Posted on April 2, 2013 by foresterartist

Mary wrote this post after the hunt test a week ago. I think it complements my latest post. We have another event this weekend.

There is no greater bliss than live one’s purpose.

Our retrievers are working retrievers. They are descendants of generations of canine companions that hunt with their human counterparts. When harvesting upland game or waterfowl, a working retriever is essential. Often, game lands in an area inaccessible to the human hunter. Enter the well-trained retriever to recover dinner.

The ultimate test for a working retriever is to work in a real time hunt and retrieve dinner for its family. There is a process to test these working dogs to a standard established to determine their readiness as a hunting companion.

In these tests, the retriever’s natural abilities and trained abilities are judged.

Natural abilities: marking and memory, intelligence, attention, nose, courage, perseverance and style.

Trained abilities: steadiness, control, response to direction, and delivery.

Here are some snapshots of Tim, The Forester Artist, with the girls yesterday. It was a…

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HAPPY EASTER

Posted on March 31, 2013 by foresterartist

Mourning Dove

Trashy Osprey Neighbors

Posted on March 29, 2013 by foresterartist

The neighbors down the road don’t live in the classy part of town next to the river. The nest they live in is a bit unkempt. Okay, let’s be honest, this place is a trash bin, a pig sty, a garbage dump. I’ve never seen an osprey nest that looks a bad as this one.

osprey, trashy, nest, photography, nature, wildlife

The osprey neighbors down the road

What a mess! I’m thinking hoarders.

Home sweet utility pole in the middle of a vacant lot.

I showed the above pictures to “our” resident osprey in the high-rise tower with the river view. I was curious to get their reaction to the neighbors abode.

The shock of it!

The inter-species humiliation was just too much for him to take, and then……..

Oh my!

……his head EXPLODED!

No osprey were injured in the making of this post.

Back To The Coast

Posted on March 28, 2013 by foresterartist

Back to the coast today for inventory. This is the mill I went to. We are all done and headed home.

It’s a long drive and the girls are exhausted.

Red Tail On The Hunt

Posted on March 22, 2013 by foresterartist

redtail hawk, redtail, buteo, rapture, photography, nature, wildlife

This young red-tailed hawk is feeding on a bird it caught.

His prey is more visible in this picture. It was a bird of some type, but I couldn’t identify it.

This young red-tailed hawk has made the mill site his home. He is a hard-working bird as I see him every day at his favorite hunting grounds.

This is his favorite spot. Every day he spends some time on the powerline watching the field in front of our office.

At first he would get annoyed when I stopped to take his picture.

Now he become a great model.

In case you were worried you weren’t going to get your osprey fix today, here is one for you.

Popping By The Pole Yard

Posted on March 20, 2013 by foresterartist

We never know who might just pop by the Pole Yard. While driving through the yard the other day this rooster pheasant was strutting down the road. Unconcerned, he took his sweet time. I stopped, not wanting to run over His Excellency, and took some pictures to record this auspicious occasion. He finally moved out of the road, but seemed somewhat perturbed by the inconvenience.

pheasant, poles, nature, wildlife, photography

His Excellency on parade.

He finally allows us to pass.

Even I have to admit, he is a handsome fellow.

Teka and Blitz were busy plotting against His Excellency!

Osprey Complaint Department

Posted on March 15, 2013 by foresterartist

All complaints and criticisms will get doo consideration. Oh, and bring a fish.

If you don’t like the osprey posts, please take it up with our complaint department coordinator.

Run Of The Mill View

Posted on March 13, 2013 by foresterartist

Climbing down the ladder to the chip hopper. Hey, what is that black thing?

I’m working on a presentation that I’m giving at the Redwood Region Logging Conference on Friday. I wanted to put some new photos into my Power Point presentation. My favorite view of the mill site is from the top of the chip hopper at the Pole Plant. It gives a great overview of the entire complex, so I took my shots and climbed down. I normally post lots of pictures of wildlife around the mill site, but I haven’t shown much of the complex. By just looking at the wildlife pictures from my category called “Wildlife At The Mill“, one would think this place was a wildlife refuge. In a way it is. The wildlife here is accustomed to living next to and amongst the mill site. No one bothers them and they have adapted to their environment. It is truly amazing how adaptable nature is.

Mt Shasta, Shasta, log deck, pole yard, mill site, sawmill, photography

Mt Shasta rises in the background of the pole yard and the log decks. Mt Shasta is the second largest mountain in the Cascades at 14,179 feet.

pole yard, sawmill, otter, photography, osprey, nest

The Otter Pond is surrounded by the sawmill, co-generation plant and pole yard. The otters don’t seem to mind. You can see the otter post Otter, Up Periscope. The tower with the osprey nest is just visible in the upper right corner. The osprey posts are, Osprey Remodel, Osprey Love, and Here Come The Osprey.

pole plant, poles, industrial, photography

The Pole Plant.

Looking down the chip conveyor.

Osprey Remodel

Posted on March 8, 2013 by foresterartist

osprey, nest, wildlife, birds, nature, photography, birding

The osprey returns to the nest with a stick.

They began rebuilding their nest the day she arrived and the two osprey were back together. This is what they typically do after the winter storms take there toll on the nest. This particular nest is only one year old and must have weathered the winter fairly well. They spiffed it up the first day and that was that. They moved in.

The building materials arrive.

Doing some touch up to the nest.

Off for more sticks.

Just a bit of work and this nest is good to go.

The picture below is how the nest looking in 2011. Usually, they add a new layer to the nest every year. Not so much this year. In 2011 the nest had been built up much more and was on the opposite side of the tower. Normally, the nest gets taller and taller until a severe Winter storm blows the top of it off. I’ve seen the nest over 6 feet tall. Last year the nest survived some very bad storms. Late in the season the nest was gone after a moderate storm. I checked under the nest for debris, but found very little. I found out later that the local power company employees climbed the tower and removed the nest.

This was the nest in 2011.

When they osprey returned and found no nest they immediately started rebuilding. Although, as often happens with men and women they had a bit of a disagreement. They each began building nest on opposite sides of the tower. As typically happens when there is a disagreement, she got her way and the nest ended up in it’s current location.

The is nothing more relaxing then a cozy nest.

Osprey Love

Posted on March 4, 2013 by foresterartist

osprey, pair, nesting, nest, photograpy, nature, birds, wildlife

Last week he was still patiently waiting for his mate.

On Friday our lovelorn male osprey was still waiting alone when I left work.

Late this morning she arrived. She came one week after he arrived.

This morning when I arrived there was only one bird in the nest. When I went back outside about mid-morning and she had arrived. The two of them sat close together for quite some time and every now and then, one would call out. I took some pictures then put my camera away into my truck.

Blitz grazes during a break.

I let the girls out of the truck for a short break. The girls ran to the far side of the parking lot to a field they like, and I walked after them. By the time I had almost reached them, I looked back at the osprey. They were now locked in mating embrace. Immediately, I turned and ran for my camera in the truck, but their interlude only lasted about ten seconds. I didn’t make it. A missed opportunity for sure over a rookie mistake. The male immediately flew away and didn’t return until the afternoon.