Centennial Valley

Male Cassin’s Finch

By Mia McPherson, on May 17th, 2013%

Male Cassin’s Finch

I’ve only had one opportunity to photograph Cassin’s Finches so far and that was in the small town of Lakeview where the headquarters of Red Rock Lakes national Wildlife Refuge is located. Typically I don’t photograph birds at or near feeders but in this case there was a feeder nearby. The background is an old wooden building so the setting wasn’t as natural as I would like either but I wanted the images I took of a bird that has otherwise been a nemesis for me.

That strong bill looks like it wouldn’t have any trouble cracking a hard-shelled nut!

Mia

~I’m back from my trip and trying to catch up.

Swainson’s Hawk in the Centennial Valley

By Mia McPherson, on May 15th, 2013%

Adult Swainson’s Hawk calling

Swainson’s Hawks are one of the three Buteos that I see with regularity on my visits to the Centennial Valley of Montana, Red-tailed and Ferruginous Hawks are the other two. I photographed this adult Swainson’s Hawk in the evening last year on the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge after a rainy afternoon, the light was low and I had to bump my ISO up to 1250 to get enough shutter speed for flight shots and because of that I could detect a touch of noise in the background so I applied Noise Reduction to the background of all three of these images.

The Swainson’s was calling to another Swainson’s off in the distance and since it had just defecated I was waiting for the hawk to lift off.

Swainson’s Hawk at the moment of lift off

And lift off it did! This sort of reminds me of the Olympic diver images we see that have just their toes left on the diving platforms. The talons have just left the fencepost and there appears to be a determined look in the Swainson’s Hawk’s eye. I do wish the light had been just a bit better so I could have completely froze the action but sometimes that motion blur helps to emphasize the feeling of motion.

Adult Swainson’s Hawk calling while in flight

As the adult flew it also started calling and flying towards the other Swainson’s in the distance.

By the way, the light colored areas in the background is a mist hanging over one of the lakes within the Red Rock Lakes refuge and the bluish colored area is part of the Centennial Mountains.

Mia

~I’m out of town but will be back soon, please feel free to share this post with your friends and family!

Owl See You at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge

By Mia McPherson, on May 6th, 2013%

Female Short-eared Owl and chick at nest

I’ve said before that owls fascinate me; probably more times than I can count, and Short-eared Owls are always a delight. Although I see and photograph Short-eared Owls here in Utah I have had some very special photography sessions with them at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in the Centennial Valley of Montana. Two summers ago I spotted a mated pair of them not too far from a road with the nest at the base of a Sagebrush. The nest was far enough away from the road that we could photograph them without disturbing the adults or the chicks.

Male Short-eared Owl with Centennial Mountains in the background

The male hunted for his young from the air and when he found prey he would swoop down from the sky and then deliver the prey to the female. He did this many times while observing the Short-eared Owl family. The light was difficult to photograph in which meant I bumped my ISO up higher than I would have liked to get sufficient shutter speed, that left a bit of noise in the background and I applied some noise reduction to it. The Centennial Mountains make for a lovely background.

Male Short-eared Owl with prey for his young

This image shows the male bringing in a vole to his family with the Centennial Mountains in the background, part of the Lower Lake and the grasses below. This male Short-eared Owl seem to be a proficient hunter.

Female Short-eared Owl in a fog

This beautiful female Short-eared Owl who posed in a lake fog was very cooperative and I could have easily filled my CF cards several times in the 13 minutes I had to photograph her. She was close to the edge of the road perched on a fence post in the fog as the sun rose and began to warm the day. It felt magical to be in her presence!

Short-eared Owl with tufts showing

Last year the vole population of the Centennial Valley had crashed and it appeared that many of the Short-eared Owls had moved to more fertile hunting ground. This Short-eared Owl was among the few I saw on the refuge last summer but she sure was a beauty.

Will they be there this year? I don’t know for sure but I certainly hope so.

Mia

Please take a moment to view the proposal for the creation of a Federal Wildlife Conservation Stamp which could provide a robust, parallel revenue stream for National Wildlife Refuges, preserving habitat and wildlife, while giving non-extractive users a funding tool and a stronger voice in habitat and wildlife decisions on our shared, public lands. If you agree it is time for this proposal to come to fruition, please consider backing the effort by joining our “About Us” page as a supporter.

This is a great read about Who Owns the Wildlife? written by John W. Laundré, Cougar Biologist State University of New York at Oswego

More Short-eared Owl images

I have Montana’s birds on my mind

By Mia McPherson, on April 14th, 2013%

Sandhill Crane in a field of wildflowers

This time of the year I start dreaming about the Centennial Valley of Montana and of the birds that call the valley home during the summer. In my mind I can hear the Sandhill Cranes and Coyotes calling as the mist rises off of the lake. And the pungent smell of Sagebrush as I move past them.

Juvenile Swainson’s Hawk in the Centennial Valley

I know that if I am lucky I will get to see hawks, eagles, owls and falcons. I enjoy seeing the hatch year hawks like this Swainson’s Hawk juvenile perched on a fence post near Red Rock Creek.

Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk in the Centennial Valley

And juvenile Red-tailed Hawks warming in the light of the rising sun.

Mia

Juvenile Swainson’s Hawk expelling a pellet

By Mia McPherson, on March 10th, 2013%

Juvenile Swainson’s Hawk in flight

Last summer I was able to see and photograph a juvenile Swainson’s Hawk expelling a pellet in the Centennial Valley of Montana. The young hawk, it’s sibling and one of the adults were in the area when this hawk flew onto a fence post close to the road.

Juvenile Swainson’s Hawk

One of the things I noticed first was how the back of the neck of the immature Swainson’s Hawk seemed enlarged, that is a pretty big bump.

Juvenile Swainson’s Hawk attempting to expel a pellet

Then the juvenile hawk bent over and repeatedly opened its bill, it was fairly obvious that the hawk was struggling. The lump seemed to move slightly forward with each attempt.

Juvenile Swainson’s Hawk expelling a pellet

After several minutes the hawk expelled two rather large pellets, this frame shows the first pellet as it exits the hawk’s bill.

Wing lift after expelling pellet

When the pellet expulsion was completed the juvenile Swainson’s lifted its wings, shook itself and flew off.

Pellet that the juvie Swainson’s Hawk expelled

This is one of the pellets the hawk expelled, it consists of bones, fur and other undigested materials. Some folks might think this is gross, I see it as being as natural as this juvenile Swainson’s Hawk taking flight.

Mia

More Swainson’s Hawk images