Spring has sprung

Tuesday I went up to watch the Idaho Fish and Game tend their gill nets (another post) and spent the rest of the day enjoying the wildness of Idaho around Henrys Lake.  It was a beautiful day with the Mountain Bluebirds and the Tree swallows fighting over nest boxes around the lake.  Here is a female bluebird carrying plant material to build the nest in a nest box.

 

Here the male bluebird stands as a sentinel to protect the female as she builds the nest or is just plain lazy or full-of-himself for being so beautiful.

 

Even without a nest box, these two Tree swallow love-birds are busy getting to know each other.

 

By Timber Creek two immature and one mature Bald eagles are waiting for a good chance to pick off a spawning cutthroat trout in the stream.

 

This White-crowned sparrow got into a fight with a male bluebirds because it got too close to a nest box holding a female bluebird.

 

At the edge of the road I found what looked like a six-headed snake.  It was not a one snake but a female with five smaller male Garter snakes trying to breed her.

 

On the cut next to the road were three other males, larger than the five with the female.

 

Eventually the three joined in the mass of snakes as the wrestled in the mud.  I left before the wrestling was over.

 

Then I found two chipmunks chasing each other through the sagebrush.

 

I finished the day by climbing a mountain in search of some garnets and "fairy-cross" crystals.  I found both and got high enough to see some Bighorn sheep.

 

What a great day it was to enjoy the wilds of Idaho.

House fight - a Battle for a Home

Yesterday the day was too hot for great fishing on Henrys Lake, so on my way home I was taking pictures of some birds.  Many of the old Bluebird nest boxes have been taken over by Tree Swallows.  But a new one had been placed on a pole and the Mountain Bluebirds had a nest of babies there.  The male was guarding the nest while the female came in with some food for the young.

One of the pair would stay perched on the house while the other went for food.

Once when both left for food, a Tree Swallow came and landed on the nest box. It appeared that its mate

tried to tell it that the box was occupied.

They actually got into a fight with them locking bills and the aggressor clawing the other with its feet.

But the swallow wanting the nest box was not convinced until it was attacked by the male bluebird.

The battle was claw and bill combat, but I was unable to stop the action or catch up to them.  But the male continued to fly sorties around the nest box.

He finally landed as the female brought in some food for the babies.

He stayed guard until the babies were fed and the female left the nest box.

This battle over a home between the bluebirds and the swallows happened three times while I watched for a half an hour.

Just another experience in the wilds of Idaho.

Tree swallows and woman's work

After fishing on Tuesday, July 21, I stopped to watch some Tree swallows as they worked their family responsibilities. Two hungry mouths kept polking out of the opening in the nest box as the young swallows wanted food and quickly.

Both parents were very busy bringing food for the hungry youngsters. Here one parent brings in two damsel flies for the young. Then that parent goes inside and stays there for some time while the other parent makes two trip to capture food and bring it back to the young demanding twerps.

Finally the parent emerges from the nest box with a mouth full of poop from the babies. I always wondered what happened to all the crap those babies manufacture from all the food they consume!!!!!! The answer is that they also have to have their disposals changed from time to time. What a nasty job!

After I get my wood loaded, I usually stop by the Henrys Fork at Macks Inn to eat, drink, relax and observe the families floating down the shallow water from Big Springs to Macks Inn.

This was a funny one to me - a woman's work is never done even on vacation. Here two women tow their partners down the river while the men lay back and relax. I hope they didn't have to do it all the way and there was a change of horses in mid stream.

Here two families float side by side down the river. They were having a great time splashing each other as the float neared the concusion.