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.

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.

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 #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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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 some of the other entries.  Then join the fun and add your own.

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.

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