Before I left I caught the Squirrel making a trip across the back fence. I tho't he might be stopping at the bird feeder but he kept going.
So I loaded the car and headed north. It was pretty quiet so I didn't make many stops when I got there and decided I'd head over to the Burrowing Owl first thing. Had to stop for a Red-winged Blackbird first.
I like when I can see the Burrowing Owl is sitting on the steel post as I get closer. He never disappoints!
Much to my surprise I see he has some company - not sure how long he'll let his new neighbor live there - before eating him!!
Not much else happening with him so I head back down the road and pull in at the trees to look for owls.
Had to walk to the other end for the Long-eared Owls. They always seem so well camouflaged - their coloring is much like the bark on the trees - so they always seem to surprise me when I finally spot them.
Two on one side . . .
And here's the 3rd . . .
I'd spotted one of the adult Great Horned Owls perched along the path in the trees and stopped for a shot of him
Then I went to the outside and walked along until I found the rest of the family. This is actually two of them - there was no way to get a clear shot of the second one but you can see his feet on the branch above and to the left in this shot.
And here's the 3rd one.
And the other parent keeping a close eye on me.
When I got back to the car a Willet was being very noisy - most likely she had a chick somewhere nearby but I couldn't spot it.
Then I went back to see the Burrowing Owl but I'm going to do a separate post about that!!
It was pretty quiet as I drove back south until I was almost done and I found a couple of Long-billed Curlews - they are very noisy!!
The cows were close to the road but I stopped for this guys photo instead.
I hadn't been up to Market Lake in the evening . . . in Forever!! So since the car was already loaded I grabbed a quick sandwich for supper and headed north again.
In the evenings the Canada Geese are getting ready to bed down for the night so I always feel bad when I have to make them move off the road. Lucky for this bunch they were bedded on the far side of the canal.
There was a couple in a car photographing the Burrowing Owl so I just sat and waited for them to finish before I took their spot. He looked like he was resting up and planning his route before an evening spent hunting.
By the time I got back to the trees a flock of geese were trying to get settled on the road again so I had to make them move. These chose to go across the canal.
And two male Cinnamon Teal were near the road so I got a couple shots of them before they took off.
I walked the trees again and found a Great Horned Owl along the path again. You could hear the kids hooting and he was listening closely.
And the Long-eared Owls were still at the far end so I stopped again.
An adult.
And the kids again.
I got some more shots of the Great Horned Owls before the mosquitoes carried me away (!!!) and then sat and waited for the sunset show.
It was definitely worth the wait!!
Ok - gotta go get some groceries and stop at the Bakery for a visit and when I get back (IF we still have internet) I'll post the photos of the Burrowing Owl from the morning trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment