Great Blue Heron stalking gophers on the Monterey Peninsula

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While driving around the Monterey Peninsula, we saw this great blue heron beside the road at a city park. After we watched and photographed him for a while, we realized he was hunting gophers, the animals that made the mounds he was walking over. We even saw it take a stab at the ground trying to snag one, unsuccessfully. The blood stains on his bill especially visible in the closeup photo may indicate that he has been successful in past attempts. 

We drove on later to look at more parts of the peninsula, and then, when it started raining, we turned around and headed back. This heron was still there, on the hunt.

The first image was taken with a Canon Powershot SX530 HS at f5.6, 1/100 sec, ISO 100, 51.9 mm.

The closeup was taken with a Canon EOS 90D with a 100-400 mm zoom lens at 400 mm with 1/125 sec., f5.6 at ISO 400 exposure.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Bald Eagle perched on a lodgepole pine in Hope Valley, Alpine County, California

 A young bald eagle flew onto a branch of a lodgepole pine tree while we were getting in a little bit of cross-country skiing before the snow melted. This 2022-2023 rainy season was record-breaking, so the ski season extended well into May. The ski was completely overcast and it looked like more precipitation was on its way. We were about to pack up the skis when we saw this big bird coming right toward us before swooping up into the tree. You can tell this eagle is not mature yet because of the brown streaks on the head. As they mature, the feathers covering the head will become all white. 

Hope Valley is the largest valley in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. It's located in Alpine County, south of Lake Tahoe after you pass over Luther Pass.

Remember it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Poor-Will resting on a granite boulder, Carson-Iceberg Wilderness

 

While backpacking in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness, Rick went from his campsite to a stream to filter some water for the night and along the way saw this bird hanging out on a granite boulder. At first he saw the reddish eye-shine but didn't know what it was. When he brought his flashlight up in addition to the headlight, he saw that it was a bird of some kind. As he approached it, the bird didn't move. So Rick walked past it to get to the stream and filtered water. When he walked back toward his campsite, the bird hadn't moved, so he told it he'd come back with a camera. When he returned, it still hadn't moved so he was able to get this class image of a poor-will. Poor-will, related to the whip-poor-will, hunts at dawn and dusk catching flying insects. The whisker-like feathers on either side of its mouth allow it to tell when it's made contact with the insect so it can turn its head and snatch the prey item out of the air.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Solitary Sandpiper wading in a wetland in Yellowstone National Park

 

When we went for a backpacking trip to Shoshone Lake, in Yellowstone National Park, we saw and managed to get a good photograph of this solitary sandpiper. The wetland was right along the trail so after we remained still long enough, the bird continued its normal activity. We especially wanted to get its reflection along with a clear image of the bird.

Canon PowerShot SX520 HS, ISO 100, 1/200 sec., f8, 215 mm focal length

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

American Dipper in the Yellowstone River

 

This American dipper, otherwise known as the water ouzel, was traipsing around in the Yellowstone River's Le Hardy Rapids. Dippers feed on the insects that live in rapids, so it can move through the water with little threat of being swept away. They actually walk on the bottom surface of the river and feed on insects that wash down the river or are attached to the rocks. There's a small parking area next to the Le Hardy Rapids and a trail with a deck for visitors to look out over the river. We caught sight of harlequin ducks and pulled off to take pictures of them and the dipper turned out to be a bonus.

Dippers don't get cold in the river water because the have the most wax in their feathers of any songbird. When they dip into the water, their feathers don't get wet at all.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Yellow billed magpie, William B. Pond Recreation Area, Sacramento, California

 After getting shots of a sea lion in the American River, which we made into a video on our YouTube Channel, Bob continued on his  bike ride upriver and encountered a flock of yellow billed magpies at the William B. Pond Recreation Area in Sacramento, California.  This is a cropped shot of one of the magpies.

Yellow billed magpies are unique to California.  Its more widespread relative, the black billed magpie occurs throughout much of the Western United States, except the Central Valley of California.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

A female Great tailed Grackle at Boulder Beach Campground, Lake Mead National Recreation Area

 

Bob was on a trip through the southwestern desert when he stayed at the Boulder Beach Campground of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada.  Every morning and evening the great tailed grackles would fly through the campground foraging or looking for a place to roost or whatever.  They are very noisy, boisterous birds with a variety of calls.  He eventually managed to photograph this female as it perched on a creosote bush branch.

This was shot with a 400mm zoom lens and then heavily cropped to bring out the details of this bird.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Water ouzel (dipper) in Silver Creek, Alpine County, California

 

Over the Labor Day weekend, we went to Alpine County, California, an area where Rick worked in the Toiyabe National Forest on the trail crew. There was a fire south of us in Slinkard Valley, so we couldn't stay overnight, but we did get a chance to look at the east fork Carson River where Silver Creek joins it. We found this water ouzel (dipper) bird that lives along river rapids and eats insects that live in the rapids. I happened to catch this image of the bird with an insect in its mouth. This species of bird walks around in the rapids with no apparent concern for its safety. It can even dip underwater when looking for its food and walk on the river bottom. We've even seen these birds dipping into the Merced River in Yosemite, during the winter. It doesn't get cold because it has so much oil in its feathers, it doesn't get wet. 

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Bewick's Wren in Bob's backyard

Bob went into his backyard and heard this bird buzzing around, so he grabbed his camera and waited for the little guy to perch in an open spot.  Eventually during his flitting around, he perched on this camellia branch where Bob could get a clear shot of him.

Bob suspects that this little guy is nesting somewhere nearby.  Bewick's wrens nest in cavities such as old woodpecker holes or where an old branch has rotted out of a tree trunk.

This photo was shot with a 100-400 zoom lens set at 400 mm and is heavily cropped.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Great egret, American River Parkway, Sacramento, California

Bob was out for a ride along the American River in Sacramento, California when he saw this great egret out on the hunt for food.  He happened to have his camera with him, so he got these portraits of this bird while it was out stalking.  This long-legged bird was near the 12-mile mark on the bike path. Many of the animals along the river are so used to people, they'll behave normally, so it's a good place to view wildlife up close.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

A white black phoebe along the American River Parkway, Sacramento, California

I, Bob, have observed this black phoebe in white plumage for the last couple of months, but today I managed to get my closest and longest look at it.  Black phoebes are normally all black, except for a white belly, but this one is almost all white with a little bit of cream coloring.  Black phoebes are members of the flycatcher family and feed on flying insects by waiting on a perch and then darting out after an insect flying by.

This phoebe's territory seems to be around a drainage pump assemblage about a half mile upriver from the Watt Avenue Bridge along the American River's south side in Sacramento, California.

This photo was taken with a Canon EOS 6D Mark II full frame DSLR with a 100-400 mm zoom lens set on 400 and the resulting photo was heavily cropped to get this final result.

For comparison, I've posted below my heavily cropped photo from the same day of a normal black phoebe, also along the American River.

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Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Coming at you! A California Condor in flight over the Colorado River

Coming at you!  A California Condor glided over us at Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado River, south of Page, Arizona.  We learned on this trip to the Southwest during Spring Break 2017 that all condors, except one, are tagged.  You can see the tags on this condor on the front edge of each wing.  Also, on the left wing, on the right as you look at this photo, you can see the antenna of a transmitter. This condor was Number 53, which turned out to be a five-year-old female, according to The Peregrine Fund researcher that we ran into later in the trip.

Not that long ago, only 22 condors were left in the world, but thanks to captive breeding and reintroductions, there are now over 200 in the wild.

Remember, it's not just a photo, it's a story!

Acorn woodpecker in an oak tree during winter.

An acorn woodpecker stands on a branch of an oak tree in February at Phoenix Park in Sacramento County, California. This area is north of the American River beyond the bluffs. The park has baseball fields but also is home to a rare habitat, vernal pools. Vernal pools form during the winter and as they dry, several plant and animal species go through their entire life cycle to take advantage of the presence of water. For the rest of the year, the ground is dry. Acorn woodpeckers are the only woodpeckers that nest in colonies and feed on acorns.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Swan with young ones in Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Here is a recent picture of a trumpeter swan adult bird with two young ones swimming next to it. We visited Jackson Hole, Wyoming and got this picture by simply pulling off to the side of the road with lots of other people. There was even a platform on which to stand. Trumpeter swans are an endangered species that lives in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, but this one was south of either park near the town of Jackson, Wyoming, in the National Elk Refuge. whose boundary comes right up to the road.

This image was taken with the ISO at 100, f/8, 1/400 sec.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Road Runner searching for a morning meal in Death Valley

While we were waiting at the entrance station for the Furnace Creek campground in Death Valley National Park, hoping to get a campsite for the night, 2 road runners came trotting by looking to have a breakfast. The first one just kept going, but the second one stopped and posed sometimes, before scurrying on. Rick managed to get this full framed image of the bird during one of his stops. Road runners eat lizards and snakes and aren't usually chased by coyotes. They are in the same bird family as cuckoos.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Double-crested cormorant near Monterey, California

This double-crested cormorant was resting on rocks along the coast between Monterey and Pacific Grove, California. Cormorants are fish-eating birds that can hunt their prey in both salt and fresh water. They can be found along the coast as well as along rivers. This one seemed quite content to rest close to the walkway that follows the coast, despite the people passing by.

Cormorants' eyes work better in air than they do in water. According to a study of the greater cormorant in England, cormorants only see well enough to catch fish about 1 meter (3 feet) in front of them and their snake-like necks allow them to strike quickly at a fish that is within range. The small tooth-like structures in the bill point backwards and keep the fish from escaping after the bird bites down.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Whimbrel shorebird searching for food at San Carlos Beach, Monterey, California

A whimbrel is a shorebird with a long decurved bill used for probing into the sand to find edible mollusks. This one was searching for food on San Carlos Beach, in Monterey, California. Some of the other whimbrels were competing for the opportunities to feed even to the point of pushing and shoving a little. When one pushed its bill into a promising hole in the sand, sometimes another rushed in to knock the other bird out of the way and get its bill onto the food instead.

These birds are constantly in motion, so the picture was taken at 1/500 of a second to help stop action. The zoom was about 25x.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Heermann's gull drinking fresh water on a Monterey, California beach

Heermann's gulls are distinguished by their dark red bills and dark legs. This gull was drinking fresh water that came off the streets of Monterey, California, and flowed down onto the beach. Several other birds were taking advantage of the runoff, too. This beach is San Carlos Beach, next to Monterey's Breakwater, famous among SCUBA divers in California. It's also where we went for a field trip while in college to practice diving for our certification. We had intended to dive the time we got this picture, but a storm had just passed and another was on the way, so the ocean was too stirred up for diving and getting good pictures. The lady at the dive shop described the water clarity as "pea soup", so we didn't go diving but looked for wildlife along the coast.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Canada goose at Woodward Park, Fresno, California, posing for the camera

Rick was out biking today and passed through part of Woodward Park, by the waterfowl refuge. There was a large flock of Canada geese seemingly expecting to be fed and it gave him an opportunity to get this close-up. The difficult part was capturing an image that only had one goose in it. Geese are something like the cattle of the bird world. Even if they'll take bread from park visitors, they mainly graze on grass. Rick runs to Woodward Park regularly and on one of those times that he was there, he watched several Canada geese swallowing whole acorns from under an oak tree.

The close-up was equivalent to a 1245 mm telephoto lens with 35mm film camera. The lens aperture was fully stopped down (which is f/8 for this paricular camera), ISO 100, and the shutter speed was 1/400.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!