Tag: Nikon

Whatever Weds. Aurora’s Amethyst Sky

Posted in Low Light Photography, Night Sky, Photography, Whatever WednesdayTagged , , , , , , , , , 42 Comments

Copyright ©2026 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Monday I got an alert from my Aurora App that said it might possible to see the Aurora as low as Northern Nevada. There was a pretty large CME -solar flare on January 19th that I read about in Spaceweather and it mentioned the Aurora Borealis could be really good and perhaps wide spread. I was on a hike when my app pinged me Monday afternoon saying that it was looking good where I live to see some of the Aurora. When I got home I charged up my batteries, switched lenses, and got my gear ready. In the evening close to the peak KP index reading per my app I put on my thermals, coat, toe warmers, then gathered my hand heating pouch, tripod, gear bag, red headlamp, and walked out into the 35 degrees F night air. I headed down the street to photograph the sky over my neighbors ranch.

The stars were bright, and clear, and the air cold, and brisk. It was just me and a horse in the stall kicking and making that sound they make when the blow raspberries through their nose, and lips. I suspect it heard me and saw my red headlamp. Then it got really quiet.

The horse and I settled in for a bit. I set up my tripod, and camera then got my focus dialed in and made a few tests shots. Then I made this shot when it was supposed to be “peak KP index (6.67)” for my area.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
It was very light pinky purple with maybe a little green.

There’s light pollution from Carson City to the north.

Way out on the top of hills in the distance is a bright white light. That’s an ATV of some kind making its way to the top of the Pinenut Mountains. I wondered if they were going to a great view and maybe a darker sky?

I read the Aurora’s were spectacular in parts of Europe and some of the images I’ve seen are fantastic.

This Aurora wasn’t as strong as the one that we saw here in October 2024 see my post here , but anytime I get a ping saying maybe I’ll see an Aurora in No. Nevada I’ll be out with my camera.

Happy Mid Week Everyone!

more to come…

Friday’s Feathered Friends-Cooper’s Hawk

Posted in Backyard Birding, Friday's Feathered Friends, Hawks, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , 66 Comments

Copyright ©2026 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

January 2nd a Cooper’s Hawk came to look for breakfast at my neighbor’s house. I quietly opened the back door and grabbed what are the first Hawk images of 2026. Here’s one.

I’m taking that as a sign that it’s going to be a good year of birding.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Cooper’s Hawk

This winter has started off a bit bumpy on the home-front. Our heater went out just after Christmas on a Sunday. Fortunately, we were able to have our preferred heating and air company come out that afternoon and fix it.

Then I discovered we have a leak in the garage. We had a roofer out and they found several broken tiles. Errant golf balls no doubt. Our house gets hit a lot. I wish they…the golfers would learn to hit toward their other right!

The roofers sealed up the cracks and we’re scheduled to have the tiles replaced at the end of the month. I welcome the rain and snow, but not the leaky roof.

We’ve had several storms so I haven’t been out birding, but today the weather looks cold, but sunny so I’ll be birding with the group this morning. I’ll be late getting to your blogs and comments.

Fun Facts:

  • Dashing through vegetation to catch birds is a dangerous lifestyle. In a study of more than 300 Cooper’s Hawk skeletons, 23 percent showed old, healed-over fractures in the bones of the chest, especially of the furcula, or wishbone.
  • A Cooper’s Hawk captures a bird with its feet and kills it by repeated squeezing. Falcons tend to kill their prey by biting it, but Cooper’s Hawks hold their catch away from the body until it dies. They’ve even been known to drown their prey, holding a bird underwater until it stopped moving.
  • Once thought averse to towns and cities, Cooper’s Hawks are now fairly common urban and suburban birds. Some studies show their numbers are actually higher in towns than in their natural habitat, forests. Cities provide plenty of Rock Pigeon and Mourning Dove prey. Though one study in Arizona found a downside to the high-dove diet: Cooper’s Hawk nestlings suffered from a parasitic disease they acquired from eating dove meat.
  • Life is tricky for male Cooper’s Hawks. As in most hawks, males are significantly smaller than their mates. The danger is that female Cooper’s Hawks specialize in eating medium-sized birds. Males tend to be submissive to females and to listen out for reassuring call notes the females make when they’re willing to be approached. Males build the nest, then provide nearly all the food to females and young over the next 90 days before the young fledge.
  • The oldest recorded Cooper’s Hawk was a male and at least 20 years, 4 months old. He was banded in California in 1986, and found in Washington in 2006.

I wish you all a great week-end!

more to come…

Friday’s Feathered Friends- Greater Roadrunner

Posted in Birding in Nevada, Friday's Feathered Friends, Nature, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , 56 Comments

Copyright ©2025 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Last month about a week before Thanksgiving I went on a quick road trip to Las Vegas/Henderson with a girl-friend. She was wanting to see her parents who live in Vegas, and I was wanting to go to Henderson which is just 20 minutes south of downtown Vegas to do some birding. So we got a plan together and went. While she was hanging out with her parents I was birding at the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve. I was hoping to see the Long-tailed Duck that is back this winter, alas, I did not see it, but I had a fantastic meeting with a Greater Roadrunner.

I was walking up a path and turned a corner and there it was standing in the middle of the path. I stopped. It jumped back and looked at me. There we stood eyeing each other up. When it was apparent it wasn’t going to flee and be flighty I started making photographs of it. After a minute it approached me! I backed up to keep it in my focal range. It was too close!!! Such a problem to have right? 😂 This profile is the best image I made showing its colorful skin behind its eye. The colors say Southwest to me.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Greater Roadrunner

I didn’t back up enough because as you see I nearly cut off his feet!

Here it is showing me its lovely long tail.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Greater Roadrunner- I backed up more for to make this image.

I can’t tell if it is a male or female. I do know it’s an adult though. It stayed on the path walking back and forth in front of me, and crossing the path from side to side for nearly 5 minutes! I have quite a few images of it. I think it must have had a nest nearby guarding it perhaps? Anyway, I figured I’d better get moving and let the Roadrunner get back to doing whatever it does. I thanked it for such a lovely encounter and as quietly as I could walked up the path then when the Roadrunner thought I was too close it darted into the bushes.

That was only the 3rd Roadrunner I’ve ever seen and by far the best encounter with one ever!

Fun Facts: Gleaned from AllAboutBirds.org

    • For a generation of Americans, the familiar “beep, beep” of Warner Brothers’ cartoon Roadrunner was the background sound of Saturday mornings. Despite the cartoon character’s perennial victories over Wile E. Coyote, real-life coyotes present a real danger. The mammals can reach a top speed of 43 miles an hour—more than twice as fast as roadrunners.
    • Roadrunners have evolved a range of adaptations to deal with the extremes of desert living. Like seabirds, they secrete a solution of highly concentrated salt through a gland just in front of each eye, which uses less water than excreting it via their kidneys and urinary tract. Moisture-rich prey including mammals and reptiles supply them otherwise-scarce water in their diet. Both chicks and adults flutter the unfeathered area beneath the chin (gular fluttering) to dissipate heat.
    • Greater Roadrunners eat poisonous prey, including venomous lizards and scorpions, with no ill effect, although they’re careful to swallow horned lizards head-first with the horns pointed away from vital organs. Roadrunners can also kill and eat rattlesnakes, often in tandem with another roadrunner: as one distracts the snake by jumping and flapping, the other sneaks up and pins its head, then bashes the snake against a rock. If it’s is too long to swallow all at once, a roadrunner will walk around with a length of snake still protruding from its bill, swallowing it a little at a time as the snake digests.
    • Based on banding records, the oldest roadrunner was at least 7 years old.
    • Roadrunners hold a special place in Native American and Mexican legends and belief systems. The birds were revered for their courage, strength, speed, and endurance. The roadrunner’s distinctive X-shaped footprint—with two toes pointing forward and two backward—are used as sacred symbols by Pueblo tribes to ward off evil. The X shape disguises the direction the bird is heading, and is thought to prevent evil spirits from following.

Isn’t that folklore about its X shaped footprint interesting! I didn’t know that until I read the fun facts. 😊

I hope you all have a lovely week-end. Beep, beep!

more to come…

Whatever Weds. Happy Birthday Nevada!

Posted in Holidays and Observances, Nevada, Photography, Whatever WednesdayTagged , , , , , , , 49 Comments

Copyright ©2025 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

October 31, 2025 was Nevada’s 161st year of Statehood. The celebrations started early in October with many events scheduled throughout the month leading up to the big Birthday Bash on November 1st.

November 1st started really early with Hot Air Balloonist rolling in at 6am to get their balloons ready for an 8AM lift-off. I was there.

I usually pick one balloon and stick with them until they lift off. This year I watched the crew that owns this balloon laying flat on the ground.

The crew pulled up to their spot on the street then they laid out a huge tarp, next they roll out the balloon. The crew is named Cloud Couture Crew. The Balloon’s name is Cloud Couture. It’s piloted by Eric Diamond.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com

Next they hook up the basket, and gas, check all the lines, then they turn on a huge fan. See it next to the basket on the left? They use the fan to fill the balloon with air. The best part is when they have enough air in the balloon to start heating it up and lifting the balloon! Whoosh! It was warm standing here once they had the flame going.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
That’s Officer Lorentzen from the Washoe County School Police department. He’s about to embark on his first hot air balloon ride.

By the way the balloon is piloted by his boss.

Now the balloon is just about ready to fly!

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com

Officer Lorentzen is invited on board as well as one more passenger, the owner- Delores Martinez. It’s almost Go Time!

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
While they wait for 8AM and lift off the ground crew is holding onto the lines keeping the balloon from rising. Another crew member is on ground standing by to give the pilot directions with hand signals which way to maneuver the craft to miss trees, lamp posts and wires.

I turn my back on the crew a minute to see what’s happening behind me, and find Lift Off has begun!

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
This is looking north.

Let’s look back and see what’s happening behind the Cloud Couture Crew.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Looking south.

Did Officer Lorentzen and crew get off the ground?

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Cloud Couture is airborne!

I waved good-bye and quietly wished them a great flight, and soft landing.

All in all I counted 18 balloons in the air, but I may have missed a couple.

My girlfriend and I went to breakfast and shed some layers before the parade started at 10AM as it was getting warm out.

Cloud Couture Crew-

Pilot-Eric Diamond

Owner-Delores Martinez

Crew Chief- Stephen Moore

Crew- Anthony, J-Bird, Alex, and Emma.

You can find them on Instagram at CloudCoutureNV

Cloud Couture, thank you for letting me and my camera hang out with you to see all it takes to get your beautiful hot air balloon off the ground!

Happy Wednesday!

more to come…

Whatever Weds. Comet Lemmon

Posted in Astrophotography, Comets, Night Sky, Starry Night, Whatever WednesdayTagged , , , , , , , 48 Comments

Copyright ©2025 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

I went out with a friend to try to see if I could find and photograph C/2025 A6 Comet (Lemmon) on October 19th. I didn’t go too far from home just up into the Pinenut Mountains a little bit. l took my 50mm lens so I would be able to see a wide space of the sky and hopefully see it. I never saw it with my eyes or binoculars, but when I got home and uploaded my images I was happy to see my camera had seen it. It’s the tiny green dot upper center of the image.

It’s tiny at 50mm but, I cropped this in a bit for a better look.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Comet Lemmon Nikon D850| Nikkor 50mm

The next night I went back to the same spot with my old 80-200mm lens but, I wasn’t able to see it at all. I believe it was too low and behind the hills opposite.

So last night a friend and I went north to a spot I know that had more open sky. It took us a while to find it but, we did. My old lens had a bit of trouble focusing on my newish bigger sensor D810 but, once I uploaded my images I found I had several decent shots of the comet with a hint of its tail too.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Comet Lemmon| Nikon D810| Nikkor 80-200mmD| October 21, 2025

It’s always exciting to see a comet and this one is pretty cool. It was 55 million miles from Earth last night and it won’t be back again until the year 3175! Do you think my images will survive for my future family members to see my images made with probably antiquated photography methods and gear? Somewhere between 33 and 46 generations will pass before C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) comes our way again. It boggles my mind.

Did you see it?

more to come…

Whatever Weds. View from the Klondike Highway

Posted in Travel and Tourism, Travel Photography, Whatever WednesdayTagged , 35 Comments

Copyright ©2025 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Summit Lake, WP&YR Railroad Tracks; Snowcapped mountains, from the Klondike Highway, Alaska.

more to come…

Friday’s Feathered Friends- Rufous Hummingbird

Posted in Backyard Birding, Birding in Nevada, Friday's Feathered Friends, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , 47 Comments

Copyright ©2025 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

A few weeks ago a pair of Rufous Hummingbirds returned to my backyard feeder. They’ve been chasing off the Black-chinned and having skirmishes all day everyday since their return.

I’m beginning to think I need to add another Shepard’s hook and feeder so the territorial squabbling gets better.

Here’s what I think is a female perched on top of the hook claiming possession. She lands here on and off all day long letting the other Hummingbirds know this is her feeder. You can see a little bit of her Gorget on her throat.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com Image

Here she is just after chasing off two other Hummingbirds. I love her tail!

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com Image

I could be wrong about her sex as it could also be an immature female/ male. If you know which it is please let me know.

Fun Facts:

  • The Rufous Hummingbird is a common visitor to hummingbird feeders. It is extremely territorial at all times of year, attacking any visiting hummingbird, including much larger species. They’ve been seen chasing chipmunks away from their nests.
  • The Rufous Hummingbird makes one of the longest migratory journeys of any bird in the world, as measured by body size. At just over 3 inches long, its roughly 3,900-mile movement (one-way) from Alaska to Mexico is equivalent to 78,470,000 body lengths. In comparison, the 13-inch-long Arctic Tern’s one-way flight of about 11,185 mi is only 51,430,000 body lengths. (AAB)
  • During their long migrations, Rufous Hummingbirds make a clockwise circuit of western North America each year. They move up the Pacific Coast in late winter and spring, reaching Washington and British Columbia by May. As early as July they may start south again, traveling down the chain of the Rocky Mountains. People first realized this pattern after examining detailed field notes and specimens, noting the birds’ characteristic dates of arrival on each part of the circuit.
  • The Rufous Hummingbird has an excellent memory for location, no doubt helping it find flowers from day to day, or even year to year. Some birds have been seen returning from migration and investigating where a feeder had been the previous year, even though it had since been moved.
  • The Rufous Hummingbird breeds as far north as southeastern Alaska – the northernmost breeding range of any hummingbird in the world. Of the western hummingbirds that occasionally show up in the east, the Rufous Hummingbird is the most frequent.
  • Rufous Hummingbirds, like most other hummingbirds, beat their wings extremely fast to be able to hover in place. The wingbeat frequency of Rufous Hummingbirds has been recorded at 52–62 wingbeats per second.
  • The Rufous Hummingbird is not a colonially nesting species; however, there have been reports from Washington state that have 20 or more Rufous Hummingbird nests only a few yards apart in the same tree. (From the BNA)
  • Hummingbirds are hard to catch, but there are records of Rufous Hummingbirds being caught by a large flycatcher (Brown-crested Flycatcher) and by a frog.
  • The oldest recorded Rufous Hummingbird was a female, and at least 8 years, 11 months old when she was recaught and rereleased during banding operations in British Columbia in 2004.

I’ve been slower to your blogs this week as I’m visiting with family, and I will be for the next several days, but I’ll catch up!

Have a lovely week-end!!

Nikon D850| Nikkor 500mm| Fun Facts-https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rufous_Hummingbird/overview

more to come…