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Young Blue

Young Blue

A young great blue heron pauses while hunting for voles near Horse Lake. I’ve seen juvenile herons in this area over multiple years, it is right near the start of the auto tour and I suppose the older herons don’t consider it prime territory. I didn’t think I’d have much chance for pictures on this occasion as the heron was a bit far off and facing in the other direction, but it eventually turned and came right towards my car. Those blue feathers on its head that are sticking up will turn white as it ages.

Black Phoebe

Black Phoebe

I had stopped at the culvert at Long Lake to see if any mergansers or other ducks were fishing in the shallows but saw a small dark bird flitting above the flotsam instead. A song sparrow often works this area but it is looking for food in the water, not above it, so I grabbed the telephoto lens for a better look. I was surprised to find the bird was a black phoebe, only the third time I’ve seen one (the second was also at Long Lake but in a different spot and time of year). I saw my fourth later in the day at Bower Slough but it didn’t give me the repeated close looks this one did.

Big Horns, Little Tails

Big Horns, Little Tails

I met a group of bighorn sheep ewes and lambs while hiking up to Mount Washburn on the last day of my trip to Yellowstone in 2011. They were on the trail itself and while it is a wide trail it was still a bit unnerving to have to walk so close. They were very relaxed, however, so I put the telephoto end of my zoom to good use and played around with some close-ups, including this shot of a ewe’s tail.

Raindrops

Raindrops

I spent about 20 minutes watching this American bittern in the pouring rain on Christmas afternoon of 2012. I’ve photographed bitterns many times on the auto tour and knew to approach slowly and shut off the car once I got close. It was my first time out in my new car but I treated it the same as the old, I rolled down the window and placed some old towels around the opening to absorb the rain. The bittern wasn’t actively hunting so the water accumulated in giant drops on its head.

The peace and quiet ended when a diesel pickup drove up and idled beside me. The bittern slowly turned around and disappeared into the marsh but I was very thankful for our time together, bitterns are one of my favorite subjects and it was a lovely way to end the day.

Female Flicker

Female Flicker

A female northern flicker visits our suet feeder, part of a family that was visiting in December 2012. You can see the semi-circular arm of the feeder (and our house) reflected in her eye.

Rear Window

Rear Window

One of the northern flickers that visit our suet feeders, in this case a male of the red-shafted variety that are the norm here in Oregon. I removed the screen from my office window and shot from inside with my telephoto lens sticking out of the open window, all while making sure that none of the cats made a bold escape while I was preoccupied watching birds.

Green in Green

Green in Green

You can find tame mallards in every duck pond in the country so I’m always amused to see how shy they are in the wild. There aren’t many mallards at Ridgefield and they’ve proven to be one of the most challenging ducks for me to photograph. I couldn’t resist a chance to take a portrait of the glorious green head of this drake against the green grasses of the meadow.