Fall at Camas

Many times when it is raining in Rexburg, the weather at Camas is great for observing wildlife.  Last Thursday that was the case.  Fall waterfowl migration is an exciting time to visit the national wildlife refuge.  Local birds and animals are getting ready for the winter that is just around the corner.

Both the Tundra and Trumpeter swans are migrating south and resting at Camas.

 

"Love thy neighbor" came to mind as I watched two pair of Tundra swans in a argument on Big Pond.

 

Canadas, sandhill cranes and thousands of ducks join the swans in the migration.

 

Sandhill cranes are flying out to the area stubble fields.

 

The surprise of the day was a three foot Gopher snake I ran into on a road closed to motor vehicles.

 

In the evening five whitetails came out of the bulrushes to get a drink.

 

A great way to spend an afternoon in the wilds of Idaho.

Spring has Sprung

With the warm February that we have had here in Idaho, the animals and birds are starting the migration and dating early.  Yesterday was very overcast, but I still went looking for action.  Too early for a good picture, I caught these two Golden eagles dating.

Then in mixed flocks of waterfowl, I found these two Canada's playing "wings" as they kept flirting with each other.

 

The flocks of waterfowl were joined by the first flight of Snow and Ross's geese that are about two weeks early from their normal migration here.

 

About 130 snows joined other waterfowl to eat the leftovers from the digestive process of a herd of bison west of Market Lake.

 

There were seven pair of Northern Harriers doing their mating flights over the still frozen ponds of Market Lake.  Here I caught a female harassing seven Long-eared owls in a windrow of thick brush.

 

It appears that six of the seven owls have chosen their partners for the nesting season while one needs a dating service to find someone before Valentine's Day.

Its beginning to look like a love fest has started in the wilds of Idaho.  May Cupid smile down on you during this time of new beginnings.

Weird Tuesday at Market Lake

There were some weird sights and actions at or near Market Lake today as I spent the day watching and photographing birds as the ice is melting fast.

The first weird thing was what appeared to be a racial relationship.  This snow and Canada goose appeared to be a couple. But every time the couple got close to a flock of Canada geese, they were chased away. Eventually the two flew off together only to come back about an hour later.  It seems that even some geese engage in racial prejudice.

The goose in the air was trying to steal the mate of a Canada gander.  As he was attack and tried to fly over the pair, the gander leaped into the air, grabbed the foot of the intruder and pulled him back into the water and the fight was on.

With the receding ice some winter-killed fish draw eagles to feed on them.  This mature Bald appears to be leucistic with one pure white feather on the left wing, two on the right wing with a white chest and belly that extends over the front of the wings.

This pair of Canadas are practicing "agnostic aggression."  Usually geese practice this with intruders, but after driving off the intruder, the gander flies back to his mate who in a submissive pose.

She holds that pose as he slides up to her in his domineering pose with wings out stretched. 

He then shows more dominance by raising his head and honking several times. 

She remains in the submissive pose until he starts leading her away to the bull rushes they have been protecting for their nesting area.

Just another interesting, weird and educational day in the wilds of Idaho.

Canadas at it again

The Canada geese are setting up their nesting territories once again and it is fun to watch.  They fight with any other geese that comes near their intended sites.  With all the slipping, sliding and falling down it reminds me of the recent Olympics.  I watched these battles for two hours one day last week.   Here an aggressive male attacks the male of another pair.

On the slick ice the feet and tail fail to stop the sliding.

Now the backward beating of the wings are not much help.

So the one being attacked decides to jump over the sliding one.

Then it settles down on the other side of the slider.

One of the most interesting aspects of the relationships of these beautiful birds is the submission of one to another.  The female will often get between the two fighters and it ends when her mate submits to her demands.  When two females are fighting, the male will stop it by getting his mate to submit to him.

Just another wonderful day in the wilds of Idaho.

Busy Saturday

I wanted to do some birding Saturday, but I was not able to do any serious until 11:30 and I headed for Market Lake Wildlife Management area. 
Early it was all raptors like this Prairie Falcon.

There were plenty of starlings for the falcons, kestrels, and shrikes for lunch and dinner.

I finally located another nesting Great-horned owl nest to make four that I have found so far.

This "big daddy" did not feel up to attacking me as he has twice before.

And spring is in the air as these two Canada geese are flirting and showing off for each other.

A great way to finish the day was watching three Golden Eagles playing tag high over head and then locating and photographing a flock of Common Red Polls (later this week in my blog, madisonbirds) after a successful fishing trip.

A great day in the wilds of Idaho.

Last ice fishing trip?????

Yesterday I may have finished my ice fishing at Ririe Reservoir for the year.  The ice is still a safe 12 inches deep, but it is starting to crystalize and the four wheelers have broken the ice at the docks for about 12 out from the bank.  That along with a three-day seminar that I am incharge of next weekend, may cause me to put up my gear for the year.

It was a great day, as I was able to land about 15 kokanee and ended up with my limit.  They will taste good.

On the way home, just outside of the town of Ririe, I saw flocks of Trumpeter swan and Canada geese that were using a pond created by the melting snow.  In the spring waterfowl will feed heavily in these stubble fields before migrating north.  We should have snow geese showing up any day now.  When the snow geese come in, it is one impressive sight.  I will keep you posted.

Just another great day in the wilds of Idaho.

Fishing with moose and coots.

Yesterday, my son-in-law, Jesse, and I went fishing on Henrys Lake.  We had a wonderful time and the full report can be found on http://billschiessfishing.blgspot.com/.  We got some spawning brook trout and saw some amazing wildlife.  Here is a male spawning brooktrout over five pounds that Jesse caught.

Canada geese flew over us several times.

Coots were working the shore and we saw seven moose along the shoreline.  Here is a young bull that was feeding in the willows as we were fishing.

Just another great day in the wilds of Idaho.

Henrys Fork

In a freezing rain I braved the roads to look for a few birds before I went with family to watch the "Nutcracker."  I did find a few birds braving the elements.  Geese, ducks, Trumpeter swan were all on the river with some of the Henrys Fork frozen over.  This swan had a blue neck collar.

My favorite sighting was a flock of about 100 Cedar waxwings with about 30 robins and starlings mixed in.

The "Nutcracker" was excellent.  I had several student in it as dancers and I loved trading some wildness for an afternoon watching it with two four-year old granddaughters.

Henrys Fork birds

Late this afternoon I ran up to the Henrys Fork between St. Anthony and the Vernon Bridge to see if I could see a few birds.  It was cloudy with some misty rain/snow falling most of the time so I did not think I would get any quality pictures.  But you never know what you will see or get a chance to photograph.  Here are a few of the highlights of the day.
A Blue Heron was available.

There were hundreds of Trumpeter swan, Canada Geese, and ducks.  Here are some swan and ducks resting on an ice flow.

I also saw 14 Bald eagles, seven of them sitting in some trees, but too far away for some good pictures.  But a few flew close enough for some shots.

Swan kept coming in to me until it was almost too dark to shot pictures.

But my favorite picture of the day was of a Red-tailed hawk that came into my preditor call and realized that I was just too large to harvest.

                                    

Just another couple of wild hours in Idaho.