Nevada

Cyndi and I visited Nevada in the spring.  I saw a new Life Bird, the Lucy's Warbler.  The photo leaves quite a bit to be desired.  I'll have to visit again, I suppose, and try again.

This Cooper's Hawk was near the Desert National Wildlife Refuge Corn Creek Station.

We visited the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve, and enjoyed the Black-capped Gnatcatchers.

Some of the desert cacti were in bloom.

When I saw these next two birds (Great-tailed Grackle and a Hummingbird) it made me think of that game, Angry Birds.  They do seem to be grumpy about something!

Here is a Prickle Poppy in bloom, with a Joshua Tree in the background.

I think the nicest photo I captured was this Lincoln's Sparrow, another bird seen at the Corn Creek Station, north of Las Vegas.

The drive to Steens Mountains

Driving across Oregon on our way to the Steens Mountains, Cyndi and I saw lots of birds. This soaring Golden Eagle was magnificent.

And, the Loggerhead Shrike were out in force. We saw quite a few of them and this one even stayed put while we stopped to take a photo.

To get to the Steens Mountains, we had to drive past the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, where I had spent a wonderful vacation in the early spring. It was interesting to see how the seasonal changes had progressed.

The Buena Vista overlook, as it was when I first visited in the spring ...

and, last weekend.

Looking toward the Steens Mountains in the spring ...

and, last weekend.

When I visited in the spring the road up to the alpine areas was still closed by snow. It often is closed until July, and we were headed for the top. The ridge is close to 9,500 feet above sea level and easily a mile above the surrounding plateau, and we were going to seek a camping spot near the top. It's getting late in the day, as you can see from the beautiful sunset light. And, at the gas station we were asked where we were headed ... and their one word reply was, "mosquitoes."

Black Tern

Today I went on a canoe trek to the Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. My sister Jennifer helped angle the canoe just so, to get the best possible photos. Some birds seemed to put up with a canoe in their midst rather well.

The Black Tern fly in a beautiful aerobatic way, but since they're highly maneuverable (and can pluck fish from the water on the wing) I was delighted to discover that sometimes they not only hold still, but actually seem to pose for a photo.