In Focus Daily

The Salt Pond along the Ferrari Pond Trail has water in it and that is bringing in water fowl and shorebirds. An American White Pelican even flapped down into it the other day. The male Cinnamon and Green-winged Teals are showing signs of territorial prerogative, chasing after any perceived competitors as the females paddle idly about, ignoring the splashing antics of the males. The male Cinnamon Teals are strikingly colored, especially in the early morning sun and their bright red eyes make a startling accent. This male has been dipping beneath the surface in search of something to eat so the water drops have beaded on and his head and a single drop falls from his beak.

A River Otter, relaxed and chill on a very sunny afternoon in Yellowstone last week, watched us from the edge of a pond. As we watched, it lay flat and slid through the snow. It was either playing or attempting to scratch an itch. After several minutes of frolicking, it slid into the water and swam across the pond. Then it disappeared from view into a safe hiding place on the shore.

For such a tiny bird, the adorable Oak Titmouse has a big sound. Yesterday along the Ferrari Pond Trail, we could hear a consistent chirping, the distinct call of the Oak Titmouse, long before we saw it. At the end of the trail, there it was, perched in a leafless fruit tree chattering away. With its distinctive top knot and continuous calling, it is easy to identify.

A Red-tailed Hawk has been frequenting the trees along Ferrari Pond Trail in Lincoln. It’s been there for a few weeks, off and on, not concerned about the proximity of walkers (and photographers) nearby. A couple of days ago, it perched atop a Coast Redwood Tree.

This GBH (AKA Great Blue Heron) seemed frozen in place the other morning at Angler’s Cove. Poised and alert to pounce when something passed, the bird didn’t move for at least ten minutes. I kept focused the whole time, thinking it would dip into the water and emerge with a crawfish or something else but the GBH’s attention span outlasted mine. I finally gave up and left it standing, still frozen in place.

With his perky topknot and feathers puffed up to guard against the chilly air, this California Quail perched on a bramble of blackberry vine off the Ferrari Pond Trail yesterday morning. The California Quail is California’s state bird. It wasn’t until I moved to Lincoln that I have seen this bird regularly, and not just with fleeting glances as they disappear into the shrubbery but perched, like this male, highly visible. I had never photographed a California Quail until I moved here, either. Now, I see them often and frequently get chances to photograph the males as they survey their territory.

In winter, Yellowstone National Park opens to snow coaches at 7 AM while it is still dark. On the freshly groomed roads, headlights reveal what critters may have crossed it in the night offering a tantalizing suggestion for what the day might bring. But before the morning light reveals any critters, a pullout past the 7 Mile Bridge along the Madison River offers the first glimpse of light and color that promises a great day ahead. Mist rising from the river as the cold air hits the warmer water creates a classic Yellowstone sunrise.

For me, it’s always a thrill to photograph a majestic Bald Eagle, our national symbol, especially in Yellowstone National Park, our first national park. A few days ago in Yellowstone, as we returned from a stop at the Mud Volcano and Dragon’s Mouth Spring, this mature Bald Eagle perched on the top of a dead tree just above Sulphur Caldron. We shot through the open door of the Snow Coach with an unobstructed view of the bird and with a perfect background, while the steam spewed from Sulphur Caldron completely obscuring the bird at times and then quickly revealing it again.

In winter, Coyotes and other wildlife in Yellowstone often use the groomed roads for easier travel through the park.

It finally snowed on our last day in Yellowstone National Park. It wasn’t much but it certainly was a nice ending to our trip. And this Bison bull is enveloped in snowflakes as he stands knee deep in the snow already on the ground.

It was pretty quiet yesterday in Yellowstone. The anticipated snow did not materialize and we saw few critters. However, our morning visit to the Fountain Paint Pots was a rewarding event because the geothermal features there never disappoint. This is Celestine Pool, spewing steam into the atmosphere as the last colors of the sunrise disappeared.

On most of my trips to Yellowstone National Park, it always seems that there is one critter that stands out as the star of the trip. So far this trip, it appears to be the Coyote. The Park has been relatively quiet with not too many visitors and not too many critters but we have seen and photographed Coyotes each day so far. This Coyote, in a gorgeous winter coat, passed us by yesterday, as it veered off the road and down a snowy slope.

Yesterday afternoon in Yellowstone National Park, right by a sign that read “Wildlife Exhibit Ahead,” a couple of snow coaches were stopped, blocking the road. Road jams in Yellowstone National Park usually mean some sort of critter is nearby and this was no exception. A lone Coyote trotted up the road heading away from us when it passed the sign post and a few yards further up the road, it reversed direction and returned to a snow-covered slope near the sign and began to dig in the snow. By this time, the Coach directly in front of us had driven off giving us a clear line of sight. We watched as the Coyote’s digging revealed the wing of a Trumpeter Swan that had succumbed and its carcass was buried in the snow. The Coyote had picked up the scent as it passed by and was intent on devouring its frozen meal despite the photographers that gathered nearby. The Coyote, wing feather in its mouth, didn’t realize it was providing a “live” Wildlife Exhibit, just as advertised by the sign, the shadow of which is in front of the Coyote.

The temperature was in single digits in Yellowstone National Park yesterday morning when we encountered a small herd of Bison on the road. Every breath they took was visible as they lumbered along. We drove ahead about a half mile to wait for them to come over a rise. When they appeared, the clouds of mist enveloped them as they exhaled and snorted. It was our first day in Yellowstone. What a great start to the trip.

This is just a simple scene in Yellowstone National Park from a couple of winters ago. I’m back, looking forward to another marvelous adventure in this beautiful National treasure.

Pied-billed Grebes are floating cuteness. Once thought to be related to loons because of their diving patterns, instead, DNA research has shown that their closest relatives are American Flamingos! Who’d a thunk it? There are a couple of Pied-billed Grebes that frequent the ponds along the Ferrari Pond Trail in Lincoln. I took this a few days ago after the fog lifted.

A little Say’s Phoebe, a flycatcher that frequents open spaces, was perched on the tip of a leafless plant along the edge of the Ferrari Pond Trail the other morning. It was quite visible then, when the fog was not enveloping the world.

Along the boardwalk at Sax-Zim Bog’s Winterberry Bog Trail last week, a Hairy Woodpecker puffed up his feathers against the cold. He clung to the side of a pine tree covered with tiny fungi. He was after grubs and other edibles lodged in and under the bark, not the mushroomy things. A Downy Woodpecker was also hanging around the area at the same time. I had to check the length of the beak to know whether it was a Hairy or a Downy. The Hairy Woodpecker’s beak is a bit longer than the Downy’s beak.

Along the Ferrari Pond Trail the other morning, the Lesser Goldfinches had homed in on the white berries of the Chinese Tallow. This male appears a bit wary, looking at me suspiciously as if I might pluck the berries out from under him.

It was a gray day at Gray Lodge. A Double-crested Cormorant stands sentinel on a stump in a pond at the California Wildlife Area known as Gray Lodge the other day. The infamous valley tule fog, that was absent for so many years during the drought, has returned. My photography club had a field trip to Gray Lodge on Monday. Driving there, the fog was dense from my home all the way to Gray Lodge with visibility down to probably 100 feet or less. The lights of cars that passed quickly disappeared from view and the fog enveloped the roadway making it feel like driving through a white tunnel. Once at Gray Lodge, the visibility was only slightly improved. We walked the main trail and drove the loop seeing few birds and those we saw were mostly obscured in the mist. In this shot, all of the distracting background elements are obscured by the dense fog.