Klamath Basin Wildlife Refuge

My annual summer trip to Oregon was late this year and I hoped it would offer an opportunity to see the beginnings of the winter migration.  No such luck,  while I did make several stops, it was hot and the sky was smokey with very little water in the refuges.   (Now, beginning of Dec,  they are starting to post many pics on FB of the migration).

Too hot but still a nice walk around the Marsh Trail.  Saw this one bird (need to identify) and few water types.

At the Lower Klamath the viewing platforms were infested with wasps!  Even if there had been any birds I couldn't get near them!

The driving loop at Tule Lake will no doubt be wonderful in winter.  This bird blind is near the beginning before leaving the highway for the levee roads.

But oh the smoke!   These are mostly Mud Hens, ducks, and White Pelicans.

I left early, too disappointed as this is probably not an area I will visit in the middle of winter.

Sacramento Wildlife Refuge

The water had not  been turned back into the refuge and it was HOT.  I stopped for a quick look at the Visitor's Center.  There is a nice trail for a future visit.  No birds today though.

I did learn something interesting and important for future visits.....the refuges don't maintain water levels through the year.

Condors

The pic is not so much, but did want to remember that I saw these condors at Big Bend in Zion National Park.

Manzanita Osprey at Melones

The other osprey family I have been following is at the Manzanita Campground.  In fact, the nest is right over one camp!  Doesn't seem to bother the birds at all.  Unlike the Lupine nest that is far from the water, this one is right on the edge of the lake.

Because I didn't start monitoring this test until later in the season when the chicks were all ready hatched I seldom saw both adults at the nest at the same time.

They had a full house with three chicks!

One chick was testing his wings way ahead of the other two.  Weird shot; just happened to catch him up in the air!

The parents are busy fishing non-stop as the chicks grow feathers very quickly.

I never did stay long enough to see an adult actually land in the nest with a fish; still, the feeding was intense.

It was only a few days before the biggest chick was gone; leaving two in the nest.

The evening I took this last set of pics it was windy and getting pretty late.  The family was clearly waiting for dinner!  But in the mean time they tested their wings.  It was really cool how they lift off on the wind, but never leave the safety of the nest.

Watch out Mom!

They were still waiting, sort of patiently, for dinner when I head back to my camp in Acorn at sunset.

Lupine Osprey at Melones

There are two osprey nests (that I know about) at the Tuttletown Rec Area on Melones Reservoir.  One is near the Lupine Day Use area; the other at the Manzanita Campground.

Judging by it's size the Lupine nest is several years old. It is build on a dedicated pole next to a regular power pole that holds two transformers.  I'm guess the nest was relocated from the transformer pole at some point.

There wasn't much activity in the beginning. I didn't know if any chicks were hatched or not at this point.  The adults often sat on the nest together but seldom left at the same time. 

After a couple weeks the activity increased and I often saw the adults coming and going but still no chicks.

Several small birds built nests in the lower portion of the osprey nest.  The funny thing was that they were always tormenting the ospreys.  I think this is a King Bird diving on one of the adult osprey.  (Check out the stick in her talons.)

Finally, one chick popped up over the edge of the nest!

By this time there is lots of activity: feeding the chick, working on the nest and protecting the chick from attack.

Here an adult comes in for a landing.....

And an (almost) vertical take off....

The one chick in this nest was several days (maybe a week) behind the development of the chicks in the Manzanita nest so I was really excited to see her testing her wings yesterday.  

I don't know how much longer she will stay with nest; looks like it won't be long!

Kingfisher at Pond

Walking out to the gate this evening I saw this Kingfisher diving into the pond.  He (bits of red on chest) perched in the top of the dead tree for several minutes.

My Bird List

I'm starting a new blog for my bird list and bird photographs.  Keeping a digital record (journal) works wells for me.  No notebooks or albums to haul back and forth between California and Texas!  A digital bird list will fall neatly into my all ready established habits of blogging my travels and my daily work outs.

The address of this blog www.montainpassbirds.blogspot.com is a take off of the nearest (now extinct) town to me here in California.  Grandma Stella went to school in Mountain Pass while living in Montezuma and always fed birds while living here on the ranch.  It all comes together for me!

Finally,  I'll be posting back dated blogs of birds I either have pics of or have seen over the past year or so.  It won't take long to catch up with those.  Then I'll be off on a new journey of discovery and adventure!  (Yes, Pai, I'm a 'girl' Hobbit!).