Post by Gord on Jun 20, 2021 22:07:44 GMT -8
Continuation from the White-faced Ibis report from earlier.
We very much enjoyed our trip to a place we've not spent any real time at. Thanks to Tom, Isaac and Chris for some tips.
We went to Midday Valley Road to start. Dusky Flycatcher and House Wrens were pretty common. It was neat to hear the Dusky singing which we don't get to hear much in our area. Magpies are always exotic looking. Vesper Sparrows also sound odd as they never sing on migration. We found a pair of Mountain Bluebirds using one of the numerous nest boxes along the road. Hats off to the people who run the program. The birds are used to vehicles and we managed some very nice shots of them as they went about their business unconcerned.
021_5027 by Geordie LaForge, on Flickr
021_5024 by Geordie LaForge, on Flickr
021_5035 by Geordie LaForge, on Flickr
Image1 by Geordie LaForge, on Flickr
I'm curious what she's feeding the babies. It almost looks like newly-emerged dragonflies?
021_5039 by Geordie LaForge, on Flickr
House Wren
021_4999 by Geordie LaForge, on Flickr
Dusky Flycatcher
021_5000 by Geordie LaForge, on Flickr
Further along we had a male Williamson's Flycatcher fly by us. Such beauties. Not long after we found a pair and were fortunate to see the female right next to us.
021_5054 by Geordie LaForge, on Flickr
021_5056 by Geordie LaForge, on Flickr
The male visiting a nest. They were very regular at the nest feeding every 4-5 minutes. We think ants were on the menu?
021_5065 by Geordie LaForge, on Flickr
On the way back down we saw two Swainson's Hawks circling overhead. An immature Cooper's Hawk did not like them and chased them a little bit as the first photo captures.
021_5097 by Geordie LaForge, on Flickr
021_5107 by Geordie LaForge, on Flickr
We spent some time at Beaver Flats Ranch area and were amazed at the number of Eared Grebes, coots, almost all the ducks you'd expect (Mallards, we noted, were the most uncommon of them all). Across from the wetland we saw two Burrowing Owls. I understand they're at a restoration site and not sure if they're considered wild or not. There was a person checking the nest burrows while we were there. That helped confirm what we were seeing at a distance through the heat shimmer when the "could they be marmots...?" flew a short distance.
Up by Stump Lake on Planet Mine Road we found a Lewis's Woodpecker as another highlight.
On the way back just east of Beaver Flats at a site with some riparian shrubbery we had a Grey Catbird fly across the road in front of us.
That was our day. We've not had a chance to upload our sightings to eBird to see how many species we saw. Certainly a place one could easily spend a few days exploring. There's so much there and the country is beautiful! The wind was a bit much though. I'm not sure if that's a daily occurrence or was just our bad timing.
We very much enjoyed our trip to a place we've not spent any real time at. Thanks to Tom, Isaac and Chris for some tips.
We went to Midday Valley Road to start. Dusky Flycatcher and House Wrens were pretty common. It was neat to hear the Dusky singing which we don't get to hear much in our area. Magpies are always exotic looking. Vesper Sparrows also sound odd as they never sing on migration. We found a pair of Mountain Bluebirds using one of the numerous nest boxes along the road. Hats off to the people who run the program. The birds are used to vehicles and we managed some very nice shots of them as they went about their business unconcerned.
021_5027 by Geordie LaForge, on Flickr021_5024 by Geordie LaForge, on Flickr021_5035 by Geordie LaForge, on FlickrImage1 by Geordie LaForge, on FlickrI'm curious what she's feeding the babies. It almost looks like newly-emerged dragonflies?
021_5039 by Geordie LaForge, on FlickrHouse Wren
021_4999 by Geordie LaForge, on FlickrDusky Flycatcher
021_5000 by Geordie LaForge, on FlickrFurther along we had a male Williamson's Flycatcher fly by us. Such beauties. Not long after we found a pair and were fortunate to see the female right next to us.
021_5054 by Geordie LaForge, on Flickr021_5056 by Geordie LaForge, on FlickrThe male visiting a nest. They were very regular at the nest feeding every 4-5 minutes. We think ants were on the menu?
021_5065 by Geordie LaForge, on FlickrOn the way back down we saw two Swainson's Hawks circling overhead. An immature Cooper's Hawk did not like them and chased them a little bit as the first photo captures.
021_5097 by Geordie LaForge, on Flickr021_5107 by Geordie LaForge, on FlickrWe spent some time at Beaver Flats Ranch area and were amazed at the number of Eared Grebes, coots, almost all the ducks you'd expect (Mallards, we noted, were the most uncommon of them all). Across from the wetland we saw two Burrowing Owls. I understand they're at a restoration site and not sure if they're considered wild or not. There was a person checking the nest burrows while we were there. That helped confirm what we were seeing at a distance through the heat shimmer when the "could they be marmots...?" flew a short distance.
Up by Stump Lake on Planet Mine Road we found a Lewis's Woodpecker as another highlight.
On the way back just east of Beaver Flats at a site with some riparian shrubbery we had a Grey Catbird fly across the road in front of us.
That was our day. We've not had a chance to upload our sightings to eBird to see how many species we saw. Certainly a place one could easily spend a few days exploring. There's so much there and the country is beautiful! The wind was a bit much though. I'm not sure if that's a daily occurrence or was just our bad timing.
