Friday, May 29, 2009

A quick question.

Okay. I snapped this photo at the Columbia River Gorge today. At first I thought this was an Osprey nest but looking closer at it this just puzzles me. Do you know what this is?


?

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Great blue herons for Great blue heron week.



Red-tailed hawks growing fast.

The red-tailed hawk babies around the Portland area are growing fast! Check this out!



These are the two red-tail babies from the raptor cam in Downtown Portland! They are almost adults!

This is one of the red-tail babies in greenway park just at the edge of the nest on the left side. They are getting big too!

Here is some fur picked off a rodent and tossed to the ground.

This puzzles me. Any ideas what bird this wing picked clean tossed under the red-tail nest belongs to?

Enjoy your weekend!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Catch up post.

Hey everybody!

Sorry for the lack of posting. Since I haven't posted for a while I decided to make a catch up post.


A mother mallard with her ducklings!


This red-winged blackbird does not like people. He always chirps and hovers right over your head when anybody walks over "the beaver bridge". I don't blame him. He has a nest right next to it! We heard the babies chirping yesterday.


A mallard nest in Greenway.


Look at the size of the goslings!

Another huge "gosling".

Yes! I got a picture of one of the male black-headed grosbeaks that have arrived!

We have also spotted a mother wood duck with 11 babies in Greenway park! She is very good at hiding. A good skill to have when there are so many predators around.

Have a great week! :-)

Monday, April 27, 2009

Waterfowl, shorebirds, swallows and blackbirds.

I just thought you might enjoy some evening wetland birds.


See Mr. mallard looking at us?

The first time I've been able to capture (a picture of course) a swallow perching!

A short-billed dowitcher.

Look at all that red on this blackbird!

And finally, wigeon.

Have a great week!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Close encounters at the wetlands.

Yesterday afternoon we payed a short visit to Koll wetlands. As soon as we got out of the car and walked to the edge of the pond there was a red-tailed hawk that swooped down in a mudflat near a killdeer. When he saw us the hawk took flight. We were worried he grabbed one of the killdeer but he ended up only getting a talon full of weeds. Although he only got plants the killdeer were calling rapidly to one another; "Killdeer, Killdeer". They were calling to each other the whole time we were there. Since the killdeer were disoriented I was able to get a rare up close encounter with the bird!

Enjoy!


Hello Mrs. killdeer!

Cool! That's a pintail!


Mrs. killdeer again.

Pintail, a mallard and short-billed dowitchers.

Lots of wigeon!

More wigeon. Also a female Eurasian wigeon! (bottom left).


The male cinnamon teal.

Look who's coming in!

Huh?

Oh no!

Two red-tailed hawks!


Hello!


No don't go in the parking lot!

What?

I can't quite tell what these are.

Me walking up to the male killdeer didn't even phase him! This is not zoomed in!

Bird list for the visit:

  • Killdeer
  • Red-tailed hawk
  • Canvasback
  • Bufflehead
  • Western Canada goose
  • Cackling goose
  • Norther pintail
  • American wigeon
  • Gadwall
  • Mallard
  • Great-blue heron
  • American coot
  • Ruddy duck
  • Ring-necked duck
  • Greater scaup
  • Lesser scaup
  • Green-winged teal
  • Cinnamon teal
  • Northern shoveler
  • Eurasian wigeon
  • Wilson's snipe
  • Short-billed dowitcher
  • Tree swallow
  • Violet-green swallow



Have a great weekend!