The light just seems to change so fast this time of year. One second this beautiful White-crowned Sparrow was out in the light the next second in a shadow. Somehow we always seem to get them in-between the two and this day was no exception. A nice look, a nice bird and a nice way to start the week.
Elegant and precise are words that always seem to come to mind when watching Northern Harriers fly the fields in search of a meal. The Northern Harrier is a very distinct looking hawk hawk with their owl-like face and easily identifiable in flight by a white patch at the base of their tails.
Northern Harriers are the most owl-like of hawks (though they’re not related to owls). They rely on hearing as well as vision to capture prey. The disk-shaped face looks and functions much like an owl’s, with stiff facial feathers helping to direct sound to the ears.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Harrier/overview
Northern Harriers hunt mostly small mammals and small birds, but they are capable of taking bigger prey like rabbits and ducks. They sometimes subdue larger animals by drowning them.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Harrier/overview
Just about everywhere we have gone this fall we have a the Townsend’s Solitaire as our companion. Wether sitting in coniferous tree-tops belting out their wonderful and at times complex tunes, perched in a Juniper bush giving a call claiming their domain or just sitting silently giving us the eye we have enjoyed having them around.
Exuding quiet and cutting through the noise a Dark-eyed Junco sits backlight as the sun starts to warm the day.
Quiet, yes, we like quiet.
It was one of those days days where you can hear the pecking from afar. A noise from high atop the trees peaking your curiosity as to who is up there. A Downy, a Hairy?
On this afternoon it was an unexpected visitor a handsome Red-naped Sapsucker. While not extremely uncommon they are a species we only see a few times a year which made all that neck-craning and staring into the sun all the more worthwhile.
It was nice to see this Great Horned Owl perching silently nearby. While we typically hear them more than see them the forests nearby have recently fallen silent to their hoots and we were afraid they had vanished.
A reassuring sight if only for a moment.
After some technological as well as inspirational challenges we are glad to be back and hope to return to our regular routine on the blog. Thanks for your continued support and interest.
Face to face with the Ravens Beard and a tidy well kept beard to boot.
October light brightens the morning as a Red Winged Blackbird perches in a bush of golden leaves. The leaves were falling just as fast as the colors were fading from the wings of this beautiful bird.
A Dusky Grouse keeping quiet while waiting for us to move along as we walked through the cottonwood trees in the creek bed. Seeing these birds move through the dry leaves and into the cottonwood trees with colors so similar to their own just makes a fall day feel…just like fall.
We had not seen a Green Tailed Towhee all summer so it was quite a pleasure to see one of these secretive birds in the distance a week or two ago.
nature has no boss 
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