New Year birds

The last week has been working with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, trying to radio collar female Sage grouse to track them during the summer (I will be part of that tracking) and seeing birds for the first time this season.

Probably the worst "bad hair day" every time you see them are the Red-breasted mergansers, especially the males.  Flocks were everywhere to be seen this week with Market Lake being the best place to watch them.

 

Even though not a new bird, the female Downy was followed to my backyard by a male, but she rebuffed his advances.

 

Likewise, the female Osprey cowered when the male tried playing footsy with her.  It seemed like they appeared overnight everywhere with 9 pairs showing up to repair their nests around Rexburg.

 

The comical Ruddy ducks with their strange coloration and funny actions showed up in great numbers at Market Lake also.

 

American Avocets showed up in a few pairs and a few singles trying to break up the pairings.  They are always a welcome sight as they feed mostly with their heads under water.

 

Hundreds of elk are moving from the sagebrush covered desert up to the evergreen covered hills and mountains.  Most of their winter range is still closed to human activities until May 1, but then the antler hunters will follow the herd as they head north.

 

Mule deer are also migrating to the mountains and as you can see, they wintered well as the mature does have big bellies and will give birth sometime in May.

 

In the last week I was able to spend at least an hour or two up to full days in the wilds of Idaho enjoying what God has blessed us with.  May each of you have a bless'ed week until we meet next.

Trumpeter swans invade Rexburg area

In the snowless fields around Rexburg this year, there are hundreds if not close to a thousand Trumpeter swans feeding on rotten potatoes and wasted grain in the stubble fields.  In one field alone I counted 443 trumpeters and one Tundra swan last week.  On two sides of the field are power lines and at times these wonderful birds crash into them like the one below.  Each casualty has been reported to the authorities.

Last week we had a tagged trumpeter show up and am waiting for its life history from the feds.  We do know it was banded in Canada in 2003.

We really need some air flight controllers as I have seen several mid air collisions during the high winds.

There are also some interesting pictures as the swans come in to feed.  Here two geese flying together looks like a single with four wings.

Here two of four fly in unison and it appears as one swan has two heads.

I spend one or two evenings each week, counting, taking photos and enjoying these fantastic birds alone or with a friend or grandchild.  Just enjoying the wildness of Idaho.

SkyWatch Friday - cold sunset

Cold evenings create a beautiful sunset during February.  We are just waiting for warmer weather to create more orange sunsets over Rexburg.

SkyWatch Friday - Foggy Sunset

We have been having a lot of fog and freezing rain here in Rexburg.  This week the setting sun colored the foggy ground with a golden haze.

Just another ending to a wonderful wild day in Idaho.

See more sky pictures at http://skyley.blogspot.com/

SkyWatch Friday - Stormy sunrise

Storms, storms and more storms continue to roll in.  Sometimes the sun gets a chance to peek through the cloud either in the morning or evening.  Tuesday morning as I was leaving for school, we had a beautiful sunrise to celebrate another snow/rain storm moving in.  This was taken from my back steps.

Half way to school I captured this scene.

A great way to start another wild day in Idaho.

See other sky pictures at http://skyley.blogspot.com/

SkyWatch Friday - Sundog

After three days of blizzards, Thanksgiving Eve was clear and cold.  As my wife and I came home of picking up our repaired snowblower, we were amazed at the beautiful sundog.  Sundogs are made much like summer rainbows are.  Only a sundog is created by the sun shining through ice crystals instead of raindrops.

A great way to end another wild day in Idaho.

See other great sky pictures at http://skyley.blogspot.com/.

SkyWatch Friday - Sunset after the storm

Last weekend after a day of rain and snow, the sun colored the western sky over southeastern Idaho with brilliant colors.  This was taken from the Moody Mountains east of Rexburg of the buttes on the Big Desert.

A great way to end another wild day in Idaho.

See other sky pictures at http://skyley.blogspot.com/

SkyWatch Friday - Rexburg Temple

Wednesday morning on my way to school, the only light showing through the grey skies was right behind the Rexburg LDS Temple.  The silhouette of the temple was highlighted by the light rays streaming from the heavens.

A great view to start another wild day in Idaho.

See other SkyWatch Friday pictures as http://skyley.blogspot.com/

SkyWatch Friday - Rising sun-spike

With the cold mornings hovering around zero, the air is filled with ice crystals creating beautiful sun spikes.  These only last for about three or four minutes before they are gone.  The best ones are just as the sun breaks over the eastern Teton Mountains east of Rexburg.  Timing is critical to catch them at their peak.

Just the beginning of another wild day in Idaho.

Visit more shots of beautiful skies at SkyWatch Friday.

SkyWatch Friday - Rexburg sunrise

Late last night we finally got a break from the snow and grey skies that have been with us all week.  This morning on my way to school there was enough fog in the air to create a beautiful sunrise.  I loved it.  Just hope it holds out until the weekend when I will take some boy scouts fishing.

Just the beginning of another wild day in Idaho.

SkyWatch Friday - Teton Sunrise

This picture was taken just seven minutes after the second picture of a sunrise over Rexburg.  It is amazing how quickly the light changes during a sunrise and sunset.  I was on my way to school when I encountered the beautiful sunrise.

Here are the Teton Peaks  peeking out from behind the Moody Mountains.

Just the beginning of another wild day in Idaho.

White on white

Last Saturday I was involved in the Rexburg Christmas Bird Count. On New Year's Day, it had snowed eight inches and it was still snowing a little. So everything was covered with snow and was almost postcard like. I was with a group of five and we counted 38 species of birds.

Here are some white-on-white pictures I got during the count.

White berries covered with snow.

Here the trees and ground is covered with white snow.

And here are some Trumpeter swan flying against a foggy white sky.

Just another wild day in Idaho.

SkyWatch Friday - Moon sliver

Last night I got home from school just after the sun went down.  The moon was just a sliver of while as the rest of the sky colored up beautifully.  I sat in my backyard enjoying the changing colors as it got dark and listened to the coyotes howling in the river bottoms.

Just another end to a wild day in Idaho.

Cedar Waxwings

Recently the Cedar Waxwings have been getting in large groups and invading area towns.  The other day we had about 30 feeding on left-over chokecherry berries in my back yard.   Here is an article I recently wrote for a newspaper where it was printed.

Many wild animals have learned to adapt to urban environments. Coyotes live in Los Angeles sewers, kestrels and peregrine falcons nest on apartment ledges and ravens raid garbage cans throughout America’s cities.

Why not one of the most beautiful birds – the Cedar waxwing?

In the cities of southeastern Idaho put together several large fir trees with some berry producing bushes nearby and chances are the waxwings have staked out their homestead.

Hard to see and locate in the thick needles and leaves of mature trees, their soft call in the mid morning and early evening are hard to miss. Careful observation will locate these soft voiced, soft feathered beauties.

Their song is not melodic, but a distinctive buzzy, high-pitched trill. Once you learn to recognize this sound, you will hear it usually before you see the birds.

This year pairs of waxwings have nested in Rexburg and surrounding towns picking off ants and bees attracted to sap producing conifers. Cedar waxwings are late nesters, often waiting until berries as well as insects are available for the young.

Young waxwings are fed insects before they become berry eaters. Adults can be seen picking bees and other insects off leaves and pine needles and feeding them to their young.

They love to invade raspberry patches as well as currant and gooseberry bushes.

Waxwings get their name from small, red, wax-like appendages on the secondary feathers on their wings. A beautiful yellow band runs along the end of the tail and mask-like face sets off their striking tan plumage. In the eastern part of the United States, these birds have started feeding on an ornamental honeysuckle berry that turns the yellow band orange.

These birds are year around resident of Idaho where they feed on many different berries, flowers, and insects, with cedar and juniper fruit dominating their menu during the winter. During the winter of 2008-09, cedar waxwings were seen in large flocks along the Henrys Fork of the Snake River every month of the year. Wintering flocks invade the Russian Olive bushes at Market Lake and Mud Lake.

They are probably the most specialized fruit-eating bird in America. Because they often feed on fermented fruit, they become vulnerable to intoxication and death from eating rotting berries.

Fall is an excellent time to view these birds as they take full advantage of fruit trees and berry bushes loaded with fruit.

Waxwings are a social bird, sometimes congregating in groups of 100 or more. These groups will travel from place to place looking for a crop of fruit or berries and will feed until the berries are gone. While nesting, waxwings will pair up away from large groups only to become pare of a large social group after the young can fly long distances.

Residents of Rexburg, St. Anthony and Ashton do not have to travel further than their backyard to view these elegant birds. Crab apple trees and other fruit bearing trees bring these beautiful birds right to your window.

But cars parked under such trees get the “leftovers” created by these berry eating machines.
 

Skywatch Friday #5

A small funnel cloud near Rexburg.

Join us at Sky Watch Friday for more beautiful pictures.

Sunday Sunset

Sunday as evening approached, I knew the threatening storm would produce a beautiful sunset.  Winds were near 60 mph, kicking up dust and sand from the newly harvested fields.  I drove west of Rexburg to  Beaver Dick Park and shot these pictures of the sunset. 

Enjoy the wild wind in Idaho.

Red-naped sapsuckers

I am always a few days behind with my blog as it takes me a few days to get my pictures downloaded

Last Thursday I decided to spend the afternoon in the mountains east of Rexburg, in the Moody Creek area, looking for huckleberries. I found a lot of green ones, but no ripe ones yet. They are about two to three weeks away from really producing.

I was leisurely driving down a mountain road when I heard the sound of baby woodpeckers in some aspen trees. I pulled over and watched until I saw an adult Red-naped sapsucker land on a tree. After it left, I positioned myself so I could watch. Both adults would bring bills full of sap, insects and even berries to the young.

Here is a picture of an adult feeding the young.


After feeding the young the adult would fly to a near-by branch and pound away on it.
Or it would wipe its bill off on the branch before flying off to gather some more goodies.
I watched this operation as both parents were kept busy as the young ones would peer out of the nest waiting its turn for food. Sometimes yelling to get the parents to hurry up did the trick.