Red Tail Hawk(?)

It rained a bit during the walkabout, and I didn't see much, but took the tripod along and took some video, experimenting...on the way back I thought to walk by where the hawk behind the cabin was yesterday, and saw what I thought was part of the cedar tree that looked like a big bird...then it swiveled it's head! I didn't get too close, but took video and pics and all on the tripod. One friend keeps advising to use the tripod, but before, I didn't like trying to lean down and see through the view finder. Now, the 12x, has the swiveling lcd panel, and that works cool. I did some kneeling down with the tripod at it's lowest by the creek. I didn't experiment with the hawk, just wanted to get pics before it up and flew away.

This is the same one I think my other friend took pics of yesterday of it sitting on a stump posing...which it oblidgeingly did today for a group of tourists on the bike trail I saw walking to work....

It's a hawk! I said.
We know that...They answered
We think it's a redtail hawk, I continued, a young one, not sure what to do...it's been there a long time...I'm going to be late for work...I have to go back to get my camera...
Swooooop! Off the hawk glided to another stump.

Oh well, one of the tourists got pics with a cell phone, and they thanked me for identifying it. Hope they appreciated how lucky they were!!

The stump will be one of those places I keep checking, like the puddle where I saw the bullfrog that once!! My dog always checked bushes where she flushed cats, and rabbits, for years after a walk.

Rain cooled off things, which was a relief, and work was slow...summer is winding down. I haven't got to Tuolumne much, but these walks along the creek will be what stands out in my memory of this summer...and they continue now into Fall...

Forest Hawk Sightings

Well, when I first got to the creek today my attention was split between the heron, or maybe the hawk, taking off and flying away along the creek, and a song bird singing like crazy.

I gave my attention to the songbird rather than the dissappeared heron, and couldn't see it for a long while, but it was making all kindof racket. It reminded me of a parrot. Now, in just reading about the Water Ouzel, I learned it is the only Sierra songbird, and to my delight it presented itself at the creek edge as the songbird I was hearing. Very pretty. Got video with sound, but still haven't got a satisfactory still of the Ouzel.

Further along on the walkabout, I happened on the hawk by the Twin Fallen Trees, and it swooped up into the tree tops. Got fuzzy video, this pic a still from video. Just to be sure to get something, I shoot now video first...for some reason the focus is usually okay...where with the still shots it's driving me nuts!!


AND, while I was doing this, another one, or maybe this one, landed on a stump right behind the cabin, where it posed for my friend who got terrific pics! Fump. I asked for a copy, so maybe can post it here later.

Three Bucks

It rained a little bit today, part of the rain up in Tuolumne yesterday. These guys were on the other side of the creek, near the Superintendant's House. Saw a flock of very tiny birds, and have no idea how to get pics of them!! It was like yesterday in Tuolumne...for awhile on the trail I stirred up juncos who would fly ahead of me, always JUST ahead of me.... It hasn't cooled off much though.

Water Ouzel

This pic from two days ago. Got out, to Mt. Dana with a friend. Gone all day. Ouzels are some times called dippers.

Thunder clouds came rolling in when we got to the top of Dana (which I wish was named for Henry Dana!), and chased us all the way down to the East Gate, where it started to rain, and lightning out toward Mono Pass...never did rain or lightning on Dana...but Ranger said lightning once struck right across the road from the gate booth. Saw a hare, and got pics. Dropped the extension tube on the 12x, bounced about on the rocks, but might be okay, looks like small minor smears...then I dropped myself and the whole caboodle...but camera okay, me okay, and put it in the pack...only to take it out again to do Marmot Pics. Lots of birds are up on the lower slopes of Dana! Great to be in Tuolumne when Tuolumne is Tuolumne!

While at the Ranger Station we may have seen a Golden Eagle. I thought it was a raven, and the ranger, but my friend noted two white spots on the wings...which I saw too, and it seemed bigger than a raven. I must apolgize, my friend I think now was right...it wasn't a raven.

I thought to google it and found this early account with mention of the golden eagle, and in an account of climbing Dana!! Cool.

SIX WEEKS IN THE SADDLE
The Diary of Charles Palache
http://franklin-sterlinghill.com/cp/week4.shtml

Forrest Hawk a Goshawk?

I saw what I thought was the forrest hawk land up in a tree (near the creek's outlet to the Merced), and took a pic on the half chance...and got it's tail!

I wanted to follow it but two families on the way to "beach" came up behind me asking directions.

There's a hawk up there...
Are you trying to photograph it?
I was...

Got more video of the water ouzel, but all in all today's walkabout was kinda crowded!!

But the tail looks just like the Goshawk in the book..and it seems a juvenile.

Sleepy Squirrel

I dont know if this golden mantled squirrel was sleepy, or not feeling well. He was chirping (got video), then would taste or lick the bark on the limb...no sooner than I felt concern, he gave a chirp and bounded up the tree.

I think I saw the water ouzel, finally, today, over by the Merced just west of the creek...and it went for a dive...and got video. If the bird that bobs it's bottom is the ouzel, than that's what I saw...

I'm too sleepy like the squirrel to check!! Tomorrow...

46 Takes a Dip in the Creek

46 was on the other side, just this side of the bridge, and walked on down to the creek, took a drink, then found a deep spot and settled in, somewhat slowly like I do, it's cold!, and took a long dip to cool off. I got it all on video...this pic a blurry pic I tried in between video shots...very cool. After shaking off the water, 46 walked up into the berry patch on my side...I went to the other side!

Deer Drinking From Creek

I've been getting more pics than I can post, if I keep to one a day. When I walk through the grasses I can hear movement, and I finally got one of the mouse, or mole, or gopher, or...but just a brown fur ball and an eye!! And then at the peninsula, where the creek goes into the Merced on the Superintendent's House side, where by the way, the Sec. of Interior was said to be visiting today, I took some study pics of the Lodge Pole Pine there. And then I went to the other side I started to climb the small bank and I saw a nose in the foliage. Last nose I saw I thought was a deer, but it turned out to be Berry Bear...this time I thought it was bear but it was this deer. She didn't see me, and I got very cool video close up. Then I walked over to the Twin Fallen Trees, and on the way got a video and pic of the little bird that bobs it's bottom, and another little one in the Western Azaleas, and at the trees a group shot of three Blue Jays and a Robin. I'll save these, and others, for days I dont get out!..or I'm off somewhere.

Dust on Creek

The Tiki Temple trucks kick up a lot of dust, plus on the other side one of what I call the "monsters" (a skip loader...a big one!) was working, and the creek isn't moving...like the Merced there's slow water pond like areas and then some little bit of water moving...anyway...it made for an interesting pic!!

Trickle Creek

Saw the forest hawk yeserday.

I should have set something in the pic to give a sense of scale!! The creek is about a foot and a half wide.

The heat makes me hole up in the cabin, and I sat by the twin trees awhile, but nothing was stirring, likely for the same reason!

Oh, but a poem..

The pines swaying in the wind

Sound like a whiteheaded woodpecker

And fool me.

Tree Climber

This pic from all the way over by Sentinel Bridge, a bit far from the creek, but I was so happy to get it, these little birds are so illusive, annd, I figured out how to bracket...the 12x will take three quick pics in succession at different exposure, or different focus. I followed this little bird up the tree...lemeget it's name...

I think it's a Brown Creeper, Certhia Americana...

Now, lemego look at google images....Well!, that search, brown creeper yosemite, landed me on a site about John Burroughs, a naturalist I hadn't heard of, but look forward to reading more about.

Still not sure if that's my bird...but more searches makes it a positive I'd say!

By The Twin Fallen Trees

I made today what I call the long loop walk....from near Swinging Bridge along the Merced to the creek, where I sometimes cross it and continue along that side of the creek. When I got to the twin fallen trees, it was like out of a Disney pic...the blue jays and robins where taking baths, juncos, I think, and some others I couldn't tell, where about, and two young golden mantel squirrels were chasing about. I sat down on a rock by the creek here, the creek being about a foot across!, and watched and tried to get some pics. Grey Squirrel one was cool, lemeget that...

Birds

These stills from video of white headed woodpecker, and the grey bird on the log. The grey bird sits and waits and then flies up in an acrobatic way to catch flying insects. Two times I hiked into Le Conte Canyon I watched birds like this one I think in the evening along that creek. The bird, the bats, the trout, all were catching the insects. About the woodpecker are little flying insects. I was surprised the 12x picked them up. Upload resolution doesn't show them.

Small Bird on Rock

In the Gallery I happened on another fauna flora book, and on first looking into it it opened on the frog, the one with the green on it's face, so I took that as a good omen!! and bought it. It's big but it fits in my back pocket and illustrations look to be done in colored pencil by hand, which I like...looks kinda like the old Golden Books. The frog, if I have it right, is a Bull Frog.

Lemegetthebook at Amazon...
John Muir Laws, The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada
http://www.amazon.com/Sierra-Nevada-California-Academy-Sciences/dp/159714052X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-4396907-3042346?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187418483&sr=8-1

Quite a name...there's a Law's Camp that comes to mind...lemegolook..cant find it..."law's" a tough search word....dont know what I'm recalling....lemesee if I can find the bird in the book...this is tough...I think it's the chkchk bird...go lookatthatpic....yes, it has a black head too, and the same size, but other than that I cant tell!! hmmph...when I figure it out I'll post it...

maybe it and the chk chk bird are juncos

I have another book, Sierra Nevada Natural History, Storer and Usinger.

These guides get me in the general neighborhood, and then I can use google images.

Cattails

There's a little pond out behind one of the Tiki Temples...something of a discovery. Pic from two days ago. Didn't get out today.

Monarch on Thistle

This was outback today but further afield, past the outlet of the creek in the Merced...maybe two hundred yards. This is an interesting area. I think at one time there were buildings here as some of the trees dont look native. And the Merced has a second, high water river bed. It's all gravel bottom and sand beach, and really quite large. Like a second river channel. In the early afternoon there is really not much stirring, critter wise, so I'm exploring further out. Reason I thought to go to the Fen yesterday. On the web is an old UofC Fauna of Yosemite, 1924, and it shows a lot of birds I haven't seen. I've been putting off opening my books to identify what I've photographed. My innaccuracies are such that I'd hate to think someone looking up the blog as a source of accuracy!!

Letmegoget one of those bird illustrations, which are very nice painting.

http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grinnell/contents.htm

Live Oak Leaves and Butterfly

Well, I just stayed in the valley today...up too late, like 3am. Tried to walk about outback, and thought to go to the Fen, as taking pics of the birds has become a challenge!! and I thought they'd be there. Long line at Happy Isles snack shack, and then no hot dogs!! Caught the bus back and got one here, finally...they were out yesterday!! Did get to the creek and got this pic...

Tomorrow is another day!

MewMew Bird

Got out but fell off a rock crossing the creek...kept my balance barely, saved the camera!, but boots socks and pant legs wet, so went back to cabin and changed and climbed on the bike and peddled over to Curry for dinner.

I thought to spend all day in the creek bed drawing, this after scratching a hike trip to Tuolumne, but it was smokey from long valley fires all morning. Very hot day, and in the afternoon just one big cloud in the sky over the Falls trying to turn into a lenticular.

This bird makes a call a little bit like a kitten mewing.

If I go to sleep early, I wake up before dawn and cant go back to sleep, and if I go to sleep late, I wake up tired...this to say either way I'm just always sleepy! I slept all afternoon.

I don't know what to do about the mice...setting out traps seems extreme...but I can just now hear 'm chewing on I don't know what!!

ChkChk Bird

That's the sound it makes, chk...chk....chk...chk.

I followed the sound, paused to listen, and there it was, right above me.

From yesterday.

The mornings are quiet, but at night walking home from work I can hear the crickets. Or grasshoppers...I'm not sure...I haven't seen a cricket, or cicada, just grasshoppers.

Crippled Bird

I figured out how to get still pics from the videos, and they're in focus, but at lower resolution. In less than a half hour I got some great videos...these shore birds that bob their tails, ducks, running doe with fawn, and two of the little birds and the sounds they make.

When I press down on the shutter button the pics go blurry, not only during the video, but too when just doing stills. I dont understand this!!

This is a very brave little bird, hopping about with a bum leg. When time permits, and if google's video upload is working, I'll add the videos.

Small Yellow Bird

This little guy was hopping all over in the cedar branches, and I finally got a fuzzy pic.

The trick to use manual focus with the 12x requires holding one button down, and sorta mousing up and down arrows on another control. Didn't try it with this pic, it was all I could do just to track the bird.

I don't know what all goes on with the Tiki Temple, but the outflow pipe was flowing like a small waterfall. The water is clean, but it's a wonder why there was so much. The whole thing isn't in my purview. (Not much is!!) There's sandbags now around some iron sewer covers too. These must be where the Tiki Temple Tank Trucks dump in their cargo, and the bags a precaution against spillage. But that's a guess. Whole thing reminded me a bit of the movie Chinatown when I came upon the pipe!!

White Headed Woodpecker

There were half a dozen of these, and I had time trying to get a pic. Each time I got the blessed 12x focused they''d slide around to the other side of the tree. I've got the camera manual beside me tonight and I'm going to give it some serious study!! Really neat birds.

Window on the Backyard

Didn't get out today. This from Monday. Anne, my friends' cat, was abandoned and took refuge in the shed, where she had kittens. All found homes.

Evening

Came back from a hike, Olmstead Point to Mirror Lake via Snow Creek, and heard the hawks out back of the cabin, and went to see. Tiki temple attendants were busy, and it was too late in the day, the light gone, mostly because it's blocked by the North wall, so I just took a pic of the creek...

It was long day, and nice hike.

Algae

The creek is more like a series of ponds now and algae is growing.

I went over to the other side of bridge where the creek is like a delta. There's a lot of channels from the Lower Falls. And a lot of fallen trees, so it's a little bit hard to walk the creek bed. This is where Muir stayed in the saw mill. Thought to do another creek blog, Muir's Backyard.

Puff Thistle

Walked through the backyard on the way back from the Post Office and saw one of the hawks, and heard the second I think....a long burst of short chatterings strung together.

Uploaded some video through YTbe, and they're tagged, connected with similar videos...I dont know why they think that's what posters want.

I'll keep trying the Blogger video upload.

This pic from yesterday.

Berry Bear

Well, I had a little video of a young brown bear eating berries behind a cedar tree. All that could be seen was its nose. Tried to upload video but it didn't. And after seeing the bear behind the tree I waited for it to come out, and to take a better picture...and the camera ran out of battery power. Hmmph. It stood in the dirt road that's covered with pine needles, and gave me the look. It's not a mean look, but like "I'm not gonna move and I'm gonna look at you" look.... nose down a bit. So I didn't move, and the bear walked off. I was wondering where all the berries have been going.

Egret (Or Heron? Crane?)

Well, I tried to upload a video of the egrit, but it didn't make it. I'll try again another time...too late now.

It walks really cool. Pic is from today.

Einstien With Berries

Didn't get out. This pic might be from Curry...couple weeks ago. Berries are turning dark now.

Crickets at night.

Creek Yesterday

Didn't get out today...not even close! Almost late for work. I need to go to sleep earlier!! Pic from yesterday evening.