Killdeer eggs. It’s kind of artsy don’t you think? I couldn’t improve on this.
Can’t Improve on Nature
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Tag Archives: nature photography
Our Wildflowers Are Ramping Up!
Just a few of our spring flowers to brighten your day. Our wildflowers are coming on nicely. Enjoy! Just click on any image to enlarge the picture.
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Mule Ears -
Blue Dicks -
Fiddleneck -
Fiddlenecks -
Popcorn flower -
Buttercups with photobomb! -
Popcorn flower -
Buttercups -
Buttercups -
Fiddlenecks -
Annual Lupine -
Annual Lupine -
Blue Dick -
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Frying Pan Poppies -
Cattle Vetch -
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Buttercups -
Miners Lettuce -
Photobomb!
Just Peaceful
A Rose By Any Other Name Is Just Wrong
Yellow Tarweed
Just look at this late summer flower. I took this picture near our home and happen to find it beautiful. What I would like to know is who came up with this name, yellow tarweed. That’s a terrible name and it just doesn’t do this flower justice. My favorite flower name of all time is indian paintbrush. That’s a name. It cries out ART! Tarweed cries out stick pest plant. Yuck! It needs another name. How about starburst or golden glory! What do you folks think? Give me some names.
Wild Wednesday … Together Again!
A week after the male osprey arrived the female showed up. They’re together again for another breeding season. While waiting for her to arrive he kept busy doing guy stuff. Click on the galleries to enlarge the pictures.
The male and female osprey are together again.
While she was away he watched whatever he wanted like any guy would.
He ate out all the time
Finally, at the last-minute he decided he’d better clean house.
This could take a while…
Still cleaning.
He’s totally checking her out!
Apparently, an incident was witnessed by several coworkers between an eagle and the osprey. On Monday, one of the eagles showed up and began circling the nest. The male osprey took off and began to circle up to the eagle. When the osprey reached the eagle he began diving on it. After multiple diving runs the eagle began turn belly up to give the osprey its talons. The aerial combat went on until the eagle moved off.
Incidentally, I discovered this on the neighboring property. You have to click on the gallery to see the bald eagle on the nest.
Our eagles have a nest next door. I didn’t see the eagle in the nest until I looked at the picture on the computer.
The nest is in a huge valley oak beside a pond. I think this is where the eagles were going nest all along. The just liked partying at the osprey nest.
Wild Wednesday … Osprey Nest Update
On Monday morning an osprey returned!
He came with no fireworks, no fanfare and no eagles.
The week prior the eagles were notably absent and the osprey hadn’t arrived. Last Monday when he did arrive the eagles had been gone for a week. They must have a nest elsewhere and were using the osprey nest as a private getaway. You can see the eagles here.
Now that he has arrived his vigil begins. The female is fashionably late every year. More osprey news to follow when she hits town.
Wild Wednesday … Eagles Nest?
This is week that the osprey customarily return to their nest in the electrical tower at the sawmill. I haven’t seen them yet. Usually the male shows up a week or two before the female. This year they will be in for a bit of a surprise. A little over a month ago a pair of eagles moved in. I’m not sure how this will go, but the eagle are a lot bigger than the osprey. I’d have to put my money on the eagles. Click on the gallery to enlarge to photos and get the dirt.
Nice looking birds.
He seems to have staked a claim here.
I keep waiting for them to gather sticks, but the haven’t. I not convinced their serious about nesting here.
These are all osprey pictures from previous years.
The osprey have inspired art from yours truly.
This has been an osprey nest literally for decades.
It’s a prime location for fishing birds with its grand overlook of the Sacramento river.
It hasn’t been without struggle. last season it rained so much the nest grew a garden before the birds arrived. They had to weed it.
When the summer heat get over about 106 the parents shade the chicks.
More art.
Two years ago the male osprey was struck be a helicopter blade and died. he was trying to defend the nest from the helicopter that was inspecting the tower.
The osprey have raised many generations.
The osprey probably won’t be too happy with the new residents.
Stay tuned to see how this turns out.
Below are a few of the osprey posts over the years.
https://wordpress.com/post/theforesterartist.com/948
https://wordpress.com/post/theforesterartist.com/1056
https://wordpress.com/post/theforesterartist.com/1090
https://wordpress.com/post/theforesterartist.com/1703
https://wordpress.com/post/theforesterartist.com/2659
https://wordpress.com/post/theforesterartist.com/4017
Wild Wednesday … Birds Around the Mill
I started this post last June, but never finished it. Better late that never. Here are just a few pictures of our birds that make their home at the Mill. It defies conventional wisdom that so much wildlife makes it home at an industrial complex and thrives. It’s all about the habitat.
Wood Ducks.
Osprey
Wild Turkey Hen
Killdeer
Great Blue Heron
Black Pheobe
Cattle Egret
Blackbirds on a pole stack.
Wild Wednesday … Spring Teaser!
The buttercups started blooming a little over a week ago. When they arrive it means Spring is beginning to tease us here.
But winter is still trying to wash California away. Here are some pictures of the Sacramento River in the Northern California.
Looking across the Sacramento River at Balls Ferry.
Jelly’s Ferry bridge in the high water. The river bank is normally out past the beginning of the first steel arch.
The river is wide. Looking across the Sacramento River in northern Tehama County.
Finally, I was able to get out in the woods yesterday and enjoy a little sunshine!
Wild Wednesday … “cat without a grin”
The big male bobcat slinks away.
I had to go to the mill on Monday to do log inventory. It was a holiday and there were only a few folks at work. It was unusually quiet. I drove around the backside of the log deck only to have a large bobcat cross the road in front of me. Immediately, I stopped and grabbed my camera. Standing on the seat and door handle I had a great view of the cat. He’d stopped and was looking back at me. It was perfect ….. except, I had my SLOW camera. By the time it went through its agonizing start-up cycle the bobcat crept off. I managed only one picture before he slipped away toward the river, fading like the Cheshire Cat.
`All right,’ said the Cat; and this time it vanished quite slowly, beginning with the end of the tail, and ending with the grin, which remained some time after the rest of it had gone. – Alice In Wonderland
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