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.

Misty Dawn's Camera Critter Meme is a great way to see critter the world over. Go to the meme's homepage here and check out some of the other critters. Then join the fun and add your own critter to the list.

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.

Camera Critter #109

Towards the end of the last century, I lived near a small town east of here called, Prineville. I rented a mobile home on a small ranch two miles north of town.

I shared the land with my landlord. They lived in a house next door with their granddaughter. One day she came home with a pup. It was a beautiful animal, half Lab and half Healer, who she named Toby.

Toby took me to instantly and he always looked forward to my visits, and me his. When I moved to where I now live, I said goodbye to Toby and never saw him again.

But he is still a gorgeous dog and one of my favorites.

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 posts. Then join the fun and add your own.

Camera Critter #108

I'm always looking for something new to image. And when that something appears in my backyard, I'm happy.

This Evening Grosbeak isn't the first one I have seen, but it is the first one I have gotten a decent photo of.

Misty Dawn's Camera Critter Meme is a great way to see critters of all types. Go to the home page here and check out others. Then join the fun and post your own critter photo.