Author: northerndesert

Living in Northern Nevada; chronicling life in the High Desert with my camera and a few words.

Red-tailed Hawks

Red-tailed Hawks seem to be the Rodney Dangerfields of the Raptors. While visiting the Klamath Basin Refuge last week, I saw and had the opportunity to take lots of photos of them but I seemed to be the only person interested in doing that. Several times people would stop to ask me what I was looking at or photographing and as soon as they saw or I told them it was a Red-tailed hawk they would make a face and drive off or say something like, “Oh those are so common, we are looking for eagles, or roughies.” Red-tails are common but no less beautiful than the rarer birds. I think people passed up some good opportunities to watch and photograph this wonderful species. They are incredible hunters and the fact that there are a lot of them does not make them any less interesting in my opinion.

Rough-legged Hawk

Rough-legged Hawk
I went to Klamath for the eagles but left there with an interest and appreciation for a completely different bird. I am not sure if I have ever encountered the Rough-legged hawk before but was captivated by the beauty of this raptor from the far north. They are widely distributed over North America and Eurasia. They breed on the tundra and in open areas eating small rodents such as lemmings and voles. They winter in southern parts of the U.S. and Europe. I was lucky to see one pounce on a mouse and get shots of it eating it. Hope that those pics don’t offend anyone. I met several other birders on the refuge who were looking for Roughies as they affectionately called them. They are sought after by photographers as they are quite photogenic. They have feathering all the way down their legs and even on their toes as an adaptation to keep their legs warm in their cold habitat hence their name.

Eagles at Klamath Basin

I will admit to having a bit of the winter doldrums. It has been so cold for so long that most open water is frozen over and other than the birds that visit my backyard feeder, the places I visit have seemed empty and sterile. I belong to an online Birding Photographer site and was becoming envious of all the wonderful exotic places full of wildlife and birds that people were visiting. I started daydreaming of visiting some of the legendary places that kept being mentioned like Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico and some different far flung destinations that I can’t realistically visit. That led me on a research hunt to find places I could go that were within reach. It seems silly that I did not realize or have the awareness that California, right next door, had so much to offer in the way of wildlife. Of course it is on the Pacific Flyway and has many refuges. I have overlooked all of this as I usually am oriented to looking east into the desert for inspiration. All of this led me to a weekend trip to the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex on the California- Oregon border.
Visiting the refuge was an amazing experience that I will definitely repeat. During the winter months the Refuge plays host to the largest concentration of Bald Eagles in the contiguous United States with up to 1000 eagles visiting some years. Millions of waterfowl pass through the refuge on their way south for the winter and back north. The eagles come to take advantage of the bounty. In addition to the eagles there are lots of other raptors that winter there and live on the refuge year round. The amount of and diversity of wildlife I saw was amazing. Sometimes I hardly knew where to point my camera it was so overwhelming.
I rented a 500mm lens for a month so that I could use it on this trip and another outing I have planned in a couple of weeks. I am glad I did as it was nice to have the additional reach that my 400mm would not have afforded me. Speaking of affording, I will have to save my pennies for a 500mm of my own. It was pretty nice using this lens and will be a sad day when I have to send it back. That was what I was practicing with and for prior to this trip. I will be making several posts about visiting the Klamath Basin and showing photos from my visit but wanted to start with the rock stars of the Refuge: The Bald Eagles. Hope you enjoy!

Practicing

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Winter has been bitterly cold here and after not going out for a few weeks I could not stand it anymore. Have made one trip out to the refuge to see if I could stay warm with some new boots and got the pic of the Great Horned Owl. The boots worked pretty well with heat packs in them. Took these pictures yesterday in my back yard. I need to practice for an upcoming trip. I have a camo drape that my Mother was kind enough to make for me. I sit on a little stool with the cloth draped over me. It is amazing how quickly the birds forget that you are there. There is quite a lot of drama in my backyard. I have a feeder set up for the small birds which they have been flocking to. We have at least two hawks that hunt the little birds on a regular basis. It is interesting to watch the hawks. They show up and the little birds all take refuge in bushes that the hawks are too large to get into. The little birds scold and chatter at the hawks from their hiding places. Yesterday this Coopers hawk landed on the fence and watched the birds for a bit allowing me to get photos of him. Then he flew at the bushes until all the birds flew out and he chased them. He was not successful this time but I have observed the Sharp-shinned Hawk eating a sparrow from my weeping cherry tree. Just wish they would snag the pigeons. I feel fortunate to have so much going on right out my back door!

Quail

Quail are among my favorite birds. I love their calls and that silly top knot feather they carry on their heads . I have quite a few visiting my yard this winter. They can’t get into my feeder but they wait patiently for the smaller birds to knock seeds down to them. From my tent blind I was able to take some decent photos of them yesterday.

Little Birds

Like everyone else who has tried to take photos of tiny birds I have experienced my share of frustration. A few months ago I purchased a portable blind I thought I would use in the field but it proved to be a bit of a hassle to carry with me. I set it up this week close to my bird feeder in the back yard to see what would happen. It was amazing how fast the birds acclimated to it and they don’t pay attention to me inside it snapping away at them. These are some images I was able to take from the blind. I am not quite satisfied with my efforts yet but hope to have more and better examples soon. Striving for that crisp, clear image with a nice background. We will see…

Backyard Birds

I put up a bird feeder a few weeks ago. We have a pigeon problem in the neighborhood so I put up a feeder that will only allow small birds access to the food. So far have lots of visits by sparrows, finches, juncos and this Rufous sided towhee (correction – spotted towhee). Along with the little visitors we have had visits by Kestrels and this handsome hawk which I believe is s Sharp-shinned Hawk. So far I have not seen them take any of my little friends who flee and hide in a weeping mulberry in a corner of the yard by the feeder. The branches are very thick and the hawks can’t get to the birds who scold them from their refuge. The Hawks have to eat too I just hope that they will discover the pigeons.

Mule Deer

The last few weeks I have been battling my fear of the dark to go out very early in the morning to try to capture good deer photos. It is challenging getting close to them and the light is tricky. I am learning a lot about deer and other wildlife sitting still for long hours at dawn but also learning how much I don’t know about photography. The light is tricky and I am struggling with getting the settings right before the sun comes up but I will continue to stumble along as all of this and me are a work in progress. Hope you enjoy the photos.

Autumn Collection

I have not been posting much lately because I have been out taking photos every spare moment. Love this time of year. The foliage of course is lovely but so fleeting here. We had a few days of peak color and then a storm rolled in with 60 mile an hour winds and temperatures in the twenties at night. Any leaves left clinging to the branches are a dull brown.

This is the best time of year to take deer photos. They are far more active and you are more likely to see the bucks hanging around the does. I have had good luck the last couple of weeks and the rut has not yet started. I got photos of this small two point and a giant buck this morning. The biggest I have ever been this close to. I hope to get more photos of this big fellow in a week or so when he has other things on his mind. I started wearing full camouflage and using scent killing spray. It seems to be working as I am getting very close to the deer before they spot me. Then it takes them a while to figure out what I am.