Winter Birding in Nebraska

Due to a death in the family in December, I had to make a trip to southwestern Nebraska.  While it is difficult to deal with a death in the family, one of the activities that gave me personal time to reflect on life and death, was the opportunity to spend some time with nature.  Even in the cold of winter, nature is amazing and can offer a sense of joy and what is right in this world.  And by getting out to see what abounds during the cold of the winter, we can learn to appreciate all it has to offer.

First free morning that I had to myself, I ventured out and arrived at Barnett Park before sunrise and the temperature was a 'balmy' 19° F, (-7.2° C), at the start!  Much of this early birding was completed within a short distance of my rental car for brief periods of warmth.  At first it was slow and quiet, but as the sun rose and a trace of warmth started to settle in, the birds became a bit more active.  

Downy Woodpeckers are fairly common throughout most of the United States, but in Arizona they are most generally restricted to the northeast part of the state and in the higher elevations.  

Downy Woodpecker - Male

 Great Blue Heron - surprising to see them in such frigid temps.

 Snow Goose

Canada Geese

A video of the Republican River and some Canada Geese flying over

The second place I visited was Red Willow Reservoir north of the town of McCook.  I liked it so much, that when I had a chance to take my niece, Trina McPherson, out birding a couple days later, I selected this same location for that journey as well. 

 Cedar Waxwing - always a favorite

 Downy Woodpecker - Female

 'Red-shafted' Northern Flicker - Also saw a 'Yellow-shafted', but it did not pose for a photo.

 Ring-billed Gull - Not a great photo, but nice that if had caught something for breakfast.

 Red-bellied Woodpecker - Haven't been able to capture too many photos of this bird.

 This photo shows some of its red belly for which it is named.

American Goldfinch - not in its bright summer plumage, but still very attractive.

  

On the second trip to this location with Trina, we found some different species that surprised me a bit as I expect some of them to be more confined to further west in the United States.  However, eBird does show records of these birds in Nebraska.  But they were new to me for my Nebraska state list. 

 Townsend's Solitaire - this was one of my surprise birds.

 Mountain Bluebird - This was my biggest surprise and awesome to see!

 Mountain Bluebird - in a tree before it went down to the water edge for a drink.

Trumpeter Swans - Not a great photo by any means as they were on the far side of the lake.  I was thrilled to be able to add them to my Nebraska list and after consulting eBird, I discovered this was the first report in eBird for this species for Frontier County.  

Winter birding can be spectacular just about anywhere.  You might not always see the birds in their bright breeding plumage, but there is more to birding than just flashy colors.  So glad that I was able to work in some time to spend with nature during my stay and happy to have Trina join me for a couple of hours one morning.  

    

White Mountains: The Final Field Trip

Sunday morning arrived and we had signed up to join the field trip to Wenima Wildlife area and also Becker Lake.  Kurt Radamaker along with his wife Cindy took the lead on this field trip and we started out at Wenima hoping to find a nice rarity or two but we had no luck on rarities but had lots of great birds.  My best photo from Wenima turned out to be a Common Buckeye butterfly.  (Yes, I am guilty of photographing butterflies and slowly, but surely, I am starting to learn the common names of some of them.)  In this post, you will see that birds are my number 1 target, but I also have a passion for all types of wildlife including butterflies, insects, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals.  For those that have read many of my previous posts, you probably already know that, but for those that might be new to my blog site, you will see a sprinkling of other creatures in my posts from time to time and this one has a good blend of several creatures.

Becker Lake proved to be a bit better for some bird photography.  We no sooner parked our vehicles in the parking lot and was scanning the area and we were blessed by a couple of Yellow-headed Blackbirds that came in to feed very close to the parking lot.  They seemed unperturbed by us and allowed us great looks and some nice photos as well. Stunning birds with their bright yellow on black bodies and when they fly they show off a nice white wing patch as well.  

Along the shore of the lake near the boat ramp, we happened upon a Woodhouse's Toad, which I believe is a new species of toad for me as I do not recall seeing one in the past.  

As we made our way along the dike on the northeast side of the lake, we had a couple Virginia Rails come to check us out.  This is a fairly secretive rail and most times I hear them in the marshes without seeing them.  They are one of the most elusive and secretive rails, so when they do show themselves, you know you are in for a real treat.

This photo is a sighting of what I would consider normal and then they would disappear just as quickly as you saw it.

But this one mush have been unfazed by us as it put on quite a show with the photos below.

We also discovered a new lizard for most of us including our leader.  We found a couple of very young Lesser Earless Lizards.  This one was only about 2½ inches in length, including the tail.

And a Praying Mantis is always a cool insect to see.

The tree that normally holds a pair of Bald Eagles proved to be just the place that 3 Great Blue Herons decided to stop in for a rest.

I had not been in the White Mountains for almost a year, so it was great to return to some old stomping grounds.  Maybe next summer I can spend a bit more time in this remarkable place and explore some more spots as it is truly a magical spot in the state of Arizona.

Mogollon Rim Area - Part 2

When we decided to head to Woods Canyon Lake, I knew it would be crowded as well as it is usually a more popular destination than Black Canyon Lake.  And it was, they even had to open up extra free parking in one of the maintenance areas where we parked.  As we made our way to the lake, we stopped to enjoy some of the birds in the pine forest.  American Robins were abundant and some of them were this year hatch and it is always interesting to see the different looks of a juvenile bird.

American Robin - juvenile

Hairy Woodpeckers were also quite numerous and busy searching our insects on the trunks of trees.  Why is it, that they always seem to land on a tree and in the shady side of the trunk?

Hairy Woodpecker - Female

At the east end of the lake where the water trickles down the embankment, a group of raucous Steller's Jays put on quite a show,  A couple, including a fledgling, came in for a drink before heading up into the trees.  It was interesting to see the fledgling did not have the white streaks on the head like the adults.  Most likely this takes place on its first molt.

 Steller's Jay - Adult

 Steller's Jay - Recently fledged

Steller's Jay - Adult

Just a few minutes with the jays and then we watched some excitement unfold before our eyes.  The first was an Osprey that came in and dove and captured a fish right in front of several people fishing.  Think the Osprey was having better luck than the fishers!

 Osprey

Osprey with its catch of the day

Shortly after the Osprey had a successful dive, an adult Bald Eagle also came in for a shot at a fish, but unfortunately the eagle was not successful.  The adult pair do have a nest at the lake and hatched 2 chicks in April and both are almost fledged and ready to leave the nest.

 Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle starting its unsuccessful dive

What happened next was a first for me.  With all the the antics of the Osprey and the Bald Eagle taking place, I also caught a glimpse of a Great Blue Heron also flying over the lake.  Normally, when I see a Great Blue Heron, I move on to something else because the heron is a very common bird around water.  For some reason or another, I focused my camera on this one and in a sequence of photos we saw it fly near the surface of the lake and actually plunged while in flight with its beak and came up with a fish and then continued on in flight with its prized catch.  I have seen many of these birds spear and nab an unsuspecting creature while standing motionless in the water, but have never seen one capture a fish while in flight.  Always something new to learn.

 Great Blue Heron - flying across the lake

Focusing on its target

 The plunge and grasp with its beak

 Lifting off again from the surface of the water

Flying away with its prize catch!

That is the end of the birds in this post, so if you, dear reader, are not interested in other critters, you can consider yourself done with this post.  However, if you are still inclined to marvel at some more wonders of nature, then please continue on!

We will start with a couple rodents; squirrels and a chipmunk. (FYI: Chipmunks have stripes on the face and squirrels do not.) 

Cliff Chipmunk - Note the stripes on the face

 Golden-mantled Squirrel - no stripes on face

Pine Squirrel

Next up are a couple of butterflies and a cicada.

 Blue Azure Butterfly

 Queen Alexandra Butterfly

Cicada

And last but not least, a reptile which is a Terrestrial Garter Snake, the Arizona subspecies.

Terrestrial Garter Snake

Really turned out to be a great afternoon at Woods Canyon Lake with more than just birds, even if the place was swarming with humans enjoying their weekends.