Blue Sky, Big Birds - UPDATE December 20, 2024
Bald eagle sitting
Bald eagle takes flight
Bald eagle takes flight
When I’m trying hard to focus on the computer, suddenly there is blue sky and big birds distracting me out the window. First, it was the eagle checking for food and swooping up to a branch in good sunlight and good background sky. After looking nicely at the camera as if he could see it through the window with me sitting at my desk, he reached for the sky with his wings and was gone.
Raven
Raven
Raven
Raven launches
Raven
Raven dives
Then a raven did about the same thing, sitting on a nice red pine branch with good sun showing detail in its feathers and a light in the eye. I had to click, only to see him take flight and go into a dive all in good light. Click, click, click. And I was glad to see detail in the feathers that I haven’t seen for days with overcast skies.
Flying Squirrel
Flying Squirrel
But it was at 6:51 PM the night before that I had the biggest jolt of action right outside my desk window. I had just seen that I had to click this flying squirrel sitting in his nice hole eating from the jackpot of sunflower seeds it had reached. Suddenly there was a flurry of feathers, big wings against the window, as the first great-horned owl I’ve seen here in over 22 years (since May 18, 2002) made a try for the squirrel and I couldn’t see the squirrel. But no, the flustered owl was sitting on the deck in good light maybe six feet from me with no squirrel. But by the time I could aim the lens it was gone. Shortly the squirrel appeared, saying telepathically that it was okay (at least that is what I imagined by its calm demeanor).
Then, for me, it was back to work. I do like bright, sunny days with wildlife action. It’s just that I can only do one thing at a time.
Thank you for all you do,
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Cente
