I’ve seen many mud hens in my life. But yesterday, I observed and photographed one unlike any other I’ve ever seen. Here are a couple photos. Today I returned to the same spot and saw the bird again, but unfortunatly, I didn’t have my camera today. Here he is again.
Archive for the ‘birds’ Category
Very Rare White Coot
Posted in American coot, tagged unusual color phase coot on February 23, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
The Common Yellowthroat
Posted in Warblers, tagged Photographing birds on December 20, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
As I hunted ducks last weekend, a common warbler with a mask whipped around the pond nearby. I have observed this warbler on many occasions, but have never successfully photographed one. The warbler seldom stays still long enough for a good photo and these birds seem to never be available when I’m prepared to get [...]
The Towhee and the Woodpecker
Posted in birds, Nuttal's woodpecker, towhee, tagged towhee, woodpecker on November 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
It was one of those mornings when the birds were out. Maybe the moon phase or changing weather. A towhee caught my eye, so I pulled out my small pentax camera and managed to get off a couple shots. When he disappeared behind a car, I shifted my attention to a woodpecker in the tree above the towhee. [...]
Another Day Up in a Tree
Posted in birds, birds of prey, chickadee, Hunting, northern harrier, photography, titmouse, tagged Photographing birds on July 25, 2011 | 1 Comment »
First archery deer hunt of the season. I had no idea what to expect as I hadn’t been up to the ranch in over a month. As far as deer hunting went, it was a total bust. The winds were blustery and the deer didn’t show. Not one. However, I did take some photos and [...]
Swainson’s Hawk in Flight
Posted in birds, birds of prey, raptors, wildlife, tagged Red-tailed hawk, Swainson's Hawk on May 18, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Last week we were out in the Altamont and came upon a pair of Swainson’s hawks. From nearly a half mile away, I snapped a few photos with my 200mm Nikon lens. They came out OK, so here they are. You can see the charactaristics of the Swainson’s hawk quite well. For comparison purposes, here’s a [...]
Bucks and Birds
Posted in birds, deer, wildlife, tagged wildlife behavior on May 2, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
On Friday Rob and I made a trip to the ranch. We noticed that the does were scarce, but bucks were in the open with antlers growing larger. On the way home we came upon this buck. (Click to enlarge.)
Spring in the Altamont
Posted in amphibians, bird watching, birds of prey, burrowing owl, Endangered species, outdoors, raptors, snakes, special status species, wildlife management, tagged Burrowing Owl, California tiger salamander larvae, King Snake, Pacific Tree Frog Tadpole, Seine Netting, Swainson's Hawk on April 20, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Joe spotted a couple Swainson’s hawks gliding high overhead. Red-tails were hanging around a stand of eucalyptus trees and a ferruginous hawk was spotted on the horizon. Joe also found a young king snake under a board. We took quite a few photos of the willing snake. Burrowing owls were in their usual [...]
Bad News – but Good News in UC Lead-Poisoning Reports
Posted in Big game hunting, birds of prey, golden eagles, lead ammunition, outdoor education, turkey vultures, tagged Lead poisoning in turkey vultures and golden eagles on April 12, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Two reports from UC Davis confirm what most of us have expected. Turkey vultures, ravens and golden eagles eat the remains of deer, pig, bear and various varmints killed by hunters and those birds have been proven to ingest lead when eating the remains that contain lead from lead bullets. Lead bullets often fragment when they enter the target animal. Those [...]
Mayberry, March 2011
Posted in bird watching, birds, California Delta, permanent marsh, photography, seasonal marsh, seasonal marsh, waterfowl, Wildlife habitat, wildlife management, tagged bird watching, Waterfowl photos on March 15, 2011 | 1 Comment »
White front geese greeted me on the way to Mayberry. I recall seeing them at this same small pond during March of previous years – one of their last hangouts before they head north. (Click to enlarge photo.) Another common site on the way to Mayberry in late winter is goats grazing on the [...]
Meadow Larks Rebounding?
Posted in bird watching, birds, tagged meadow larks on February 17, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Spent the day at the ranch on Saturday. Sunny day. I kept disturbing flocks of birds, but they were mostly too far away to get a good look at them so I assumed they were horned larks which tend to bunch up along our ranch roads. After setting up my spotting scope to look for [...]
