St. Louis Zoo

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After our visit to the Jewel Box, we spent the rest of the day at the St. Louis Zoo. We parked in the south parking lot and noticed the animal sculptures as we made our way to the bridge that leads to the zoo entrance.

The giant tortoises were out and the smallest one was moving about. I noticed one of the larger ones had a hole in its shell; was this tortoise shot at some point in its long life?

The Reptile House was one of our early stops beginning a big loop around the zoo (starting up hill first). The lizard peeking out of a tree in its habitat was one of my favorites.

At one of our first breaks, there were large catalpa trees with the long seed pods still green. It was good to see healthy catalpa trees again; my maternal grandparents had catalpas around their home and business in the 1960s --- seeing the trees triggered fond memories.

The Flight Cage is the oldest part of the zoo; it was built for the 1904 World’s Fair. There were quite a few birds in the large mesh-enclosed area.

One of my favorites was a wood duck. Was the eye injured or is that just the way a wood duck eye looks when it is closed/half open?

Leaving the flight cage – there are mosaics of natural areas.

Cranes were in habitats with other animals. I enjoyed getting different views of the one bird as it was feeding.

In the big apes area, my camera’s zoom managed to get a gorilla in the back of the habitat…looking serious and scratching his brow.

Flamingos and other water birds enjoy lakes with islands at the zoo…visible but able to get further away from noisy crowds. The pelicans are rescued birds (i.e. are birds that have a significant enough injury that they couldn’t survive in the wild).

I enjoyed the ways the zoo uses nature themes in their structures….and that they have solar panels too!

There is a carousel. It looked to be well-maintained but not busy when we were there (hence the pictures).

Of course – there is also ‘wildlife’ in the zoo that just finds the zoo a good place to be!

We enjoyed the people watching as much as the animals at the zoo. Some children obviously were locals familiar with the zoo and enthusiastically making their way to their favorite exhibits…couples with babies in strollers (with visions of the time their child would be old enough to make requests)…families clearly on vacation…older people – sometimes with grandchildren, sometimes as couples or small groups using the zoo as an interesting (and safe) place to walk.

It was a hot day and by about 3 PM we were ready for a cool down. We retreated to our hotel for a few hours before walking to a Lebanese restaurant for an early dinner. It was a day well spent.

Hagerman Birds – May 2023

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I made the best of cloudy days both times I was at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge in May. Photographing birds was frustrating because of the light and I thought while I was there that I wouldn’t like any of the images…but they turned out better than I expected in several cases. The egrets were still around: Great Egrets

And Snowy Egrets (seemingly a lot more of them about).

I enjoyed the light around a snowy egret on the second morning…it was changing very quickly with the sun coming in and out of clouds as it was getting higher in the sky (it was still within an hour of sunrise).

I learned on my first visit to scan the high points of the meadow for birds...seeing a dickcissel was my most immediate success.

There were a lot of red-winded blackbirds. I saw one perched on an amaranth close to the road and he stayed put for a portrait, a defiant look, a little bow (but he was still watching me), and then a screech to let everyone know it was his turf!

The second morning I saw that there was a group of egrets on one of the ponds and they were leaving just as I was arriving! Did they roost there…or just get their breakfast?

There were great blue herons as well.

There was a preening red-shoulder hawk on a snag.

May was not a great month for bird photography on the days I went to Hagerman…but not a total loss either. This image is my favorite of the morning.

Zooming – May 2023

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So many photography opportunities in May…flowers are blooming, birds are out and about, we traveled to Pensacola FL and played tourist close to home when my sister visited. The first pictures are from Pensacola…then from Texas (Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge and Carrollton)…then close to home (Lake Springfield, Fantastic Caverns, and World of Wildlife). It was a busy month!

I use the zoom feature on my Canon Powershot SX70 HS for almost every picture. My goal is to compose the image in a way that I don’t need to modify it later. The strategy saves time and focuses my creative energy while I am in the field when I can almost always try another shot – get exactly what I want.

Hot Pepper Suet

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Most of the winter the squirrels quickly ate the suet we put out…with the birds getting a minor share. Now – the birds are getting virtually all the hot pepper suet! The spiciness does not bother them. My favorites are the blue jays which would sometimes visit our patio area but were never there for long. Now they come to the suet several times before moving on.

And the squirrels don’t like the hot pepper spiciness at all. I have seen a squirrel at the suet feeder, but they leave within seconds! Maybe this is the only kind of suet we’ll buy in the future!

Ten Little Celebrations – March 2023

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March has been a bit different than I expected…a lot more very cold starts to the days which have made it harder for the spring bulbs I planted last fall. Still – there was plenty to celebrate.

Clean car. The dust (and maybe salt) is rinsed off the car. I celebrated the days of driving a clean car…until I drove around the gravel road that is the wildlife loop at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge! The door and hatch seals keep the dust from getting into the car but the spaces before the seals are covered and the car wash does not reach it!

Banana bread (that included the peels). I will never make banana bread without the peels again. Yes – organic bananas are a bit more expensive…but the bread is so good….well worth it.

Plans for our back yard. So many ideas…and enough time to make them happen! The evidence of the work I did last fall (planting bulbs) is giving me confidence that I can do more. Maybe I’ll even become a gardener.

Frosty forsythia. The cold mornings were problematic for some of early blooming flowers, bushes, and trees. I celebrated that I captured the beauty of frost on the forsythia flowers.

Pumpkin soup. I was surprised that I had more than 4 cans of pumpkin in my pantry….not sure how it happened. I opted to make soup with one of them. Tastey…colorful…a celebration with winter fare on a cold March day.

Staying standard time for sleep. I like for the sun to be coming up when I go down to my office and didn’t like the beginning of daylight savings time because it was suddenly dark again at that time….so this year I opted to not change my sleep schedule from standard time. I celebrate the light every morning with my first cup of tea.

Walking around the neighborhood ponds 2 days in a row. It seems like the month has had a lot of cold or wet days, so I celebrated when there were 2 warmer sunny days to make pleasant walks around our neighborhood ponds.

Two mockingbirds. This time of year, I look for pairs of birds around where I live. This year, I celebrated two mockingbirds close to my house. I hope they nest somewhere nearby. Last year we had a blue jay nest in one of our front yard red maples and barn swallows nested under our deck. There must be nests of mourning doves and finches nesting nearby too because we have so many of them.

New low weight for the year. Celebrating another month of taking off some weight. This needs to continue for as long as it takes to reach my goal (and then some to sustain it)!

Birdsong in the morning. The birds chorus in the morning and I celebrate the start of the day with them. I try to identify the birds I am hearing…a lot of robins usually but others join too.

Our Nixa, MO Yard – March 2023

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The bulbs are up in our Missouri yard but making slow progress toward blooming because we keep having cold days! There are irises from a previous owner; I added more last fall along with daffodils, crocus, and allium. There is something growing low and around the irises that is very green (I suspect it is a weed/invasive but I am leaving it alone because I like its greenness).

The hyacinths are up and one tried to bloom. Most are still waiting to raise their buds above their leaves.

I am waiting to cut the decorative grass until late May…give insects overwintering there a chance to hatch and provide food for nesting birds.

The robins are back, of course. They don’t come to our feeder (they are not seed-eaters), but they are in our yard finding food – a good indicator that the yard might not be overwhelmed with chemicals. I am keen to let it grow as naturally as possible since I want birds and pollinators to be healthy here.

I have a clearer view of the sky in this house than I did in Maryland; the trees are not as dense or large. There is a river birch and oak in our neighbor’s yard that might provide an opportunity for a picture of the moon resting on branches…but I didn’t catch it this month. My camera’s night scene setting did a relatively good job of getting the moon in focus (Canon PowerShot SX70-HS on a monopod…me standing in my yard a few feet from my home office).

Overall – I like our new location…and plan to spend a lot more time in the yard when the temperatures are a little warmer.

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 4, 2023

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Can clothes ever be fully recycled? – Evidently a lot of progress has been made in the past few years – translating processes from small to large scale production. But recycling is not the only thing that needs to change about the fashion industry. ‘Fast fashion’ is cannot the future!

A simple thing you can do to benefit backyard birds and bees – Wait until it is 50 degrees to do spring cleaning around your yard. Those leaves and dead stalks harbor insects….and birds need insects, particularly when they are raising their young! I have a big tuft of ornamental grass which I am waiting to cut. Last summer it was full of insects and I except some eggs/larvae are there now.

An incredible journey – Chinook making their way up the Klamath River in the spring and fall. (infographic)

Nearly 30 dangerous feedback loops could permanently shift the Earth’s climate - A change….triggering more change…a cycle. Our planet is full of complex connections that are often not well understood.

As Millions of Solar Panels Age Out, Recyclers Look to Cash In – Hopefully solar panels, and a lot of other end-of- life products, can become part of the ‘circular economy’ rather than going to landfills.

See Thousands of Sandhill Cranes Gather in Nebraska – Maybe next year we’ll plan to go to Nebraska to see the crane migration!

The beautiful flowers that bees can’t use – Nectar deficient hybrids (like double petal petunias) or non-native plants often don’t provide food for pollinators…even though people find bigger, brighter flowers appealing. The article also provides a link to a free book: Pollinator-Friendly Parks which might be useful for homeowners who want to support pollinators.

Anti-dust tech paves way for self-cleaning surfaces – Wouldn’t this be nice…my computer screens seem to attract dust!

'The Great Displacement' looks at communities forever altered by climate change – A book review that documents people surviving a hurricane in the Florida Keys or a big fire in California (and other climate change related disasters) and making decisions in the aftermath. A quote from the author, Jack Bittle: "In the United States alone, at least twenty million people may move as a result of climate change, more than twice as many as moved during the entire span of the Great Migration."

A Long Low Tide Dries Up Venice’s Smaller Canals – Wow…we usually think of Venice being more prone to flooding.

A Photography Course

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My husband purchased Matt Kloskowski’s Inside the Composition course and we are working our way through the 21 modules.

I’ve done 6 modules so far. Each of them had a short lecture then an assignment…encouraging students to apply the concepts in their own landscape photography. Review and critique of my own photos has been enlightening.

The course has already helped me recognize some shortcomings in my photography –

I tend to like my macro compositions more than landscapes and one of the reasons is that I almost always have too much sky in my landscapes. Sometimes cropping can improve it…although I will try to do better when I am in the field from now on. A good example is this sunset I took back in December…the colors were outstanding…but there is way too much sky. I cropped part of the sky but maybe I should have cut some of the dark foreground too. The result is an odd shaped image but the composition is improved.

Some of my photography is almost like note taking…documentation rather than art: taking a picture to later use for identification of a bird or insect…or taking pictures of signage to read later (or act as a caption to other photos. But the rest of my pictures should be more than documentation. I need to improve my composition on those pictures even if I think about then as documentation of the place. My macro pictures generally composed better than my landscapes!

I tend to like birds moving left to right through my image – even though this breaks the ‘right third’ rule. I always make the assumption and a bird will be moving; we read left to right and our eyes tend to be trained for that direction. Inanimate objects tend to be better place on the right third but software easily flips the image if I forget (see sun yard ornament below).

I should learn to consistently turn my phone when I am taking landscapes. The sunrise picture with half the image a dark band is a good example. Again – cropping can help but it would be better if I’d learn get the composition right when I take the picture!

One of the only landscape pictures I’ve taken recently that I like, turns out to demonstrate some composition concepts. It’s a sunrise pictures but the large diagonals of the silhouetted tree branches in the foreground lead the eye into the colorful sky rather than just having large expanse of colored sky. The second layer of tree silhouettes adds more complexity and the recognition that it is a winter sunrise.

I’m looking forward to the modules still to come….

Josey Ranch – January 2023

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The birds on the water at Josey Ranch in Carrollton, TX changed from when I was there in December. The Northern Shovelers were not there in January! The American Wigeon were there the first day I went in January but not on the second. It seems a little early for them to be migrating; maybe they have moved to a bigger pond. On my first visit – I saw American Wigeon, Lesser Scaup, American Coot, Great Egret, Ruddy Ducks, and gulls.

The surprise birds of the day were a pair of Buffleheads. They were busy diving for food! I’ve seen them occasionally at Josey Ranch before but they are not in the ‘regular’ birds there.

On the second day I visited, there were gulls lined up on the walkway near the parking lot. The Lesser Scaup, American Coot, and Great Egret were still around. The mallards seemed more numerous than on the first day (seemingly skewed toward males). There was a Great Blue Heron almost hidden in the reeds. The Ruddy Ducks were still there but sleeping just as they were on the first day.

I walked around to the native plants in a terraced area between the Library and Senior Center. It was almost too windy for macro pictures…but I tried anyway. Some berries were the only color….but the shapes of the dried remains of the plants from last summer are interesting enough.

Zooming – January 2023

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Birds (Great Egret, Northern Shoveler, Great Blue Heron, Northern Pintail, Red-tailed Hawk)….evergreens…dried (or frost damaged) plants…Texas sky - January was good month using the optical zoom on my camera! The locations were Texas (Carrollton, Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge) and Missouri (Nixa, Springfield). Enjoy the slideshow!

Birds near the Lake Springfield Boathouse

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My husband and I enjoyed a walk in the Lake Springfield Boathouse last week. The first bird I saw was an Eastern Bluebird! Unfortunately, I was dealing with glare on my camera’s (Canon Powershot SX70 HS) viewfinder/screen, so I didn’t get a very good picture.  I guess it was enough thrill to see the birds there.

There were some birds further out in the water…not very photogenic…but it seems that they are all mallards.

The most numerous birds we saw were black vultures – in a sycamore, warming up in the morning sunshine. There were three that seemed to be communicating with each other.

I photographed two birds almost too far out on the water – realized once I got home that they were scaups (male and female).

And then….a red-tailed hawk…perched at the top of a sycamore with lots of seed pods near the dam.  The bird’s breast feathers were fluffed against the cold. The area has more traffic, and I was glad the hawk did not seem disturbed by the noise.

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge – December 2022

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Back in November, I stopped at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge on my way down to Carrollton, TX. It is just outside Sherman, TX…a little over an hour away from my destination. The refuge was active in the early afternoon…with some migrants still around (link to November post).

In December, I opted to do a quick drive through on my way home so it was in the morning about an hour after sunrise; it was not a great time for seeing large numbers of birds. It was too late to see birds that had roosted in the ponds…and it was too cold and windy to linger very long with the windows open (I was using my car as a mobile blind).

I enjoyed seeing a flock of male red-winged blackbirds in stubble near the road….rise up as a group then coming back down like a wave crashing on beach to feed again…repeat. Their red and yellow markings were flashing every time they started up out of the dried vegetation and when they landed again.

A heron stood in the shallows with its feathers ruffled by the wind. The day was still new enough for the water to be morning blue.

I also saw a Harrier Hawk – hunting…circling over the stubble and water’s edge. I didn’t get a picture, unfortunately, but I spent a few minutes watching the awesome grace of the bird dealing with the wind and looking for breakfast.

The clouds began to cover the sun periodically and I took some refuge landscape shots – complete with oil pump jacks (it is Texas).

The pintails, mallards, and shovelers were around….enjoying the bounty of the refuge.

Gulls were mostly staying put in the shallows.

My plan is to stop at the refuge as I continue to make monthly treks to Carrollton…see the changes at the refuge as the winter progresses….and then the spring migration and flowers.

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 7, 2023

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Macro Photos Highlight the Diverse Beauty of Butterfly Pupae – The pupae are Asian species….so no Monarch chrysalis (which is my favorite).

Good hydration linked to healthy aging – The findings don’t prove a causal effect…but hydration is linked to serum sodium…and chronic high serum sodium (i.e. when a person is dehydrated frequently) increases risk of developing chronic diseases like heart failure, stroke, atrial fibrillation and peripheral artery disease, etc.

The Infrastructure Sector Is Bleeding Workers – The workforce is aging…more are nearing retirement…and younger people are not coming into the jobs fast enough.

This new year – decarbonize your life – The beginning of a series about a family of 4…taking steps to dramatically reduce emissions and sequester carbon.

Gradient Arrangements of Food Highlights Biodiversity Not Often Seen in Supermarkets – Wow – what a range of colors and shapes in common fruits and veggies like: tomatoes, corn, potatoes, pears, peppers, squash, cucumber, kale, and beans.

Heat and cold as health hazards – Controlled experiments on how the body reacts to hot and cold…and the health consequences.

Water Worries: Threatened and Endangered Cultural Sites – Climate change has caused increasing severe rainstorms in the Southwest impacting the adobe walls  in Tumacácori National Historical Park in Arizona and Pecos National Historical Park in New Mexico. Storms, flooding and sea level rise are impacting other parks including Statue of Liberty National Monument, Colonial National Historical Park and the Jamestown Settlement, and Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. The tidal basin in Washington DC is crumbling as flooding increases as the Potomac River rises.

Researchers identify bird species depicted in ancient, finely detailed Egyptian painting – Click on the images to get a larger view of the birds. Key to the second image: a–f rock pigeons (Columba livia); g red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio); h white wagtail (Motacilla alba); i pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis); j–l unidentified.

How microplastics are infiltrating the food you eat – Right now microplastics are viewed as a contaminant but research is revealing they may have harmful impacts….and should be studied and regulated as a pollutant. Will systems that use sludge as fertilizer need to change dramatically? It appears likely.

2022 Year in Review: Top Stories from Around the National Park System – Flooding at Yellowstone, Mauna Loa eruption, drought at Glen Canyon, maintenance challenges, invasive species …crowds…a lot of big stories.

Josey Ranch – December 2022

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When I visited Josey Ranch Lake on a cold winter afternoon, there was a father with 2 children feeding the birds. I took a bird group picture that included most of the species on the water; it’s not a great picture with the shade/sun challenge but is probably good enough for some id. Can you find American Wigeons, American Coot, Mallards, Northern Shoveler, and Lesser Scaups?

Here are some better views of American Wigeons. It was challenging to see the green sheen on the male’s head.

There seem to be more male Mallards than females.

The Northern Shovelers were very active. They even climbed up on the bank to scarf up breadcrumbs after the children left.

Lesser Scaups have beautiful markings and rich color even in winter. They are smaller than the mallards.

A Great Egret was stoic in the regrowing reeds and cattails on the other side of the lake.

Gulls (immature ring-billed?) dive bombed for bread while it was being tossed…then gathered toward the middle of the lake…sometimes making a lot of noise.

The swans had participated in the bread eating frenzy, then regained their composure when it was over and calmly left the scene together. A male and female scaup looked on.

Overall – not a bad visit to the lake, but it was cold; I didn’t dawdle…took my pictures and headed back to the warmth of the car.

Favorite Photos – 2022

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I picked some favorite photos from the year for a slide show. They are all outdoors. Thematically there are birds and insects more often than lizards or turtles. Some are documentation type pictures and others are artsy. They were taken in four states: Maryland, Virginia, Missouri, and Texas. For some reason – the fluffed up Eastern Bluebird is my favorite. Enjoy the show!

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 10, 2022

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Adults living in areas with high air pollution are more likely to have multiple long-term health conditions – A study of more than 364 thousand people in England. Respiratory and cardiovascular problems dominate but neurological and common mental conditions were also observed.

Best of 2022: Top 50 Photographs from Around the World – The first of the year in summary type articles. I had seen some of these photos before…but not all of them. They are worth a look.

Larger wheat harvest in Ukraine than expected – Based on satellite imagery, 94% of the winter crop was harvested…including 88% in areas not controlled by Ukraine. Some Ukrainian grain made it to global markets…however Russia is reaping the benefit of a significant portion of the harvest.

Medieval woman’s burial in Switzerland yields gold broach – A wealthy burial from a 7th century AD cemetery…excavated prior to construction work. The article didn’t say whether the finds would be going to a museum…or be reburied with the skeleton elsewhere.

More Than 52 Million Birds in the U.S. Are Dead Because of Avian Flu – It began last year in Eastern Canada and has affected flocks in 46 states since then. Wild and domestic birds are impacted…and there is a risk of infections in people too.

Study finds that experiences of daily stress decrease as people age – As we get older, we begin to deal daily stressors better. It’s a positive aspect to aging!

Archaeologists Find 1,900-Year-Old Snacks in Sewers Beneath the Colosseum – The debris from 1,900 years ago: olives, nuts, meats, cherries, grapes, figs, blackberries, and peaches!

Biodiversity unbalanced as ice-free Antarctic areas grow – Non-native species invading Antarctica

Idaho’s Potato Belt – 1/3 of the US potatoes are grown in the Snake River Plain….satellite images from NASA’s Aqua and Landsat 8.

Dam safety: New study indicates probable maximum flood events will significantly increase over next 80 years – This is a paper about 546 dams in Australia. We need to extend this type of analysis around the world…to improve the integrity of critical infrastructure into the future.

Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World (eBooks)

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Nagamichi Kuroda was a Japanese aristocrat and ornithologist. Two of his books (in Japanese) published in 1912 and 1913 are available from Internet Archive…worth a look for the illustrations. I’ve selected a sample illustration from each book.

Geese and Swans of the World

As I browsed these books, I wondered how many of the birds he documented still survive in viable numbers.

Kuroda lived a long time and published books on Javanese birds and Parrots…so there will be more of his books to enjoy as the copyrights expire. Both World Wars probably impacted his work; the books available now were published before World War I and the next ones mentioned I the Wikipedia entry are in the early 1930s and then beginning again in the 1950s. The Wikipedia entry was short on details of his life.

Josey Ranch – November 2022

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Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge was the birding highpoint of my last road trip to Texas, but the big ponds at Josey Ranch are too convenient to not visit every time I am in Carrollton. I was rewarded with even more wintering birds than I had seen in October.

American Coots. There were a few last month…more were on the water in November.

Northern Shovelers had arrived. There were actively feeding. They are easy to ID with their ‘shoveler’ bill.

Lesser Scaups were also new in November.  There markings and bill color are distinctive – nothing drab about the birds even in winter.

American Wigeon would be prettier on a sunny day (with the iridescent green swipe on their heads)…but I wanted to document their presence at Josey Ranch even if the day was cloudy.

Ruddy Ducks were around last month. There didn’t seem to be as many this time. I had thought they were just migrating through but maybe some of them stay around.

Mallards are year-round residents. I photographed three birds….feeding in the shallows (2 males and a female). I watched for several minutes; at no time were all three heads visible!

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge

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Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge is near Sherman, TX – just a little off the road trip route from my home in Missouri to my parents in Carrollton, TX. I stopped last time I drove down to Carrollton. I had been to Hagerman once before and was reasonably sure it would be worth it….and I wasn’t disappointed. My goal was see as much as possible in an hour or so. I drove the Auto Tour Route and stopped at the visitor center. I saw quite a few birds!

Great Blue Herons. They are probably a population that stays in the area most of the year.

Snow Geese. These are wintering birds. Only part of the expected number had shown up by last week. There are two morphs (white and blue) and potentially some hybrids…juveniles too. Ross’s Geese are mixed in with the flock. They are smaller and have smaller bill…no ‘grinning patch’ on the bill.

Canada Geese are mixed in with the snow geese as well

Northern Pintail were on the water…looking for food.

Northern Shovelers were skimming the surface of the water for food in the shallow water.

A lone Killdeer looked on from the edge of the water.

A Greater Yellowlegs was too intent on finding lunch in the shallows to notice the activity elsewhere.

There were two birds that were migrating through the area:

A White-faced Ibis --- almost hidden by the vegetation but the feathers were iridescent enough draw my attention.

Greater White-fronted Geese were there in large enough numbers to notice…and looked different than any of the other geese!

Overall – a worthwhile stop. I’ll do it again….and explore different parts of the refuge each time. I have a map I picked up at the visitor center than will allow me to plan my next visit!

Josey Ranch – October 2022

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The work to replace the decking on the boardwalks around the cattails end of the lake at Josey Ranch has been completed.

The damage to the concrete walkways from the drought and the maintenance trucks is still there and is evidently not going to be repaired anytime soon.

My visit toward the end of October was later in the morning, and I didn’t see as many birds as usual. There was one female grackle…not the larger crowd that used to be at there all during the year with raucous calls.

The Great Egret that I see almost every time was still there.

The Snowy Egret was new this time. It was on the other side of the lake in the grass at first then moved to the new decking on one of the boardwalks. The wind ruffled its feathers.

The swans were asleep on the bank.

There were a lot of white feathers in the water and in the grass. I took a series of pictures. Many of the feathers looked relatively fresh, and I wondered if they were from normal preening or a disaster that befell some white bird.

I saw some small birds on the water and walked closer to see them. The Ruddy Ducks were either passing through on migration or maybe they will stay for the winter!

These are diving ducks so it takes some effort to photograph them if they are feeding!

As I walked back toward my car, a turtle was poking its nose out of the water. The lake has been cleared of snags that the turtles could use for sitting on cool days, unfortunately.

Overall – the winter birds had not shown up yet at Josey Ranch by late October. I expect to see more in November.