I had a day in the field Monday. Well, sorta. My photography day began at our bedroom window, which looks out on a feeder that has been frequented by evening grosbeaks every morning for the last week.
Next, re-visited the Lolo Creek burned area to see if I could get photos of a male black-backed woodpecker to go along with the previously captured photos of a female.
Mission accomplished!
Next stop, Council Grove State Park, just outside of Missoula, where I’ve known of a great horned owl with three young for weeks, but had not yet visited. More success. I won’t always publicly share nest locations, but this is no secret and these owls are staying high enough to be reasonably safe from intrusion.
I then headed north to visit some birding spots in the Mission Valley and make my first trip over Red Sleep Mountain at the National Bison Range.
My first trip through the Bison Range was enjoyable for the scenery and for adding more birds to my day (and year) list, but no photo opportunities.
I wanted my second trip through the Bison Range to be timed somewhat later, so I decided to prowl around county roads in the Mission Valley. Good thing for this gal I was not just looking for birds, but also paying attention to the road. She crossed right in front of me, requiring me to hit the brakes hard to avoid hitting her. She rewarding me for that by showing me her teeth. Right…??? Okay, maybe she was warning me not to trespass any closer to her den. I stayed in the car. Den location won’t be publicly posted.
Upon leaving her, and rounding a corner, I had to hit my brakes hard again, this time to avoid hitting a killdeer chick.
Back at the Bison Range, atop Red Sleep Mountain, I spent some time observing a pair of mating American kestrels in a snag with the Mission Mountains as backdrop. They copulated moments after this photo.
Post copulation, the female sounded scolded the male…
…seeming to drive her mate into a “yes, dear” submissive pose (yes, terrible anthropomorphizing)
…in actuality, he was looking for something – and found just what he was looking for. He dove off the snag and immediately returned with a vole that he gave to his demanding mate. I was just able to see that action that occurred behind a tree from where I was. She then returned to the snag to eat the gift vole.
After some time, I moved on, enjoying the gorgeous scenery as I crawled down Red Sleep Mountain.
What a Monday! As for the birding aspect, I finished the day with 54 species.
- Evening Grosbeak Back Yard – Deck feeder
- Rock Pigeon Lolo
- Black-billed Magpie Lolo
- American Robin Lolo
- European Starling Hwy 12
- Western Bluebird Hwy 12
- Canada Goose Hwy 12
- Tree Swallow Hwy 12
- Common Raven Hwy 12
- American Crow Hwy 12
- American Kestrel Hwy 12
- Mourning Dove Hwy 12
- Mallard Hwy 12
- Mountain Bluebird Lolo Creek burn area
- Black-backed Woodpecker Lolo Creek burn area
- Northern Flicker Lolo Creek burn area
- Dark-eyed Junco Hwy 12
- Northern Rough-winged Swallow Hwy 12
- Steller’s Jay Hwy 12
- Red-winged Blackbird Hwy 12
- Belted Kingfisher Hwy 12
- Great Blue Heron Kona Ranch Rd
- Barn Swallow Primrose Lane
- Lewis’s Woodpecker Council Grove State Park
- House Wren Council Grove State Park
- Common Grackle Deschamps Ln
- Yellow-headed Blackbird Deschamps Ln
- Northern Harrier Deschamps Ln
- Western Kingbird Deschamps Ln
- Western Meadowlark Deschamps Ln
- Red-tailed Hawk Arlee
- American Coot Ninepipes
- Ring-billed Gull Ninepipes
- Western Grebe Ninepipes
- Red-necked Grebe Ninepipes
- Double-crested Cormorant Ninepipes
- Trumpeter Swan Ninepipes
- Gadwall Ninepipes
- Northern Pintail Ninepipe Ln.
- American Avocet Ninepipe Ln.
- Cinnamon Teal Ninepipe Ln.
- Marsh Wren Logan Rd
- Western Kingbird Logan Rd
- Great Horned Owl West Post Creek Rd
- Brown-headed Cowbird West Post Creek Rd
- Downy Woodpecker Moiese Store
- House Sparrow Moiese Store
- Wood Duck National Bison Range
- Vaux’s Swift National Bison Range
- Brewer’s Blackbird National Bison Range
- Vesper Sparrow National Bison Range
- American Goldfinch Moiese Store
- Killdeer Gallagher Rd – Mission Valley
- Mourning Dove Gallagher Rd – Mission Valley
- Ring-necked Pheasant Gallagher Rd – Mission Valley
- Spotted Towhee National Bison Range
I’ve been back to re-visit the great horned owls. Yesterday, during my lunch break, I saw the same juvenile with an adult.
In the evening, I returned again. The owlet above was in precisely the same spot. In another nearby tree, way up, a sibling was being fed by a parent. During my lunch break today, I returned again. The one owlet seems not to have moved in over 24 hours. I wasn’t able to find either sibling, but did find one adult on the feeding branch of last night.
more photos: http://www.bigskycountry.net/p499874371 and http://www.bigskycountry.net/p826622402 and http://www.bigskycountry.net/p1056705215
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