Random Musings

A commentary on rural living…

Yesterday’s Birds

I went out to Pierre Lake and found a completely frozen body of water. I had posted on the area last summer (here is the link in case your curious what it looks like in the summer.) On the drive we ran into a….

Western Meadowlark

Western Meadowlark  (Sturnella neglecta)

And I had one of those off photography days where no matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t get that great shot and all the wildlife was hiding pretty good.

Pierre Lake

Pierre Lake

We did however run into an adult Bald Eagle - and this one was a beauty.

Bald Eagle

(Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Other than that; while taking a few shots in my backyard after I got home I ran into a Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) (red-shafted.) I wish I would have gotten better shots of the gentleman and lady bird but maybe next time. I’ve found that woodpeckers are extremely shy in general. But here are the couple of shots I did get.

Northern Flicker (red-shafted)

male

Northern Flicker (red-shafted)

female

April 3, 2008 - Posted by aullori | Local Birds, Pacific Northwest, Photograhy, Uncategorized | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

6 Comments »

  1. Nice photos. I agree that the Northern Flicker is skitish - hard to photograph!

    Comment by The Zen Birdfeeder | April 4, 2008

  2. I am in love with your Bald Eagle photos.

    Comment by Bo | April 4, 2008

  3. Nice going, Lori! I love that BE photo and envy the ones of the Flickers. They have been really tough to approach for me.

    Comment by montucky | April 4, 2008

  4. Hi Zen, yeah often times my most difficult subjects are woodpeckers… (I’m sure there are humans out there that are just as naturally shy.) I appreciate your visit and really love your site! Keep up the really neat work you do!

    Comment by aullori | April 4, 2008

  5. Thanks Bo - they are really beautiful guys. Yesterday I got a juvenile munching on a deer carcass in the water.. Hopefully everyone does not tire of these shots because thankfully they are everywhere this year. Score two points for the environmentalist who fought so hard for their return!!

    Comment by aullori | April 4, 2008

  6. Hi Montucky, the BE posed… He (or perhaps she) didn’t even attempt to fly away until long after I was gone. Later I caught sight again when he/she was flying across the lake. Pretty as a picture as they say. The flickers were in my backyard so I’m hoping my invasive attitude did not spook them off.. I’ll check again today.

    Comment by aullori | April 4, 2008

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