Loggerhead Shrike (Stovepipe Springs, Death Valley)

Pic and clip from last Monday...and Monday night!...out in the desert...these were the only trees, a dozen or so Tamarisks, in sight....from the camp, I hurried over to see if there might be a bird in them...and the Loggerhead on cue showed up....kindof fond of it's determined stance!...anyway...today, late morning, a very short walk out and sit at the Great Turf Log...shaded a bit...little birds high from the tree tops fly catching...and chasing one another...lot of them all along the Creek...but difficult to see close, even with binocs...they just dont stay put!....sunny warm blue....oh...heard one call from Hawk...and one or two calls from Kingfisher during the lunch sit...oh...and at the Creek saw a Big Wing land in the Channel...but no luck....until the coughing goes away from the cold...I just sit..hmmph...well...I looked up Tamarisk to check the spelling...and got the lecture on their invasiveness....another non native species...and it's Stovepipe Wells....link: http://www.nps.gov/deva/naturescience/nonnativespecies.htm
didnt take any pics today...just one of Creek's End....wonder if they will plant Cottonwoods...have become very fond of Cottonwoods...here's link with depiction of Stovepipe...clearly there's more to it than the little primitive roadside camp I was at!...
http://www.highonadventure.com/Hoa01apr/Deathval/deathval.htm

Owl On Oak Branch

Pic and clip from two and three days ago....after Breakfast, paddled across the Creek and through Bobcat Meadow to the Post Office...heard one call from Hawk....quiet walk...Shuttled back....sunny warm blue with slight breeze...lunch sit quiet too....report of Bobcat in Two Top Pine Meadow about one in the afternoon....Bobcat doing the 'hop'....reporter just saw tail...and reports Bobcat was male.....

Note: for the most part, I dont have commercial ads on the blog...thinking here my links link to commercial sites...but anyway.... this is a carp by the way....I dont have ads, and would like anyone reading the blog to not be bedeviled with them...besides, there's a kinda artistic aspect to things hereabout, and they just dont fit!...now, I updated my 'real player' video player...and immediately a little 'download this video with real player' pop up shows up on all my clips!...hmpph...I went into the preferences and under tools shut it off....I cant do that for everyone with same circumstance, and it's really annoying that an msn product can intrude into a google environment....google has been very good, I think, in allowing posters the freedom to post up blogs without ads...reminds me of the Chinese furniture maker spam in my email...requesting ad space...completely bogus...but it got me to thinking what the blog must look like 'all the way to China'!!....another carp, is real player's encouraging copyright infringement...everything here is copyrighted, and together where it belongs...links are an accepted part of web decorum...as snips, copy pastes, in discussions...but any extensive, and or commercial, clip and pic download, is off base, without my permission, okay, and say so!....those familiar with copyright know that this all goes without saying...been meaning to put up copyright notice...maybe this is it...heck...popup still shows up...brb...hmmph...google is in a deal with real player...hmmph...explained here:
http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2007/06/real-player-11-lets-you-download-videos.html

article dated...brb...well...no one seems much troubled by it all...myself thought it might be cool to move the photos and clips, the whole caboodle, into ipod format...but haven't seen into if it does that!....'till now, everyone has known a right click brings up the copy or download menus, and to a have a pop up doing the job of the right click, with one web host's logo, doesn't seem right...and it looks crummy!....oh...wait until I launch into rant about the 'eight second' video rule...next time watching animal planet, count how many seconds camera stays put...and this happens on not just animal planet....more like the planet...well..now it is off and not popping up...sigh...

Mixed Flocks

Pic and clip from Sunday.....didn't get out today....looked to be sunny cool blue....report Bear broke into car with food in the Backyard....roll over click on the pics for closer look...I'm not sure what some of the little birds are...next rain I'll use the digiscope!

Deer House Owls

Snoozed off and on until after five...in the evening!...thought to give a walkabout a try....paddle out to Creek's End and sit awhile at Owl Log...which I did...Ouzel there for company...heard Hawk...somewhere upstream, but stayed put...a nice evening, but cool...and the Log in shade....picked up, and walked the Diversion Channel..and was lucky to sight Owl...Sentinel....perched in same Oak as last evening...pics and clip...digis too....for sometime...very good clip!..pic up....Owl swooped off to the area of the Lunch Sit Log...and in fact, when I got there, Owl, startled, swooped off towards Ozone Beach, and eventually, I imagine, Two Top Pine Meadow....headed back to the Cabin, but when I reached the Backyard, I could hear CottonwoodAndAspen calling...somewhere over by the Deer House...crossed the Creek, and saw Owl swooping low in the Oaks....I could hear them okay, but couldn't see very well!...and was surprised to come up under both of them, one in the Oaks...too dark clip....and the other in the Ponderosa....very cool to see them....almost a clip of Owl flying across Bobcat Meadow with Half Dome in view...this the flight at the end of the clip...and when I was doing the clip of the Meadow, I had thought Owl might fly by...but found Owl overhead....I see many things that the cameras miss for one reason or another...this one of Owl swooping by from the Ponderosa a treasure!!....sunny cool blue....clip in the morning of Two Fawns in the Backyard....

Cooper's Hawk

Rain overnight...and off and on during the day...even a dusting of Snow on the Rims....after Breakfast, I paddled quick over to the Deer House to see if the little birds were about...and they were!...foraging along the Path's edges...will put up "Mixed Flock" post sometime soon with pics and clips..only had the 20x and weatherproof along...wished I'd taken the digi...not only for the little birds..but a new Hawk!...all of a sudden the little birds picked up...and flew as a flock into the Deer House Oaks...OH!...Hawk soon to appear!, I thought.....and Hawk came over from Bobcat Meadow in pursuit of one Little Bird...it escaped, and Hawk, after the aerial acrobatics!, perched in the Ponderosa....had camera ready from sighting on little birds in the Azaleas...and just panned up...needed the binocs to locate Hawk...short clip!...Hawk picked up and perched right over my head on a snag....badly back lit, so I backed out from the House to the Path...and only got a quick clip of Hawk soaring off pursued by some little bird...looked like they went to the Cottonwoods across the River...so I crossed Chapel Bridge, and found myself at Cottonwood Beach again!...pic...but no luck with Hawk...but very pleased to sight new Hawk!...and of course, I'm having trouble identifying, but looks to be Cooper's Hawk...hence named Cooper!...looks to be same Hawk I saw fly across the Creek...and I may have blurry pic taken on Lodgpole Point last winter...neat Hawk!....found four or five Flickers in the Dogwoods by the Deer House..busy with the seed pods...it's that time..and next two days of my weekend, I'll keep close eye on the Dogwoods in Backyard...approaching the Cabin on the Dirt Road..some more little bird clips and pics...they're all over after Rain!....flocks!.....lunch sit wasn't a sit, but a walk...was determined to find Owl....heard Owl last evening, but no luck...almost diverted by Mama Doe and Two Fawns by the Lunch Sit Log....quick pics with the new camera..then into the Woods....Blue Jays were scolding....then fell quiet, and I almost gave up, but found Owl posing, and sleeping, and now and then a quiet 'screech'...pics with new camera for sometime!...a fine outandabout day, inspite of being under the weather with cold!....next couple days I'm gonna be lazy...I need to recharge!!....cool to cold...not hands too cold cold...but cold!...with clouds moving through...and even a tiny snowflake now and then....

Cottonwood Beach

Paddled across the Creek to the Deer House Log...stretched out awhile and skygazed...glimpsed Hawk soaring by Lost Arrow...crossed Chapel Bridge and sat awhile at the Fallen Cottonwood....quiet....sat awhile under the small Cottonwood at Cottonwood Beach...pics....sat awhile on the Shingle....tried for little bird pics in the Lodepole Point Tree Line....little bit of a cold, so didn't feel much like walking!!...a fine morning walk though...sunny warm blue....warm as in I can sit comfortably in full sunlight!....saw Two Fawns on the way behind the Rooms....if I wasn't under the weather, I'd go back out to Cottonwood Beach...a knockdown Full Moon Night with Big Puffy Clouds moving across the Night Sky!...oh!...at work I was tending the soup wells, and Wolfie showed up beside me...back from Illouette Creek...actually, Three Corner Creek...at break she showed me on map the location...nice get together talkabout recollecting summer sights!

Hawk On The Wing

Paddled back to the Creek...after a Shuttle to and fro to the Post Office...prints of Furnace Creek Coyote came....thought to take a seat at the Swath Riprap, but heard Hawk over in the Deer House Oaks...crossed the Creek to looksee, but quiet...wandered about Lower Falls Stop area hopeful...finally went to Chapel Bridge...where there's clear views...and there I heard Hawk again somewhere near Creek's End...tourists on Bridge...so I went to the River's edge to look, and Hawk obliged with a flyby against the Glacier Wall....wish Hawk wasn't so far away, and blurry pic!....looks to be Red Shoulder Coop...cool...crossed the Bridge to follow...Bridge repairs pretty much finished....and was stopped in my tracks on the Path when I saw the Woodpecker Tree thereabout had fallen over!...oh!, another favorite tree down!....hmmph....makes a nice sit awhile log...which I did...no luck with Hawk, and time for work came...sunny warm and blue...slight breeze...Woodpeckers will miss their tree...it was an old Cottonwood snag, with the curious top that had a Woodpecker hole one could see right through to the sky...take awhile to find old pics...but will add sometime here...didn't know Cottonwood trunks have stubby thorns...a caution to sit on fallen ones!....at the lunch sit, the Woods were quiet...but on way back, happened on Mama Doe and Two Fawns..pics....Fawns have lost their spots....report a couple days back of Mama Doe chasing Coyote...in fact, I think that was day I saw Coyote from Shuttle...