In Wasatch Mountains -IX. Western Scrub-Jay

Last summer, I had hiked on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail only once and when I found myself back on that trail last Saturday I realized how much I have missed the cool breeze from the canyon, the tall trees, the wild flowers and of course, the mountain birds. 

The first bird I met in the mountains was a Western Scrub-Jay who was enjoying  the cool early morning.  The bird wasn't shy at all and let me even to choose a nice background.  That was pretty unusual.

Generally, life is good!

Notes to Self. My First Chipmunk

When you are in the mountains you are in the completely different world. It's a very quiet world that shelter animals, birds, snakes, squirrels and some reptiles .

I almost missed a Chipmunk on the photo above while hiking in the Wasatch mountains. The Chipmunk settled comfortably on the trail and enjoyed his breakfast.  

The Chipmunk gave me a couple of seconds to catch him in the frame.  A couple of seconds can be an eternity if you're lucky...  

Generally life is good!

Building a Nest

 

I wasn't on the North Arm Wildlife Trail for a long while and this morning was a time to see how the Osprey family was doing.

The first thing that caught my attention was the nest where the female Osprey was going to raise her young ones. The nest was not completed yet, building it was still in a progress.  

One of Ospreys worked hard bringing the best and longest branches it could find.

A little rest.  Soon the Osprey will leave the nest to look again for branches.

Generally, life is good!

Ospreys Saga Continues - I. Osprey Family is Back!

The Osprey family is back to North Arm Wildlife trail and to the same nests.  One of the nests will become the birthplace of the little ones, and the other a school where the young Ospreys will start learning how to be on their own. 

Female Osprey has not yet started nesting and spends almost all of her time on the second nest.

I was greeted by female Osprey nicely and want to believe that she remembers me from the last year. This raptor has the sharp eyes and a good memory.  

I was looking forward for Osprey family arrival.  Spring has begun and Ospreys are back!

Generally, life is good!

Female Downy Woodpecker and Male Northern Flicker in the Beau Park

A female Downy Woodpecker is taking a short break from probing bark for insects. 

This Flicker appeared from nowhere, perched on the tree for a few minutes. His beak was dirty.  He is certainly probed bark somewhere else.

Generally, life is good!

 

Male and Female House Finches

Frigid cold morning. A small cemetery.  The paths are framed by old-century trees.  I hear birds voices but they are hiding in the dense branches.  Suddenly out of blue two House Finches land on the branch and start a short animated conversation. 

Generally, life is good!

Turkey Vultures at the End of Summer 2021

The last time I saw and photographed Turkey Vultures was at the end of summer in 2021.  I found them on one of the trees on the North Arm Wildlife Trail.  

While taking the photos I wondered if this will be my last photos of these birds  because they will be migrating soon to spend the winter in warmer climates.  

That was a pure luck that on that particular morning the group of Turkey Vultures decided to spend one more morning in this place before their migration.

The Turkey Vultures did the usual, they were peacefully perching and on occasion look around.  These two Vultures were close enough to each other and I was able to get them both in the same frame.

From time to time the Vultures were choosing another perch.  They were landing on a new branch gently with their wings wide open.

This year I plan to explore some new birding locations and travel longer distances.

The last year taught me a lot and I am grateful for all its lessons, good and bad.    

I am also grateful for each and every bird I was able to find and photograph.

Generally, life is good!

Mating Grasshoppers

 

Did you know that male grasshoppers have their own individual song to attract females? This song is loud and resembles chirping and clicking. I heard those songs often while I was hiking on the North Arm trail. 

I have never seen grasshoppers in courtship but I was fortunate to watch how they are mating.  

On the photo above mating started when the male lighted on the female's back and stayed this way for almost twenty minutes.  It's interesting that mating sometimes can last anywhere from forty five minutes to well over day.

Males grasshoppers mate many times with the same partner and other females to get the maximum opportunity to pass on their genes.  Sadly, males die shortly after mating.  The females die after egg-laying, that may lasts until cold weather begins.

Generally, life is good!

 

 

Immature Female Hooded Oriole

 

The North Arm Trail became my escape from our drought into the world with  abundance of butterflies, wild flowers and birds.  Spending a few hours on this trail was a bliss but also a challenge.

I met on the trail different species of perching birds but I didn't know how to approach them without frightening those birds away.  

My first bird I finally was able to photograph on the trail became a Yellow Warbler that you can see on the photo above.  

This little colorful bird taught me a valuable lesson:

observing wildlife from a distance and without any expectations is much better than following the urge to get closer to a bird and getting a shot at any cost.

 

Generally, life is good!

Ospreys Saga - XI. Juvenile Osprey is Eating Fish

 

The family of Osprey already migrated.  Every time I am on the North Arm Trail and see the empty Ospreys nests, I feel nostalgic and then the memories come and make my sadness even more palpable.

These series of photographs were taken on the day when juvenile Ospreys made their first flight. They flew to the abandoned nest and spent most of the day there.  

While watching these birds I noticed that one juvenile Osprey was studying very carefully the bottom of the nest. 

At some moment the young Osprey pulled something slippery from the nest that resembled fish.

I didn't have any idea what the juvenile was trying to swallowing until I looked at my photographs on my computer. Apparently, it was fish left for young ones by their parents.

Another juvenile Osprey calmly surveyed the surroundings, it seemed that he was absolutely indifferent what his sibling was doing.

That day was the first and the last when I was able to photograph juvenile Ospreys on the abandoned nest.  Since that the young ones visited very rarely this nest and almost never spent time in the old one.

Generally, life is good!

 

Notes to Self - XVII. Courage

 

This morning I watched the Canada Geese who were flying to the Pineview Reservoir and thought how good it would be if geese would take me with them.

***

Do your remember a line that the writer Kurt Vonnegut quoted in one of his books:

"...God grant me courage to change the things I can..." It's in the novel Slaughterhouse-Five.

Everything is about courage in this life. The courage to live,  the courage to be happy in spite of storms that come and go, the courage to belong to a larger world where nature speaks to your soul and heart, the courage to be compassionate and not to hurt it.

Generally, life is good!

Ospreys Saga - IX. In the Elementary School

 

The abandoned nest that is only forty five feet away from the old one became the elementary school for two juvenile Ospreys.

There are only two young ones in the Osprey family. Are they brothers or sisters? It's hard to tell.  I can tell apart the adult female from male but when it comes to juvenile Ospreys I am lost.

Anyway, while one of juvenile Ospreys was learning how to keep balance on the log, his sibling carefully studied the platform of the abandoned nest. 

This juvenile Osprey certainly has an interesting personality and his behavior was so captivating that I took numerous photos of this young one.

Finally, the juvenile abandoned the log and joined his sibling.

The whole story was unfolding to the accompaniment of their mother's chirping who was watching her babies very intensely. The young ones for the first time flew out of the nest and their mother turned into a ball of nerves. For how long?...

Generally, life is good!

My First Cedar Waxwing

 

I couldn't believe my eyes when I spotted Cedar Waxwing who was perching on flowers and enjoyed early cool morning.  

I have never seen this incredible bird before.  My excitement was so strong that I had to take a few seconds to calm myself down before I would start to walk toward the waxwing. With every careful step I took I asked silently the bird not to fly away. Please, only do not fly away, stay where you are...

Luckily, the Cedar Waxwing wasn't going to leave this place and I am immensely grateful for that. 

Waxwings are social birds and it's so rare to see just one waxwing.  Why this bird was by itself it is difficult to say but according to my personal observations some birds act sometimes in a very unpredictable way.

Cedar Waxwings eat mostly insects and berries in the summer.  They start nesting in the middle of the summer in small colonies. 

Generally, life is good!

  

Ospreys Saga - VIII. A Taste of Independence

The Juvenile Ospreys "independence" started with leaving the old nest and making a short flight to the another abandoned nest approximately forty five feet away from the old one.  That wasn't actually a true independence, just a taste of it.

While the young ones enjoyed their freedom their mother was intensely watching her babies from the old nest and from time to time chirping loudly and warning her young ones to be careful but none of juveniles payed attention to their mother's chirping.

This Juvenile Osprey is exploring the new place while balancing on the log.

Ospreys have long pointed wings that allow to take off rapidly and provide speed. They are powerful and strong.

While is lifting one leg the bird is balancing on another. The claws on the raptor's right foot are clutched tightly to the log.

Eventually the young raptor settled comfortably on the log but one of his foot is slightly up. It seems that he isn't completely ready to relax and observe the world after all efforts he took.

I wonder how it feels to experience independence even if it's not full independence yet?

The juvenile Ospreys are still under watch of their mother and they have to learn a lot from their father who soon will take them on their first flight to Pineview Reservoir and will teach how to catch fish.

Generally, life is good!

Ospreys Saga -VII. Last Days in the Nest

 

For almost a month I am watching and photographing the family of Ospreys. Many things have changed since my first encounter with these incredible raptors.

The female Osprey and her young ones got used to see me often and became more  comfortable with my presence.  There is an invisible line that I try not to cross when I photographing Ospreys and it works.

I also started to believe that Ospreys recognize me. I read that some birds are able to recognize people's faces and may even know who their human friends are. I hope that is true. 

Anyway, the family of Ospreys doesn't perceive me anymore as a threat and I am happy about it.

This morning I found the nest was empty and my heart sank.  I felt as if I lost my friends I used to see often. 

I looked around and scanned the area and was surprised to see two juvenile Ospreys on an abandoned nest, just approximately forty feet way from the nest where they were born and raised. 

Apparently, one early morning the young ones made their first flight for a very short distance and not far away from their mother.

I missed the moment when the juvenile Ospreys left the nest but their story isn't over yet.  Hopefully, I would be able to follow this Ospreys family till the very end before it will start its migration.

Most Ospreys that breed in North America migrate to Central and South America for winter.

Generally, life is good!

Ospreys Saga - VI. Preparing for the Flight

The young Ospreys are still in the nest but spend more time exercising their wing muscles.

On the photo above two juvenile Ospreys keep their mouths open to low their body temperature. The birds don't sweat to cool off like we do, so from time to time they keep their mouths open.

 Taking its time for preening.

The nest is now like the small and crowed gym where the juvenile Ospreys are building their flight muscles mass.  They often use different techniques that sometimes look very acrobatic like on the photo above.

One day, not long from now, suddenly one of young Ospreys will lift up into the air and will make his first flight for a very short distance.  Hopefully, I will not miss this moment.

Generally, life is good!

Sandhill Cranes at Pineview Reservoir

 

The wetland around Pineview Reservoir is full of surprises and opportunities.  This morning I had two opportunities;  I could walk to the dead tree where a few days ago I saw the flock of Turkey Vultures and to photograph a Red-tailed Hawk who was perching on the tree.

Or I could cross the wet field and walk toward two Sandhill Cranes hoping that they would not fly away upon my approach. I chose Sandhill Cranes.

Walking across the wetland isn't fun at all, there is underground water and many shallow streams but you are surrounded by wild flowers, butterflies and birds and you breath this beauty and become part of it.

 

Generally, life is good!