Camera Critters #257

Several weeks ago, I climbed into my sister’s Smart Car and took off for Farewell Bend Park along the Deschutes River in Bend, Oregon.

I went there to find and photograph a Barred Owl which had been hanging out along the river.

I didn’t find the owl, but I did find a bird I had only caught fleeting glimpses of in the past.



The bird was a Spotted Towhee.  It was a lifer for me.

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 #239

Although not a rare bird in this area, they are birds I don’t often see.

 

However, while up in the mountains a couple of weeks ago, I found several American White Pelicans hanging out at Sheep Bridge in central Oregon.

 

 

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 #237

Earlier this week, a friend of mine and I decided to head into the mountains and do a little photography.

We went to a place called Sheep Bridge south of where we live and close to the mountains.  After checking out the river bank and seeing a few subjects, we decided to return to the Jeep and go elsewhere. 

As we came around a bend in the river, we both noticed a Bald Eagle on the opposite side, apparently feeding.  I began taking pictures, getting closer, taking more photos, getting a little bit closer, taking more photos, until we were directly across the river from the eagle.

As the eagle fed, a second Bald Eagle circled the one on the ground, then flew off to find a Kokanee Salmon of its own to lunch on.  Moments later, a Ring-billed Gull landed nearby and began making its way towards the eagle.



One long stare from the eagle and the gull decided it would wait and pick on the scraps.

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 #175

I have travelled to an area near here a number of times to see what new critters are there.  Generally, I see what I saw on my first trip to Lower Bridge.

However a trip Wednesday produced two new butterflies for the area…and a new lifer butterfly for me.

The first is a Lorquin's Admiral.  I have come across this butterfly in different areas, mainly up in the mountains.  It was a nice treat to find one in the Deschutes River canyon area.

Yes…that is my finger.  I was attempting to get the butterfly to climb aboard, and just as I got close enough, I began to slip on the loose gravel I was standing on.  The quick movement of me attempting to regain balance caused the admiral to fly off.

Not long after I came across the admiral, I noticed a small blue butterfly quickly flitting about.  I tried to follow it to get a shot, but lost sight of it.  So I went back to the admiral.  After getting a number of new shots of the admiral, I began to walk the trail.

Whenever I walk the wilds here, I am constantly scanning my surroundings, looking for good subjects.  As I scanned to my left, something just didn’t look right, so I walked over to investigate.

There he was…the blue butterfly I was chasing before.  I lifted my camera and began shooting as I approached the plant it was on.  I got a couple of shots off before the blue butterfly took flight.

When I got home, I checked the images, I realized I got me a new Lepidoptera.  Called a Dotted Blue, there are five different subspecies of this critter.  This one might be the subspecies enoptes, but it could also be columbiae, which is more common in my area.  However, I couldn’t find a photo of that subspecies to verify.

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 #92

During the summer months I can generally be found walking around the High Desert, camera in hand, looking for anything and everything to photograph.

For years, I have wanted to image one High Desert critter, but it has always escaped me. It's not that I haven't seen any...I've seen three. But each time, they never stayed in front of me long enough for me to get a shot of them.

Well, those Houdini critters are rattlesnakes. There are two species located in my area -- the Northern Pacific Rattlesnake and Great Basin Rattlesnake.

My brother and his family live in Texas and at one time, had a house in the hill country of San Antonio. There, they came across rattlers on a regular basis. But that did little to eliminate my nephew's fear of snakes. While he and one of his sons were visiting me last August, we went to nearby Cline Falls State Park to check things out.

As my brother and I wandered around tree area looking for bird we could hear, my nephew let out a shriek and loudly announced, "Snake!"

My brother and I immediately ran to him and asked where the snake was. He pointed down in some weeds near the river and I saw movement. Happy I had camera in hand and in front of the critter, I squatted down to get a better look. I snapped off a few images before the snake disappeared in the brush. When I joined my family, I told them it was nothing more than a Wandering Garter Snake. It was the first I had seen in Oregon, and the first snake other than a rattler I crossed paths with, so the sighting wasn't a total loss.

Wandering Garter Snake

Misty Dawn's Camera Critter Meme is a great way to see critters of all types. Go to the Meme homepage here and check out more entries. Then join the fun and let the world see your critters!

Camera Critter Sunday No. 12

I have had relatives from back east visiting most of the week, and since they don't know this area, I've been acting as their tour guide.

It's been fun, and we have gone to a lot of places I have wanted to go for a long time. One of those places is one I actually got two several times a year...it's the major river which runs through central Oregon, the Deschutes River.

During a visit there June 26 (Yes...I remember the significance of the date), I came across something I had never seen on the river before and something I figure would make a great Camera Critter Meme subject.

It was a Mute Swan. I snapped this photo of the bird, then tried to tempt it in closer with a glucose tablet. When that didn't work, I flashed a $5 bill at it...which still didn't tempt it in closer. So I left the area. But I did get a good photo...I think.