circadianreflections

Friday’s Feathered Friends-Bullock’s Oriole

June 2, 2023May 30, 2023Posted in Photography56 Comments

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

We had friends from out of state come for a visit last week so I’m a bit behind with your posts, but I am beginning to get caught up. While showing our friends around the area we did a little birding and I spotted a pair of Bullock Orioles.

Here’s the Male.

Here’s his mate. I spied her first.

They love the new seeds on/in Cottonwood trees. They’re here for the breeding season. Below are some fun facts gleans as always from allaboutbirds.org.

Bullock’s Orioles often take nectar from flowers, and they will sometimes raid hummingbird feeders for their sugar water.
Both male and female Bullock’s Orioles sing—the male more sweetly, the female often more prolifically.
In the Great Plains, where their ranges overlap, Bullock’s and Baltimore Orioles frequently hybridize. The two species were lumped together for a while as the Northern Oriole. Genetic research has since determined, however, that they are not very closely related.
The Bullock’s Oriole was described and named by William Swainson in 1827, drawing on material collected by English father-and-son naturalists William and William Bullock in Mexico.
Bullock’s Oriole pairs may nest outside the territory where the male advertises.
The oldest recorded Bullock’s Oriole was a male, and at least 8 years, 11 months old when he was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in Colorado in May 2007.

I hope you all have a lovely week-end, and June has started off on the right note for you.

Nikon D810| Nikkor 300mm f/4 AF-S| PS CC 24.5.0

more to come…

Friday’s Feathered Friends- Wood Ducks

May 26, 2023May 23, 2023Posted in Birding in Nevada, Ducks, Friday's Feathered Friends, PhotographyTagged Dabbing Ducks, Fuji X-T3, Nature, Nevada, Spring, Wood Duckling, Wood Ducks41 Comments

I heard from a friend that along the river where I found the Owlets there was a family of Wood Ducks so, I went to check it out and sure enough I found some of them. My friend said there were 6 chicks, but I only saw 3.

I hope the others were just napping.

Here’s the male…aka Dad Wood Duck. Isn’t he a beautiful duck!

Here’s Mama. It looks like I caught her just after her bath. It must have been a fast one b/c now she’s after the chicks making sure they’re alright.

Here’s the first chick I spied. This is the only chick I was able to get a decent image of as the other two stayed in the reeds.

Wood Duck Fun Facts:

Natural cavities for nesting are scarce, and the Wood Duck readily uses nest boxes provided for it. If nest boxes are placed too close together, many females lay eggs in the nests of other females.
Wood Ducks pair up in January, and most birds arriving at the breeding grounds in the spring are already paired. The Wood Duck is the only North American duck that regularly produces two broods in one year.
The Wood Duck nests in trees near water, sometimes directly over water, but other times over a mile away. After hatching, the ducklings jump down from the nest tree and make their way to water. The mother calls them to her, but does not help them in any way. The ducklings may jump from heights of over 50 feet without injury.
The oldest recorded Wood Duck was a male and at least 22 years, 6 months old. He was banded in Oregon and found in California.

Fun Facts gleaned from https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/

Fuji X-T3| Fuji 100-400mm| PS CC 24.5

I hope you all have a good week-end!

more to come…

Wordless Weds. Great Horned Owlets!

May 10, 2023Posted in Birds, Birds of Prey, Owls and Owlets, Wordless WednesdayTagged Birding Nevada, Birds in the Wild, Fluffy balls of puff, Great Horned Owlets, Nature, Spring, Washoe County43 Comments

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Fuji X-T3|Fujinon 100-400mm@400mm| PS CC 24.4.1

more to come…

Whatever Weds. Don’t worry…

May 3, 2023Posted in Lizards, Nature Photography, Photography, Reptiles, Whatever WednesdayTagged From my Patio, Nature, Nevada, Retiles, Western Fence Lizard, Whatever Wednesday39 Comments

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

It looks worse than it is. It’ll grow back!

After I set up my new birdbath 3 lizards came to check it out straight-away…this was one of them and the bravest of the 3.

Fuji X-T3| Fujinon 100-400mm| PS CC 24.4.1

more to come...

Friday’s Feathered Friends- April Sightings

April 28, 2023April 28, 2023Posted in Birding in Nevada, Birds in the Wild, Friday's Feathered Friends, PhotographyTagged Birds in the Wild, Downy Woodpecker, Eagle, Fuji, Golden Eagle, Nevada Birding, Nikon, Phainopepla, Pinyon Jay, Raptors, San Clemente Birds49 Comments

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

I haven’t shared any of the birds I’ve been seeing lately so thought I’d share some of the birds I’ve seen in the last month or so .

The Yellow-headed, and Red-winged Blackbirds are back, and I’ve seen several Robins, and some water birds, but I’ll share those soon.

The weather has warmed up so we’re turning the sprinklers back on, and breaking out the outdoor cushions this week-end, and setting up my new birdbath!

I hope you all have a lovely week-end!

Fuji X-T3| Fujinon 100-400mm| Nikon D810| Nikkor 120mm| PS CC 24.4.1

more to come…

Whatever Weds. Super-bloom: Purple

April 26, 2023Posted in California Wildflowers, Macro Photography, National Monuments, Photography, Whatever WednesdayTagged Carrizo Plain National Monument, Great Valley Phacelia, Nikon, Photography, Purple, Spring, Tremblor Range, Whatever Wednesday, Wildflowers, Yellow31 Comments

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Here and there throughout the Carrizo Plain were patches of purple flowers. The most prominent was the Great Valley Phacelia.

This particular genus is only found in California and Baja California. Per Plants.usda.gov site they can be found:

Phacelia ciliata is found only in California and Baja California in Mexico. Within California distribution includes the Northern
Coastal Ranges, the Sacramento Valley including Sutter Buttes, the San Joaquin Valley, the San Francisco Bay, the Southern
Coast Ranges and South West California, but excluding the Channel Islands. For current distribution, please consult the Plant
Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site.
Habitat: Great Valley phacelia is found associated with Coastal Sage Scrub, Northern Oak Woodland, Foothill Woodland
and Valley Grassland.
Adaptation
Great Valley phacelia is drought tolerant and grows well in areas given 7 to 18 inches of annual precipitation. It grows on a
range of soil types from clays to sandy loams to gravelly slopes and tolerates moderate salinity. It is found at elevations from
seal level up to 5,000 feet (Calflora, 1997; Walden et al. 2013).

They’re considered one of the “blue” flowers and they’re a pollinator.

*Wide view of Great Valley Phacelia and Orange Fiddlenecks*

I got a wee bit behind with posts due to a trip down to SoCal to visit Big Baby Boy, and the Dark Haired Beauty. We crammed a lot into a few days, but I’m home now and catching up.

I’ll be sharing more from our wildflower Super-bloom trip in the future.

Nikon Df w| Nikkor 105mm and 35mm lenses| PS CC 24.4.1

more to come…

Whatever Weds. Super-bloom 23-Yellows

April 19, 2023April 17, 2023Posted in California Wildflowers, National Monuments, Photography, Whatever WednesdayTagged California, Fiddlenecks, Nikon, Orange Fiddlenecks, Superbloom 2023, Whatever Wednesday, Wildflowers42 Comments

On Easter He-Man and I met our friend Gordon of https://undiscoverdimagesamongstus2.wordpress.com/

down in SoCal at the Carrizo Plain National Monument to photograph

the wildflowers in bloom…or Super-bloom 2023.

The Carrizo Plain has a lot of yellow flowers. Today we’ll focus on the Orange Fiddlenecks with an honorable mention of a few other yellow wildflowers.

*Wide View of the Plain and mountains. Soda Lake.*

Orange Fiddlenecks, Hillside Daisies, and Goldfields cover the distant mountains and the plain, and in the above image you can see front right a few Tidy Tips too.

It was so beautiful and not too crowded being a holiday.

Next time I’ll share other views, and flowers that I saw while here.

Nikon D810 & Nikon Df w/ Nikkor 105mm macro lens & Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G| PS CC 24.3.0

more to come…

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