July 4th Photo Safari

This summer included a long trip up north but stories and photos from that trip will be added later.  Instead this blog post is devoted to our Overland Park Arboretum visit on July 4th.  We've been members of the arboretum since moving to OP three years back and have made many visits in search of birds in winter and summer, insects, have given the girls photo challenges in the past, and even had them write about their experiences there. During this visit the girls wanted cameras and chose their own direction; Christine and I were left to watch and enjoy their creative spirits.

Turtles caught their eyes first.

 

(Top L to R) False Map Turtle, Red-Eared Slider, and Ouachita Map Turtle
(Bottom L to R) Red-Eared Slider and Spiny Softshell Turtle
  

The four different species of turtles were sunning and near the boardwalk, where the girls joined others in looking at turtles and fish in the water.

 

Danielle decided it was a good idea to get up close, while Michaela laid out to shoot an Eastern Amberwing.

Here are Danielle's videos below. 

Butterflies were out as well!

We all took photos of butterflies, which were spread throughout the Arboretum. 

 

(Top L to R) Silver-spotted Skipper and Sleepy Orange
(Bottom L to R) Horace's Duskywing, Clouded Sulfer, and Monarch
  

Fairy Houses are there also!!

Christine and the girls have created fairy houses the past couple of years as admission to the Renaissance Festival, we walked through the Enchanted Forest to get ideas.  As fate would have it we started the girl's versions this weekend when the neighbors trimmed some trees.

 

Pictures to use as ideas and inspiration.
 

Photo ops!!!

It is fun to take pictures of the girls, but somehow their smiles show up so much easier when they are taking photos as well.

 

They are getting big!

Summer Trip 2015 Birding Part 3

Here is the third and final blog reminiscing about birding during our 2015 Summer Trip and sharing a few additional photos. You can read the first two blogs on this topic here regarding birding on the Oregon Coast and letting BirdsEye determine where to stop while on the road.

In 2010 Christine and I stopped at Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge on a road-trip west and ever since I've had a strong preference to visit National Wildlife Refuges whenever possible. With that in mind, when we left Oregon the only plan was to stop in Rocky Mountain National Park for a few days. Having a flexible timeline regarding which days and how long we planned to stay afforded me the opportunity to chart any route. While looking at a map, yes we carried paper copies, the large green region of Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge seemingly begging me to stop as if I was a moth looking at light.

We slept in a bit and got a late start from Walden after driving late the previous night. Our first stop was the city reservoir in search of Clark's Grebe. This species is quite similar in size and appearance to Western Grebes. The Clark's Grebe is found further west than my normal travels, but with a bit of luck we found a Clark's Grebe that appeared to have two youngsters with a Western Grebe. It was the first LIFER #419 for me and the first of the day.

The Clark's Grebe is on the left while the Western Grebe is on the right. Notice the white around the eye and an orange bill. 

Our next stop was Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge. We got great looks at Greater Sage-Grouse, once again in the middle of the road. It was much more satisfying seeing the bird up close having only added it to my life list the day before at dusk from a distance. In addition we were finally able to see Brewer's Sparrows rather than rely on their call for identification.

  

Greater Sage Grouse female on the left and Brewer's Sparrow on the right.

Baby waterfowl are much cuter than other bird babies in my opinion.

While not rare, the American Wigeon with ducklings along the drive were wonderful to see. Similar to the Clark's Grebe this waterfowl species is a summer resident further west and north than my normal travels.

Overall we did not see many birds or much diversity, but perhaps that was due to the late morning hour. However as we turned a corner we caught a fleeting glimpse of two birds. They were Sage Thrashers and the the second LIFER of the day!

The Sage Thrasher is smaller than many other Thrashers and fortunately we saw a couple more later in the drive for photos.

With miles to drive and a goal of finding an open camping spot in Rocky Mountain yet that day I concluded the dedicated birding portion of the trip. My family had graced me the previous two days with birding and I was fortunate to see a few new birds. Perhaps it was luck, maybe even fate, or yet the outcome of divine intervention but, regardless of the reason, as we stopped to take a photo of the Rocky Mountain National Park sign a Broad-Tailed Hummingbird flew in and checked it out as well. We had the wrong lens and camera out, but alas it remains the single bird of that species that I've ever seen.

Finally, since this blog post is about birding here are a few other photos of species we saw while in Colorado that were not previously shared.

  

A fledgling Mountain Bluebird with Male from RMNP and Willet from Walden Reservoir.

  

Fledgling Townsend's Solitaire and Clark's Nutcracker from RMNP.

  

Dusky Flycatcher and Violet-green Swallow in RMNP. I did not get a photo of my lifer Cordilleran Flycatcher.

Collared Lizards

On June 29th our family packed up and traveled west a couple of hours to Mt. Mitchell Heritage Prairie in search of Eastern Collared Lizards. The Prairie is an Audubon of Kansas Wildlife Sanctuary and property. Friends have been sharing their photos and I was truly excited for our girls to see the lizards.  Here is a short video detailing their visit. The video was taken a couple days later on July 1st.

As you heard in the video, we were able to see Eastern Collared Lizards and everyone got in on the photo taking. Click on any of the photos to enlarge and see greater details.

 

Collared Lizard Fans and Paparazzi!

We came home with over 1,900 digital files, most of them being of the Eastern Collared Lizards.

 

 

The lizards are quite tolerant of humans, giving photo opportunities to everyone. These are Danielle's photos!!

With three DSLR cameras being utilized there was a premium on the lighter 70-300mm ED lens.  It is quite a bit lighter than the 300mm F4 AF lens which quickly tired the girls with its weight.  Luckily the girls share.

 

 

These are Michaela's photos!!

We walked around the prairie picking up the chigger bites and saw a few other animals as well.

 

The Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher is large and flashy and captivated everyone's attention. Danielle's photo is on the right.

 
A few insects such as this Common Checkered Skipper (Left) and Giant Robber Fly (right)

We also saw Variegated Fritillaries and Little Yellow butterflies and an unidentified caterpillar that somehow escaped decent photos from our lenses.

 

We even took a few photos of ourselves.

Danielle took videos of the lizards also. We pulled out the tripod and both girls had creative input in the video below.  Click on the settings in the lower right to change to HD for more detail.

Below are photos that Christine or I took.

The lizards are calm enough to take the above photo with a 50mm lens (approximately the size of eyesight)!

We took a few composite photos, which reveal more details if viewed at original size or as a massive sized print.

 

For a short while two of them were next to each other.

Summer Trip 2015 Birding Part 2

Here is the second of three birding installments from our 2015 Summer Trip. As many of you likely recall from previous blog posts we visited many states, left the country, visited my sister on the west coast, and stopped at many National Parks and Monuments. We still have some unprocessed photos from spring/summer 2015 with all our travels, but alas most of the bird and mammal photos from this trip are done. Below is my recollection from our drive back from Oregon, almost none of it covered in previous reports or photos. 

After birding a bit on the coast I realized how much I had missed looking for birds over the previous month and was anxiously looking forward to searching for new species along our drive home. The Van was leaking transmission fluid when we stopped in Boise, but luckily all was fixed and we were on the road again a day later.

Letting fate determine where to Bird in Idaho and Wyoming

I benefited from using the BirdsEye app during our 2015 Spring Break trip as well as this trip. The app makes it easy for me to search reported birds to eBird and identify areas to explore, which increases my awareness of expected species, and allows me to target areas to add life birds. 

Their reaction after being apart for 30 minutes!

Our primary goal was putting time behind the wheel and miles behind us so I focused on the most desired birding outcome....LIFE BIRDS!  A life bird is the first time a species is seen, and brings me a huge level of enjoyment when I see a new bird. 

Late in our second day from Portland I decided to stop at the Juniper Rest Stop just north of the Utah/Idaho border on I-84 with hopes of seeing a previously reported Juniper Titmouse. The girls were stir crazy so Christine took them for a walk while I went in search of birds along a quieter path. I did not add any new lifers, but I was fortunate enough to have a Say's Phoebe sit in the open and allow me to take photos. The girls followed me back and were able to see and hear the Ash-throated Flycatchers call.

I've seen Say's Phoebes in a few states as their eastern range is the Midwest.

We drove out of Idaho, through Utah, and into Wyoming before we found a hotel for the night. It had a pool and we lounged around it late into the morning. Before we left town we stop at the state visitor center, which yielded few birds but did offer a chance to see a new mammal for the trip.

We headed down the road a couple hours before stopping at Green River - Scotts Bottom Nature Area as once again I used BirdsEye to find a location. I had hopes of finding previously reported Lesser Goldfinch and Sage Thrasher as lifers. We walked around the southern campground area and struggled to see anything in the afternoon heat. A distant Brewer's Sparrow perched and sang as we were returned to the Van, but this lifer seemed like charity and was very unrewarding given the overall limited bird activity, distant views of this bird, and sweltering heat.

After the initial walk our return to the freeway took us by water treatment ponds. Birders have a weird affinity for these sewage lagoons, so we stopped in. An American Avocet chick in the middle of a pond caught our attention so we stopped to watch. I'm not sure if the parent was concerned with the van 30 yards away or just curious, but it flew in and walked with feet of my window.

 The Avocet will loose it's salmon neck and head colorization after the spring breeding season.

As we slowly left the ponds along the dirt road Christine spotted a goldfinch with a dark crown. This was almost certainly a Lesser Goldfinch, which is yellow and black similar to American Goldfinches but with a green hue to its back and dark cap for the male. I missed the bird and was frustrated by my perceived bad luck of not seeing it! Christine's cooler mind reminded me that it would be okay to park and wait on the hopes that the birds might return. After a while the Lesser Goldfinches returned!!

 

Lesser Goldfinch (Left) and Mountain Cottontail (Right) from Green River!

With all the time birding during the third day, limited hotel options, and the late start we decided to drive late into the night all the way to Walden Colorado. At dusk we saw Greater Sage Grouse in the road, that were easily seen from a mile away. They were so large we initially thought they might be turkeys! As we got close they flew off, but it was a decent look at another lifer, the third of the day!! As fate had it, my birding plan for the next day would bring us closer to two of these lifers.

Future Stages

On June 26th we spent the day at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Kansas City at the 3rd Annual Future Stages Festival that showcased over 800 youth. Below are videos of their wonderful performances.

My personal favorite performance is below with three different songs including Disturbed's version of "Sound of Silence" at 3:47!!