bird of norcal

The Owls Only Thought They Won

2008-07-13T09:02:00Z

As my last few blogs explain, I have become a little fixated on Owls. Especially on photographing the SOB's! For more than two months, I have pursued BArn Owls several times a week. A family I have seen now 20 + times and not a single usable picture. Add to that 8 sightings of Great Horned Owls and singular Screech and Short Eared Owl encounters, I should have quite a collection of wild Owl photos ( I have great photos of three rehab Owls). Since the pictures of the Short Eared Owl really are good at all, I have none. Just last night all I got for my efforts were 1 blurry owl photo, half dozen blurry bat photos and a handful of ticks that wanted make a meal out of me.

The combination of heat, smoke, constant bug bites, hectic schedule, and building frustration with my gear has led me to conclude a little time off the trail is a good idea.I could not start that break today as I had I promised the kids we would go to the Sac Valley NWR after work today. I made the rule that we were only doing the car tour and no hiking. We got there at 7:45, perfect for mammals and Owls.We saw Black Tailed Mule Deer ( including a big buck), Black Tailed Jackrabbit, Red Tailed Hawk, great blue Heron. Great Egret, Killdeer, Pheasant, Western Kingbirds, Waterfowl, NUttall's Woodpecker, Black phoebe, Tree Swallows, RWBB, Common Yellow Throat, Savannah Sparrow, and House Finches. We were making the turn for the last part of the tour when my daughter spotted and Owl in a Tree. Our camera does not work well in bad lighting and so while the pictures are not great they are great to me, Madison took the sharpest one of the batch. We saw a BArn Owl flying low over the ground and then disappear into the grasslands. I messed up the shot though. As we headed for home we kept on seeing animals. 5 Raccoons, a Striped Skunk, Possum, and a very odd sight, A crawfish scooting across the road. The kids were asleep and I drove down the road by the Sacramento River. As I rounded a curve, I saw two ghostly figures rise up from the ground into the tree right in front of me. I stopped my truck and there in branch about 10 feet from me were two of our Barn Owl family. I grabbed the camera and snap pictures like mad. They looked ghostly in the smoky night sky as there faces would light up for a second in the glare of the flash. They flew off after about 5 minutes. I drove home fully convinced they pictures did not come out because of the difficulties we have shooting night life. As I looked, I saw small images in the pitch black. I cropped to the max and there they were. Finally, the damn Barn Owls on film, so to speak. They are not award winning photographs but the kids and jumped and shouted when we saw them. They will be posted with pride here and Flickr, GREAT PRIDE!!!!

We are going to Lassen next month so until then I am playing at home, working, learning my latin names, and cleaning up my field logs. I will post some pictures and then I will see you all in a few weeks!!!!

Almost Missed It!!!

2008-07-06T05:00:00Z

I had a very interesting encounter yesterday. During a family event in Oroville, about 30 minutes from my house, I got the chance to sneak away for a little while. I headed out to Oroville Wildlife Area, state refuge. I got there around 6:00 and went looking for mammals. I saw but could not photograph two Striped Skunks, a Coyote, and a Muskrat. I did get some good photos of Desert Cottontails and Mule Deer. I saw many birds OSprey, Red Tailed HAwks, California Quail, Western Kingbirds, Ash Throated Flycatcher, Great Egrets, American Kestrel, mourning Doves, RWBB, Tree Swallows, Lesser Goldfinches and my first Hairy Woodpecker!

Now the Skunks and Coyotes were cool and I was heading out of the refuge a happy man when I noticed a shape in the grass, up on a small hill. I got super excited, it looked like the always elusive Bobcat. I stopped my truck and got the binoculars at him and was in for a shock. It was an Owl, sitting on the ground. My first Short Eared Owl. Now I will be posting pictures on Sunday and I will include one of the pictures but they were out of range for my camera, but it is there. The camera is a field tool to me so some of the photos I post are poor but like this one, represent a good sighting or great moment. I have now seen 4 species of Owl in the past 2 months. Hopefully I can find a few more!

Outsmarted Again!!

2008-07-04T07:36:00Z

For the last month I have made frequent trips to the Sacramento River park as I have documented in prior blogs. One of the things that has been really cool and frustrating has been trying to get photographs of a family of BArn Owls. I have seen them in perching mode, on the wing and in the tree line 20 feet from there barn. I have yet to get a decent photograph. So I begged my wife to come with me and the kids with the analog 35 mm in tow. This is the preferred weapon for nighttime photography. It has worked OK for mammals so far.

We headed at and arrived at our spot at 8:00 pm. Then we waited and waited. I know they leave from the front of the barn but there was nothing. Then at around 8:45 I saw out of the corner of my eye, two large dark shapes flying to our left, about 100 yards away. The flew fast. low and silent. They had left from the backside of the barn and flew around. They came up behind us and perched in a dense grove of Valley OAks, Willows, Alder and Grapevines. They hissing and screaming only let us know they were watching where we could not see but very close. The kids and adults used what little light we had and did our best to pinpoint where they were at but to no avail.

I told Shanna to snap a couple of photos to see if the flash would spark some movement and it worked. One flew down to a lower branch in front of Shanna who had the 35mm ready to go. The flash lit up the ghost like image of the Owl staring at us. Now we have to wait to see if we got him or if he got us yet again.

As I postscript, I must mention, this same barn is home to several hundred Little Brown Myotis. We also had a ball trying to photograph these agile little bats he all leave from one opening in the front of the barn. A few were shot at close enough range to where we could see them lit up by the flash and they would veer off to left or right. Theywere flying all around us! We also encountered a 5 foot long Common Kingsnake, 3 baby and 1 adult Raccoon, and a Possum.

Amazing Creatures!!!

2008-07-02T08:52:00Z

I must forewarn any reader of this blog, it is long and windy.Writing is a great stress relief so consider this part therapy

Though we are currently in a bad stretch financially and gas prices make it hard to get out very often, I have found even short trips can bring amazing creatures doing amazing things.

one of the side effects of the stress we have is that I have wicked insomnia right now. It is 2:00 am as I write this blog. So I was awake at 4:00 am this morning and thought I should go for a walk. I drove the short distance to my favorite place, Bidwell Sacramento River park for a sunrise hike. After three weeks of smoky skies caused by numerous wildfires this morning was much clearer. As the sun came up over the Sierra's, I walked 20 feet from the parking lot to the edge of the oxbow lake and looked over the water. I looked left to "Turtle Branch" as I like to call it. Everytime I go out to the spot, I see something perched, basking, or playing on this log. Sometimes it is Western Pond Turtles, Sometimes it is a Great blue Heron, sometimes a Black phoebe, you never know. Today was my favorite pair of playful River Otters. I took a few pictures before stepping on a branch and spooking them. I follwed them down the trail a bit before they settled on a group of partially submerged fallen trees. I was able to crouch down in sometimes grass about 15 yards away up on the bank. I snapped a bunch of pictures and watched them play and wrestle for close 20 minutes. Then I saw out of the corner of my eye a brown bird in the tree next to me. I turned by head and saw a Red Shouldered Hawk. Suddenly he dove out of the tree and went into the grass of the Oak Woodland. I was close enough to hear the sounds of the attack. It flew off with a vole in his talons, over the water and across the bank. The whole thing happened so fast I could not get a picture that was not a blurry mess. I could not try to move in fear of spooking the Otters again. I have never been that close to predation before, it was something I will never forget.To see and hear the way that part of the natural world take place in the setting I was in was one of the highlights of my life. If anybody wants to check photos of the Otter or any other nature pictures you can check out my Flickr page ( 4geigerfamily). For only spending 60 minutes on the trail today, I saw some amazing creatures

The Sweet Science

2008-06-24T08:53:00Z

For the last three months, I have set about fine tuning my skills as Field Biologist by attempting to document all species at the Bidwell Sacramento River Park about 15 minutes from my house. California has lost more 90% of it's riparian habitat and this unique place is one of last links to a great history of wildlife.

I go out there at least three times a week and have gone at various times of day. Before my hike today, I had cataloged almost 100 species of bird, mammal, reptiles, insect, and fish. I have not only recorded species but I have had some unique encounters that have allowed my to learn for more than I thought. I have found two Osprey nests and seen the bonds of these amazing birds first hand. I witnessed Tree Swallows mating. We have seen a family of Beaver on a weekly basis.The predation cycle of a decomping deer. Insects of all sorts mating. River Otter pups swimming with mom.Watched the activities of a BArn Owl family. It has been fantastic.

today was a great day for my study and a window into the lives of some amazing creatures. Upon my arrival I was greeted by Yellow BReasted Chats, Brewers Blackbirds, Starlings, Nuttall's Woodpeckers, Downey Woodpeckers, Acorn Woodpeckers, Bullocks Orioles, House Finches, and Scrub Jays. I found some cool insects like Cardinal Meadowhawks, Eight Spotted Skimmers, Yellow Faced YEllow Faced Bumblebees, and Water Striders. I was very lucky to then happen upon two mating Western Fence Lizards. It was a very interesting series of displays and postures. I was then able to document the first BElted Kingfishers I have seen out there. I could have gone home and been happy but the best part of the day was still to come. I was observing a pair of pied Billed Grebes, I heard a noise in the brush behind me. I have suspected that it is not always Lizards darting through the brush but small mammals as well. As I looked under a log out ran a tiny, gray, nervous little mammal. A Shrew! My first one and though I can not a specific species based on a quick glance, it was a tremendous find. The importance of finding something something so small can outwiegh seeing something big!

I love science, I love animals, I love my little corner of universe!!!

More New Birds

2008-06-23T00:27:00Z

our kids were spending the weekend with my folks so the wife and I headed up to Lassen Park to escape the 100 degree heat in the valley. He saw some cool stuff Osprey, Steller's Jays, American Robin, Yellow Rumped Warbler, Black Backed Woodpecker, Ravens, Cliff Swallow, some of the largest insects I have ever seen, Douglas Squirrel, Mule Deer, Pika, Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel, and LEast Chipmunk. We also saw our first Clark's Nutcracker and Calliope Hummingbirds. My wife took some amazing pictures but then somehow deleted the entire batch. We also spent 30 minutes hiding under a tree from a freak summer hail storm! All and all, a great day.

Today after we picked the kids up we stopped by the Sutter NWR and saw Red-tailed Hawks, Red Winged Blackbirds, Crows, Sparrows, Great Blue HEron, Great Egret, Killdeer and another new bird, Black Tern. Another great day.

A few new birds

2008-06-18T18:56:00Z

I went for a long hike last Friday at Bidwell Park and had a great birding day. I saw Acorn Woodpeckers, Scrub Jays, California Quail, Western Kingbirds, Oak Titmouse, Red Tailed Hawks, Red Shouldered HAwks, turkey Vultures, Spotted and California Towhee, Bushtits, Tree Swallow, Violet Green Swallows, PAcific Slope Flycatcher, and two new birds, phainopepla and Ash Throated Flycatcher.

For Fathers day I took the kids to Mt. Lassen for a hike and we saw a number of birds. Bald Eagle, Steller's Jay, Dark Eyed Junco, American Robin ( the plumpest Robin I have ever seen), Yellow Rumped Warbler, Black HEaded Grosbeak, Cliff and Tree Swallows and two new Woodpeckers. A Black backed Woodpecker and a Pileated Woodpecker. No good pictures from this trip but I am going back in a few weeks to get some photos

Good trips, we are heading down to the river this evening so maybe I will have some pictures to post from that

Wild Fires Suck!!!

2008-06-13T08:50:00Z

Not a good post, a 19,000 acre wildfire is raging through the foothills jsut east of Chico, Ca. Much of the Paradise, Butte College, Butte Creek Canyon area is burning out of control. High temps, high winds, draught conditions. It was surreal to look out my window at work and see the plumes of smoke billowing up from some of my favorite places.So far 10+ structures have been lost including some homes. We know we will rebuild what is lost and we know nature will survive and thrive when order is restored because that is what we will always do!

So please think a positive thought for all who are affected, Human Plant or Animal!!!!!

Barn Owl Encounter

2008-06-12T18:54:00Z

I took my daughter down to the river last night for a sunset hike. As we covered our usual trails and saw many of the usual critters we come across. Acorn & Nuttall's Woodpecker, Brewers Blackbird, Black Headed Grosbeak, Pied Billed Grebe, Mallard, Oak Titmouse, Western Kingbird, black Phoebe, California Towhee, Spotted Towhee, Bushtit, Bullock's Oriole, and a new bird for us, Pacific Slope Flycatcher. We also saw are BEavers, Little Brown Bats, Pipevine Swallowtail Butterflies, and Western Fence Lizards.

The highlight was seeing a pair of nesting Barn Owls that we know live in a BArn right off the river. I am not sure how the pictures will turn out as we had to use the 35mm as it has a better flash than the digi. My daughter and I did get a great earshot of the haunting vocals of the Barn Owl. We stopped by the barn after watching them into the dense riverside vegetation across the street. We were only 20 ffet from them but could not see them. Cant wait to see the pictures will show anything but regardless, it was a great encounter.

Some Cool New Stuff

2008-06-05T16:50:00Z

It has been far to long since my last blog. Work, kids, finals, not enough time. I have kept getting out though and the sightings are increasing. I took my kids out to the Sacramento River and the first spot they wanted see was our Osprey nest, or what was left of it. to our surprise they were rebuilding there nest in the same tree, just down further. The more I learn of these magnificent birds, the more respect I have for them. We also saw them taking fish from a perch in the middle of the big Sac River. We also saw Great Blue & Green HEron, Great Egret, Robin, Acorn & Nuttall's Woodpecker, Yellow Warbler, Black Phoebe, Red Shouldered Hawk, California Towhee, Western Kingbird, Brewers Blackbird, and a new one Pied billed Grebe!! We also saw Mule Deer, BEaver, Little Brown Bats, Gray Squirrel, Raccoon, River Otter and a rare critter in these parts, a White Tailed JAckrabbit ( Black tailed are common). We also found some large Mountain Lion tracks!!

We have also made several trips to Lassen National Forest. It is a gorgeous place full of new discoveries for me and especially my kids. We have seen a Bald Eagle (Immature), Osprey, Turkey Vultures, Steller's Jay, Black Headed Grosbeak, Common Raven, Dark Eyed Junco, Tree Swallow, Robin, northern Flicker and three new birds American Dipper, mountain Chickadee, and Olive Sided Flycatcher. We also saw Sagebrush lIzards, Chickaree (Douglas Squirrel), Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel, Merriam Chipmunk, and Mule Deer. Still looking for Pileated Woodpecker, Williamson Sapsucker, Western Tanager, Evening Grosbeak, Northern Goshawks, and more black BEars and Bobcats!!

I am closing in on 140 on my Ebird list, so another trip to Lassen is just the thing I hope!

The Tragedy of My Osprey

2008-05-19T04:39:00Z

During the five months of my birding activity and my excellent Field Biology class I have had many great sightings and encounters. My family and I have seen 132 species of birds, 17 species of Mammal, 8 species of Reptiles and lots of other critters. We have seen once in a lifetime things and explored our area of the world . Our favorite critters have become a pair of Osprey that nest about 15 minutes from our house on the Sacramento River. We have observed them building there nest, fishing for one another, watching the sunset together and finally hatching chicks. From a scientific point of view, I was looking forward to seeing the birds learn to fly and hunt. From a more emotional point of view, we had all become very close to Opie and Annie.

Today I was observing a large Beaver family and wanted to check on my birds before I headed home. I was horrified to find Opie and Annie perched in there snag, staring at the empty space where the branch that held the nest and there babies. The nest they had built ever so carefully was gone. The sun was setting on the river as many days before. I have observed them facing the sunset, perched on opposite branches. Today, they were on there branches at sunset but facing the other way, directly towards the branch that was not there.

To any of the great people who use this site, let me tell you I saw something I did not understand fully. These birds were devastated by this loss and it was in plain sight. This revealed a level of feeling I did not know existed in a bird. They were mourning and we are too! I took a solitary, sad picture and called my wife and kids to tell them. We are sad, but this is a humble reminder about the balance of nature and the true emotional connection you can have with animals. our hearts go out to Opie and Annie!!!

New Birds and a Great Horned Owl encounter

2008-05-02T01:46:00Z

I had a full day of nature watching yesterday. My class to a trip to Bidwell Park and we saw lots of Acorn Woodpeckers, Nuttall's Woodpeckers, Oak Titmouse, Red Shouldered Hawks, Lesser Goldfinch, Blue Gray Gnatcatcher, Tree Swallows, Common Yellow Throat, Western Kingbird, Crub Jay, European Starling, Spotted Towhee, and two new birds, Common Merganser and Ruby Crowned Kinglet. After class I drove to Howard Slough and saw Gadwall, Canada Goose, Mallards, Cinnamon Teal, Cliff, Tree, and Violet Green Swallow, Turkey Vulture, Double Crested Cormorant, Snowy Egret, great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Spotted Sandpipers, White Faced Ibis, Red Winged Blackbird, Brewers blackbird, Killdeer, Red Tailed Hawks, White Tail Kite, Swainson's Hawk and two more new finds for me California Thraser and Yellow Headed Blackbird ( what a nice looking bird.). To cap the day off right I headed to the Sacramento River for some nighttime mammal adventures and had a great encounter with a huge Great Horned Owl. As I drove along the river he dropped out of tree and shot across the road into an orchard. He hit something on the ground and flew off with what looked like a small rodent. I could not get a picture but it was an awe inspiring encounter with a very beautiful bird. I got some great photos of Raccoon and Opossum. Great Day!!!!

Birds and Bluegills

2008-04-27T03:35:00Z

My wife and I took our son fishing and hiking today and we had a blast. My son who is 6 &1/2 caught a bluegill which was a first for him( he has caught Trout and Salmon before). We also saw some great animals including some lizards, Gray Squirrel, a Western Rattlesnake, and our River Otter, who we have seen several times over the past couple of days. We also saw some great birds Great Egret, Osprey, Green Heron, Downey, Nuttall's and Acorn Woodpeckers, Bullocks Oriole, Scrub Jay, American Robin, Brewers Blackbird, Black Phoebe, Forsters Tern, Spotted and California Towhee, house Finches, American Goldfinch, Yellow Rumped Warbler, Oak Titmouse, Common Yellow Throat, and another new bird, a Black HEaded gRosbeak, which at first I thought was a Towhee but was not. The best part was hanging with my boy and seeing the look on his face after he caught his bluegill, which he let go so someone else could enjoy catching it. What a great kid!!!!!

9 hours and lots of nature

2008-04-24T00:10:00Z

Day off of work, family all busy, and lots of sunshine after a rainy day.Perfect day for nature. My Bio class had a Trip up to the mixed Coniferous forest near Paradise Lake. It was cold, misty, and awesome. I saw new birds like a Chestnut Backed Chickadee and Warbling Viero. We also saw some Swallows, Northern Flicker, Wild Turkey, California Quail, and I got bonus points for spotting the Osprey we were looking for! After class I drove out Sac Valley NWR and saw a lot of "Hawk Food", California Ground Squirrels and Black Tailed Jack Rabbits. I laso saw a dozen Snowy Egrets, DC Cormorants, Cinnamon Teal, Mallard, Greater White Fronted Geese, Ruddy Ducks, and Great Blue Heron.

On the way home I went to my new favorite spot, Howard Slough. Today I saw 16 White Pelicans, D.C Cormorants, Coots, Hermit Thrush, YR Warbler, Solitary Sandpiper, Black Phoebe, RW black bird, Turkey Vultures, Northern Harrier, 4 Swainson's Hawks, Red Tailed Hawks, White Tailed Kite, GB HEron, Great Egret, lots of Waterfowl, Short Billed Dowitcher, California Towhee, Sparrows, Swallows ( 3 kinds) and my first American Bittern ( i startled it when I started my truck after the hike, it was 5 feet away in some reeds!) So many birds.

I drove the Sac River route home and saw two more new birds at various stops. A pair of beautiful Forster's Terns and a Yellow Breasted Chat. Also some GC Sparrows, Scrub Jays, Black phoebes, Nuttals + Acorn Woodpeckers, Robin, California Towhee, Red Tailed Hawks and I saw a Red Shouldered Hawk take a mouse just off the road! Great Day and some new birds!!!!!!!!!!

Peregrine!!!

2008-04-16T21:15:00Z

Today was a perfect California Day. Mid 70 seventies, not a cloud in the sky, and a slight breeze. After collecting some plant samples in class today, I had the itch to hike. I work tonight, the kids and wife were in school so I drove to Howard Slough and took off. I had not gone more than 20 yards when I saw a Swainson's Hawk soar directly above me. I could not get a great picture though because I dropped the camera. Great bird though. I walked about 2 miles along the marshes and logged a vast number of birds , including a few new ones.White Pelican, Spotted Sandpiper, Sloitary Sandpiper, White Faced Ibis, Great Egret, Great blue HEron, RWBB, Killdeer, Lesser Scaup, Canada Geese, MAllards, Coots, GW Teal, black phoebe, Western Kingbird, MArsh Wren, W.C Sparrow, Turkey Vultures, Cliff, Tree and NRW Sallows, Red Tailed HAwks, White Tailed Kite, and Northern Harrier. I topped to take a drink and make some notes when I noticed a fast moving bird coming towards me. I grabbed the binoculars and much to my amazement, it was a Peregrine. The first time I have had the honor of seeing this awesome species. I could only snap a few pictures and none are good, but is just good enough for ID. I saw plenty more during my hike but nothing was going to top that.When I started being active with observing birds 4 months ago, the Peregrine was #1 on my list as I had never seen one and they are just the coolest bird! I was very proud to check the PEregring Falcon box off on my Ebird report!!!!!