An acorn woodpecker just pulled a fat grub out of a black oak snag.
I took this picture in an area that burned in a wildfire in 2008. When it comes to wildfires, woodpeckers are the big winners!
Wild Wednesday … Grabbing a Little Grub
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Tag Archives: photography
Wild Wednesday … Bull Elk
Today on Wild Wednesday, I took these pictures of four Bull Elk near Cache Creek.
I see elk in this area along Highway 20 most of the time when passing through.
Seeing these beasts never gets old.
This was perfect for Wild Wednesday!
If you travel down Highway 20 to Clear Lake look for the elk around Cache Creek on the south side of the road.
Forestry Friday … My View
The view from my work. These are a few pictures from the fall woods last week. I was in Trinity County, the part that didn’t burn. Being out here every week is one of perks of a forester’s life. Somebody has to do it, so it might as well be me!
All in a day’s work.
Wild Wednesday … I Spy With My Little Eye
Do you see it?
Forestry Friday … Drought and Dust
A dusty cat heading for another turn.
It has been a long dry summer. We had a good rain two days ago, the first in about three months. That brought a bit of relief from the horrendous fire season California has been going through.
A skidder pulling another turn of logs down the hill to the landing in a cloud of dust.
The logging crews have put up with terribly dust conditions, and it’s not over yet. Most of the equipment they run has climate controlled cabs, but it was just a few short years ago when they didn’t. The men would return home completely covered in dirt. Not to say they don’t go home dirty now, because they do. At least they don’t have to breathe in the dust all day.
The processor is making logs, while the cat heads back for more.
There’s no doubt the modern logging equipment has done much to improve the safety, comfort and productivity of the crew members.
Loading the truck isn’t so dusty.
Having the crews out working in the woods during such dry condition might seem risky. However, these people are often the first ones to the fires, because they are already in the woods. They are our first responders when nearby forest fires break out.
Sailor and Bliss say, Sleeping in the pickup isn’t dusty or hot when the AC is running.
The day I visited this operation it was 105 F, dusty and hot.
Wild Wednesday … Praying Mantis!
Wildlife at the drive up window. The praying mantis city dweller. He was praying for a bite of my tacos!
Wild Wednesday … Wild Woods Pup!
Bliss the “Wild Woods Pup!”
A bit of accidental abstract photography of my wild one. I’ll show you how I did it.
“I smell the woods, now let us out!”, says Sailor.
Dumb luck! After all, it’s better to be lucky than good.
Wild Wednesday …Osprey Update
One of the remaining osprey keeps watch from a nearby oak tree.
The surviving ospreys have seemed to rally this week after the helicopter incident I blogged about last week, Wild Wednesday … A Death In The Family. For most of the week only one young osprey was in the nest. It occasionally left, but would return later. It sat in the nest calling for food.
The young osprey waits.
After a few days, I saw the second young bird return. Then both called.
The other young osprey awkwardly comes in for a landing.
Waiting patiently for breakfast.
Eventually, I saw the parent osprey. She came in with a fish for the young birds, but didn’t give it to them. She flew to the edge of the tower and started calling the fledglings. When the youngster moved toward her, she lifted off and flew up river. She was training her young fish hawks.
She brings in a fish for teasing her youngsters into following her. Her behavior has inspired my confidence in their future success.
After examining the photos I took of the dead osprey, I’m pretty sure it was the male bird that was struck by the helicopter blade. Now, mother osprey soldiers on. No news yet on the Fish and Wildlife warden’s investigation.
Wild Wednesday … The Lookout!
A California chipmunk, Neotamias obscurus, kept a sharp eye on me from the safety of a tall snag.
Wild Wednesday … Mystery Wildflower!
A lavender wildflower. Does anyone recognize this flower? I took the picture in the Indian Valley of the Northern Sierra.
My forester/botanist office neighbor, Tom, knew it right away. So did Lisa, a FB friend. It is Spiraea douglasii or it’s common names are Douglas’ spiraea, hardhack steeplebush, steeplebush and rose spiraea. It’s a native of the western US and Canada and is commonly used a landscape plant. Who knew?
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