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Category Archives: Birds
Phainopepla and the Dragon
Ok, so this is one photo I did not submit to the contest. Why?
Was it because I didn’t think it had as good a chance as the others? No.
In fact, I thought it might have a better chance because the Phainopepla is a bird less often photographed.
This image was not among those I submitted because……….I forgot. 
Yes, I am a birdbrain.
I have yet to employ a filing system—either on my computer or in my head—that adequately compensates for that. Oh, well.
It just dawned on me yesterday, as I was driving around town, that I had left it out of the mix.
Skykomish River Valley
A couple of days ago I submitted ten photo-creations to Audubon’s 2015 Photography Awards contest. I was happy they had an “Art”category this year because, though I do have some pretty nice bird photos, I don’t have any as magnificent as those that typically win this competition. I decided to post my entries here one at a time—there is quite a bit of detail in some of them :-). The first is my homage to the eagles that regularly accent my view of the valley. The fun thing for me with Photoshop is that I can take photos that range from excellent to pretty awful on their own and mix them up to create my own visual poetry.
Birds Fly Bias
I was able to get nine exposures of this Northern Harrier as it flew by at the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge, but nine made for a very wide photo.
Northern Harrier Hawk
Current Thinking on High Voltage Rapture
Current Thinking
I See Your Point
When debating the Heron or the stately Egret,
never, never respond with, “and your point being?”
That is a comeback you would likely regret.
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Fowl Identification
By the book,
it was a White-fronted Goose.
The reasoning behind its name?
Well, that is a little abstruse.
But it made perfect sense
when by the sheerest of luck
a day or so later,
I profiled a Ring-necked Duck.
WTF?!
White-fronted Goose
White-fronted Geese
Ring-necked Duck
Sandhill Crane Mating Strategies
On a recent visit to the Consumnes River Preserve, I was able to capture some candid Crane moments……..Poetry in motion:
Scroll through slideshow with side arrows or hover over and press play at top.
Take Five on the Rezone
Yes, it looks like we will be fighting the commercial rezone of the valley below me for a fifth year.
As I was writing my speech for last night’s Council meeting, I spotted these eagles taking advantage of the windy day. I was hoping it was a good omen. Nope.
At the end of the day, the vote went as expected: 4 to 3 in favor of redoing the Environmental Impact Statement in order to get the needed approval from the Growth Management Board for the rezone. Several of us tried our best to get these four to justify their decision based on the environmental realities of the property or the best interests of the City, but they stuck with simply calling it a property rights issue.
The process will take another nine months to a year to complete. The City will need an extension on the Board’s time-line for compliance. I will petition the board to refuse to grant that extension, but I don’t anticipate having much luck there. Our side has a great deal more experience advocating for this property now, so I am reasonably confident we will prevail once again, but it is such a colossal waste of everybody’s time and taxpayer money.
“Shadow is the obstruction of light” Leonardo da Vinci
Over a brambled path
We step and pose
Our great regrets
Our shadow knows.
A shadow can be a ponderous friend
When on our back until the end
Choosing what my thoughts beget
Behind me strides a Great Egret