Otters

I haven't seen too many otters lately since that big group around earlier in the spring so I was happy to see these two on my last kayak outing. They weren't sure if they were happy to see me, however!

Dragonflies

I'm falling behind on posting photos again, so for no particular reason, here are some recent dragonfly photos. Dragonflies are pretty cool aerial predators with great eyesight and advanced flying capabilities. One thing that helps with photographing them is that ones that hunt from a perch often return to the same perch if you're patient.

I saw these Eight-spotted Skimmers in Oregon although they are found around Victoria.

Taking photos of birds in flight is hard enough, dragonflies in flight are even tougher. This one was a fairly cooperative subject.

I think the last one was a Blue-eyed Darner, whereas the next one is a Blue Dasher.

And finally, a very brightly colored Cardinal Meadowhawk. I wonder why it evolved that coloring? Maybe to warn birds that it is bad tasting? You'd think it would evolve more camouflage for hunting, but it's probably so fast its prey doesn't see it coming.

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Raccoons

There are raccoons living around here but long periods go by when I don't see them. Recently Shelley spotted one in our parking area and we grabbed our cameras to check it out. It ambled across the parking lot, climbed the fence quite adeptly, turned to look at us, and then disappeared. Looking at the photos afterwards, one of its eyes looks damaged.

A week or so later, out kayaking, I spotted a mother raccoon and three kits. The mother looked at me suspiciously, but didn't seem too worried.

After a while the four of them wandered off, Mum leading the way.

A few days later I was walking on the waterfront path and noticed some movement on the beach. It turned out to be another family of raccoons. I happened to have my camera with me and through the telephoto I could see the mother had a damaged eye - presumably the same individual that we'd seen in our parking lot. She must have had her kits stashed somewhere that time.

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Kayaking

Out in the kayak recently, I stopped to photograph a Great Blue Heron. As I was watching, an otter climbed out on the same rock. Looking through the telephoto lens I saw another large bird swooping into the frame. I thought it was another heron since sometimes they chase each other away. But it was a juvenile Bald Eagle, and close behind an adult eagle. The adult didn't land and flew away but the juvenile landed on the rock. Needless to say, the heron and the otter left immediately. I think the juvenile eagle was this year's. It looked like it still had the yellow gape on the sides of its mouth that triggers the parents to feed it.

I was only about 20 feet away but I was sitting still in the kayak and none of these creatures paid any attention to me. The juvenile eagle looked like it made a halfhearted attempt to catch a fish but didn't have any luck.

It didn't take long before the gulls started harassing it, swooping low and squawking. When the gulls or crows make a fuss, it's a good bet that there's a hawk or eagle around. The bald eagle flew away and landed on shore. I was going to paddle over, but the gulls went after it again. This time it flew up into a tree where the gulls couldn't easily get to it. It's a tree where I've seen eagles before

The tide was low and I spotted a few sea stars. This was a new one for me, I think it's a Pacific Blood Star. I noticed the bright color from quite a distance away and went to see what it was.

Not quite as impressive as eagles or herons, but I still like Killdeer and this one was relative cooperative.

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Snowbirds

Ignoring the military connection it was cool to see the Snowbirds fly over Victoria. Quite a different form of flying than my paraglider. They made quite a few passes and drew quite a crowd of spectators in front of our place. I think this was the first time I actually remembered to use my camera's special mode for airplane tracking. For a change I'm posting these the same day I took them.

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Zoo Time

Some photos from a couple of zoos we visited on our road trip - Idaho Falls (small) and Portland (large).

I'm a fan of tortoises and this Aldabra African Tortoise was a big one.

Such a pretty cat.

The thinker.

Amazing color!

I like walk in aviaries because you can take photos without dealing with cages. But this one was so hot and humid that it took forever to defog my camera enough to take photos. And even then it was very low light.

Breakfast!

I like taking portraits, just not of people :-)

Zoos have their pros and cons but they always remind me of the amazing diversity of life on our planet. I pray that we don't destroy it all.

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Photo of the Day

I didn't see much on my last kayak outing. Just before heading home I spotted a Bald Eagle in the tree where I've seen one before. But it was mostly hidden in the branches and I couldn't get a good photograph. I was looking for the raccoons on the beach when I noticed a bird swoop down and grab something from the water. It was completely silent so I didn't think of kingfisher right away. Usually they're heard before seen. But when it landed on a branch I could see that's what it was. They tend to be very skittish so I immediately stopped paddling and moved slowly as I got my camera. Luckily the wind was behind me and I drifted towards it slowly enough that it wasn't bothered. That first perch was quite cluttered but it flew down and grabbed another fish and this time it landed on a more open spot. Kingfishers are hard to photograph so I was happy to get a decent shot. (This is a female, unlike most birds, they are more colorful than the males.)

Road Trip 6 - Upper Coffeepot

Upper Coffeepot is a nice little campground just outside the western edge of Yellowstone. After spending the day driving through the busy national park, it's a quiet spot to stop. Both times we've been here there have been lots of white pelicans a short walk up the river. The pelicans were on the other side of the river so they were calm about us observing them. Of course, I took a ton of photographs of them.

I assume the pelicans (and the people) are there because of the fish in the river. But later in the day when we saw them they were just relaxing, preening, bathing, and sleeping.

There were enough of them that there were usually a few flying in or out so I got to practice photographing them in flight.

When they land they "ski" in on their feet.

Later in the evening the gulls (Ring-billed?) were skimming the water and grabbing something - I assume small fish.

Some kind of flying insect was hatching in large numbers. I suspect they were the same as this one I found on the ground - some kind of mayfly, maybe a March Brown. Thank goodness they don't bite!

There were so many of them they made photography a challenge at times.

Speaking of insects, this interesting one landed on our picnic table. I think it's a Ribbed Pine Borer, a kind of long-horned beetle, although it doesn't have especially long antennae.

We also had a few chipmunks visit us.

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