Peru Part 6, Thurs June 11 2009

Thursday June 11 was a particularly interesting day at TRC. A cold front from the Andes moved into the area, and we woke up to a chilly and windy dawn. Rudy took us up to the top of the bluff above the Clay Lick seen in prior posts. It was a beautiful view as seen in this brief video. There were many birds to be seen, but all were way down in the tree tops below.




To even see that there is a bird in the picture you will need to click on many of these. Remember they were taken with a 400mm lens, so you get the idea of how far out they were.


As I have said many times, one thing I have learned from Rudy is that most flocks of birds are mixed, meaning there will be several, sometimes many species in the same flock. That was certainly the case here with both a Boat Billed Flycatcher(about 9" top center) and a Gray Capped Flycatcher (about 6") right next to each other. If you look close there are actually 7 birds in this picture, although most are out of focus as I was focusing on the Gray Capped Flycatcher on the right. I was wide open at 2.8 f stop in order to get enough light to keep the shutter at 1/200.





Rudy had the Little Woodpecker (about 6") in the scope for a bit. Being out on the bare limb helped us all get a good look.


I think this is a female, as the male has a red cap, but the streaking and the barring on the belly is really striking.


One of the coolest South American bird families is the Jacamar's. Kind of a cross between kingfishers, puffbirds, and motmot's, with maybe a little hummingbird thrown in. Really fun.


This is a White Throated Jacamar (about 6").


Relatively rare, but generally found as are most of these birds in the river edge canopy.

Without a good scope we simply could not get good looks at these birds. Even then, because they were usually constantly moving, I really tried to get pictures, which even if they are not very good allow me to study the bird later and really try to remember it. Rudy is the best I have ever seen with a scope. So, up on the bluff this day when he kicked his tripod leg to straighten it out and the connection broke off, we were all pretty shook up. Terry had carried from Portland however his and my pocket tools, with which he had fashioned a leg from a bamboo shoot within a few minutes. The only problem was that Rudy who is about 6'8" or so could not raise the tripod and had to stoop the rest of the trip. He was a trooper though and we continued to get the good looks at the birds through his efforts. Here he is with the equipment in question.



The following are a few birds we saw from up on the bluff. Again, I apologize for the low resolution, I have really cropped in on them to be able to see them at all.

The very proud Vermillion Flycatcher (about 5") found in many different habitats.


The Turquoise Tanager (about 5").


A Blue Dacnis (about 4 1/2") is one of several smaller tanagers called Dacnis'.

Another very beautiful jacamar (this picture does not do it justice) is the also rare Purus Jacamar, (about 8").


Here is the Buff Throated Saltator (about 8"). Saltators are similar to the Grosbeaks, which as the name indicates are larger very heavy beaked seed eaters.


One of the most beautiful of the tanagers is the Blue Necked Tanager (about 5").


This Blue Throated Piping Guan is actually pretty large at about 29", but it was not very easy to see sitting up among the branches.



On the way back to the TRC we saw a great looking lizard. Maybe someday I will learn these names.




We also saw this Black Tailed Trogon, which at about 12" is just stunning to see sitting looking down at you from a branch. I couldn't resist showing it again.

Caitlin Baptism

Yesterday was Caitlin's (Nate's girlfriend) baptism. A humble and faith filled thing for someone to do at 21 years old. She is a great example to all of us. Paula and I had 4 of the grandkids , and in this first picture, Victor can't sit still, Eva forgot her shoes, and Kayla is just happy to be there!


Kevin did the baptising, and he also confirmed her.


One of the missionaries is from Tonga, and really an interesting guy.


Oh and by the way, I may have torn my Achille's tendon. The story starts last Tuesday the 14th. The Portland Law Firm Co-Ed softball league is playing it's 7:30 PM game. (By the way a bunch of lawyers playing softball is...well let's just say a bit competitive). I am pitching. We are up by 2, there is 1out and the bases are loaded. The batter hit a little blooper back to me at the mound, and as I stepped off to field the ball I thought someone had shot me in the back of the leg. I nonetheless limped to the plate ahead of the runner on 3rd, and kept the run from scoring Unfortunately we went on to lose the game by 3 runs. (By the way, I really hate to lose!)

Though I was really sore, over the next few days, I convinced myself that it was just a pulled muscle, and even played a couple of more games in the meantime (although with a pinch runner). Knowing that an Achilles Tendon repair can take 12 to 16 months, I was simply unwilling to go to the doctor and preferred to "believe" that I knew what was best for me. I even got back to my morning walk by the end of last week, and figured I was well on my way to being 100%. Paula told me many times to go have a doctor check it out, but I simply knew better.

Yesterday, after working at the farm I decided to go swimming with the grandkids in the afternoon. They were excited and as soon as I approached the pool began yelling ...jump...jump...jump...so I did, and...well let's just say I was immediately sure that Paula had been right. 4 ibuprofen later it wasn't better, and within a couple of hours my leg had swollen to about 3 times it's normal size. Long story short, if I had gone in last week...well we will see after I go to the doctor tomorrow. Oh yeah, we spent 4 hours in the ER last night just so the guy could tell me he thinks I tore the tendon. Thanks. Paula made me post this picture. A little of the cast I took off a few hours after we got home is still hanging on.

Montana Wildlife July 09

Had a wonderful time visiting my brother Jeff and his family over the 4th of July weekend. While there got out the 4oomm 2.8 and walked around a bit. Most of the shots were taken within a few hundred feet of the house along the river. My brother John and I also drove up onto the bench above the valley and some of these were shot up there. All shots in and immediately in the vicinity of Twin Bridges, Montana.


Cedar Waxwing Couple. Watch closely. (About 7 inches)



One of the stars of the weekend was this Sora working the swamp not 200 feet from Jeff's back door. This rail is about 9 inches, and announces itself with a distinct KEEK, KEEK. First good look for me of this bird.







Fairly common this time of year in this area of Montana is the Long Billed Curlew. At nearly 2 feet tall, it is pretty conspicuous. We got some good looks at both the adult and a couple of chicks.





The Curlews are among the birds typically found up in the dry grass on the bench. Also in the same area was another new bird for me, the Mountain Plover.



Derided by many birders, and often disliked by farmers because of their camp robbing tendency's, the 19 inch Black Billed Magpie is nothing if not flashy. I kinda like them!



Although the Western Meadowlark is the Oregon state bird, I have seen it much more often in Montana than in Oregon. This 9 1/2 inch bird is beautiful both to see and to hear.

The Spotted Sandpiper nests in the grass pretty much out in the open. It will fly up and try to attract attention, and is really noisy. This 7 1/2 incher bobs and teeters as it walks, but is really agile when it wants to be.




While out by the river early in the morning, I surprised this White Tail Deer. Three points on one side and four on the other, all still in velvet.


The House Wren may be common, but it's song is not. Really fun to hear and then see it singing. About 4 3/4 inches.


The only Oriole found in the Northwest is the Bullocks Oriole. Usually found high in trees, about 8 inches.

At over 5 feet in length and with a wingspan of more than 9 feet, the American White Pelican is found both on the coast and on inland water. It is numerous in the valley around Twin Bridges.





Another unusual but fairly numerous visitor to this valley is the Sandhill Crane. With it's distinctive red crown, this bird is so large that you often need to take a second look to confirm that it is really just a bird. About 42 inches, here just visible in the tall grass.


Up on the bench we saw the Prairie Falcon perched on the big utility poles along the dirt road. About 17 inches, with a wingspan of about 40 inches.


At 19 inches with a wingspan of more than 4 feet, the Red Tail Hawk was magnificent soaring above the mountains. This one even had prey in its talons.




Also up near the mouth of the mountain canyons is the very beautiful Mountain Bluebird. About 7 1/4 inches. This one has an insect.


Right after we saw the bluebird, we saw a bird we had not seen before. This is a McCowan's Longspur. About 6 inches, these sparrow like birds are only found in a very narrow range. They are unmistakeable though with their very distinct feild marks.



Found in basically the same high-bench grassland habitat is the Horned Lark. Larks are mostly European birds, but this one is found in the short grass almost throughout the US. It has the ability to fluff it's feathers to show it's "horns". About 7 1/2 inches.




Another really hard to see bird in the west is the Gray Catbird. Note the Rufous under the tail on the male. About 8 1/2 inches.


From the favorite family of our South American guide Rudy Gelis is the flycatcher known as the Western Wood Pewee. There were lots of misquito's out, and these little guys (about 6 1/2 inches) were having a field day!



We saw several mixed flocks including this group of several blackbird/cowbird species. Included among them was the flashy Yellow Headed Blackbird. About 10 inches.


Up on the high bench the Antelope were really beautiful. I learned for the first time that the females of this species also have horns. There was a very large male however standing off by himself.



Finally with one of the most beautiful songs around, the Marsh Wren (about 6 inches) is a tough one to photograph because of it's tendency to stay hidden in the grass and reeds.