#bird

Just a simple photo of some Oregon Grape from the other day's hike through the Tillamook State Forest in Oregon's coast range.
#oregon #oregongrape #naturephotography #landscapephotography

This is a juvenile Pacific Wren I watched for a while yesterday. Its parents stopped by with a mouthful of bugs at one point.
#bird #birdphotography #pacificwren #wren

A view of the Milky Way over Shadow Lake, in the heart of the Wind River mountains of Wyoming. Wish I was there now... in a galaxy far far away.
#landscapephotography #windriver #nightphotography #stars #milkyway

I encountered this Yellow-bellied Marmot high in the alpine tundra of the Wind River Mountains.
#wildlifephotography #windriver #marmot #naturephotography

The Black Rosy-Finch is a enigmatic denizen of the central Rocky Mountains. It's one of the least-studied songbirds in North America, as it breeds in rocky boulder fields and cliffs well above the tree line. This one was molting, giving it a disheveled look.
#bird #birdphotography #blackrosyfinch

A view of the Shark's Nose in the alpenglow from over Shadow Lake. This is in the heart of the Wind River mountains of Wyoming.
#mountain #landscapephotography #windriver #backpacking

A Pine Grosbeak, going through its summer molt deep in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming.
#bird #birdphotography #naturephotography #pinegrosbeak

A classic scene of lakes and mountains, at Bear Lake in the south part of the Wind River Mountains. We had the lake to ourselves.
#backpacking #landscapephotography #windriver #hiking

Love the colors on this shot.

They’re trying to meet a quota of deportations. They don’t care who it is. Immigrants following the rules are an easy target.

This Clark's Nutcracker was living up to its name - you can see the pine nut in its beak. This was in the middle of Wyoming's Wind River mountains.
#bird #birdphotography #clarksnutcracker #naturephotography

Great shot! But I think that’s a Black-crested Titmouse

Crossing the South Fork Little Wind River with Payson Peak in the distance. This was part of a week long backpacking loop through the heart of Wyoming's southern Wind River range.
#backpacking #landscapephotography #hiking

When you see American Pikas bouncing around the alpine rocks, putting all their effort into blurting out a "meep" like a dog's squeeze toy, how could you do anything but smile. This one was at about 12,000ft elevation in the Wind River Range.
#pika #wildlifephotography #windriver #backpacking

Shadow Lake, in the heart of the Wind River mountains of Wyoming. This place is over a day's hike from the nearest trailhead.
#backpacking #landscapephotography #windriver

There was a group of about 5 of these guys along the trail. I had to be a bit patient till this one put itself in chickadee position.

This Mountain Chickadee was at about 10,000ft elevation deep in the southern Wind River Range.
#bird #birdphotography #mountainchickadee #naturephotography

A view over Deep Creek Lakes in the Wind River mountains of Wyoming. This was part of a 66-mile loop through the southern part of the range.
#landscapephotography #windriver #backpacking #hiking #mountain

This Rhinoceros Auklet was in Puget Sound. I can't tell what kind of little fish is in its mouth, but looks tasty!
#bird #auk #birdphotography #naturephotography #rhinocerosauklet

I went kayaking in Hood Canal (a fjord in the Olympic peninsula) last week, and about 40+ Harbor Seals were cruising around, checking us out.
#wildlifephotography #harborseal #seal

This is the skeleton of a giant Allium that bloomed earlier in the summer in our garden. Sure, the flower is neat, but this is a whole different way to enjoy the plant - and it doesn't need watering!
#flowerark #flower #allium #flowerphotography

A clump of Phlox growing on the side of a rock near the summit of 'Valhalla' in the Olympic Peninsula's Buckhorn Wilderness.
#flower #phlox #landscapephotography

Close up photo of a brown songbird with a spotted breast, and two juicy bugs in its bill - a yellow caterpillar and a large ant.

This Hermit Thrush was calling out to it's fledglings to "come and get it", forcing them to chase their food, and not wait for it to be delivered. Good lesson.
This was in the Olympic National Forest last week.
#bird #birdphotography #hermitthrush #naturephotography.

The Buckhorn Wilderness on the east side of Olympic National Park is home to an ancient forest of Western hemlocks, Douglas fir, Western redcedar and many other varieties. This photo is from last week.
#landscapephotography #oldgrowth #forest #trees #olympicnationalpark

In this case, there were two owls. They appeared to be an adult mated pair. They groomed each others faces for an extended period (unfortunately, away from my lens!). Eventually a squirrel showed-up and both owls took off simultaneously toward it. Not sure how it turned out for the squirrel.

Often many songbirds of different species will hear the alert and join in. This is what's called a mob. If you hear a mob - for sure check it out. Birds don't do this for no reason - it's always something.

I was walking through this forest in the early morning. that's the first key - get up early. I heard an American Robin sounding an alert. Most songbirds have a similar alert call - loud single notes over and over. They just "sound" like an alert. If you hear this, it's always worth investigating.

I encountered a pair of Barred Owls last week in a local forest. People ask how I find these owls - more details in the comments.
I like how the forest is reflected in this one's eyes - the world it inhabits is being projected back at us.
#bird #birdphotography #owl #barredowl #superbowl

Indeed, I'm getting old.