This weekend was the Great Backyard Bird Count, an event in which thousands of people participate and search for birds all over the world. It ends this Monday night, so it's not quite done yet. My list is at 42! I happened to be up at my cabin this weekend so I was able to take some fox pictures:
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I have been having so much fun birding lately! On Friday I went out birding and found this Porcupine: Then I found this cute squirrel: And then I took some random pictures of some birds, and when I returned home I discovered that one of them was a Harris's Sparrow! I quickly returned and snapped some much better shots: And then on Saturday my mom and I drove up to Hailey to meet up with some people for a birding walk. First of all, I found a Townsend's Solitaire in the parking lot: Our guide was incredibly helpful and was very knowledgeable on birds and animals alike. She took us out to a Reserve where we spotted some Dippers and a whole flock of Barrow's Goldeneyes: Tagging along was a Common Goldeneye as well: As we continued I spotted a Downy Woodpecker: And a Hairy Woodpecker. See if you can spot him! As we progressed into the Reserve, I spotted a Great Horned Owl which allowed for some fairly nice shots! Then we were informed that there was a Moose further down. It wasn't long until we spotted it hiding in the brush: After a quick lunch break where we found a Golden Eagle, we decided to head to the house of someone our guide knew, who had found an uncommon Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker in his yard. We really lucked out and were allowed very pretty views of him! Then we decided to head to Hayspur Fish Hatchery and Silver Creek Preserve. On the way there we spotted two Moose and a whole herd of Elk on a nearby mountain: And several cute Chukar! At the Hatchery we found a Deer and a beautiful female Kingfisher: And a Common Merganser flyover: Then we got to the main Preserve, where our guide spotted several beautiful Trumpeter Swans! My mom found a Bald Eagle as well: Then, among the Trumpeters, there was a Tundra Swan, a lifer for me! Our guide also found some Canvasbacks, a lifer for me! There were also Pied-billed Grebes and several Buffleheads there: It was a wonderful time, only made possible by our wonderful guide!
Today I went birding with my mom and found a male and female Owl pair! Of course the female had to stay behind branches, but the male flew out to make for a nice shot: Then we found a large flock of Cedar Waxwings which posed nicely for us. Overall, it was a beautiful day with an incredible new foot of snow on the ground!
I've just uploaded some more pictures from 2016! Barrow's Goldeneye: Ring-necked Duck: A leucistic Common Merganser: Sandhill Cranes: Baby California Quail, so cute! A Swainson's Hawk from the Birds of Prey Flight show in Boise: A Great Horned Owl in sunset: A Black-billed Magpie at my peanut feeder: A Yellow-rumped Warbler in a Russian Olive tree: An adorable juvenile Mountain Bluebird: Bullock's Oriole: The Snake River Canyon: A few of my favorite mammal pictures:
I've been going through lots of my old photos and I've dug up a bunch of my nice photos from summer of 2016! Here's some Spotted Sandpipers: A female Hairy Woodpecker: An Eastern Kingbird, a yardbird! A White-crowned Sparrow picture I'm particularly proud of: A horrifying amount of bugs: Stanley Lake: A few frogs and toads: I hope you liked these! It's like Christmas for me opening up folders full of old pictures.
Well, 2017 is finally here! Now that all the New Years festivities are over, I have had the chance to go birding. Too bad if it's 16 degrees outside, I'll just bundle up more! But I sure am glad I spent the hour to bird my local neighborhood. First of all I found a very photogenic Kestrel who let me get very close to him: Afterwards, I was surprised by a Great Horned Owl flying from a tree directly in front of me! In hope of seeing another one, I climbed the tree (which was hard considering there was 2 ft of snow on it). To my surprise, there was another one! A fairly small male. It was so hard to get clear pictures because of all the branches everywhere, but here's my best: As I was attempting to get pictures of the owl, I spotted a small bird rustling around below me. It turned out to be a Hermit Thrush! I snapped a quick picture: It turns out this bird was a rarity! This bird normally only shows up during migration, but in the dead of winter it is certainly very odd to find one. Here is my eBird checklist:
ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S33514806 It's almost New Years! For New Years, I am in Stanley. So far it's been absolutely incredible! There are 3 red foxes with an extra surprise: A Black Fox!!!
Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and generally Happy Holidays everyone! I got my own little Christmas Present yesterday via my Grandma's large lawn where lots of Cedar Waxwings hang out. I've been looking for Bohemian Waxwings in my own yard for some time, with no luck. Finally I found two or three amongst the flock of probably 30 or 40 Cedars! In addition, I also got a really nice pic of a Cedar Waxwing: I hope these Waxwings gave you some Christmas cheer! Merry Christmas!
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Youtube:The first Kestrel chick fed!
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