Camera Critters #277

Every year, around the first of August, shorebirds begin moving through central Oregon.  Being birds of water, they often stop by the sewage ponds north of town.
This Wilson’s Phalarope was no exception.

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 Critters #276

I’ve gone to an area near where I live which I call “Lizard Lands” a number of times lately.  Each time I was unable to find a reptile of any type.

A couple of days ago, I found out why…a feral cat is hanging out in the area. 

So, I decided to walk the other side of the canyon and guess what I found!



It’s a juvenile Side-blotched Lizard.  It stuck around long enough for me to get a couple of photos and then it disappeared into the rocks.

Lucky for it, the cat hasn’t found his hiding place.

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 Critters #275

Wood Ducks are not a common sight in my area.  The species is listed as uncommon in the fall, winter and spring, and rare in the summer months.

Imagine my surprise when, on July 3, I located a fatherless family of Wood Ducks doing their best to escape me as I approached the shore of a pond north of Redmond, Oregon.



One of these days I just might find the father and get a photo of him also.

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 Critters #274

This past week has been the hottest days of the year for central Oregon.  On one of the hottest days (a new record was set with a high temperature of 102), I packed up my saddlebags, hopped on the bicycle and headed to the ponds six miles north of town.

I normally see a wide variety of dragonflies, birds and on rare occasions, other critters.

As I walked the perimeter of the pond, stopping now and then to image something, I noticed something in the distance which my brain couldn’t reconcile.

As I got closer, I realized it was a Common Garter Snake cooling off in the water.  It’s head was poking through the surface scum on the pond with the rest of its body well out of the sun.



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.