Evening Meal

I recently captured this wren at Dedication Park, just south of Kuna, Idaho.  It's mate was waiting for supper and after I took this picture, this bird faithfully delivered the meal to its mate, which I assume was for some tiny family members since it quickly disappeared from view.  I love the way the light was causing a glow on the edges of the bird, rim lighting is one of my favorite types of light.

A new surprise visitor!

Common Nighthawk

(Chordeiles minor)

I had a new surprise visitor to my backyard yesterday.  I love it when a bird visits my yard that's never done so before.

At first glance, with one of the boards on my trellis in the way, I thought it was a young robin (since we have a robin family with two newer fledglings right now).  When I could see the bird in the clearing, I realized it didn't look at all like a young robin.  The beak was SO small!  Then I notice all the other markings, like the  heavy horizontal bars on it's lower breast.  This was a bird I had read about in my bird books, but never actually seen.  The name, containing the word common, suggests that it is easy to find, right? Well, I've read that the numbers have declined overall, but I've heard from someone local, that they are coming back. 

Ironically, the Common Nighthawk is neither common, nor a hawk.  It does however become more active in the early morning and evening, so at least there's that part of it's name that rings true. :)  I have something in common with this bird.  As a photographer, when in the field, I too am most active in the early morning and early evening hours.  After all, that is when the lighting is best for gorgeous outdoor images.  In photography, this time period is know as the golden hour (sometimes known as the magic hour, especially in cinematography). It is a period shortly after sunrise or before sunset during which daylight is redder and softer compared to when the sun is higher in the sky.

If you're a birder and have more than my limited knowledge as a beginner, please comment and tell me what you can about this bird and it's numbers here, in SW Idaho.  Whatever the numbers are, I sure enjoyed the time this bird spent in our yard and I hope to see more of them in the future.

Here is a list of the birds I observed and identified in my backyard yesterday, June 5th, 2014:

Common Nighthawk, European Starling, House Sparrow, American Robin, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Eurasian Collared Dove, Mourning Dove, Red-winged Black Bird, Hummingbirds. (at least Black-chinned, perhaps others)

For more information about this bird, CLICK HERE.

If you'd be so kind as to vote for my birds of prey images, you can find the info and links HERE, or just go to the previous post, 2014 Birds of Prey Photo Competition.  Thank you!

Sunday Afternoon Captures...Northern Saw-whet Owl

A tip, along with some whitewash & pellets on the sidewalk, helped me locate this adorable little owl. He/she was pretty low in the branches overhanging the sidewalk, so I was able to get some pretty close shots. It's obvious this little cutie wasn't at all threatened by my presence. I knew these were small owls, but I was unprepared for just how small they are. I assume this is a male because he was on the lower side of the size scale. (Size: Length 17 to 21.9cm (6.7-8.6") Wingspan 45.9 to 56.3cm (18.1-22.2")Weight 75-110g (2.6-3.9oz) - Females are slightly larger than males.) He was so cute, I could hardly stand it! This was my first encounter with one of these owls and it was very exciting.

I hope you enjoy this image. To see more of the images I took, please CLICK HERE to see them in their gallery. You can see them larger there, too. If you want to order prints, check out my Birds of Prey gallery in my Print Galleries. For more information on the Northern Saw-whet owl, CLICK HERE.

Woodpecker Design Examined

The woodpecker is a fantastic testament to the proof of an amazing Creator. This article I found, from the Institute for Creation Research, explains how...

"When boring into wood in search of food, a woodpecker exerts so much force with each strike that its beak should crumble, its skull should crack, and its brain should be reduced to mush. However, a suite of design features absorbs the shock and ensures that these tragedies do not happen. How are these features able to provide such effective protection?"

To read the rest of the article CLICK HERE.

Sharpie-On the Hunt

This is not the greatest quality shot by any means, since I took it hand-held through my living room window, but I still like it. There have been many sharp-shinned and cooper's hawks hunting in our yard this winter. A couple of American Kestrels, too. One day there was a hawk in the yard nearly the whole day. It's a lot of fun to watch and a challenge to capture with my camera...

I have more images for viewing and purchase, in my Birding Galleries and Print Galleries.

Artistic Bird Landscape-your impression/thoughts?

I love how this image has such an artistic look to it. I've added a slight vignette to it. I took this one during one of our beautiful Idaho snow storms. I'm so blessed to live in this gorgeous state.

Your comments are welcomed. I would love to hear some other impressions or thoughts about this one...you may click on the title of this post to see it larger.

Gray Jay

This inquisitive bird landed in a tree near where we stopped for a picnic lunch, while recently at Jenny Lake, in Grand Teton N.P. in Wyoming. (USA)

Gray Jay (Perisoreus canadensis)

Burrowing Owl Babies

For the past several months we've been making drive-bys, taking pictures of burrowing owls and hoping to eventually see some young burrowing owls, in the wild. Tonight we finally saw them! The grasses in the fields have grown so high, but I could just see their fuzzy little heads down in the the grass. I stood on the runner of our trooper to get up high enough to see these guys enough to get a photo. They were so cute and their parents were very diligent about watching over them. The most I counted was 7, but there are most likely more that were out of sight behind the bush, in the right side of the frame, where the entrance to their burrow is. It's my pleasure to finally be able to share these little guys with you all.

How cute is this?

This cute little owl is a juvenile short-eared owl. Since I'm new to birding and am not really confident with some ID's, a birder friend helped me ID it.

We were driving home and saw this little guy by the side of the road and partially in it. We slowed and he flew and landed right in the middle of the road in front of us. The sun was just about down and I still had my polarizing filter on my lens causing a further loss of light, so it's a bit blurry. It was also taken through the windshield so that adds to the lack of clarity, but at least I got a photo that was good enough for ID purposes. He looked so lonely, I hope his family was close by. I'm not sure how old it is, but it is a young one.

This is the first time I've seen a SE owl in the wild, so it was quite exciting! I will add it to my life list. I've not gotten so in to birding that I'm competing with my lists; they are just for my own enjoyment and purposes at this point. My kids already jokingly or maybe not so jokingly call me the "Crazy Bird Lady". Oh well, they could be calling me worse, I suppose. haha Maybe I'm still more of a bird-watcher than a birder. Maybe one of you true birders can help me out with that one. :D

Song Sparrow

I had a delightful day at Zoo Boise Thursday. Trees are budding, birds are chirping and singing, the grass is green again. It seems like the winter was extra long this year, but it could just be me. I first heard this sparrow before I spotted it, it was singing so beautifully. I made a guess that it was a song sparrow. When I got home I checked my bird ID books, and my guess appears to be correct.

It's the first one I've identified and also photographed, since I began birding, so it will be added to my life list. I consider it to be wild since it was not in an enclosure, but free to go wherever it wanted.

I'm also creating a Photo Life List gallery, where I'll put identifying photos of the birds I have seen. They most likely won't all be great photographs, but at least good enough to confidently identify the birds. I will probably post on it with a link when I have it up and going. If any of you experienced birders see that I have a bird mislabeled in any of my bird galleries, I would appreciate you emailing me to let me know, and I will make the correction.

Boise Peregrine Falcon Update 2

Update from the Boise Peregrine Falcon Webcam: "21 April 2010 The female laid a third egg this morning. Observers believe it was laid between 7:45 and 8:00 a.m. The male brought her a meal at 8:45 a.m. and when she stood up to eat it, the third egg was visible. If she lays a fourth egg, it will arrive Friday or Saturday...." Click here to see it!

Peregrine Falcon

I decided to post another image of the female Peregrine Falcon because I love this image. I caught this one just as she caught the lure. See the gallery for the rest of the images of this experience.

Enjoy.

Gyrfalcon Experience

My latest experience in birding took place at The Peregrine Fund, World Center for Birds of Prey, which is located in Boise, Idaho.



This is a Gyrfalcon. The falconers brought it out so we could see it fly freely. It's part of their training. They used a lure with real bait stuffed inside and the bird had to catch it to get its reward, as in the wild. I only caught a couple of images in flight, as it all happens so fast. There's not much of a chance, because when the bird catches the lure, it's game over. This bird actually missed it the first time, so I did get a second try. The speed and agility of this bird is amazing, as is its pattern & coloring. We were also treated to the flight of an American Kestrel and a Peregrine Falcon which I will put in separate galleries on my website.

It was such a wonderful experience being able to see this. The flight displays are going on through the end of October if you're in the area. Call for times.