Category: Birding

Categories
Birding Photography

The Birds at Baldwin Spring

Baldwin Spring is my favorite bird photography spot in the Black Hills. I just wish some “new” birds would show up. I get photos of the same species every year. It is still fun to sit in my nest and take nice close-up photos. There is a perfect hiding spot (my nest) in between a juniper and some chokecherry bushes just a few feet away from the spring. I know the birds still know I’m there, but they get used to me. In the morning, the sun is behind me and usually the light is pretty nice. Today I carried the 500 f4 on a tripod to the spring. Yesterday I walked from camp, that is about 2 miles each way. I can drive to within a mile or so, depending on which route I take. One route is shorter and then one has to go down (and then up) a steep but short hill, maybe a few hundred yards. The other route is longer and downhill too but not as steep. I usually prefer the shorter route.

Yesterday I put my trail cams out at two trails leading to two other springs. There are no cattle this year so I’m hoping for something exciting to show up.

Yellow-rumped Warbler, Audubon’s race.
Spotted Towhees are a regular at the spring.
There are lots of Red Crossbills this year. They come in an amazing variety of plumages. This one is a juvenile bird, apparently they have already hatched a brood. Sometimes there will be 15-20 of them getting a drink or bathing.
Male Red Crossbill, full color. I have lots of photos.
A Gray Jay. I don’t see this species at the spring very often.
A juvenile Clark’s Nutcracker. I watched one of the parents feeding it. Note the fleshy gape.
American Goldfinch on a nice perch.
Categories
Birding Photography

Back in Pierre, SD

I’m back in Pierre. Actually, I’ve been here over a week now. The first few days were cold and wet but pretty good for birding, as lots of migrants were forced to land. As it was in Arizona, rain is needed here too. On the way up here, I stopped in a BLM campground near Datil, New Mexico. It is the Datil Well Campground and I plan to spend more time there on the way back to Arizona. Very nice area for astrophotography and the birding is pretty good too. I had read about this campground before but the reviews all said there was no phone service/internet. However, I found that some campsites do have service, good enough for email, news and weather, anyway.

A Black-chinned Hummingbird at Datil Well Campground, New Mexico.
A Glossy Ibis at the Hyde WPA, near Pierre, SD.
A Semipalmated Plover and a Piping Plover, side by side, Hyde WPA.
My best bird of late, a Whimbrel at Hyde WPA. I got a text from Kenny Miller this afternoon letting me know he had found this bird. I headed up there and it was still present! A South Dakota life bird and a new Hughes County life bird as well. I have chased after Whimbrels in South Dakota a few times and they were always gone when I got there. I now have 370 species on my South Dakota life list. This is a lousy photo due to the distance, but I have lots of good photos of Whimbrels at the LINK.
Categories
Birding Photography

Birds!

It is sure good to see lots of birds again! I’ve been at Patton’s Hummingbird Center in Patagonia three times now and today is the first time I saw any Violet-crowned Hummingbirds. Apparently the numbers are down. I discovered that there are three feeders on the property (in the northwest corner) that do have Violet-crowned Hummingbirds. I never saw any on the rest of the property. The place is alive with other birds, too many species to list here. Lots of birders too.

I think I will leave tomorrow and drive to Silver City. I could stay here a long time but it is time to head north. Had a nice rain yesterday and the plant response to it was rapid, things are greening up. There was a dusting of snow on the Santa Ritas but it didn’t last long.

Violet-crowned Hummingbird
Not as close but I like the perch better!
I got very close to this male Ladder-backed Woodpecker.
A Greater Pewee in the Empire Gulch at Las Cienegas. I’ve never seen one away from the mountains. Obviously a migrant on its way to mountains, where the species nests.
Categories
Birding Photography Travel

On The Move Again

I left Ajo on Sunday morning and drove to the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, near Sonoita. I’ve stayed here many times, it is free, quiet, and usually good birding. Like most everywhere else in Arizona, it is very dry. There is still water in the spring though and the cottonwoods are leafed out and green. The uplands are dry and brown. Had a nice rain this afternoon and now the forecast is for a low of 35F tonight! I would not be surprised to see some snow on the mountains in the morning.

Today Mark Otnes and I birded around Patagonia Lake where we had some good luck with a Least Tern.

I haven’t photographed Gila Woodpeckers for a long time, they are very common. But, this was a shot I couldn’t pass up.
A Least Tern at Patagonia Lake State Park. We saw it flying around the lake several times but then it landed on the beach. The tern let us walk up very close.
I took nearly 200 photos as it preened and rested.
More of the same.
It is always nice to get photos of birds doing something beside just resting.
A Black Phoebe at the Patton’s Hummingbird Center.

As always, right click and open in a new tab to see a larger version.
Categories
Birding Photography

Bobcat

A couple of days ago, while birding in my warbler hotspot, I came around a bend and suddenly caught the eyes of a Bobcat looking at me from a big mesquite tree. It was close but it just stayed there and watched me. I took some photos and backed away. Later I came back and it was gone.

At the ponds, the latest excitement has been two Semipalmated Sandpipers, a Red-breasted Merganser and two Red-necked Phalaropes.

The Bobcat. It was laying on a horizontal trunk of a big mesquite. All I could see was its head.
One of two Red-necked Phalaropes at the Ajo sewage ponds. It is really hard to get good photos at this site, which is too bad, because it does attract a lot of good birds.
A lot of Vaux’s Swift have moved in. I keep trying for good shots but it is very hard. This isn’t too bad, but still a large crop, which really reduces detail. I have a lot that are much worse though!
Categories
Astrophotography Birding Photography

Some New Birds and New Galaxies

The weather has been a little on the hot side but not too bad. My opportunities for astrophotography have been limited due to clouds and wind. Still no rain at all. The few areas that have got some water (mostly due to being watered or from runoff from paved streets) have been producing some birds. Tomorrow I have an appointment at Jones Ford in Buckeye to see what I need to do about the check engine light. I hope that doesn’t take too long.

M88, a spiral galaxy in the Virgo Galaxy Cluster.
I would like to put more time in this but it looks that will have to wait. This galaxy group is known at Arp 286 (Arp is the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies, named after Halton Arp, the astronomer who developed it). The largest galaxy in the image is NGC 5566. It is the largest galaxy in Virgo but is so far away it appears small, even for the C8. Distance from Earth is about 65 million light years. I had to crop a lot but it still looks pretty good.
NGC 3521, also known as the Bubble Galaxy. The large area of nebulosity surrounding the galaxy is from stars that have been torn out of the galaxy and dwarf galaxies that collided millions of years ago.
A Sora I found at the golf course. It was right out in the open, very unusual for a Sora.
A very cooperative male Hermit Warbler I found this morning. My prize bird for the day!
Another view of the same Hermit Warbler.
Categories
Astrophotography Bats Birding Photography

It’s Getting Hot!

I would like to leave pretty soon, it has been getting up near 100F yesterday and today. It should cool down now for a few days and that’s good because the truck has developed a problem, the check engine light came on. At NAPA they did a diagnostic that said it was an O2 sensor. NAPA can’t do it till week and I called the Ford dealer in Buckeye and they can’t do it till next Tuesday. So, I’m stuck. I can drive it to town and around the area, but if it gets worse I will have to park it and have it towed in, so I’m limiting the driving. No more driving around at night, that’s for sure!

I’ve managed a little astrophotography, but most nights I’ve been out photographing bats or looking for snakes. Here’s the Sombrero Galaxy with the C8, first time with guiding.
The Silver Streak Galaxy and neighbors. These galaxies are in the Virgo Galaxy Cluster.
A very sharp shot of a Yuma Myotis getting a drink. The bat activity at Valentine Well has really dropped off but there are still quite a few of the smaller bats.
One of the few bat photos I’ve taken with the wings down.
The Great Horned Owls at the golf course are successfully raising their young. Light was pretty bad but it turned out OK.
Another angle on the nest with better light.
A Nashville Warbler at the golf course.
Vermilion Flycatcher. It is hard to pass up a good shot!
Categories
Birding Photography

New Birds and Some Old Birds

The numbers of birds isn’t going up much but it seems there is something new almost everyday now. A big windy storm system is moving through tomorrow and I am hopeful that will really pick things up. It looks like a big warm up for next week so maybe the herps will finally start to move too. I just hope it doesn’t get so hot I have to leave!

My first Western Kingbird of the spring.
A Townsend’s Solitaire at Bud Walker Park.
Male Northern Harrier at the golf course. This was a terrible photo, taken in very poor light, but a little Photoshop work and it looks presentable.
A pair of ravens are building a new nest at the golf course.
A Bendire’s Thrasher at Bud Walker Park. A pretty rare bird in this part of Arizona.
Well, I said in my last post that there was nothing I could do about the background in this photo, but I messed around with it in Photoshop and I guess there is something I can do about it. Anyway, that ugly metal rim is gone!
Categories
Astrophotography Birding

Wilson’s Warbler

It must have been a pretty boring birding winter if a Wilson’s Warbler seems exciting. Yesterday, I actually saw around a dozen of them in a wooded area behind the Ajo tennis courts. They were very busy feeding and not paying much attention to me, so were easy to photograph. The weather has been pretty bad for astrophotography, so it appears that most of this new moon period is not going to be productive. At least we finally got some rain, about .15 inch according to the Ajo weather station. It is cold and windy today.

I got my covid vaccine on Thursday here at the local clinic. They just got a supply of the Johnson and Johnson one shot vaccine, so I’m done with that. I didn’t notice much for side effects, I felt a little tired and achy, but that went away by the next day. I am sure glad to have that done!

Male Wilson’s Warbler. I was pretty excited to see so many yesterday.
Here’s a side view of another one on a Palo Verde branch. They were very actively feeding and easy to approach.
Here’s another galaxy from a few nights ago. M95 is found in the constellation Leo and is about 33 million light years from Earth. Unlike most galaxies, it seems to harbor more yellow stars in the outer limits of the system.
Categories
Birding Herps Photography

Full Moon Days

Nothing going on here for astrophotography, the moon is too bright. Birding is still very slow and in my walks around the desert I’m not finding many flowers or butterflies. All in all, not much going on. At least the weather is nice. Many of the campers have left now, the campground is very quiet again.

While hiking out by Valentine Well I came across this homemade grave marker. I’m not sure what Quate means, it could be cuate, which can mean brother or friend in Spanish. I suppose Francisco was another immigrant looking for a better life.
A Harris’s Antelope Ground Squirrel feeding on something. Like chipmunks and Red Squirrels, hard to pass up.
It is hard to find anything new to photograph, so here’s another Common Side-blotched Lizard in breeding colors.
I found this Wilson’s Snipe this morning, at the golf course. It was probing in the soft soil around a leaking pipe. It let me get pretty close. Not very often one can find one of these out in the open like this.
Probing for earthworms.