Sunday, September 19, 2010

R and R with the birds

After a hard week dealing with Homecoming at school and in charge of a seminar for the Teaching American History Grant all day Satureday (it was outstanding with Peter Henriques, author of Realistic Visionary, discussing George Washington), I needed some R and R.  So out to Market Lake to look for migrating birds I went.

Immature Swainson's hawks were everywhere looking for food.  Here is one that was harassing a bunch of sparrows in a thicket.


Flocks of Canada geese were in stubble fields and ponds alike.


                               

Then I got to the thickets that housed the Great-horned owls.



In the next line of brush, I saw 9 Long-eared owls.



Then on the way home I caught this Swainson's having dinner.



Probably a nest-mate of it come in to try to steal a snack before it was gone.



I loved the R and R enjoying the down time with the birds of the area.  Just the end of another wild week in Idaho.

20 comments:

Gaelyn said...

These are awesome shots. Especially like the Swainson eating. Saw one soaring a few weeks ago, but no pics. Everyone deserves some R&R.

Unknown said...

Your bird photos are always amazing. Thank you.

Splendid Little Stars said...

wonderful shots! How awesome it must have been to have seen these in person!

Dagmar said...

Hi there Bill, what a wonderful review you gave me on my post.
Many thanks. I thought of it as scarry to do a wedding shot. But it wasn't at all...I wanna do more now. I'm hooked.

Love your birds, as I always love them. Do send them (as I said many times before) to the National Geographic magazine for them to use. They are soo good.
Great to be back again.
CU around buddy. Hugs Dagmar

Dan Huber said...

Great post and photos.

dan

troutbirder said...

Lucky you Bill. Swainsons and Long Eared would be lifers for me. Except for the years my sons played football, Homecoming Week was not my favorite time of the year. I might add toilet papering innocent bystanders yards was a real peeve.

LifeRamblings said...

those birds are beautifully captured. the last shot is magical.

Kelly said...

Oh my gosh....9 Long-eared Owls and Swainson's Hawks...and so close to the Great Horned Owl!! All I can say is, Wow! That is wonderful R & R.

George Washington and Alexander Hamilton are two of my favorite historical figures. I'm sure I would have enjoyed the lecture as well.

penny said...

I can only dream of capturing magnificent photos like these, Bill. Your wild Idaho is picture perfect.

NatureFootstep said...

so many great shots of great birds. Maybe I should move.......
Over here the land is almost empty of birds now. :(

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Thanks Bill for sharing wild Idaho -- and your well-deserved R&R! Those are fabulous shots. We came across an "owl tree" once -- a never-to-be-forgotten experience. would love to see one again.

Jayne said...

Hi Bill,

Thanks for coming by my Journey Through Grace. You have a very lovely blog here and I've added you to my daily reading list.

Love seeing the Swainson's Hawks as I've never seen one! They are so beautiful!

Have a wonderful day!

Jayne

Mary Howell Cromer said...

OK Bill, drad it anyway, this is so just not right, you get all of the grand stuff and I get the leftovers...lol ;) OMgoodness I am so green eyed, actually I really am, but your opportunities on your well earned R&R most certainly paid off. We are headed to the Dakotas, eastern Wyomming and Colorado Thursday, hoping to capture something, anything, especially new species. Take care~

Cloudia said...

Thrilling!


Aloha from Honolulu

Comfort Spiral

Jo said...

What beautiful photos, Bill. I love the Swainsons Hawks. Not seen here in Africa. Or the Long-eared Owl or Canada Geese. So it was great to get up close to them on your post. Glad you are rested. Greetings from Jo, North Africa.

eileeninmd said...

Great capture of the Hawks and Owls. I just love owls.

Janie said...

Great captures of the raptors!
It's hard to beat bird watching and photographing for R & R.

Jann said...

Wow, awesome photos of the Swainsons and owls! I'm sooo jealous, I have yet to get any owl photos, and I've only seen 2-3 in the past 2 yrs I've been doing wildlife photog.

Lynn Scott said...

Nice Photos on the Hawks. I really like the one in the tree. Went thru both sites and all have really nice photos :)

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