Canada Geese in Spring

 

Canada geese are not everyone's favorite, they are loud and can be aggressive but I love these birds as they are.  I enjoy watching them when they are spreading their wings wide, running as they take a flight, how they court each other and how they take care of their young ones.  

 Watching Canada Geese in a close proximity is always a real treat.

Canada Geese have long necks that allow the bird to tip over into the water and search for food.

A male Canada Goose has a longer and thicker neck and the crown of his head is bigger.  

When a goose's mate dies, the bird will find a secluded place and mourn.  Some geese spend the rest of their lives as widows or widowers refusing to mate again.

Generally, life is good!

American Robin

Every spring I am looking for Robins everywhere.  These birds bring the spring on their wings.  The Robin I photographed a few days ago landed on the tree with dried berries to feast on them.

Robin chose the biggest berry and was ready to swallow it. 

While hunting Robin moves in short burst across the ground - running or hopping forward, then standing upright for a few seconds, often cocking its head to one side.  It seems like it's listening for worms.  

Actually, Robin is watching the grass and soil for sings of activity, turning its head to aim one eye at the ground. When it sees a worm, Robin lunges forward, stabbing into the soil and gripping the worm in its bill.  Robin may swallow the worm whole or carry back to the nestlings.

Generally, life is good!

Notes to Self - XV. The Lakes

 On that miserable rainy Sunday there were two of us at the lake,  a man who was fishing in his boat and I with my camera.  Then a few days later I thought about the lakes I visited for a short time and the lakes I vacationed and stayed for a few weeks.

I remember a lake where I was learning how to row. A boat was big and heavy and it was difficult to row; I often had to take short breaks to rest. I didn't enjoy much rowing and being in the boat. The only one who was excited about our adventure was my three years old daughter. She was overjoyed and happy being in the dumb boat in the middle of the lake. 

I remember how I washed my little daughter's hair with shampoo in the lake in the softest water on the Earth. I also did laundry there and let them dry on the grass.  It was a summer vacation filled with little adventures like rowing, riding a rented bike to the small village store, learning how to cook with women in the big kitchen with many stoves, listening to the great stories in the evening and wishing that days would not fly so quickly.

Then it was a different country and a different world and the lake with the strange name "Bear Lake". Apparently, there were a lot of bears in the area when the Canadian fur trader and explore Donald Mackenzie saw this lake and named it "Black Bear Lake".  In time the word "black" was dropped and the name of the lake became simpler and shorter.

When I saw this lake for first time I immediately felt in love with its vastness and its intense turquoise-blue color. There was something infinitely healing and soothing about Bear Lake.

  

Bear Lake

 

Writing, rewriting and then stopping.  Rereading. Liking and disliking. Erasing and writing again. Why am I doing it? Another creative outlet? Memories within the memories? Tasting life twice in the moment and retrospect?  Or creating something,  just for the sake of it.  For the sake of remembering and feeling fully human. 

Female Wild Turkey with an Injured Leg

 

This early morning I came again to our local park hoping to see a flock of Wild Turkeys instead I found the lonely female Turkey there. She was limping and moving slowly.  One of her legs was probably injured and it was heartbreaking.  

The bird had a difficult time to step on her right leg but she managed to get to the swamp.

and then the Wild Turkey started to drink water...

What happened next?  The Turkey slowly crossed the road and headed into the woods and was gone.

Will this Wild Turkey survive having an injured leg?  Can an injured leg be eventually healed?  Will the Wild Turkey adapt being one-legged?  Questions, questions and no answers...

  

Generally, life is good!   Not today.

Notes to Self - XIV. "Tell Me About Yourself"

 

He wrote so effortlessly about himself in his first letter, about hiking, preparing his simple weekend meals but when he asked me to tell about myself I could manage only a few simple sentences that were awful, impersonal and dull.

And then I thought why not show the past version of myself and the thought became words, the words became emotions and emotions became the story:

"Working in a high school was always challenging for me but also rewarding. I was learning that failure and success were transient, that the world could not give me joy, make me happy and feel safe and tell me who I am.  I had to find it from within.

There was a time when I feared being alone until one unforgettable summer that taught me that being alone wasn't painful at all, in opposite it could be a time for revelations.

That summer I was preparing for my next teaching year in the mornings and then I took a train to have a little adventure and see something different. I visited old churches and different nearby cities. Sometimes I was taking the whole day and spending it in Kaunas, the former Lithuanian capital, strolling on the old narrow streets or sitting in a cafe and watching life passing by.

I was rediscovering the places I knew by heart and also was learning about myself and that still inner space where were a true joy and beauty." 

 

Meadowlarks on Antelope Island

There is a narrow road on Antelope Island that leads west to the Great Salt Lake. Every time I am on this road I slow down and with a sinking heart look around hoping to see the Burrowing owls.  

Well, I have never seen owls there, instead I always met Meadowlarks.

Some of Meadowlarks prefer to rest on the rocks.

This bird spent half an hour on the colorful bush, sometimes disappearing in its wilds for a short while and then peaking out again to check if I was still there.

Sometimes the Meadowlark stretched his neck and he looked a little bit taller and very wary, peering at something that only he could see.

Generally, life is good!

The Female Muscovy Duck

 

The female Muscovy Duck I met a few days ago was smaller than the male and her red caruncles on her face were different. She had a strikingly white head and light brownish plumage.

I don't know how the muscovies found their way to the Beau Park but they are comfortable there and aren't going to leave this place.

Muscovy ducks live 10 to 12 years.  They build their nests in cavities and hollows of mature trees, 65 feet above the ground.  The female is usually very faithful to her single nest side over her lifetime and she defends her nest and cares for the nestlings on her own.

Generally, life is good!

Notes to Self - XIII. A Single Sentence

Garr Ranch on Antelope Island.

It's as if I had woken in a tiny locked room with a tall narrow window and found on my bed a slip of paper, and on it a single sentence in a language I don't know. 

And I would spend years trying to decipher the sentence, until finally I would understand it.  But after a while I would realize I got it wrong, and the sentence meant something else entirely. And so I would have two sentences.

Then three, and four, and ten, until I would create a new language.  And in this language I would write the novel of my life.  

And once when I reach old age I would notice the door of the locked tiny room was open and I would go out into the world and walk the length and breadth of it, until in the shade of a massive tree I would yearn for that one single sentence in a language I don't know. 

The Male Muscovy Duck

 

The male Muscovy Duck behavior can quickly turn violent when he starts to compete for space. Being territorial by nature the male often attacks people. 

Two years ago I approached the male Muscovy Duck and it annoyed him. The Duck walked toward me and never let me go.  Chasing the Duck away with my camera didn't work and I had to take off my backpack (it's big) and show it to the Duck.  It was a threat and it worked, the Muscovy Duck left me alone. Since that I was careful around Muscovy Ducks and tried not to annoy them.

Two days ago the male Muscovy Duck I met at the Beau Park wasn't aggressive and I had an opportunity to take a few close ups of this bird.

The red caruncles around the face of Muscovy Ducks sometimes called a face mask.  These caruncles help Muscovies to keep their feathers clean when they dig in the mud.

The Muscovy Duck is the largest duck in the North America.

Generally, life is good!

The Male Wild Turkey is Displaying His Beauty

 

This morning I decided to visit our local park and when I arrived I was greeted by Wild Turkeys. The skittish females disappeared in the woods almost immediately  but the male above wasn't in a hurry.  

This guy was displaying his undeniable beauty hoping that one skittish female would be fascinated by his display and will chose him as a mate.

I am sure that this male knew that his display was judged by a few females that were hiding between the trees.

Wild Turkeys, like many species in the chicken family, use a lek display system. Males hang around the lek for weeks in the spring and that allows the females to get a good view of display and choose a male to mate.

Females only need to mate once, and after that they will not have any contact with the male.  The female alone will build a nest, lays eggs, and raises the young.

Generally, life is good!

Sandhill Cranes Are Back

 

In the early mornings it's still freezing cold but Sandhill Cranes are already at their spring home, the Bear River. Yesterday I saw two of them and listened to their loud calls that boomed across their wetland habitat. 

Soon the breeding season will start and Cranes will perform their elegant courtship dances.  These dances are unforgettable!

I also was happy to see that day Double-crested Cormorants, a few Western Grebes ( surprise, surprise...) and Tundra Swans.  The Bear River slowly awakes from a long winter sleep.

Generally, life is good!

Tundra Swans are Showing Up in Northern Utah - II.

 

Sometimes I ask myself if I were a birder and watched birds with my binoculars how emotional would my experience be?  That day I didn't have my binoculars and for the first time regretted it.

I photographed Swans knowing that most of my photos would be blur, the birds were far away, but there is always a hope that some photos might be edited and I can bring them to life.

The Bear River in March. 

Generally, life is good!

Tundra Swans Are Showing Up in Northern Utah - I.

Each year, thousands of Tundra Swans migrate into Northern Utah.  This happens twice per year as these majestic birds fly to and from their breeding grounds in western Alaska during spring and fall migration.

Along their journey, the Swans need to rest and recuperate before they continue on.  The Bear River became a perfect place for Swans to rest. 

Over the past several years these birds offered me only a few brief glimpses of themselves but last week was different.  I had an opportunity to watch and photograph them.  I wished only that the Swans would be a little closer.

Most of the time Tundra Swans were napping but there were a few who were preening themselves making their feathers look shiny and healthy.

 

The Swans went for a short swim before another nap.

There is always a Swan that prefers to stay apart from others.

Generally, life is good!

The Funniest Rough-legged Hawk I Have Ever Seen

 

The Rough-legged Hawks I saw usually perched peacefully on the trees or the sign posts not doing much.  This Hawk's behavior was the opposite of what I used to see.  He was so unpredictable and somewhat funny.

While landing nicely on the sign post the Hawk spotted something on the ground that caught his attention.  It's difficult to say what it was but my guess is that the Hawk noticed some motion.

The Hawk is still looking down while keeping his wings wide spread. 

Hmm... for how long are you going to stare at the ground?  

At some moment his feathers on the chest started to look like a neck ruff.

Finally, the Hawk decided to settle down and observe the world.

Peaceful and beautiful, in all his glory.  

Eventually, the Rough-legged Hawk became bored with me and flew to a different location. I walked around the closed gate, stepping into the hunting territory in order to get this shot.   

Generally, life is good!