Beaver, Tits, Hairy Peckers and more

Quote:

Originally posted by hornithologist

Notech ... wow, you were able to get pretty close to those gobblers. They're usually pretty skittish.

Remember the coyote pics, it just takes calmness and stealth


I wish I could get a raptor pic or to, they are skittish to the extreme


(also how close are you to Douglas county? )

my aunt lives there

Quote:

Originally posted by notech

...


(also how close are you to Douglas county? )

my aunt lives there

Douglas county is about 150 miles away from me.

AZ ... I'm surprised so many cranes are there already. I was in Wisconsin last weekend, and 5 to 10 thousand Sandhills were still hanging around. I'll have pics up soon.

Here are some Sandhill Crane pics from last weekend.

Crex Meadows Wildlife Area, Grantsburg, Wisconsin

There were thousands in the area and a bunch of them all took off at once. The sound was amazing. With a wingspan of 2 meters, they make noise just from the air hitting their broad wings when they flap. It kind of sounded like a couple of 18 wheelers rolling down the highway.



Here are some more in the air. Notice the Bald Eagle. He's there scanning the area for old, young and sick cranes.



For the last pic, I had to upload so you can see it fullsize. I only had a zoom lens with me, so I wasn't able to get a true wide angle shot, but it's still a fairly large area to see. All of the birds you see are Sandhill Cranes except for 3 Trumpeter Swans (the big white birds in the water), and a couple of raptors above the tree line.

We don't seem to have Sandhill's in Cali,those are amazing birds

(also I've missed two chances at getting outstanding evening pics of a hawk at our flying site) .....

Will keep trying !!!

Next up for raptors ... the Northern Harrier.

All pictures were taken last year in Minnesota and Wisconsin, but Northern Harriers are found throughout the northern hemisphere of the world.


Notice the face. They have facial discs that make them look similar to owls. This helps with hearing. It amplifies the sound, just like cupping your hands behind your own ears does.



They fly low, usually just above the cat tails and grasses, while listening and watching for smaller critters. They are also known as Marsh hawks, because marshland is their main habitat.



They rarely have to flap their wings. They can lazily glide low with their wings in a shallow V, rocking back and forth to provide lift. The Brits admire their flying capabilities so much that they name the Harrier jump jets after them. Not that unusual I guess because most jets are named after raptors.
Here is one flying away from me with a small squirrel.



The males are silver, white and black, with yellow eyes and feet. Takes them about 3 years to acquire their adult plumage. Females are brownish like the above ones.



If you see a big bird, gliding low over a marsh or field, rocking back and forth as it flies, and has a white spot on the top of the tail (rump), and you're in the northern hemisphere ... it's more than likey a Northern Harrier.

found this little 24 pound meteorite yesterday morning. checked it out...it's magnetic. gotta wait til monday to get it to U of A for testing.

We are not amused.

AZ ... cool discovery ... is that the first one you've found? How did you know it was a meteorite, and not just a regular rock that's magnetic?

there's no iron ore natural in the area. i still haven't gotten it to U of A to have them look at it. lazy me

Quote:

Originally posted by ThreadKiller

All I have for now is a Louisiana Heron. I'll rustle up a few more beasts later.

[ Image ]

What the hell is a Louisiana Heron. Looks like a Great Blue Heron or a Grey Heron from over in Eurasia and Africa.

Do you hunt those wild pigs or just let them tear stuff up. They make for some real good eating if you ever get the urge to nail one of them.

Here is a Louisiana Heron better known as a Tricolor Heron

Quote:

Originally posted by nemisis02

Do you hunt those wild pigs or just let them tear stuff up. They make for some real good eating if you ever get the urge to nail one of them.

i only shoot pictures of wildlife. some guys hunt them & say they know how to prepare them to get them tasty. i tried it once & didn't like it at all.

azdesertrat,did you ever hunt and kill?

I did and loved it,but the older I get the less I need to kill.

And the fact of the game is not there as plentiful as it was.


Also, are you trying to one-up me on Dove nests?

Quote:

Originally posted by nemisis02

...
What the hell is a Louisiana Heron. Looks like a Great Blue Heron or a Grey Heron from over in Eurasia and Africa.

It's a Great Blue Heron. And yeah, like you said in your other post, some people call Tri-Coloreds, Louisianas. Glad you could join us ... hopefully you have some pics to add. It's basically just been 3 people posting so far.

Here's a Grey Squirrel that was in my backyard (Minneapolis, MN) last year. It's an albino.

tres cool hornithologist

My wife and I raised a gray squirrel from a baby! It was great until it decided it was breeding season(got violently mean)we turned it loose

I've never seen the albino version before,thanks!

(also I'm posting a clean-up crew in case this thread needs it over the holidays)

Any detectives out there care to take a stab at what may have transpired here?

I was out getting the mail when I noticed in my front yard ...







Last one has my footprints in it for some type of size comparison.

You do know that birds can trip too?

Well, Notech, you might be right ... but I think something else happened here.

Based on the broadness of the wings and extent of the tail, I know it's bigger than a crow. So that leaves me two options, a hawk or owl.

Now, since there were no noticeable tracks around the impression, or feathers, I think this bird was going after something under the snow.

Owls hunt mainly by hearing. They can hear voles and lemmings moving under the snow and when they pin-point the creature, they lunge their talons into the snow. They balance themselves by opening their wings.

I have seen and heard Great Horned Owls in my yard on a few different occasions. Barred Owls are also fairly common in my area.

So, I think it was an owl impression, probably a Great Horned. The owl missed once, tried again, and then flew away. I couldn't say whether it was a successful kill or not.