Camera Critter #143

As we go into a new year, I would like to wish everyone a wonderful, prosperous year ahead.

In this part of the world, the new year is generally cold…and as I type this, it is 18 degrees.  But that doesn’t stop the birds from visiting the back yard.

Several years ago, I saw my first Varied Thrush in the Apple Tree out back.  He was a quick visitor and I didn’t see another one here until a week or so ago.  It appears this thrush is going to stick around, and hopefully give me better opportunities to capture his beauty.

I got this shot early New Year’s Eve morning.  It was taken through my kitchen window.  The window was dirty and the screen is still up.  But I believe you can still the beauty of the Varied Thrush.

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Camera Critter #142

Several years ago, while walking through the brush of the Dry Canyon in Redmond, Oregon, I noticed a small bug crawling around a ‘winterized’ sage plant. It traveled so fast, I couldn’t get a good shot of it.

A year later and about the same time of the year, I was again wandering the brushy areas of the Dry Canyon when I again noticed a small bug on a plant. Heading over to that plant, I saw the same sort of bug I had seen the year before. Only this time, the bug gave me time to get a portrait of it.

I have yet to identify the beetle, but believe it is in the Ladybug family. But I sure think it’s an interesting critter.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

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Camera Critters #141

Several years ago, I would spend my spring mornings, camera in hand, wandering in the Dry Canyon in Redmond, Oregon.

I was after bugs of any type.

One critter I kept trying to get a photo of was a Sara’s Orangetip. I’m still waiting for that opportunity…maybe spring 2011.

However, I did get images of a butterfly I really like. It’s the Zephyr Anglewing.

The Zephyr Anglewing is a gorgeous lepidoptera. It’s also very different from one to another. Although the basic pattern is on all of them, it is variable enough to allow someone who watches them, to tell individuals apart.

You can see the differences in the photos below.

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Camera Critters #140

Last week, I posted a photo of Lacy, a recent re-arrival to where I live.  In the month or so she has been back, she has adjusted well to her new home…or so I thought.

The other night, I had decided to leave her outside, as the weather wasn’t going to be all that bad.  Around 11:30 pm, I heard a strange sound that seemed to originate from the backyard where Lacy stays.

I got up and went to the door and realized the sound wasn’t coming from her, but actually from several blocks away.  I looked at Lacy and she was standing there, ears tucked back, looking in the direction of the sound.  It seemed to upset her.

I walked over to her and she came to me.  I unhooked her from her chain and she just stood there, looking in the direction of the sound.  That sound was the unmistakable howl of Coyotes.

Although I have heard Coyotes before, it was always in the open areas around central Oregon.  To hear the howl in the middle of town was something I wasn’t expecting.  I knelt down next to Lacy, rubbed her chest and in a reassuring voice, told her it was okay, then brought her in the house.

Although not the Coyote I heard that night, this photo was taken just outside of town on the old golf course.  The animal stood there looking at me for several minutes, then casually walked off into the nearby Junipers.  It was strange to see a Coyote in the daylight.

Since then I have seen two others in daylight.  One, I am ashamed to say, I mistook for a large cat (I really new glasses).

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Camera Critters #139

Well, she’s back  8v)

In 2007, my landlord and I took care of her grandson’s dog, Lacy, while they looked for a place which allowed pets.  We had her for about a year and she became a part of us.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, and circumstances have changed and again, Lacy is back with us.  She’s a lot larger now than she was before.

But, she’s still Lacy.

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Camera Critters #138

One of my favorite things to do during the winter is travel the ranch lands east of town in search of raptors.

It is this time of year that the Rough-legged Hawk moves down here to escape the cold of the bird’s summer Arctic retreat. 

So Thursday, while heading to a friend’s house for Thanksgiving dinner, I checked out Raptor Land.

I saw a lot of Rough-legged Hawks way out in the middle of pastures, but only one up close, who just happened to get nervous about my presence as I lifted my camera.

But it was two Red-tailed Hawks who graced the view in my camera.  Both birds seemed, either a little upset at my presence, or were thinking, “Hummm…Turkey dinner?”

The following juvenile hawk really decided to look things over.

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Camera Critters #137

Not long ago, I presented an image of an American Dipper which I took in October.  In the post, I mentioned it was the first Dipper I had imaged.

Well, I was wrong.

In July of 2008, while photographing some of the waterfalls in the Cascades with a friend, I came across a small fledgling bird in a tree, begging for food.  Although the light wasn’t great and the bird was moving around a lot, I managed to get two good images of the critter.

When I returned home, I didn’t think much of the photos and put them in the ‘So-so’ folder.

The other day I was going over the images in the folder and came across the two fledgling photos.  To my surprise, I recognized the little fellow I had imaged.

Meet the fledging American Dipper.  If you look close, you’ll see it still has some of its youthful feathering around the head.

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Camera Critters #136

I was all set to post this last week for my Camera Critter, but a sudden onset of computer problems prevented it from happening.  So, it’s a week late, but still good  8v)

Lesser Goldfinch are a common bird here in the summer months.  Recently, the bird has become a year-round visitor to feeders throughout central Oregon.

On Halloween, I was surprised to see one at one of the seed socks in the backyard.  I was surprised not because he was there, though in previous years the bird normally leaves by this time, but by how he looked.

This bird still had its summer breeding plumage, although not as brightly colored as the bird looked during the breeding season.

By the way, the brown streaked bird is a Pine Siskin and the one on the back side of the sock is another Lesser Goldfinch.

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Camera Critters #134

Shorebirds are something I still need to learn a lot about.  I can identify some, but most give me headache trying to figure out.

Several weeks ago, while at the sewage ponds north of town, I could see shorebirds off in the distance.  As I got close to them, they took to the air and began flying back and forth across the pond. 

I wasn’t sure what they were, so I waited for them to pass by me so I could get a shot of the flock.  I was able to get a number of shots on several of the passes the birds made.

After I returned home and got the images on the computer, I was able to determine the birds were Long-billed Dowitchers.

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Camera Critter #133

When I first started birding, the first waterfowl I learned to identify without consulting a book, was the Bufflehead.

One day while talking with other birders, I mispronounced the name and said, “Buffalohead.”  Several of the people jumped on my mistake and made sure I corrected it.

I never forgot that lesson, and the other day when I saw some Buffleheads on the water at the Redmond sewage ponds, I began the stalk.  However, they were well aware of what I was doing and soon as I would get close enough to lift my camera, off they flew to the other side.

I decided to snap off a long shot of them just in case I couldn’t get a good close shot.

I’m glad I did.

The bird with the white body and head is the male.  The others are the female Buffleheads.

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Camera Critter #132

Earlier this week, I climbed into my sister’s Jeep and with a friend of mine, headed up into the mountains west of where I live.  I was hoping to get some really good shots of really cool critters. 

Well, it wasn’t to be.  There were people everywhere we went and about three hours into the trip it dawned on us…Columbus Day.

It didn’t stop us from looking so we continued on the planned trip.  At one stop at the headwaters of the Metolius River, we were hoping to find spawning Kokanee Salmon.  There weren’t any at the headwaters, and later learned they were actually about a quarter mile downstream from where we were, in an area of private land.

But I did notice something in the water there.

Do you see the American Dipper in the middle of the photo?  This strange, gray bird loves the water.  I have caught glimpses of the species before, as they walked along the bottom of the river or stream I was seeing them in.  But was never able to get a shot of them.

Although this guy spent most of his time in the shallows, he would “dip” now and then as can be seen above.

But for the most part, he wandered the shallows, looking for food, staying just far enough away so I couldn’t get a good close shot of him.  8v)

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Camera Critter #131

This year was a good year for me during my visits to the Redmond sewage ponds. 

I was able to photograph new birds and a couple of rare birds which I found at the ponds.

One of the new birds was a Wilson’s Snipe.

I watched this bird poke around the shoreline for a meal and then continued on my way.  After taking a few steps, I turned and looked at the snipe and saw it had moved into a weedy area and had hunkered down.  I decided to take another photo of it.

It wasn’t until I got home and was looking at the photos, that I noticed there was a second snipe to the left of the first one I saw.

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Camera Critter #130

The other night, I was watching a television show I had recorded earlier.  As I relaxed in my Lazyboy, I would hear sounds similar to those of someone hitting the wooden fence along the property line.

I paused the program and listened, and not hearing anything, assumed it came from the TV and went back to the show.  A few minutes later, I heard the sound again and again, paused the show.

However, this time I heard the sound and it was coming from outside my door.  I walked over to it and turned on the porch light.

And what to my surprised eyes did I see?

I have known Raccoons are in my area, but I had never seen one until I turned on that porch light.  There were actually three of them (I later saw a third deep in the shadows of the apple tree), however the two pictured were cut off from the third because of where I was.  As soon as I moved and didn’t pose a threat to their retreat through the branches, off they went and disappeared out of sight.

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Camera Critter #129

On the morning of Sept. 9, I hoped on my bike and headed out to the sewage ponds north of town.

When I arrived, I began walking around the perimeter, looking to see what I could see and photograph.  There were a few critters, and I snapped off photos of them as I saw them.

At one point, I pulled out my pocket binoculars and scanned the waters.  There on the other side were several Northern Shovelers.  I really like the looks of the shovelers, so I continued my trek along the shore in the hopes of getting good shots.

As I rounded the northwest corner of the pond, I looked down the shoreline and was pleased to see the shovelers still there.  I kept my eyes on them as I approached and walked directly towards the birds.  Suddenly, they spooked and flew off.

I continued on my way and noticed a group of people standing near the entrance to the ponds.  As I approached, I realized they were members of a birding group, some of whom I knew.  When I reached the group, the first thing they asked me was, “What is that large, dark bird on the shoreline?”  My surprise at the question was followed with them telling me I walked right by it…but I didn’t see it.

Well, I had to redeem myself, so I walked back to the area of the bird, got low, and scrunched my way as close as possible to it and took the image below.

The bird is a juvenile Parasitic Jaeger, a rare visitor to this area.  When I went back to the group, they were discussing what they thought the bird was.  At the time, the consensus was that the bird was a Long-tailed Jaeger, another rare visitor to this area.  Pleased with our sighting, the group went off to another area, and I got on my bicycle and headed home.

After looking at the photo, I began to think our initial identification was possibly incorrect.  The Long-tailed Jaeger looks very similar to the Parasitic Jaeger, except it's bill is thicker and has black covering almost half the length.  Whereas the Parasitic Jaeger has a thinner bill and black only about one third the length.  As you can see on the image above, the black does seem to cover only a third of the bill.

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Camera Critter #128

Birds are moving through the area on their south-bound migration.  But these three are common birds here.

Least Sandpipers can be found throughout the west.  These juvenile birds part of a small flock at the sewage ponds north of Redmond, Oregon.

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Camera Critter #127

I like to shoot birds.  I use a Canon when I do it…and I really enjoy doing it.  My Canon takes great photos…but in my opinion, 95 percent of a good photo is getting the right setup.

One of the birds I have always had a difficult time getting the right setup, is the Barn Swallow.  The bird is either flying or sitting on a wire somewhere, and a wire doesn’t look natural to me.

So, I’m always looking for a natural scene to shoot a Barn Swallow in.

Wednesday, I was at the sewage ponds north of town.  I was after some rare-for-this-area sandpipers, which I was able to image, along with an even rarer bird, but that’s another story.  As I came to an area I have always had good luck with dragonflies at, I saw it…a Barn Swallow in a natural pose.  And, it even let me get fairly close and grab a great shot…well, I think it is.

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Camera Critter #126

A little more than three years ago, I spent some time in San Antonio visiting my brother and friends.

I had lived in San Antonio for four years or so during my Air Force career and one of the things I remember most from those days were the lizards. Not knowing what they were, I called them chameleons.

However, on my last trip there, I knew they were actually called Green Anoles. One of the reasons I called them chameleons, was they had color-changing abilities. I only remember two colors and those two colors are shown below.

Both critters are Green Anoles, but they are also known as the Carolina Anole, American Anole and Red-throated Anole…though I wasn’t able to photograph the critter flashing its red throat.

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Camera Critter #125

Not long ago, I came home from a good photo safari and sent one of my favorite images to a friend for her to see.  She really likes dragonflies, ya know.

I sent it to her with the comment, “First Western Pondhawk male.”  The reply I got was “It sure looks like a Blue Dasher.  You sure it isn’t one?”

At that point I was sure I had photographed a Western Pondhawk and not a Blue Dasher.  But I’ve been wrong before, so I double-checked my fact and you know what?

It was a Blue Dasher!  Thank you, Misty for pointing out my mistake  8v)

So, may I present the Western Pon….errr…Blue Dasher.  8v)  I do like this photo.

Oh…and if you’re wondering why I determined it wasn’t a Western Pondhawk, just look at the face.  A Blue Dasher’s face is white, while a Western Pondhawk’s face is greenish.

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Camera Critters #124

As I have mentioned before, the sewage ponds north of Redmond, Oregon are a good place to find a large variety of birds, dragonflies and other critters.

I have photographed rare birds there; first time dragonflies and have gotten better photos of previously imaged critters. 

This week, I’ve selected sandpipers as my subject.

I have gotten an image of a Western Sandpiper before, but it was a long way off and not that great.  However, on Aug. 5, I was able to get close enough to get a better photo.

Western Sandpiper

At the same time, was able to get a photo of a new bird, the Least Sandpiper.  It isn’t a rare bird for this area, but has eluded me until I found one at the ponds.

Least Sandpiper

Though the birds look similar at a quick glance, looking closely will show the Western Sandpiper with black legs and the Least Sandpiper with greenish legs.  There are other marks which tell someone the species, but those two are the most prominent.

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Camera Critter #123

Last week, I made another trip to the sewage ponds north of town. I’m glad I did.

Not only did I enjoy the ride in the central Oregon heat, but I was able to image four new dragonflies.

However, what I was really pleased with was obtaining a complete family portrait of a beautiful odonata. That dragonfly family is the Variegated Meadowhawk.

Three years ago, Misty Dawn sent me a photo of a dragonfly she took and asked me to identify it. It was a female Variegated Meadowhawk…and it was a beautiful bug. At the time, I gave her a link to the male of the species, which was even more beautiful.

A year later, I found my own female Variegated Meadowhawk, and got a so-so image of it. But I didn’t give up and last year got an even better image of one.

But last week, I hit the mother-lode. Variegated Meadowhawks were everywhere and I had a blast photographing as many as I could.

Juvenile Male

Female

Male

But the best shot I have saved for the end. While running from one plant to another, I would see Eight-spotted Skimmers competing for the tops of some of the plants. Then I saw a skimmer push a meadowhawk off a plant top. As the skimmer began to enjoy basking in the sun at his new found perch, the meadowhawk came back.

Moments later, the meadowhawk was back on the perch and the skimmer had found another.

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Camera Critter #122

I occasionally read an internet post about a rare bird in my area, but having no motorized transportation, it's difficult for me to the area to see the bird.

Then there is the times when I can get to the area, and look and look and look and end up not seeing the rare bird.

Last week, I read a posting on the local birding mailing list that a rare sandpiper was seen at the Redmond sewage ponds. Before you cringe and stop reading, the ponds are not as bad as they sound...there's little or no smell...but the birds like the area.

To continue, last Friday, I decided to head to the ponds to see if I could see this rare sandpiper. So I hopped on my bicycle and headed north out of town. It's about 7 miles to the pond area and once there, I have to cross a fence, but it was worth the trouble.

As I began working my way around the largest pond, I started thinking I had missed the rarity once again. However, after walking three quarters of the way around the shoreline, I saw a solitary, gray bird wading in the water not far off shore.

Lifting my camera, I was finally able to photograph a rare bird for my area. Below, you will find the image I made of a Solitary Sandpiper...normally found east of the Rocky Mountains.

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Camera Critter #121

A couple of days ago, I was at one of my favorite spots looking for odonata (dragonflies, if you’re wondering).

I didn’t see any, but along the shoreline there was a large gathering of wildflowers and within them…bees.

I enjoy watching bees do “their thing,” especially bumblebees.  While watching the bees, I noticed two different types of bumblebees.

One had a small, single yellowish-white stripe near the end of the abdomen, and the other is typical of most bumblebees I see in my area.  It had a yellowish-white stripe further up from the end of the abdomen and on top of that, an orange stripe.

But bees gave me good looks and the time to get a decent photo (even after I had screwed up my initial settings as I shot the top bee’s photo).

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Camera Critter #120

Walking along the trails of the Dry Canyon in Redmond, Oregon, I noticed a something strange about a Queen Ann's Lace flower. It was maybe twenty feet away, yet something didn't seem right about it.

As I got closer, I realized what made it look strange, what the Artichoke Plume Moth. It may not actually be an Artichoke Plume Moth, I do know it is a Plum Moth. The common house fly which landed as I was imaging the moth was an added bonus...or not.

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Since originally posting this, I have found the flower is actually a Common Yarrow, not as I state above, a Queen Ann's Lace. Thanks Misty for getting me to double check the name.

Camera Critter #119

Does lightning strikes the same place twice?

Can history repeat?

If you ask me, the answer to both questions is yes!

On July 7, 2007, I was walking along a spit at what I called Dragonfly Corner of Fireman's Pond in Redmond, Oregon. As I came near the end of the dry land, I noticed an Eight-spotted Skimmer sitting on the top of a reed in the water. I raised my camera and shot the image below.

Fast forward to July 15, 2010. I was again at Dragonfly Corner at Fireman's Pond, and again, I was walking on the spit. As I neared the end, in almost the same spot, I noticed another male Eight-spotted Skimmer sitting on the tip of a reed in the water. Remembering the shot three years earlier, I raised my camera and produced the following image.

Although they look similar, they are not the same critter...same species, but different bug. However, I almost captured the same image I captured three years earlier.

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Camera Critter #118

I've mentioned before that this year I have had a nice variety of new birds stop by my Apple Tree and enjoy the snacks I have out there for them.

Well, once again, I have another bird. It isn't the first time I have seen one, and not even the first time I have seen one in my Apple Tree. But it is the first time I have gotten a good photo of one.

So, enjoy the Pine Siskin.

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Camera Critter #117

A couple of weeks ago, I was walking around the Dry Canyon area of Redmond, Oregon, when I decided to move into a Juniper stand to check for birds. As I walked around a bush, I came face-to-face with a doe Mule Deer. I've seen deer in the Dry Canyon before, but none the size of this does.

We stood there staring at each other for a moment or two, when she turned and slowly walked deeper into the trees. As I watched her leave, my eyes recognized something else in the area.

There he was...a nice 3-point buck in velvet, staring at me, no more than 30 feet away. Again, we stared at each other and then he too got up, and both the deer slowly walked away to the right, to a thicker stand of trees.

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Camera Critter #116

Earlier this week, I began hearing a loud racket outside my door.

Knowing the racket was from American Crows, I grabbed my camera and went out to take a look.

Well, this is what I saw...

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Camera Critter #115

It's another bird week for me and Camera Critters, but I can't help it with this critter.

The Yellow-headed Blackbird is a gorgeous avian. I've used them before here, but heck...who can resist using a photo of one of these over and over?

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Camera Critter #114

When I lived just outside a small town east of my current location, I would see Brown-headed Cowbirds two or three times a month. After all, they are a rather common bird in central Oregon.

However, since moving to Redmond, I hadn't seen a Brown-headed Cowbird at all...until last Sunday. Not only did I find a male at my feeder, but I also found a female with him

Male Brown-headed Cowbird

Female Brown-headed Cowbird

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Camera Critter #113

Last year around this time, I was shooting a variety of critters, from the bee shown here, to beetles to flies to butterflies. I was having a blast.

But so far this year, wildflowers haven't bloomed, few critters of any type other than birds are showing up, and I'm desperately waiting for better weather. It's been cool, cloudy and wet for the better part of the spring. We have had maybe a half dozen days when the temperature was above 70.

But hopefully that will soon change...and I, again, will be a happy photographer.

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Camera Critter #112

Spring is a great time of the year for birds. I have seen more 'new' birds in my yard this year, than I have in the past five years.

Last Sunday, I was returning from my morning breakfast treat, when I heard a strange sound in a nearby tree. I looked towards the sound and from a distance, thought I was looking at a Baltimore Oriole.

So, once again, I run into the house, grab my camera and lift it to my eye. Alas, it wasn't a Baltimore Oriole (which would have been a very rare bird for this area), but a bird I had never seen before...a Black-headed Grosbeak.

I have been with other people who have seen one, but each time they call out the bird, by the time I turn to see it, the bird has flown and I missed my chance to add this species to my life list.

But it is on the list now. 8v)

One thing about this bird...its bill has either been injured or a disease affected it. It is not the normal bill of the Black-headed Grosbeak.

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Camera Critter #111

Back during the last century, I lived just north of a small town, called Prineville, Oregon. One of the nice things about the area was I could always count on strange birds showing up. One day in May, I saw a Black and White Warbler, which rarely moves west of the Rocky Mountains.

Another time, I spied a Wilson's Warbler flitting about in the rose bushes of the house next door. It was a really cute critter, being overall yellow with a nice black cap. It reminded me of an American Goldfinch. But I never saw another of those birds...until this week.

I was out in my backyard and noticed a little yellow bird quickly moving around the branches of the Apple Tree. I went inside and grabbed my camera and after missing opportunity after opportunity to get a photo of the bird, finally got one.

At first I didn't know what it was. After all, it has been 15 years since I last saw one and it wasn't on my radar at all. After pouring over my reference material several times, I decided I would ask a local bird expert, so I sent him the image.

Less than an hour later, he replied telling me the bird in the image above is in fact a Wilson's Warbler.

It's very hard to see, but if you look carefully, you can just make out the black cap on top of the bird's head. I missed it completely until it was pointed out to me.

Misty Dawn's Camera Critter Meme is a great way to see critters from around the world. Go to the homepage here and check out other critters. Then add your own and join the fun.

Camera Critter #110

Several months ago, I posted a Camera Critter showing the fossilized remains of a Tyrannosaurus Rex named Sue. (see the post here) I had gone to see the display at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in 2001.

Not long after I made that post, another Tyrannosaurus Rex display went up inside the walls of OMSI. This T-Rex is named Samson.

(click to enlarge)

Samson was discovered in South Dakota in 1987. It has been estimated the dinosaur was about 40 feet long and could have looked into a second-story window. It weighed about 7 1/2 tons.

As a display item, Samson stand about 15 feet high and is just under 40 feet in length.

And of course while there, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to photograph the fossilized critter below.

The above fossil is a Dire Wolf found in the plains of Kansas.

Misty Dawn's Camera Critter Meme is a great way to see critters from around the world. Stop the homepage here to see more, then add your own and join the fun.