American White Pelicans in Flight

 

Silhouettes often tell stories without words.

Generally, life is good.

Mating and Post-mating Dance

 

Copulation of Black-necked Stilts takes a few seconds and when it is finished, the post-mating dance will begin.

After copulation, the pair cross their beaks in a post-mating dance.

The beaks are crossed, but the stilts soon separate their beaks and walk together.

The Black-necked stilts became a couple!

Generally, life is good.

Adult Black-crowned Night Heron is Hiding in the Tall Grass

When I saw this guy I had no idea how he settled so comfortably in this place.  The tall plants in this part of river grow in the water. I am sure that there wasn't any flat firm surface to hold the Heron. Or there was a dent in the marsh that the Heron found comfortable.  Who knows?  

Generally, life is good!

Two Parents, Two Young Ones and One Fish to Be Fed

Usually the male Western Grebe catches a medium size fish to feed his babies,  the female feeds her young ones with a smaller fish.  On the photo above the female Grebe gave her baby a small fish while the male Grebe is fishing in front of his young.

The male Grebe finally caught fish. Usually, before he will feed his young, he will shake fish a few times in the air.  Why is he doing it?  My guess is to kill fish and get rid of excess water.

Meanwhile, the female is watching how her baby eats fish she gave to him. Fish looks bigger than a shrimp.

The male is giving his catch to his baby.

The young got his fish.

While the young Grebe tries to eat his meal another baby came hoping that he would be also fed.

The father is still watching his baby who is handling fish very well.  He is holding fish tightly in his mouth and certainly isn't going to drop it.

His sibling watches with anticipation of being fed also.  It doesn't matter that he was already fed a few minutes ago.

It's interesting that the male and the female Grebes know exactly who will be fed next and who can wait for while.  They are very selective. 

I saw how the strongest and fastest young was charging toward his parent to get fish and was ignored because he was fed already.

***

It's a hard job to feed and raise young ones.  Day after day the parents have to feed them constantly. From time to time they take a short break to preen themselves, to bathe or just to swim but then return back to fishing and feeding.  Exhausting?  Absolutely.  But who said that being a parent is an easy job?

Close Up of Great Blue Heron

I see often this Great Blue Heron and he probably knows that if I am around I will try to get close and then take another 100th portrait of his beautiful eyes and a long curvy neck. 

White-Faced Ibises

The White-faced Ibises are already at Bear River for a few weeks but I didn't have a chance to get close to them until one week ago I saw a group of Ibises in the muddiest part of river.

Here they are beautiful and elegant birds that never cease to amaze me.

It's now 11:30 pm. We are having fire on one of our hills.  The firemen arrived half an hour ago. The wind from the canyon is strong this evening and it spreads fire so quickly.

 Almost every summer we are having a fire. I hope that we will not be evacuated, that everything in the morning will be OK. The old trees are burning up on the hill and some of them will never recover. 

I always thought that 2020 sounded so futuristic, so promising and here we are in pandemic and on top of it is fire. 

Western Meadowlark on a Tall Sage Bush

That day the sky over Antelope Island was covered with heavy dark clouds and nothing I could do about it.  I told to myself that I would use all available light and do my best but there were no birds around until I saw a Western Meadowlark who was  perching on a sage bush.  

Most of Western Meadowlarks are too skittish and often too far away but this Meadowlark was luckily close and stayed on a sage bush for a few minutes.