AWOL - Part 1 ... Southern Swing

My apologies if you're wondering why you haven't heard from me. It's because I'm on my annual southern swing photography expedition. Unfortunately, the weatherman has been rather unkind. Rain washed out my first three days which included my favorite venue, Bear River NWR in Utah. Rain and snow put a damper on my efforts in Capital Reef National Park; howling winds blew me out of Montana; wind, rain, thunder, and lightning battered me in Saskatchewan; and wind, rain, and snow has stymied me in Alberta. On the bright side there have been a few sunny days and a few highlights like catching up to the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at Moab and a close-up encounter with a pair of Swainson's Hawks in Montana. I only managed a record shot on my first encounter with the Blue-gray last year, but this year was a different story. Being mildly obsessive-compulsive I not only eliminated the need to revisit Arches next year, but I also managed to achieve one of my all-time favorite photos. (I hope you agree.)

Enough of the excuses. I did my best despite the conditions. What you see is what you get. The grains of rice (white streaks) in the bear River photos are raindrops. The blank frames represent all the birds I missed because of weather or other self-inflicted problems - just kidding. There are no blank frames.

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Unfinished Business

Just a few shots I had taken before I headed south ...

Window shots - My friendly backyard Cooper's has been a regular feeder visitor. It's extremely wary, and disappears as soon as it sees me. My only opportunity has been from inside the house shooting through my thermopane windows. This is my best result so far.

Pardon me! Just a little feather stuck in my throat.

Is that Mike's camera hear clicking from inside the house?

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One of my projects this spring was to document the progress of the Dippers at the Little Qualicum. For five weeks I visited two or three times a week. I managed to document the nest-gathering and caddis-fly larva and fish catching, but I missed the fledling-feeding. On my last visit the adult was already taunting the fledgling by waving food in front of it. Shortly after the adult flew back to the nest. Left alone the fledgling realized it wasn't going to fed and finally began foraging on its own.

Junior Dipper begging for food.

Tough love. Time to teach Junior to be independent.

Complaining didn't help. It was time to fend for itself.

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For years I had been intending to photograph the Woodgrove Red-tailed across the highway from the mall. My opportunity finally came one morning when I spotted a flock of crows harassing the hawk. I was actually going the wrong way but the activity was still going on when I finally turned around and returned. Scratch another good intention off the list.

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May 6 - Last journal I mentioned that I wanted to photograph the Snow Goose in the sun. I was surprised to goose in Parksville Park in May. Maybe it stayed around just for its sunny day portrait.

When I finished with the goose I noticed that a Bald Eagle was perched nearby on a lamp post. I couldn't resist a few close-ups. It must have been used to people as it allowed very close-up views without flying.

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May 5 - Just a few new poses from Harry. My goal for years has been to capture a rear view with the gorget gleaming. After a 2 hour vigil today I was rewarded by my best result ever. See the last photo in this group. Have you ever seen the outspread wing not in motion?

After hundreds of Harry photos, this is my favorite.

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May 10 - Finally on the road. I was going to set up a "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?" scenario where you had to guess where I was by the birds I've posted. However, I'm sure that would be too easy for you, and too hard for me to organize. Forget the game. I'm now in Idaho wishing for sunshine and an abundance of birds. My wishes weren't granted. I had to settle for a few regulars. You can imagine how frustrating it was when the best bird was a Canada Goose nesting in a tree.

Horned Larks were abundant everywhere I went. It was second only to the Brewer's Blackbird.

Yes, Mr. Kauffmann was right. Western Kingbirds graced many of the highways I travelled.

It was difficult to dry the wings when it was raining, but the Red-tailed still gave it a try.

I thought it was unusual but not impossible for a Canada Goose to nest in a tree. Dick Cannings kindly confirmed my suspicions. He said that the geese are no different than people in preferring the penthouse suite when it is available. I wonder if all the fledglings survive the crash landing when they leave the nest.

House Finches were also seen everywhere I travelled.

With very few birds seen in the rain, a Turkey Vulture was a welcome sight.

The Bullock's Oriole was a well bit of brightness on a very dark day.

Swainson's Hawks were everywhere we travelled. This adult was just flying from its nest right next to a farmhouse.

It wasn't unusual to find a Swainson's on the ground everywhere we went. It was more common than the Red-tailed. Wait until you see the Swainson's photos from Montana.

On our way to Bear River we detoured to the "Golden Spike" demonstration. We were rewarded by several good birds like the Long-billed Curlew.

This was the first Loggerhead Shrike of the trip. I'll show you one in the sunshine later.

We saw two Short-eared Owls on the Golden Spike road.

In my previous three visits to Bear River, I saw one Cattle Egret. Today I saw many about ten.

The Willet was another widespread bird on my travels. I saw them everywhere from idaho to Utah, to Montana, and finally Saskatchewan.

American White Pelicans are always a joy to see. They have a breeding colony nearby.

The American Avocet is still my favorite shorebird. It is always a pleasure to photograph.

Here comes the Snowy Egrets. They are another regular feature of Bear River.

Thousands upon thousands of swallows swarm the waterways around Bear River. The Barn Swallow was a very common sight.

I think the brown stripe on the chest indicates a Bank Swallow. Correct me if I'm wrong.

You can't mistake a Cliff Swallow.

The Northern Rough-winged wasn't as common but it wasn't hard to find one.

The tree swallow has to rank as one of the prettiest, but don't ask me to chose.

It's always fun to see the Black-crowned Night Heron. It's very difficult to get close to one, but maybe because of the rain it was my lucky day.

Another possibility was maybe the heron was focusing on its next meal.

I'm still waiting for the Western Grebe dancing on the water photo, but until then this is all I have.

I'll also take a Clark's dancing on the water shot, but my timing must be all wrong.

The Vesper Sparrow was by far the most abundant sparrow everywhere I went.

I was surprised at the abundance of White-faced Ibis. Large flocks were seen in many areas.

Was it the rain? After not seeing a single Short-eared in three previous trips, I saw three today.

I tried for the Cattle Egret shot on the cow shot but had to settle for the cow on the egret shot.

The sun finally broke through for a few minutes on Antelope Island where I caught up with some Brewer's Sparrows.

The sparrows were very elusive, but I managed to outsmart one by waiting on the far side of the bush. It took about five minutes but it eventually popped out on my side.

The Loggerhead Shrike is a sure thing on Antelope. We had no trouble encountering three in a short time.

Staying in the car was the secret to getting close-up shots.

I was able to drive within 8 m for full frame pics of this little fellow.

Staying in the car was great for the Western Meadowlark as well. I think they are more used to cars on Antelope than any other place I've been.

A Junco with a difference. I think this is the Gray subspecies and the only bird I photographed in snowy Capital Reef.

On the way out of Capital Reef a amall bird flew from a bush. It was a flycatcher. I'll let you figure out the species because I'm not going to try for awhile.

The sun finally peeked out as we neared the exit of Canyonlands. A quick stop at a rest stop rewarded me with a sparkling Mountain Bluebird.

I wish all the birds were as cooperative as the Bluebird. I allowed all the shots I wanted for a long minute.

It was great to settle in sunny Moab. It's not a great birding spot, but it's great to see a few species not common to Vancouver Island. The first I encountered was the Rock Wren. I spotted it flying into a crevice by the Delicate Arch trail. I had to wait 30 minutes for it to emerge but that's the way it is sometimes.

My second encounter was the Green-tailed Towhee behind the Windows arches. It was quite shy, and I never did see the whole bird.

Here's the elusive Arches Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. I saw it once last year and got the record shot. But, being obsessive-compulsive, I had to come back for something better, and I'm happy to report that I am reasonable satisfied.

Last year I saw the Blue-grays in front of the Window Arches. This year I found them just to the east of the Windows.

I think I was near the nesting site as there were two Blue-grays in the vicinity. Yes, it's part luck and part skill to get a shot like this.

The Ash-throated Flycatcher is seen on Vancouver Island about once every 2 or 3 years, but it's always eluded me.

I saw several in Arches but because of the restrictions to staying on the trail, I couldn't get the angles I wanted.

Despite the limitations, I got a few reasonably shots.

Yes, I've posted a few more pics than I needed to, but the birds were scarce so I'm padding my journal a bit. I had permission to do so.

The last bird of my southern swing was the Black-throated Sparrow, a very handsome and striking looking bird.

I spotted a family with the adult feeding the juvenile between the scrub desert vegetation. I didn't get a clear shot of the feeding but managed one shot with the catch light in the eye.

You'll have to excuse the many typos and errors in this journal as I have found it very difficult to focus at the end of each day. If I waited until I were totally relaxed, refreshed, and focussed, I would have never completed this journal.

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Bird Poster

My poster is on display at: Victoria - Swan Lake Nature House

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PUBLICATIONS

VOLUME I & II BOOKS AVAILABLE AT

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