Winter bathing for the birds

Yesterday was a warm day after a week of bitter cold with temperatures in the 40's - a change of 60 degrees from the previous week.  The birds took advantage of the warmth to bathe and enjoy the partial sun of the day.

Along the Henrys Fork of the Snake River, I caught this Bald eagle drying off its wings after bathing along the edge of the river.  It held its wings in this position for about 30 minutes.

 

A couple miles farther up the river I found this American robin bathing along the ice.  There were a flock of about 100 of them enjoying the warmth of the day.

 

It appeared to be a little crazy, but it probably needed the bath.

 

This Steller's Jay is beating its wings to shake the excess water off.  Sometimes I wish I had videos of wildlife as they go through the acts that are natural to them.

 

I almost missed this shot as this Belted Kingfisher dove for a minnow.  It was unsuccessful and flew off to dry on a willow limb.

 

And as I was headed home, the distant Teton Peaks were shrouded in the blankets of clouds - they themselves trying to keep warm in the bitter cold air that surrounded them.

 

Just another day in the wilds of Idaho - and the Tetons in Wyoming, but viewed from Idaho.

Elk and Steller's Jay

Back teaching has cut into my outdoor time and blogging, but I am having some evenings and Saturdays to get out.  Yesterday was one of those unforgettable days.  I started out by looking for snow geese and found about 1000 of them but these two antelope were feeding near the field the geese were in.

Next I headed for Camas National Wildlife Refuge to see what I could find.  On the way there I found a pair of Burrowing owls.  They might be the same couple I saw last year as they are just 100 yards from where a pair nested last year.

At Camas there were not a lot of waterfowl and I did not find the Great-horned owls, but I saw my first Steller's jay that kept me entertained for an hour.  They are very pretty and very noisy. 

On the way to Market Lake I hiked some back roads and found 19 head of bull elk; all still wearing their armor.

At Market Lake I searched for a Long-eared owl but did not find it.  The Russian Olive trees were filled with Cedar and Bohemian waxwings eating the berries.  It was a lot of fun.

Just another unforgettable day in the wilds of Idaho.