Melinda and I have been working at the advanced skill of birding by ear. She’s better at it than I am. It seems that I have to relearn the difference between a Wilson’s warbler from a Yellow warbler call and I think these are supposed to be fairly straightforward. I don’t have a photo of … More What made that sound?
Choosing a birding field guide brings up the never ending question of Photos vs Drawings. You can find lots of pros and cons on the internet. For me I like Photo based guides because they show real life examples. I particularly like the regional guides where plumage may vary from the standard. I like Drawing … More Choosing a Bird Field Guide
For 4/21/20 Waterfowl, Cornell Pamphlets, & Audubon Chapters I started birding back in the 90’s with the suggestion from my sister Melinda to “start with waterfowl.” I now know how great this suggestion was. Ducks, Geese, Swans are all large and frequently hold still on large bodies of water. Northern shovelers The distinctive Northern shovelers, … More Waterfowl, Cornell Pamphlets, & Audubon Chapters
I decided that I really need to know more about the migratory patterns at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and the Camas National Wildlife Refuge. I went searching on the internet, and in my library’s databases. The best source of information is from the refuges themselves on the internet, and from my own observations. … More Musings on migration and my favorite refuges
3/6/20 Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge https://www.fws.gov/refuge/bear_river_migratory_bird_refuge/ Sleepy Tundra swans Tundra swans and more Tundra swans Tundra swans with Northern shovelers in the foreground <a data-flickr-embed="true" //embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js Ring billed gull Redheads and other assorted ducks A raft of American coots Rough legged hawk
3/6/20 Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge https://www.fws.gov/refuge/bear_river_migratory_bird_refuge/ Blue Sunrise Ring necked pheasants Red winged blackbird Common raven Bald eagle Pond of ducks (Northern pintails, American wigeons, Green winged teals) Cinnamon teal Large pond with Tundra swans and assorted ducks
Checking us out (June 14, 2016 – Idaho) As you know if you’ve been following my blog, I’ve read a bunch of books on Burrowing owls and didn’t find the answer of how do burrowing owls survive winter. Once I had gone through my pile of books I did a Google search which didn’t really … More Burrowing Owls and Winter
March 1, 2020 I took the morning to go north and investigate the birding potential at Market Lake. Sadly it is still iced over. I noticed birds on my way there, and stopped in Blackfoot on the way back to check out a field of geese and swans. A lovely morning of driving and birding. … More Market Lake – March 2020
Do I know how to treat myself on Valentines day or what? It was a gorgeous evening at the refuge. It’s nice to see the Northern pintails starting to migrate through. Looks like most of the Rough legged hawks have moved on. Fascinating – Jenny Canada geese are all paired up Northern pintails and Mallards … More Bear River Refuge – Valentines Day 2020
Shanna and I headed south towards Salt Lake early in the morning. The plan was to meet up with my sister and go to a Lunar festival. I knew we left early enough that if we wanted to do some shopping we could. After much discussion we decided to go to Best Buy. Shanna has … More Bear River Refuge – Feb 1 2020
BlueRavenBirders 