Birds – Circadianreflections Blog

Friday’s Feathered Friends- Wood Duck

December 17, 2021December 16, 2021Posted in Birding in Nevada, Friday's Feathered Friends, Fuji X-T3, PhotographyTagged Birding, Birding in Nevada, Birds, Female Ducks, Friday's Feathered Friends, Male Ducks, Nature, Photography, Pond, Tree, wood duck52 Comments

A couple of week ago I discovered a new park with a pond not far from home and this beautiful male Wood Duck was there among the mallards and geese.

I heard there was a female there too but, I never saw her. She too is quite striking and pretty. Here’s an image I made last year along the river of a female Wood Duck checking out a tree for a nesting spot I thought as they nest in holes in trees or if available a nesting box. They have claws that can grip bark so they can perch on branches.

The Wood Duck is one of the prettiest ducks of all the waterfowl.

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 had been banded in Oregon and was found in California.

We got a good snow dump during the night and early morning hours on Tuesday. It made everything so pretty! As I write this (Thursday) we’re supposed to get more snow today. #1 Grandson will be celebrating his 9th year on this planet next week. I hope we can get over the mountains to see him to help him celebrate. 9 years old! Time is flying by.

What are you doing this week-end, anything good? Have you finished your holiday shopping?

Fuji X-T3| Fujinon 100-400mm| PS CC 23.0.0

more to come…

Not a Wordless Wednesday- Birds

February 19, 2020February 19, 2020Posted in Birds, PhotographyTagged American Bald Eagle, Birds, Fuji X-T3, House Finch, Panasonic Lumix FZ200, Rooster, Watercolor65 Comments

I have been struggling with the weight of the Nikkor 200-500mm plus my tripod for sometime-well since moving here actually. Birding here requires more walking or it seems that way to me, so I decided to go to a lighter system for birding and wildlife.

I switched from my long-loved system too. I bought a Fuji X-T3 and their 100-400mm lens. I’m gaining some on the wide end, but losing some distance which I hope I don’t feel too much since the Fuji is an APS-C cropped sensor camera.

A simplified definition of Full-Frame and cropped sensor cameras- A Full-frame sensor has the same size dimensions of a 35mm film format. That’s long been the standard in film size. A cropped sensor is a cropped or smaller sensor size than 35mm film format.

Where you see the difference in an image is on a Full-Frame camera the area of view is wider than a cropped sensor, and the cropped sensor camera’s area of view is cropped in for a tighter view. So, and 50mm lens on a full-frame camera’s area of view is 50mm, but on a cropped sensor camera with a 1.5x crop the area of view is about 75mm. Wildlife and birders love APS-C or crop sensor cameras because of that added reach from the multiplier gain. It’s from that gain I’m hoping I don’t miss the 500mm end of my heavy 200-500mm lens. Clear as mud? It makes my head spin sometimes!

On the weight side. I’ve shed half the weight of what I was carrying. Nikon kit w/tripod = 11.01 pounds. Fuji kit= 4.22 pounds! Now, instead of needing the tripod to make the shot and improve my keeper rate and that added 4 pounds of weight I can leave it behind and shoot hand-held with the new kit, and be a lot quicker. That’s the plan anyway. 😀

It’s a whole new system that is going to take a while to get comfortable with after 12 years of shooting Nikon, but I am not ditching Nikon completely. I’m keeping my Full-frame cameras and several lenses as they have a place in my bag and photography needs.

I’ll stop talking, and show you an image I made with the new camera and one with my Panasonic Lumix FZ200 from a few weeks ago. FYI- When #1 Grandson heard I bought a new camera he asked for my Lumix FZ200. How cool is that! 😍

Fuji X-T3 w/Fujinon XF 100-400mm

House Finch

Panasonic Lumix FZ200 Mom and Dad American Bald Eagles.

American Bald Eagle Pair

Plus one more! iPhone 7 Plus- We’ve been painting birds for several weeks in my Watercolor class. Here’s the last one I finished. M. Graham watercolor on Canson 140 lb. watercolor paper.

Rooster_198CC240-54E4-4CD1-9795-776A44B43BBA

I hope you all have a wonderful week, and the load you carry this week isn’t a heavy one!

more to come…

Whatever Wednesday-A Paddle on Lake Tahoe

July 31, 2019July 31, 2019Posted in Photography, Whatever WednesdayTagged Birds, Blue Water, Kayaking, Lake Tahoe, paddling, Panasonic Lumix FZ200, Photography, Rocks, SUP Boarders, Whatever Wednesday57 Comments

Friday He-Man and I went kayaking on Lake Tahoe. It was his first time in a Kayak and he paddled like a BOSS!

We rented our kayaks from Kings Beach on the North Shore just a 45-minute drive from home. We hired a guide since it would be the first time for both of us paddling on the Lake Tahoe. It was a gorgeous morning, and the water was calm; perfect for a paddle.

He-Man in his sit on top kayak- We stopped at a Hot Springs near the shore. I never knew there was a hot spring in the lake. The steel fencing under the dock is where the hot spring bubbles up. A resort pumps the hot water to their spa for guests.

Dave

Our guide Michael had us hugging the shore for some of the paddle, he said, “get your kid out cause we’re going to paddle through the rocks.”

Paddling through the rocks

That was fun, and we spied an opportunist… another Bonsai Rock on the lake?

We weren’t the only ones paddling on the lake or paddling through the rocks. There were quite a few SUP boarders out…I really want to try that! Of course, there were some seagulls.

A View from my kayak

We paddled out two miles out of the California side of the lake to the Nevada side. Hung out a bit in 1200 ft deep water then turned around and headed back in for more tales and sights from our Kayaks. I have more views, birds, and an interesting house to share with you in the future.

I hope your week is going well and continues to! Happy Wednesday!

Panasonic Lumix FZ200| Lexar Digital Film| PS CC 20.0.5

more to come…

Wild Wednesday 20/52 Deep Greens and Blues are the Colors I Choose

May 16, 2018May 15, 2018Posted in birding, Nikon, Photography, Wild WednesdayTagged Birds, Birds in Flight, Birds in the Wild, Lazuli Bunting Male, Santa Clara County, Violet-green Swallow, White-tailed Kite59 Comments

On Saturday I went birding locally in the morning hoping to see a Lazuli Bunting. They’re only here in the Spring and I heard they were spotted in a place I’d seen one four years ago. It was a stellar morning of birding! Not only did I get a brief look at the Lazuli Bunting, but I also saw lots of Violet-green Swallows. 🙂

Both birds have amazing colors.

Lazuli Bunting Male- He’s song bird.

Lazuli Bunting

Violet-green Swallow Male

Violet-green Swallow

…and I got the “look” from a White-tailed Kite while she was hunting. You know how much I like them. My favorite of the Birds of Prey. I like to think she was wishing me a Happy Birthday. 🙂

White-tailed Kite

I had a birdy long week-end that included some hiking/walking . Saturday I hiked just a smidge over a mile half of it was uphill and the beginning was steep. Monday I hiked a bit over 2 miles, and Tuesday afternoon I hiked just over 4 miles. He-Man and I hiked a trail we hadn’t hiked in a couple of years. It was good to get out and really stretch our legs. Mind you, I feel so out of shape since having the flu and not doing much hiking since. I’m glad I made the loop up and down! I had doubts about being able to make it up to the second trail-head to make the loop. A couple of spots are steep. On two of the hikes I had some elevation gain which I like. I like uphill for the first leg…more payoff for the exertion, and the reward is the downhill on the way back. However, what I find is that there is uphill on both ends! I’m usually tired by the time I reach the upper elevation, and it’s work to get up those uphills on the way back. I’m always so thankful I completed the hike, and if I carried my Garmin tracker seeing the stats always makes those uphills on the way back more rewarding. I was tired and needed some extra Yoga stretches to ward off being really sore Wednesday, but I kept thinking “maybe I’ll get my groove back, and hike a couple times a week again.”

One can hope! 🙂

I hope you all are having a good week!

Nikon D810| Nikkor 200-500mm| San Disk Digital Film| PS CC 2018

more to come…

Wild Wednesday 4/52 White-tailed Kite

January 24, 2018January 23, 2018Posted in Bird Photography, birding, Birds in Flight, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, Nikon, PhotographyTagged Birds, Birds in the Wild, Nikon, Photograhy, White-tailed Kite33 Comments

A friend and I went birding Saturday at two Wildlife Refuges. We reversed the order we normally do these two refuges and I’m glad we did. It was pretty birdy at Merced Wildlife National Refuge, but I’m going to share with you the last bird I photographed for the day at San Luis National Wildlife Refuge.

And, what a bird to end the day on! It’s my favorite raptor.

White-tailed Kite

It’s a medium sized raptor and likes open grasslands, and savannas. It hovers while hunting for prey, and have big amber/red eyes. Here’s some information about their hunting behavior from allaboutbirds.com

“While hunting, the White-tailed Kite characteristically hovers up to 80 feet off the ground and then drops straight down onto prey items. This ability to hold a stationary position in midair without flapping is accomplished by facing into the wind, and is so characteristic of these birds that it has come to be called kiting. White-tailed Kites also perform ritualized courtship displays in which a male offers prey to a female prior to egg laying. In an often spectacular aerial exchange, the female flies up to meet the male, turns upside-down, and grasps the prey.“`allaboutbirds.com

I think they’re the prettiest of the raptors. If I could be a bird this is the one I’d be. 🙂

You’ll find them up and down Western to Central California, Oregon, Mexico, Central and South America.

more to come…

Wordless Wednesday 41/52 Fall Color

October 11, 2017December 26, 2017Posted in Bird Photogaphy, birding, Birds, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, California Wildlife Reserves, Nikon, Photography, Wordless WednesdayTagged Birding, Birds, Migrant birds, Nikon, Pacific-Flyway, Warblers, Wintering Birds, Wordless Wednesday, Yellow Warblers35 Comments

Yellow Warbler-Female

Nikon D810| Nikkor 200-500mm| SanDisk Digital Film| PS CC 2017

more to come…

Wordless Wednesday 13/52: The Majestic Bald Eagle

March 29, 2017March 29, 2017Posted in Bald Eagles, birding, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, Photography, Santa Clara County Birding, Wordless WednesdayTagged Bald Eagles, Bald Eagles in Santa Clara Co, Big Feet, Birds, Birds in Flight, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, Perched, Talons, Wordless Wednesday34 Comments

Bald Eagle Female Perched_DMZ6824

Bald Eagle Talons Female

Bald Eagle Female

Nikon D700| Nikkor 200-500mm| Lexar Digital Film| PSCC 2017

More to come…

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