Tag: morningwalk

Who’s that looking out the hole–it’s a northern flicker

18
May
2021

So on one of my morning walks at Boomer Lake, I decided to check out the creek side of the lake (this is the area that is heavily wooded, and to get around you’re either walking through the woods or you’re out in a boat or kayak).

Walking to the ‘boat loading’ site, I decided to check on the one dead cottonwood tree, that I had spotted the pileated woodpecker on in the past.

Instead of seeing the pileated woodpecker or even a songbird or two–I managed to get several pictures of a northern flicker sticking its head out of one of the holes.

Northern flicker sticking its head out of a hole in a dead tree
Who’s there………

So now the question is–did the northern flicker take over the old roost of the pileated woodpecker, or was it just ‘checking’ out the neighborhood?

Northern flicker looking out of a hole in a dead cottonwood

I realize that I may (or may not) spot a woodpecker on the tree during all of my walks, but it will be a spot that I try to check as often as possible throughout the summer to see if there it becomes a northern flicker nest, or if the pileated woodpecker is back looking for carpenter ants or termites.

Northern Flicker

Did you know that northern flickers tend to hunt for their prey on the ground–they go after ants for the most part, though they will also go after some flying insects as well (such as flies, butterflies, and moths).

Getting these pictures of the northern flicker poking its head out of a (possible) nesting site meets a partial overall woodpecker photography goal (getting pictures of them near their nesting sites), though the main two northern flicker photography goals are still getting one of them hunting ants, and then catching a butterfly or moth in the air.

Have you seen any woodpeckers this year? What’s your favorite woodpecker?

No Comments bird watchingnatureoutdoorsPhotographyScience

One of the many morning birding surprises: the green heron

13
May
2021

So on my walk at Boomer Lake today I managed to spot the ‘secretive’ green heron.

Spotted the Green Heron

The green heron is a migratory bird that spends its summers in Oklahoma, and we’re lucky enough that there is usually a mating pair in town. Due to the start of the pandemic last year, I didn’t get in many walks at Boomer Lake during the summertime so I missed trying to get a picture of them last year.

A little closer view of the heron, and spotted a grackle and a few red-eared sliders as well.

I wasn’t expecting to see the green heron this morning–mainly because I was out ‘late’ (i.e. well after dawn), and usually these birds are roosting/hunting in the brush around the lake edges.

I was passing the area of the lake, that a birding expert refers to as ‘heron cove’ and noticed the green heron perched on a branch over the water cleaning its feathers.

Looking back towards the green heron

I tried to move down the hill quietly so that I could possibly get a closer picture, and while I did get a little closer–I’m not sure if the pictures give it justice or not.

Within the picture series, I also noticed that I managed to get a picture of several red-eared sliders and a grackle. I’m thnking that I may try to explore a little more of the wooded areas around the lake to see if I can possibly spot the black-crowned night heron again, and possibly even the belted kingfisher. As all three of these birds are usually more ‘morning’ birds (best seen usually close to dawn), though I have managed to spot them later in the morning.

Bird watching and photography are two of the things I enjoy doing during nice weather. What hobbies do you enjoy doing durin ghte nice weather?

No Comments bird watchingnatureoutdoorsPhotographyScience

Photography Challenge Winner: female mallard in a tree

17
Apr
2021

2021 seems to be the year of double takes in terms of photography.

There are just those pictures that make you take a double glance (or maybe pinch yourself) to make sure that you’re not dreaming of the shot.

Since the weather has been up and down in temperatures, the SARS-CoV2 virus is slowly getting under control, and things are slowly trying to return to normal, I haven’t been out and about with my camera as much as I have in previous years.

So far for 2021, my ‘double glance’ pictures have included the large crayfish in the creek; the yellow-bellied sapsucker on the small suet feeder; the black-crowned night heron perched over Boomer Lake, and then this female mallard.

Female mallard ‘in’ the tree

Getting a picture of a mallard (female or male) really isn’t that difficult at Boomer Lake–I think they’re probably the second most abundant waterfowl there after the Canada geese.

Female mallard ‘on’ the tree.

These pictures are unique in the fact that the female mallard was sitting on the trunk of the tree, quacking while her mate was on the ground either scanning the area for trouble, or every so often looking up at her (probably wondering ‘what the hell’…). I’m use to seeing great blue herons, egrets, and even cormorants sitting in trees, but this had been the first time I’d seen a duck that high off the ground.

She’s just surveying the area……

While I didn’t get that close to the tree (since I didn’t want to scare them off), I did manage to get several pictures of the female mallard on the tree, and she seemed quite happy to be at the ‘top of the world’ for a while. Luckily, I doubt that she was scooping it out as a nesting site, since all mallards prefer to make their nests on the ground, hidden, and fairly close to the water (easier for the ducklings to start following their mother into the water after hatching).

Female mallard, standing around and quaking.

One interesting little fact about mallards–if you hear one quacking, that is actually the female mallard; the sounds of the male mallards are more of a quiet rasping sound.

Hopefully I will be able to get back to my walks at Boomer Lake this summer and manage to get some pictures of the female with her young (as only the female mallard takes care of the young).

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Photography Challenge Day 208: Spider webs

19
Sep
2019

The winner of today’s photography challenge are spider webs. They were chosen mainly because I liked how all the water droplets looked on them in the fog.

Spiderweb

So one of the places I head every week to try to get pictures of the egrets, herons, and other birds is the dock. Every morning, there are numerous spiderwebs strung between the supports on the dock. Sometimes I see the spider on the web, but most often I just see the webs.

These two webs were pretty close together, and I liked how the water droplets clung to the silk strands of the web.

Spiderweb and flowers

Then I saw these pink/purple flowers that had a spiderweb woven between them, but again–I didn’t see the spider, just it’s web.

Spiderweb in a tree

Then as I was heading towards the other side of the lake, I noticed that there were several spiderwebs in the trees. They didn’t necessarily have water droplets sticking to them–they were insulated from that, but I liked how they looked.

Flowers, a web and it’s spider

So I didn’t realize that I actually managed to get a picture of a spider on it’s web while on my walk. I think at this time I was focused on the flowers, but also managed to get the picture of the orb spider on it’s web.

The seasons will soon be changing–Monday is the fall equinox (first day of fall), and that means that the temperatures will start to fall. Probably slowly for a month or so (we are talking climate change after all–and we still have quite a few flowers that haven’t opened yet on numerous Rose of Sharon bushes), and then quickly until we hit winter temperatures.

That means that the spiders are already starting to prepare for the next year–those that only live a year, are looking for mates, and then the females are looking for areas that will withstand the cold, winter temperatures so they can lay their eggs. The young spiders may or may not hatch, if they do–they’ll spend winter together and disperse in the spring; others will wait to hatch until the spring and then disperse to find new homes.

I think that I’ll continue taking pictures of the webs until they’re gone, and then I’ll keep an eye out for them in the spring. I’ll also keep an eye out in the spring for the wolf spiders that will be coming out of “hibernation” as well.

No Comments naturePhotography

Photography Challenge Days 206 and 207: Butterflies and a spider

18
Sep
2019

So the next couple of winners are some butterflies and a spider that I saw on my walk on Sunday.

The first is of a pale yellow-brown butterfly with eyespots on it’s upper wings. I haven’t quite figured out what butterfly it is—one possibility is the common buckeye butterfly, but this one doesn’t have eyespots on the lower portion of the wings.

Butterfly

I managed to get two pictures of this butterfly before it flew off.

Butterfly closing it wings..

Well, it might have some pale eyespots on the bottom portion of it’s wings. That might help a little more in narrowing down the identification. I’m going to continue trying to figure out what butterfly it is, even if I have to go ask someone in entomology for help in the identification of the butterfly.

Spider crawling on it’s web.

The second winner is a spider—again I have no idea what type of spider it is. While I managed to get a couple of decent pictures, I didn’t get any good ones with identification marks to compare to pictures to get an identification of it—I just know that I’m very careful in walking around trees and bushes at the lake in the morning so that I hopefully don’t walk through any spider webs.

A side view of the spider on it’s web

This spider had made it’s web in between branches on a tree that close to the water. Nice place to catch evening bugs. And then the final winner is….

Viceroy butterfly

The third winner is another viceroy butterfly that was flying around one of the points at the lake. The way to tell the difference between the viceroy and the monarch butterfly is that the viceroy butterfly has the black stripe on the bottom part of it’s wings (monarchs lack that stripe).

Hopefully the weather will behave and I will be able to walk around Boomer Lake again this coming weekend and see what birds, mammals, reptiles, and insects are round this coming weekend.

No Comments butterfliesinsectsnaturePhotography

Photography Challenge Day 204 & 205: The Green Heron is still around

17
Sep
2019

So the winner of the next double photography challenge is the green heron. This one (or these two) haven’t started their migration south yet, though they should be heading off within the next couple of weeks. Green herons migrate south anywhere from the end of August through October.

Well–we’re a little over halfway through September, so there is basically now six weeks until Halloween. I’m hoping to possibly get a few more pictures of them this fall before they head south, since I never seem to be able to get good pictures of them in the springtime.

Green Heron flying in the fog.

I managed to see them both mornings that I walked at Boomer Lake, though I saw them on opposite sides of the lake. On Saturday, I startled this one, and it flew past me to head into the little cove. Due to the fog, I lost sight of it once I turned around to follow it.

These guys blend right in with the dreary landscape, and if it had sat still and ignored me–I would have completely missed seeing it.

Green Heron flying across the lake

Sunday morning, I saw one of them flying from the little island towards the tall grasses that I had just passed. I knew that there wasn’t going to be any closer pictures this morning. Though I have to wonder where the other one is at–I’ve seen them as a pair this year. Even with the one I startled yesterday–I soon startled it’s mate/friend a few minutes later. I just wasn’t able to get a picture of it.

Though this is one thing that has made me happy this fall–being able to get a couple of good pictures of the green herons.

No Comments bird watchingnaturePhotography

Photography Challenge Days 202 & 203: The difference between sunny and foggy.

16
Sep
2019

So the walks this weekend were polar opposites of each other—Saturday was totally foggy, and Sunday was sunny without a cloud in sight. Therefore the pictures for the weekend are going to somewhat showcase the difference between a sunny day and a totally foggy day.

Great Blue Heron sitting in the tree on Saturday

So the above picture was taken on Saturday, and I was actually surprised that I managed to see the heron through the fog sitting in the tree. Luckily I’ve been watching them enough that I knew where to look.

Great Blue Heron sitting in the tree on Sunday

Then basically the same location on Sunday, and either the same blue heron or another one was sitting in the tree deciding on when to go hunt for breakfast.

Then I managed to get a picture of an egret back in the creek area of the lake. This is one area that I want to explore a little more–but I need to get some hiking boots first, plus some decent pants as well (summer isn’t the time to be in the woods with shorts on).

Great Egret in the fog, on Saturday morning

So there is this one egret that I always see under this tree on the creek side, come fog or sunny weather.

Great Egret in sunny weather, on Sunday morning.

So even slightly unpleasant weather can lead to interesting pictures, especially when you can do an comparison shot within a few days afterwards. I probably could have tried to go back out Saturday afternoon and see what photographs I could have gotten–but these are roughly the same time but one on Saturday and the other on Sunday.

Something new to aim for–getting certain photographs in certain areas at roughly the same time each day (or each week) and then compare them to each other………..

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Photography Challenge Day 195: The Green Heron (a short post)

06
Sep
2019

So the winner of today’s photography challenge is the green heron. I actually was able to get a good picture of the green heron as it landed on a tree limb at Boomer Lake.

Green heron sitting on the log at Boomer Lake

These birds are very easy to startle (compared to the great blue heron and great egret), so it was a surprise to see it on my walk—if it hadn’t flown from it’s original spot, I probably would have walked right past it.

Though as it flew past me, I did managed to get a picture–though with the sun coming up, and it being a dark colored bird, it does make for an interesting contrast.

Green heron flying over Boomer Lake at sunrise

Pretty soon, they’re going to start on their trip south to warmer winter areas (the gulf coast, Mexico, and possibly down into Central America). I’m going to have to try to keep an eye out for these guys, and move as slowly and quietly as possible as I’m doing it—so that I don’t scare them off before I’m able to get a good picture of them.

These are yet another species, that I’m going to have to be stealthy in terms of getting close to–or break out the tripod and larger lens for the camera.

No Comments bird watchingnaturePhotography

Photography Challenge Day 194: The red-shouldered hawk flying away (a short post).

05
Sep
2019

The winner of today’s photography challenge is the hawk that flew off in mid-shot, but I still managed to get two decent pictures of it in flight.

Red-shouldered hawk in flight

I’m pretty sure that this is the red-shouldered hawk and not the red-tailed hawk, due to the red on the breast as it was flying past me.

Red-shouldered hawk flying into the trees

I’m wondering if I interrupted this one while it was hunting—as I had noticed it sitting on top of a light post, but when I got close to get it’s picture—it flew off towards some trees. I followed, but I didn’t notice the exact limb that it had landed on, so I continued on my walk to see what other birds I could spot.

They are hunters, and their prey ranges from small mammals to reptiles and amphibians. Though they have been seen to also eat other birds (including young owlets, sparrows, and doves).

They’re year round residents of the area, so I will be keeping an eye out for them on my walks to see if I can spot them in trees, on light posts, or just flying through the area.

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Photography Challenge Day 192: The young scissor-tailed flycatcher

03
Sep
2019

While the adult scissor-tailed flycatchers may have started their migrations back south—the younger generation is still present, at least for awhile.

Young scissor-tail flycatcher

I noticed this one sitting at the top of a tree, and probably wouldn’t have paid much attention, until it stretched and I saw it’s tail. It was then I realized that I’d probably been overlooking the younger generation of scissor-tailed flycatchers the past few weeks.

I think it thought it saw something to eat….

While the scissor-tailed flycatcher is common in Oklahoma (we’re in it’s breeding area, and it is the state bird), during migration they actually wander and therefore can almost be spotted anywhere throughout North America. They winter in the warmer regions of Central America and southern Mexico.

Since they feed predominately on insects, I don’t think that there is a good way of trying to lure them into the yard during the year—they seem to really like the open spaces around the lake, and we lack that around the house. So I will just have to keep an eye out for them again in the spring. I will be looking for the younger ones again on the weekends and I will see how long before they do decide to head south for the winter.

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