The weather forecast for New Year’s Day was supposed to be nice. Instead it was a cold, frosty and foggy day. The cold and frost are OK,
… but the fog definitely did not help when an opportunity presented itself.
Foggy Owl
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Birding Highlights Of 2012
As another great year of birding and photography comes to a close, there were several highlights that come to mind for 2012.
One nemesis bird I had been trying to get better shots of,
… was the Common Redpoll.
A life list addition was the Red-necked Stint,
… which is a rare visitor and not photographed often around here.
A couple of shore birds I have not managed to photograph for a few years.
A Ruff (juvenile),
… the American Golden-Plover,
… and after several attempts,
… the White-throated Sparrow.
While not the best day for photos,
… the Cave Swallow was another life list addition.
The last life list addition of the year,
… was the Sage Thrasher this month.
Happy New Year!
Night-Heron & Saw-whet
Hmmm, that title sounds familiar. Probably because it is what I used two weeks ago also on a Sunday and volunteering at Reifel. While there was a few other things to see, it was the same two birds that provided the best photo opportunities.
One of the six Black-crowned Night-Heron currently in the sanctuary was roosting on a fallen tree in Fuller’s Slough. As I mentioned in another recent post, always fun to get them in different spots.
While there was a high count of five Northern Saw-whet Owls not long ago, my last few visits I have only ever managed to see one. Such was the case again this afternoon.
A lot of visitors were walking right by it as it was tucked away lower in the branches today. I took several groups back so they could get a look at it. To get this shot the tripod was collapsed all the way down looking up under the tree. I also used a cable release and the mirror up function as the shutter speed was quite low.