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Tuesday, 01 July 2008 07:05 |
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On my way home tomorrow...I have one last bird to try to photograph, and then it's hit the road time...My final bird is a Gambel's Quail...a nest with nine eggs that hopefully will hatch sometime tomorrow. Today I shot Broad-billed and Black-chinned Hummingbirds in Larry and Terrie's garden. Before that I was shooting Northern Mockingbirds and a Mourning Dove. Lots of success here, but I ran out of time to find some species I really wanted. I also lost four species before I could shoot them...predators took my nests, alas. Nature can be cruel... I guess I'll just have to come back again someday! Up, up, and away! Damon |
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Black-chinned Hummingbirds |
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Monday, 23 June 2008 16:35 |
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Yesterday I was photographing a female Black-chinned Hummingbird with her young. It was great to see her in action, and the youngster doing his sword swallowing act! Alas, the Pyrrhuloxia was predated before I could even set up my stuff on it to photograph it; that's the third species that has been predated before I even got there...I also lost a Bell's Vireo and a Yellow-eyed Junco to predators. What can you do...that's life in the wild world, unfortunately. Somebody eats somebody else. Today I am hoping to get a Greater Roadrunner that is nesting with three chicks near my house. I set up my blind and then left it alone for an hour so the parent could feed its chicks and get used to the blind. Then I'll go back to get some photos, hopefully. It has been sunny here every day! Beep, beep! |
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Monday, 16 June 2008 06:11 |
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Today I found a Barn Owl nest with two large chicks in it on the ground, so I'm going to attempt to photograph the owls tomorrow. The last four days I shot Crissal Thrashers and White-winged Doves. The shoots ended up going very well, and I got lots of great shots. I have lost a few nests to predation before I can get the chance to photograph them: Bell's Vireo; Yellow-eyed Junco, two of my four Canyon Towhees, and a Black-throated Sparrow. The good news is I still have other nests I can shoot for most species that have been predated. The only two I found one nest for and lost are the first two. C'est la vie... On Wednesday I get to shoot hummingbirds at Larry's place, which should be a blast! Saw a Bobcat in my back yard yesterday morning... Lots going on down here...went face to face with a Black Bear and a Mojave Rattlesnake four days ago as well...but not at the same time! Damon |
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Owls, Towhees, and Hummingbirds...oh my! |
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Thursday, 19 June 2008 20:23 |
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The last three nights have been crazy...I was up very late shooting a pair of Barn Owls and their two chicks...I must say that Barns Owls have the most chilling screams...it sounded like a Nazgul from Lord of the Rings when I heard it, and it made my skin crawl...but the babies are cute, and I got some shots of them, although I didn't get a lot of the adults, who just drop in between 10:30 pm and 3:30 am and drop off a freshly killed rat for the young. I got a couple of shots, but wished I could have had more time with them. By day, I was shooting Canyon Towhees and some Hummingbirds. So far so good, but I am still working out kinks to freeze the flight of the hummers. Tomorrow I will start shooting a Pyrrhuloxia, assuming the nest hasn't been predated. Hopefully not... Warm here, but not to terrible yet. Wind is still an issue for me...problematic with my blind. Nothing good comes without a struggle... Damon |
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Wednesday, 11 June 2008 04:07 |
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Well, yesterday I finished shooting the Plumbeous Vireos. They were great subjects, so bright-eyed and quick! I did get a great shot of both parents at the nest, so that was very satisfying. Today I set up on a nest with young that is either a Crissal or a Bendire's Thrasher. The adults were too shy to come to the nest, so after a couple of hours I packed up my stuff and backed off so they could tend their young. The three young are doing fine, and before I left them, I gave them each a small insect to eat (which they all gobbled down readily) and a swallow of water from thecap of my water bottle (they loved that!). I'll try again tomorrow, but I'll probably have to be very gradual with creeping my blind closer to the nest. Very few birds are that shy, but these appear to be so! Today I found a Gambel's Quail nest with 9 eggs, and a mystery nest with 0 eggs but new-looking...hmm. Also I found another Plumbeous Vireo nest with 4 two-day old young. I hope it all goes ok tomorrow... Damon |
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