Birds of Late Winter

Monday, Mark and I went to Delta Ponds.  Mark desires to see beavers building their dam, and the best time to see them is at dusk.  The actual moment that is the most optimal is a question:  too early, and they really aren't swimming around in the murky waters; too late and the sun has set and you can't see anything other than wakes in the water (which are most likely nutria).

We keep going to the east end of the ponds, which is optimal for the silhouettes of herons in the trees.  The herons I photographed last time as they did their mating dance in the trees have put up a nest.

Tuesday, I went to the Cascades Raptor Center (partially because it was an annoying day, mostly because the sun was out).  I managed to get a photo of Neville in a new part of his aviary.   I learned (to my dismay) that Neville doesn't like really large camera lenses.

Pip, Peregrine Falcon was eating in the back of his aviary.  I like this particular photograph because of the inner and outer curve of his head.

 Danu, an Osprey, was brought out.  She's very vocal, and chatters to everyone most of the day.  Because her enclosure is roped off, I thought she was slightly upset by the visitors, but I was told that if she was upset she'd make less of a high-pitched keen (which can be heard over rushing river waters) and more of a honk.











I managed to get a photo of Danu's nictating membrane.

Normally, Danu's aviary is set back a ways, behind a rope, so it's difficult to see her, especially in the afternoon when the sunlight is shining on the mesh of her enclosure.

 All of the residents were the most vocal that I've heard them.  Amazon the golden eagle was building a nest (I think) and making gibbering noises like a creature from the Haunted Woods surrounding the Wicked Witch of the West's castle.  Dmitri the Eurasian eagle-owl was extra hooty, and was chattering like a cat as he beaked some gravel a handler put on his roost so he wouldn't tear up the astroturf.  Puck chittered at anyone who walked by his aviary -- I'm not sure if he wanted them to see his mouse or not.

Since the equinox is around the corner, the birds are getting hormonal.  They're also gaining weight since the days and nights have been warmer.

The burrowing owl, Ra, came out while its aviary was being cleaned out.   I managed to take a zillion photographs of Ra, who seemed very relaxed and curious about the turkey vultures flying in the area.

Ra's handler and I had a brief discussion about who was the cuter, Ra, or Ravi, a Western Screech Owl -- they're both pretty darn cute.

I would have stayed a little longer, but I had to go to Dad Taxi duties.

More Raptor Center

Saturday, there was a break in the weather, resulting in actual bright sunlight.   So, I took an impromptu trip to the Cascades Raptor Center.  Mostly, I wanted to get a photograph of Bango's breast feathers, because the sketches I'd made the week previously didn't seem to match up with some of the other earlier photos I'd taken.

I took some photos and practiced using extreme zoom, small aperture, and manual focus to blur out the bars as best as I could.   The best example of this was the picture of Ra, the Burrowing Owl.  During past visits, Ra has been hiding in its "burrow," but this time it was on a shelf.

I'm not sure if it's the tripod, or my camera, or if I look like some kind of Real Photographer, but I had more conversations about photography with other patrons than I've had previously.  I didn't mind chatting, and I think I made about six new friends this visit.

The best photos of birds were the ones that I managed to take when the trainers brought them out.   This time I managed to be there when Pip the Peregrine Falcon and (later) Ravi the Wester Screech Owl came out (alas, I just missed Dmitri the Eurasian Eagle-Owl).  Although it's not the world's most stunning picture, I did get an interesting photo of Deva, the Northern Harrier, as he held his wings out (I think he was excited because he thought he was going to get fed).

Pip was eating "a lucky rabbit's foot" on the wrist of one of the trainers.  I managed to get a few photos of him that had great resolution on his wings, but were blurry around his head.  I had turned the ISO up to 400, and I didn't want to go higher and risk false positive pixels.  This one is the best overall photo.

Next to Pip's enclosure is one for Eowyn, the Ferruginous Hawk.  Another patron wondered what kind of name Eowyn was, and then next thing I knew, I was saying, "Eowyn was a shield-maiden of  the Rohirrim."  I almost added, "Who won renown when she slew the Witch-King of Angmar."  I'm not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that that I wasn't wearing my grey-green wool cloak with a leaf clasp.

I learned that Pip doesn't slobber as much as Dante does.  I also found out that Lethe the Vulture wasn't greeting folks with his outspread wings, he was sunning himself in order to drive any parasites in his plumage out of his feathers, where they could be preened and eaten.  Apparently, between their dark color and insulative properties, the feathers can get hot (?110 F?), which the parasites that might be on the dead things the vultures are eating don't like.

Later, on the other side of the Center,  Ravi was eating chopped up mice.  A new trainer was learning how to handle Ravi, and it was interesting to listen to how the leather thongs are threaded through the jesses on Ravi's feet.  There were also techniques for holding one's fist away from or close to one's body to block the raptor's view of the food pouch on one's opposite hip so that the raptor doesn't see it.  Alas, the majority of photos I took were focused on a spot about eight inches beyond where she actually was.

A different trainer was feeding Celilo, a bald eagle, inside Celilo's mew.  It was kind of scary watching her gulp down a strip of rabbit flesh (?and bones?) about as long as my hand.  Without chewing (no teeth); just a flip of the head back, and down her wide-open beak the meat slid.  Celilo really wanted the trainer's hand, the one that was giving out rabbit's legs.  I suppose if she'd really wanted to, she would have gone for the bag of haunches on the trainer's hip.  Afterward, Celilo hopped into her eagle-sized bird bath and cleaned off her beak.

More clouds and overcast rolled in as the day progressed, which translated into photographs featuring the bars of the mews -- better photos work out when I can find the raptors in sunlight and their enclosure's meshes shaded.  I was getting hungry, so it was time to leave.