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The Daily Bucket. How to beat Bad Luck Friday 13th: Go a week early! Sequence Friday. [1]
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Date: 2023-01-13
Final shot of a Red-tailed Hawk sequence, see below.
Why is it seemingly always my luck to get the “good” shots for a current diary (meaning this one) only very later in that same day, too much later than I like to post? Well, whatever, here’s Friday the 6th, GOOD LUCK VERY GOOD LUCK LOTS OF SEQUENCES UNBELIEVABLE I HAVE A JUVENILE BALD EAGLE!
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns. We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the phenological patterns that are quietly unwinding around us. To have the Daily Bucket in your Activity Stream, visit Backyard Science’s profile page and click on Follow.
So, pffblllttt!! Take that, you ol’ mean ol’ nasty Friday the 13th. I ain’t superstitious anyway.
this
black
cat
did
not
just
cross
your
path
It was later in the afternoon, the sky still very haze grey and the temperature just over 40f, but no rain and I needed a jaunt. Out to “Hawk Alley” as I’m now calling Quincy Junction Road, that goes from very near my place and out 2.75 miles across American Valley to its intersection with Chandler Road, but the “Junction” part of the road name comes from the fact that the intersection is just below the railroad junction of the Quincy Railroad and the Union Pacific railroad. I know this may not convey all that much information to you, but here’s the Google Earth view of my ride, and since I love trains and railroads, the “Quincy Junction” also.
The ride along Quincy Junction Road is “bicycle-friendly”, in that there’s designated bicycle/pedestrian lane and cautionary signs for vehicle traffic to watch for cyclists, and the road itself is generally level. (To get this image full-screen, just right-click and select “Open Image in New Tab”, then click over to that newly opened tab. Easy-peasy.)
I know, I know, railroads don’t have much to do with nature, so I’ll get on with it.
You’re here for the sequences, so without further ado, the birds in the order I came across them. Five different species of raptors, including littlest and largest possible to be seen for this area:
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Red-tailed Hawk, being kind of jumpity getting its footing on some rather slim branches for the size of those talons!
Talons, I say!
I wouldn’t want to ever get tickled by those toes!
Ferruginous Hawk, serene and splendid.
Great Blue Heron.
So yeah, I’m not sure two photos makes a “sequence”, but this bird was way off and the other frames didn’t come out very clear, and it was only walking, so two frames is enough.
Although my bicycle ride has taken me just under this Ponderosa Pine dozens and dozens of times previous, today was the first time I’ve had a hawk fly in just as I was approaching. It didn’t rest long, and I was thrilled to get the launch frame. Thank you, Mr./Ms. Red-tailed, I appreciate that!
The Bald Eagles, below, deserve a fuller story. I would not have even known they were out there had not one of them called. Now, I don’t get to hear Bald Eagle calls every day, or hardly once a year for that matter, but I have heard it and it’s a very distinctive call, very much different from any of the hawks or the Kestrel. I paused on my bicycle, stopped, and looked over in the direction. I could just barely make out the white of the adult, but through my camera I easily spotted the juvenile.
This view is approximate to where I was stopped and where the eagles were:
To the far right in the photo is the intersection with Chandler Road, my regular turnaround point for the valley ride. Greenhorn Creek is at left in photo.
I show the foregoing proximity view, especially calling out the distance, so you can understand why these photos are minimal subject size and resolution. For what I came home with in the camera, though, I’m more than happy.
The juvenile in the top three frames was being watched over by what I’m presuming was a parent, bottom frame. They were separated by perhaps twenty yards or so while I snapped these frames.
Well, that’s a “First” for me: a juvenile Bald Eagle. This is kind of exciting; this indicates the Baldies are nesting and breeding nearby. I’ve yet to spot any nests, but you can betcha I’m on the lookout even sharper than ever now.
* * * * *
And yeah…
January 8
January 9
January 12
*****
We’ve had a little weather since the 6th, some heavy rain and snow (the snow up higher in elevation) and I’ve been out at a good reference spot to take some comparison photos. This is the bridge over Spanish Creek on Highway 70 where it first comes into town from the north, photos taken on the 8th, 9th, and 11th respectively:
So the water came way up, and then subsided back to starting level.
Another angle:
For once, “graffiti” comes in handy. Who’d a’ ever thunk you could use it to measure something besides the banality of the human species?
Now it's Your Turn.
What have you noted happening in your area or travels? As usual post your observations as well as their general location in the comments.
Thank you.
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