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 [...]
Archive for the ‘birds of prey’ Category
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 »
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 [...]
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 [...]
California Burrowing Owls
Posted in birds, birds of prey, burrowing owl, special status species, tagged burrowing owls, special status species on June 11, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Drove over to a new conservation property yesterday to take a look around and spotted one of many special status species that will be protected. Years ago we used to routinely see these critters at the local golf course, but over time their habitat has dwindled. Once the golf course managers poisoned the ground squirrels the [...]
The Cooper’s Hawk
Posted in birds of prey, photography, raptors, wildlife, tagged Cooper's hawk on April 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Riding down the trail towards my truck, movement caught my eye and a pair of birds emerged from a sycamore tree. A Cooper’s hawk was on the tail of a magpie, but he failed to catch it. After the miss, the hawk rose into the air and soared overhead. I grabbed my camera and got [...]
Opening Day of A-Zone Archery 2009
Posted in Archery hunting, birds, birds of prey, blacktail deer, deer, Deer hunting, Hunting, photography, wildlife, tagged California deer hunting, hunting blacktail deer, photographing wildlife from a blind on July 12, 2009 | 2 Comments »
The day began with a typical flurry of bird activity. Many were drinking from the pond and others were bathing. The acorn woodpecker posed for several photos from about 15 feet away. A stellar jay joined him and it seemed like they were buddies, but I think not. Scrub jays were everywhere, [...]
Most Powerful Bird
Posted in birds of prey, photography, wildlife, tagged photography, the golden eagle on July 12, 2009 | 1 Comment »
As I sat in my deer blind, a shadow passed overhead. Through my peephole, I spotted the eagle hunting, but in its hunting mode, it wouldn’t stay for long. A while later the eagle apeared again and this time it landed across the pond from me – still animated and hunting. I raised my camera [...]
Turkey Season Almost Over, Butterflys Abundant and Deer Hunting on the Horizon
Posted in birds of prey, butterflies, Deer hunting, turkey, Uncategorized, wildflowers, wildlife, tagged checkerspot butterfly on May 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
One week left in the archery turkey season and I haven’t loosed an arrow. Actually I haven’t hunted since opening day. Last year’s turkey crop was below par and only one gobler is living on our ranch where we generally hunt. However, there are still turkeys in the area and with this spring’s rain promoting good [...]
Bird Band #1837-27920
Posted in bird banding, birds, birds of prey, Hunting, wildlife conservation, wildlife management, tagged bird banding, bird bands, birds of prey, Golden Gate Raptor Observatory on January 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Shot a banded greenhead on December 6th 2008 and I didn’t get around to reporting it until today. Although I had hopes that it was banded in some exotic location the fact is that it was banded in California on August 3, 2008. Not as exciting as Alberta, but it’s always nice to see a [...]
