25-JAN-2016
Photographers in the Ponds
You will often see photographers in Delta Ponds looking for the latest waterfowl visitors. This fellow has a 150-600 Tamron lens mounted on a Nikon D7100, a good birding combination. The Tamron and the new Sigma 150-600's have become quite popular and I am seeing more of them being used by people at the Ponds. This is part of a group of photographers participating in a Lane County Audubon Society 3rd Saturday Bird Walk. I enjoyed chatting with them briefly.
26-JAN-2016
Colors of the Red-wing Blackbird
I am a big fan of the Red-wing Blackbird and am always happy when I can see and photograph them. This photo surprised me because of the color pattern seen on the bird's back. I always thought they were mostly black!
Once again, I find photography so educational and inspirational. I am humbled by the design and beauty found in nature!
27-JAN-2016
Snow In The Hills
A coating of snow seems to beautify to my mind. I know that Back East right now it isn't considered so much as beautiful as it is a problem! But we don't have snow all that often here in the Willamette Valley. Only rarely has it ever been a real problem, the extreme case happening in January-February of 1969 when we had four feet of snow on the ground. Normally, we look to the hills to see them beautifully dressed with a coat of snow, as this one I saw on a drive up the McKenzie River Valley. This is not a Christmas tree farm, it is high mountains where the trees are logged by the timber industry. Those trees are not small.
28-JAN-2016
Climbing the Columns
Experienced and novice rock climbers both make use of the Skinner Butte Climbing Columns for practice. Being in the middle of town, the climbing columns are easily accessible, and so are popular. One will often see climbers working out if visiting the columns as I did today.
29-JAN-2016
Maple Tree Helicopter Seeds
I learned a lot by checking online for information about the seeds of the maple tree that are designed to fly with the breeze.
30-JAN-2016
Yellow-Rumped Warbler Female
I was told that this beautiful little bird I saw at Delta Ponds today is a Yellow-rumped Warbler. It is a tiny, very active bird quite difficult to catch still. I watched as it would fly up in the air and make a loop before coming to rest for an instant on a bush along the pond. The bush had berries on it, perhaps the bird loves them. It repeated the maneuver over and over again, and was off again before I could get a shot off. I kept trying to anticipate when it would land and would fire a shot or two. That's how I got this shot. I was overjoyed that I had got something. Some shots were blank. The bird was gone before the shutter tripped. I had to overcome the shutter lag of a compact. Color me happy! :)
31-JAN-2016
Red Leaves and Berries
Though I don't know the name of the bush, I find these leaves and berries to make a beautiful still life. The way the lighting highlighted the leaves attracted my attention. And the gray background is a good match for the red leaves. The bushes are found at Delta Ponds.
01-FEB-2016
Remarkable Sight! What is it?
The sky was covered with clouds this morning, as usual, when I took my walk. While I watched, a hole in the clouds allowed me to see a sight I haven't seen before! I thought the globe I saw was the sun filtered by clouds. But wasn't the brilliant spot on the left the sun? Also, at times I could see detail on the globe at the right, and isn't the sun too brilliant to even look at most of the time? And what about the space between them? Also, if that is the sun why is it shining so brilliantly through heavy clouds and not so bright in the open break in them? I sure don't claim to be knowledgeable about the heavenly bodies in the sky, but whatever I saw was remarkable, to say the least! I have received several different theories, so I'll leave the explanation up to you!
02-FEB-2016
Royalty Surveying Their Kingdom
This Bald Eagle pair landed on the top of tall snags at Delta Ponds while I was standing nearby, perfect timing! Those piercing eyes have far-sighted vision and they can spot prey from a long distance. It seems to me that Delta Ponds and other wildlife areas in the vicinity would be good spots for them to frequent. I always watch to see if I can spot them or the hawks I have seen recently. They haven't been a common sight here.
03-FEB-2016
Old Logging Wagon
On a drive in the rurals I came across this old logging wagon. I don't know anything about it, and am not even sure I could find it again. I have a general idea where it is, so maybe I could. Maybe I should! That way I might find out a little bit of history about it.
04-FEB-2016
February 4th and Our Rhody Has Bloomed!
We have one rhododendron in our yard that blooms every year in February. The rest of them bloom at different times as we get into spring. But this one is our early riser! There are several blooms on the bush and lots of buds. It brightens up our yard on these winter days!
05-FEB-2016
"I can stand like this all day!"
This Great Blue Heron was standing in rapid flowing water at Delta Ponds, but it sure didn't seem to affect its balance. I have enough trouble standing on flat ground on two feet, let along trying to stand in moving water on one! No way! But I do admire the heron!