Wildlife – Page 19 – Earthwatcher

Sandhill Cranes Are Back

November 3, 2018 by Earthwatcher, posted in Bird Photography, Birds, Pacific Flyway, Photography, Wildlife

Sandhill Cranes populate much of the North America. But here, around Sacramento, we live along the Pacific Flyway; one of the primary migratory paths for birds heading to their wintering spot. One of the treats is that we attract large numbers of Sandhill Cranes who spend their nights in flooded rice fields and their days foraging in fields of cut grasses and grains.

Note: Please click on caption to see images at higher resolution.

Juvenile Sandhill Crame in Flight — Juvenile Sandhill Cranes in Flight

Note: These and other images are available to purchase on my website, www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting larry@earthwatcher.us.

Some Wildlife from Recent Trips

October 28, 2018 by Earthwatcher, posted in Bird Photography, Birds, Death Valley, Earthwatcher, Fujifilm Cameras, Photography, raptor, Wildlife, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park

Here is a few shots of some wildlife we saw travelling through various places. The locations are listed with each image.

We hadn’t seen any bears in the wild for several years. Then, on one trip, we saw 2. Unfortunately, the one that got away, was a cinnamon colored one. Maybe someday I’ll be able to photograph one of those.

The tufa in Mono Lake are beautiful themselves but we got a rare treat – an osprey on its nest on top of a tufa.

Note: Click on caption to see image at higher resolution.

Tuolumne Grove Giant Sequoias, Yosemite National Park, CA; SEP 2018 — Western Gray Squirrel, Yosemite National Park

Least Chipmunk, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, CA

American Red Squirrel, Grand Tetons National Park

Turkey Vultures in the Desert, Death Valley National Park

Note: These and other images are available to purchase on my website: www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting larry@earthwatcher.us

Yellowstone Wildlife

September 28, 2018 by Earthwatcher, posted in Birds, Fujifilm Cameras, Photography, Wildlife, Yellowstone National Park

Scene from Swan Lake Flats, Yellowstone National Park; SEP 2018

Yellowstone is known as much for its wildlife as its great geologic features. North America’s apex predators, the wolf, grizzly bear and the mountain lion all roam Yellowstone’s wild lands along side the bison, elk, moose, deer and other prey species. Sadly, many of the species we had hoped to see didn’t show and a few were too far away to get a good picture. But we did see some and what we saw was amazing.

In this post, you’ll see the pica, a relative of the rabbit that lives in higher altitude rock fields. You’ll see the pronghorn which is related to but is not an antelope and the mountain goat which is not a goat but, an antelope. Finally, the American Dipper; the only North American song bird that feeds underwater in stream beds.

The Swainson’s hawks we taken not far outside of Idaho Falls, ID on the last leg of our journey to Yellowstone.

I hope you enjoy these images.

Regards,

Larry

Note: Please click on caption to see higher resolution image.

Yellowstone National Park, West Entrance Road; SEP 2018 — Bison Fording a Stream

Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park; SEP 2018 — Pronghorn Buck

Trumpeter Swan's at Sunrise — Trumpeter Swans at Sunrise

Note: These and other images are available to purchase on my website: www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting larry@earthwatcher.us.

The Turkey Vulture

July 18, 2018 by Earthwatcher, posted in Bird Photography, Birds, Photography, Wildlife

20180711-Effie-Yeaw-032-Web — Turkey Vulture

Almost every day I see a kettle of Turkey Vultures soaring in search of food. One spot, where I walk up a half mile, 5% grade, there are always a few perched on a tower at the top. I hope you enjoy the images of these stately creatures with their odd looking heads.

Regards

Larry

Note: Click on captions to see images in larger size and higher resolution.

These and other images are available for purchase at www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting larry@earthwatcher.us.

Cooper’s Hawk

June 22, 2018 by Earthwatcher, posted in Bird Photography, Birds, Fujifilm Cameras, Photography, raptor, Wildlife

We have an active backyard. Several species of birds frequent our feeder and the ground beneath. My wife is always chasing squirrels from the feeder. This afternoon, we had an unexpected visitor – a Cooper’s Hawk. He was very gracious. He hung around for about 15 minutes and allowed me to photograph him. Interesting though, no birds came to the feeder, no squirrels came around. Not a tweet could be heard; not even from the baby starling that has been crying all week. It took about an hour after the hawk left for backyard life to resume.

Regards,

Larry

Note: Click on caption to see larger, higher resolution image.

Note: This and other images are available to purchase at my website: www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting larry@earthwatcher.us

Some Interesting Wildlife Sightings

June 14, 2018 by Earthwatcher, posted in Bird Photography, Birds, Photography, Reptile, Snake, Wildlife

Grey Catbird Defending Nest Against Northern Black Racer Snake — Gray Catbird Attacking a Northern Black Racer Snake

Last week, we made a visit to Cowans Gap State Park in central Pennsylvania. We were fortunate to get two rare and interesting wildlife sightings.

The first sighting was a grey catbird dancing around at the base of a tree. We watched for a few minutes, perplexed by what it was doing. When I got my camera and tripod set-up, I noticed a northern black racer snake curled up in the bush near the bird. As we watched, we learned that the catbird’s elaborate dance, coupled with pecking the snake’s head was really an attempt to chase the snake away. Though we didn’t see the bird’s nest, we surmised it was nearby. It was really fun to watch this activity live rather than a scene in a TV documentary.

The second sighting was of a very large porcupine. It was the first time I have seen a porcupine in the wild.

I hope you enjoy these images.

Regards,

Larry

Note: To see images in larger size and higher resolution, click on the caption.

Cowan Gap State Park, PA; JUN 2018 — Porcupine

Note: These and other images are available to purchase by visiting my website: www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting larry@earthwatcher.us.

Green Heron

May 31, 2018 by Earthwatcher, posted in Bird Photography, Birds, Photography, Wildlife

This week, I was blessed to be able to observe and photograph a green heron for 10 minutes. I see green herons from time to time but only one other time did I see one long enough to take a photo and one shot was all he gave me. This colorful bird is much smaller than its more familiar cousin, the Great Blue Heron. Why it is called the green heron, I do not know. I only see gray, blue, chestnut red and yellow. Regardless, they are beautiful. I hope you enjoy these images.

Regards,

Larry.

Note: Click on caption to see image at larger size and greater resolution

Note: These and other images are available to purchase at my website: www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting larry@earthwatcher.us.

Visitors to the Saguaro

May 5, 2018 by Earthwatcher, posted in Birds, desert, Photography, Wildlife

Image of a Gila Woodpecker perched atop a saguaro cactus — Gila Woodpecker

I visited Phoenix, AZ recently. I stayed at a beautiful place at the foot of South Mountain. The place had a patio that overlooked the city and at the corner of that patio was a large saguaro cactus. The mornings were beautiful, so I sat on the deck and watched the birds as they visited the cactus. Here is some of what I saw.

The starling was not taken on the same cactus. It was sitting outside its nesting hole on a cactus at another location.

Note: Click on caption to see image at a larger size.

Image of a Cactus Wren perched atop a saguaro cactus — Cactus Wren

Image of a European Collared Dove perched atop a saguaro cactus — Eurasian Collared Dove

Image of an Anna's Hummingbird hovering alongside a saguaro cactus — Anna’s Hummingbird

Image of a Gilded Flicker perched atop a saguaro cactus — Gilded Flicker

Image of a Gila Woodpecker hidden among the arms of a saguaro cactus — Gila Woodpecker

Image of a European Starling standing by its nesting hole in a saguaro cactus — European Starling

The Magnificent Wood Duck

April 17, 2018 by Earthwatcher, posted in Photography, Waterfowl, Wildlife

Image of a male wood duck perched in a tree — Male Wood Duck

Ducks swim in lakes, ponds, rivers and oceans. They waddle around on the ground. Many display beautiful coloring. One of my favorites is the strikingly colored wood duck. They are a bit of an oddity among ducks; they perch and nest in trees. When the young have developed enough, the parents make them jump to the ground, without help, and waddle to the water to begin their life as a duck.

Note: Click on caption to see image in larger size.

Image of a pair of wood ducks. — Pair of Wood Ducks

Image of a male wood duck in a pond. — Male Wood Duck

Note: These and other images are available for purchase by visiting my website: www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting: larry@earthwatcher.us.

More Common Views from Sacramento and Colusa National Wildlife Refuge

January 21, 2018 by Earthwatcher, posted in Bird Photography, Birds, Colusa National Wildlife Reserve, Duck, Fujifilm Cameras, Photography, Sacramento National Wildlife Reserve, Wildlife

Snow Geese, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, JAN 2018

A few days ago, I shared some images of the less common sightings at these 2 major refuges on the Pacific Flyway. But, the usual suspects were there also. Today, I will share a few images from this set.

Regards,

Larry

Note: Please click on caption to see image in larger size.