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.

Misty Dawn’s Camera Critter Meme is a great way see critters the world over.  Go to the homepage here to see more.  Then join the fun and add your own.

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.

Misty Dawn’s Camera Critter Meme is a great way see critters the world over.  Go to the homepage here to see more.  Then join the fun and add your own.

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)

Misty Dawn’s Camera Critter Meme is a great way see critters the world over.  Go to the homepage here to see more.  Then join the fun and add your own.

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.

Misty Dawn’s Camera Critter Meme is a great way see critters the world over.  Go to the homepage here to see more.  Then join the fun and add your own.

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.

Misty Dawn’s Camera Critter Meme is a great way see critters the world over.  Go to the homepage here to see more.  Then join the fun and add your own.