male Northern Shovel walking..

Rough-legged Hawk

Tundra swans..

A few memories...

 Diana and I were fortunate enough to be able to spend time at Sea Ranch, CA with friends. No shortage of beauty there, just time and energy to immerse yourself in it.  Here's some shots that I like..

Up and down the hills by the water these little birds are always moving..

Luscious beauty to be found close by..

Moss to remind you of the moisture in the air, in case you needed that reminder..

Otherworldly dancers in front of the Sea Ranch main lodge ..

More beauty on the ocean cliffs...

Refuge Monday

 Monday morning had a bit of sunshine so visited the refuge for a bit. Not a lot of activity, but enough to make me feel at home! Shot a number of out of focus shots on Harriers as they maneuvered around me. Just practicing my panning skills, I say.

The pheasant was a real surprise and prize.. it snuck out of tall grasses just below Goose Egg hill and wandered slowly along the path above the waterway. I do not remember ever seeing the quantity and quality of colors in a pheasant before. Absolutely stunning.

The Kestrel I had to follow around. I kept missing opportunities on drive by's so had to turn around and try again. Nothing fantastic but fun.

The big Red-tailed Hawk was not far off the road on the top of a dead branch. It posed quite nicely.

Enjoy..

Greater Yellowlegs I believe, several of them working a shallow pond.

A cacophony of color..

Red-tailed Hawk - love when they stare at me this way. They look cross-eyed.

Refuge Thursday

 Another sunny Thursday at the refuge, this one with a bit of a cold breeze from the west. Very few ducks around - last week there were tonnes - perhaps the winds this week pushed them on their migration.

A couple of first's for the season though, a Bald Eagle and a Rough-legged Hawk. Here's hoping for a lot more eagles and hawks during the next few months.

Otherwise a Red-tailed Hawk played peek-a-boo with us and a Kestrel demonstrated its classic hovering form..

Enjoy!

The first of the season Bald Eagle greeted us on the way in,..

The Red-tailed Hawk playing with us..it wasn't certain what to do about Molly..

A familiar bird but cannot remember it's name...stopped to say hello..

Sunny day at the refuge..

Thursday was a beautiful sunny day so the family went to the refuge. Molly enjoyed finding all the smells, and Diana and I enjoyed the birds.

Hawks are back - Harriers and Red-tailed along with some I have yet to identify.  Lots of them though. Great Blue Herons were out, posing for photos. The Great White Pelicans were 'gulping' their way along. A few duck and pheasant hunters - the clouds were too high for most of the duck hunters. 

Here's some photos from the time..

I needed some help from my friend Nikki at Hawkwatch to identify this Merlin..

Female Kingfisher - she turned so I could see her colors better! The male was around also.

The Pelicans gulping along. 

GBH in the field..looking for voles I guess.

Toothy muskrat - caught it as we were leaving and stopped on the first bridge..