Nevada – Page 4 – Circadianreflections Blog

Something for Sat. Ruby Crowned-Kinglet

January 20, 2024January 24, 2024Posted in Birding in Nevada, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, PhotographyTagged Nevada, Nikon, Photography, pine tree, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Washoe County45 Comments

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

I don’t want the week to go by without a post so here we have me posting on a rare Saturday.

This little Kinglet is so cute, but very flitty normally but, on this day earlier this month I was able to get quite a few good looks at this one.

They’re a small bird being only 3.5-4.3 inches in length, and weigh 0.2-0.3 ounces.

They get their name from a Ruby spot on their crown.

I have yet to see it flared, but here’s a look at the top of its head showing the Ruby spot.

This one is busy being an acrobat which afforded me a good look at its Ruby Spot which was a treat. Just look at how light they are it’s holding onto those pine needles and they aren’t bending!

Fun Facts:

The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a tiny bird that lays a very large clutch of eggs—there can be up to 12 in a single nest. Although the eggs themselves weigh only about a fiftieth of an ounce, an entire clutch can weigh as much as the female herself.
Ruby-crowned Kinglets seem nervous as they flit through the foliage, flicking their wings nearly constantly. Keeping an eye out for this habit can be a useful aid to identifying kinglets.
Metabolic studies on Ruby-crowned Kinglets suggest that these tiny birds use only about 10 calories (technically, kilocalories) per day.
The oldest known Ruby-crowned Kinglet was a female, and at least 8 years, 8 months old, when she was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in Texas in 2017. She was banded in the same state in 2008.

Fun facts gleaned from allaboutbirds.orghttps://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet/overview

I hope you all have a great week-end!

Nikon D810| Nikkor 500mm PF-e| PS CC 25.3.1

more to come…

Whatever Weds. American Kestrel

January 3, 2024January 2, 2024Posted in birding, Birding in Nevada, Birds of Prey, Photography, Whatever WednesdayTagged American Kestrel, Birds in the Wild, Blue Skies, Cottonwood tree, Female Birds, Nature, Nevada, Nikon, Washoe Co, Whatever Wednesday49 Comments

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This is a Kestrel I saw in December. I’ll show her from the two sides I got to observe her from. It’s a treat to actually get two side views of a bird.

When I first spotted her high in a Cottonwood tree-

They’re one of the smallest birds of prey, but so cute.

Here she is from the other side, with her chest showing.

Fun Facts:

- Sports fans in some cities get an extra show during night games: kestrels perching on light standards or foul poles, tracking moths and other insects in the powerful stadium light beams and catching these snacks on the wing. Some of their hunting flights have even made it onto TV sports coverage.
- When nature calls, nestling kestrels back up, raise their tails, and squirt feces onto the walls of the nest cavity. The feces dry on the cavity walls and stay off the nestlings. The nest gets to be a smelly place, with feces on the walls and uneaten parts of small animals on the floor.
- It can be tough being one of the smallest birds of prey. Despite their fierce lifestyle, American Kestrels end up as prey for larger birds such as Northern Goshawks, Red-tailed Hawks, Barn Owls, American Crows, and Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks, as well as rat snakes, corn snakes, and even fire ants.
- In winter in many southern parts of the range, female and male American Kestrels use different habitats. Females use the typical open habitat, and males use areas with more trees. This situation appears to be the result of the females migrating south first and establishing winter territories, leaving males to the more wooded areas.
- Unlike humans, birds can see ultraviolet light. This enables kestrels to make out the trails of urine that voles, a common prey mammal, leave as they run along the ground. Like neon diner signs, these bright paths may highlight the way to a meal—as has been observed in the Eurasian Kestrel, a close relative.
- Kestrels hide surplus kills in grass clumps, tree roots, bushes, fence posts, tree limbs, and cavities, to save the food for lean times or to hide it from thieves.
- The oldest American Kestrel was a male and at least 14 years, 8 months old when he was found in Utah in 2001. He was banded in the same state in 1987.

“Like neon diner signs”! 😂 I loved that description.

Fun facts gleaned from allaboutbirds.org

Happy New Year to all my blogging friends, and visitors!

Nikon D810| Nikkor 500mm| PS CC 25.3.1

more to come…

Whatever Weds. Yellowlegs

December 20, 2023December 19, 2023Posted in Birding in Nevada, Nature, NikonTagged Birding, Nevada, Nikon, Photography, Shorebirds, Washoe County, Yellowlegs46 Comments

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I saw this one foraging in a shallow pond earlier in the month. I think it’s a Lesser Yellowlegs, but if I’m wrong let me know! It’s so hard to tell it apart from the Greater Yellowlegs. I’m going on the bill not being too much longer than its head.

I don’t see this type of bird too often so it’s pretty neat when I do. It’s either passing through or hanging out for winter migration.

Fun Facts:

- Despite their very similar appearance, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs are not each other’s closest relatives. Lesser Yellowlegs is more closely related to the much larger Willet.
- Lesser Yellowlegs are known for their steadfast defense of their eggs and chicks. Biologist William Rowan once noted, “they will be perched there as though the safety of the entire universe depended on the amount of noise they made.”
- Both the male and female Lesser Yellowlegs provide parental care to the young, but the female tends to leave the breeding area before the chicks can fly, thus leaving the male to defend the young until fledging.
- The Lesser Yellowlegs saw significant declines due to market hunting for the fashion trade. The species’ tendency to return and hover above wounded flock mates made them easy targets. Populations rebounded when market hunting was banned in the U.S and Canada in the early 20th century.
- The oldest recorded Lesser Yellowlegs was at least 4 years, 11 months old when it was found in South Dakota in 1965. It had been banded in the Lesser Antilles in 1960.

more to come…

Sunday Stillness-Sliders & a Softshell

December 10, 2023Posted in California, hikes, Nevada, Photography, WildlifeTagged Blue Sky, dried grass, El Dorado Nature Center, High Desert, iPhoneography, Long Beach CA, Nature, Nevada, Nikon, Photography, Red-eared Slider, Reeds, Sagebrush, Slide Mountain, Snow, Spiny Softshell, Sunday Stillness, Turtles42 Comments

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*Slide Mountain View from Prison Hill East*

Nikon D810| Nikkor 24-120mm & iPhone 14 Pro

more to come…

Sunday Stillness- Red-tail Hawk

December 3, 2023Posted in Bird Photography, birding, Landscapes, Red-tail Hawk, Sunday StillnessTagged Carson River, Clouds, Fence, grass, iPhoneography, landscape, Nevada, Nikon, Pinenut Mountains, Red-tail Hawk39 Comments

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I was shooting into the sun so the sky is blown, but the hawk isn’t. 😀

Nikon D810| Nikkor 500mm Pf-E & iPhone 14Pro| PS CC 25.2.0

more to come…

What Ever Weds. Silver Fox

November 15, 2023November 15, 2023Posted in Animals in Controlled Conditions, Fuji X-T3, Wildlife, Zoo AnimalsTagged Blog Post, Foxes, In Captivity, Nevada, Silver Fox, Whatever Wednesday, Wildlife36 Comments

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I don’t have much in new content so, I’m reaching into my archives. This image was from a trip to a safari zoo here in Nevada during a time #1 Grandson was here on a visit.

I love its eyes! Not looking at me but, very aware of my camera and presence. Very keen and crafty for sure!!

I hope your week is going well. We’re halfway through it!

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

more to come…

Whatever Weds. Venus and the Beehive Cluster

September 13, 2023September 12, 2023Posted in Nikon, Photography, Stars and Planets, Wide Field Astro-photographyTagged Beehive Cluster, Big Sky, Dawn Sky, Nevada, Nikon D810, Pinenut Mountains, Planets, Stars, Venus, Whatever Wednesday, Wide Field AstroPhotography41 Comments

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Venus shines bright in the eastern morning sky. The star cluster near the top of the image is the Beehive Cluster. This cluster is in the constellation of Cancer and contains 1000 stars. You can find more information about this cluster and how to see it here.

*Venus and the Beehive Cluster over the Pinenut Mountains*

Nikon D810| Nikkor 80-200mm @80mm| PS CC 24.6.0|

more to come…

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