Today I am sharing 2 images I took last week. A group of 5 River Otters were foraging in the American River at Sailor Bar. I watched their bodies slither as they dove into the water then came up with their head held high, swallowing their prey. It was great fun.
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I am sharing images of birds and of an otter that are enjoying breakfast time. I watched as they worked hard to get their meal.
This year, I have had many opportunities to see animals hunt and eat. I am truly grateful to have had those opportunities and thankful that I only had to pull mine from a cupboard.
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There are a lot of pictures in this post that, at first glance, appear nearly the same but, they are not the same; they are a sequence of a Green Heron stalking, capturing, and devouring it prey. I see Green Herons from time to time but mostly they are perched. On this day one gave me the opportunity to watch it hunt and eat. Though I see Egrets and other Herons stalk frequently, this is only the second time I saw one stalk and the first I saw one catch and eat. So, please step through these images, in order, one at time and enjoy this opportunity with me.
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I am sharing 4 images from one of my favorite local spots to photograph. I am drawn to the spot, just outside Folsom, CA, because it is an oak dotted rangeland typical of this area of California.
One of the images is a black and white version of another in the set. I thought it looked very dramatic in black and white.
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In this post, I am presenting 2 perspectives on the egret: the graceful, beautiful side and the visceral side.
A few weeks ago, we were at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Refuge in Davis, CA. In one of the sloughs, there were perhaps a dozen Egrets, both Snowy Egrets and Great Egrets. It turned out to be a great day for capturing them in flight.
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The lizardicide, killing of a western fence lizard for food, happened at Effie Yeaw Nature Center. It was fascinating to watch. The actual capture was done in tall grass under the shade of a tree. After capture, the Great Egret made a short hop/flight out to the trail then prepared to devour his prey. The intrepid little lizard put up a strong fight but, in the end, it succumbed.
Today I am sharing images of some woodpeckers and some cousins. The Red-bellied Woodpecker and the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker are from Florida, the others were from the Sacramento Area.
Look closely at the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and notice the tree on which it is perched. Note the ring of holes around the tree. When a sapsucker feeds it moves around the trunk leaving a tell tale ring of holes around the tree.
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Today I am featuring some special trees: The The Great Basin Brisltecone Pine (Pinus longevea), the Coastal Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and the Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum). Most of the images are from California but one comes from Great Basin National Park in Nevada.
There are only 8 groves of the Giant Sequoia in the world. They are all located in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. These wonders grow more than 300 feet tall with diameters that exceed 50 feet. The branches on these trees are often bigger than the trunks of trees I see every day.
The Coastal Redwood is found only along the coasts of Northern California with just a slight incursion into Oregon. These trees are the tallest in the world, reaching heights in excess of 375 feet and diameters in excess of 30 feet. Many of these trees are over 600 years old with the oldest known tree 2,200 years old.
The Bristlecone pines are small, gnarled, ancient trees some of which have lived more than 5,000 years. They grow at high altitudes and like poor soil conditions. They are tough old buggers.
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The Snowy Egret is an elegant bird with bright white plumage, black beak and legs and bright yellow feet. When it displays its long, curved plumage, it is gorgeous. They can be found, year around, along the coastal waters of the US, Mexico, and the Caribbean. But its migration and breeding periods takes it into much of the interior of the US.
Like other egrets and herons, they nest high in trees, in colonies, with other similar birds. They forage on frogs, worms, crustaceans, and insects. I find watching Egrets and Herons stalk fascinating.
The Snowy Egret is noticeably smaller than its cousin the great egret; the one that is tall and has a yellow beak. When you see an egret, look closely; it might be a Snowy or, it might be a Great.
In this set, I mixed a few pictures from our recent trip to Florida as well as some I have taken locally.
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Today I decided to share a few scenes from the area around Folsom, CA. Folsom is the site of the Folsom Prison that Johnny Cash put on the map. But there is more. It sits along the American River near the western end of the Sierra Nevada foothills. The small section of old town Folsom is still very nice. The outskirts are surrounded by oak woodlands primarily used for ranching.
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