Better Luck at the Cowlitz

After last night’s skunking at the Barrier Dam, my son and I decided to try again this morning. We worked the banks at the Barrier Dam for about an hour before he said he wanted to try Blue Creek. As soon as we were at the top of the hill, a Toledo man hauled in a nice 9-pounder from our spot. (See tomorrow’s Chronicle.)

But we (or HE, actually) had better luck at Blue Creek.

Lucky shot, not the best quality image. He was a fighter!

This one is smaller than the one that got away (of course), but he’ll do!

A nice 24-inch, 7-pound summer run hatchery steelhead.

All I caught was a Great Blue Heron, sneaking in to see if he could get our take.

 

He certainly isn’t the prettiest example of a heron, kinda scrawny looking.

Makes me almost sorry we didn’t hand over the fish. Almost.

I thought maybe we scared off the heron, but then I looked up again after shooting the last frame of the heron flying away and spotted this killer red-breast perched in the heron’s place.

Ya gotta watch out for those Robins, they’ll ‘neak up on ya.

Birds of the Cowlitz River

Spent a couple of hours trying to find myself a steelhead to take home. Not even a nibble! But I spotted a few birds, and common though they may be, I enjoyed watching them work the waters.

This little robin was peeking up over the rocks at me, keeping one close eye on my movements as he kept the other eye out for yummy bugs.

A Crow …

A mallard hen duck …

And some fingerlings.

Babies!

I spotted a couple of American Robin babies hopping across the side yard lawn today. Aren’t they adorable!

I know that this photo isn’t the best, but I’m just so stinkin’ happy to see this little guy I can’t even tell you! This little Western Scrub Jay is the only one that has survived, as far as I know, and I had despaired of ANY of the babies surviving.

My son found 5 babies, 2 dead, 3 alive but without feathers, at the base of the tree where they were nesting. There is no brush near that tree and the nest was too far up in the tree to put them back, so he put the live babies in the nearest brush and left them.

He didn’t tell me what happened until I mentioned the other day that I thought it seemed my pair of Jays were very sad and that I hoped everything was okay with their babies. (He knows I’m not just soft headed, at times, but also soft hearted.)

Hooray, Scrub Jay!

More American Robins

I lucked out with so many great shots last Friday, these American Robin captures didn’t even make it into the post. Upon further review, I can’t see leaving these guys/gals out of the picture …

I met this clever fellow as I was walking back from the woods. He walked ahead of me, keeping one eye on the ground, one eye back at me.

He hopped up on the fence when I started traveling too quickly for him to be comfortable with the pace …

Then suddenly, he jumped back down to the ground and then back up to a further post …

As I focused in on his face, I could see what he had captured disappearing quickly. Notice the saliva? Yum, fresh worm makes my mouth water too. 😛

Mr. Robin Gets His Dander Up

Mr. Robin just noticed that I’m standing right behind him …

The wing-droop and faux-hawk are dead giveaway signs that I startled him.

Now we add the classic tail-lift response to the wing-droop. He’s letting me know he’s not someone I want to tangle with …

… just before he flies away.

Mr. and Mrs. Robin

When a male American Robin wants to show his lady that he can be the kind of man she needs him to be, he struts his stuff, “Hey, baby!”

He needs her to know that he can be the kind of man that can provide for his woman.

Or at least let her know what she won’t have to worry, he can feed himself …

“I’m sorry, did you want a bite?”

And what was the Mrs. up to while he was out having breakfast? Probably the same thing she was doing three days ago, getting the nest ready to move in …

It’s the women that do all the work getting the nest ready in the Robin household … heh, go figure. 😀

More Birdy Love

I was able to catch a few moments of blue sky off and on today. I spent (am still spending) most of the day in front of the computer, putting together my weekend stories and Tuesday’s Outdoors stories.

I heard this amorous male purple finch long before I saw him. He was crooning away, looking for a lady, I suspect, high up in a tree in my orchard.

He’d sing and then he’d look around to see if anyone heard. Typical male. 😛

This poor pigeon was left behind yesterday by some people that were out in my backyard training their dogs for an upcoming NAVHDA test. He/she won’t find love with this robin (she already has a mate, they’re building a nest behind the barn), but maybe it’ll find a friend.

I found this European starling perched on a fence post flapping his wings and purring like a kitten. Interesting behavior. According to the Birds of North America website, the behavior is called “wing waving” and he is doing it to attract the interest of a female.

I spotted this female red-winged blackbird hanging out in her barely red epaulets, what beautiful breeding colors!

I captured this lovely lady the other day. The intensity of the color and contrast is so striking. This lady (below) fascinates me …

I look forward to seeing the golden-crowned sparrows get through the rest of their molt. They have been looking pretty ragged lately. This little guy (gal?) is just near the end of it …

Dark-eyed Juncos … an one sad Robin

A VERY long slideshow. I just couldn’t choose my favorites from this mornings shoot, so I included most of them. 🙂

American Robin

American Robin

Harbingers of Spring?

I hardly think so … although they do tend to Hail the Thawing of the Earth
in a way that seems to resemble a Spring Greeting.

American Robin & Evening Grosbeaks

If one is said to show the “hospitality of an Evening Grosbeak,”
then I’m pretty sure one has been insulted.

American Robin