[Leica] IMG: Birds from Sierra and Plumas Counties

[Doug Herr]

It's been a while sine I've posted an update, but May turned ou to be quite a productive month.  I visited the Sierra Valley in Sierra and Plumas Counties (Sierra Nevada mountains) where the spring nesting season is well under way.

Wilson's Snipe is ordinarily well-hidden in marsh veggies but I first spotted this bird when a nearby rancher's dog flushed it from its hiding spot:

http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/scolopacidae/gallinago/wisnip08.html

A few minutes later when the bird returned it called a couple of fuzzballs out from their hiding spots:

http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/scolopacidae/gallinago/wisnip07.html

Meanwhile a female Yellow-headed Blackbird was preparing for the next generation:

http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/icteridae/xanthocephalus/yhblac06.html
http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/icteridae/xanthocephalus/yhblac07.html

while the male guarded the territory

http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/icteridae/xanthocephalus/yhblac08.html

On the way toward the Sierra Valley is a reliable spot for American Dipper.  I first learned of this spot a few years ago and after scouting the location the last two springs I dedicated some time to photographing the bird.  This involved a quarter-mile hike with camera, tripod, comfortable ground-level chair and a simple blind, and a morning evaluating lighting, backgrounds and bird activity to get a few pictures:

http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/cinclidae/cinclus/amdipp06.html
http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/cinclidae/cinclus/amdipp07.html
http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/cinclidae/cinclus/amdipp08.html


At the Sierra Valley marsh there were numerous water birds such as Gadwall

http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/mareca/gadwal16.html
http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/mareca/gadwal17.html

Ruddy Duck

http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/oxyura/ruduck06.html

and Cinnamon Teal

http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/spatula/citeal07.html
http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/spatula/citeal06.html
http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/spatula/citeal09.html
http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/spatula/citeal05.html

At a nearby flooded roadside I found a female Wilson's Phalarope

http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/scolopacidae/phalaropus/wiphal05.html

With the exception of the Dipper, these photos were made using the camper as a blind.  For the Cinnamon Teal I took the additional step of covering the open window with camoflage-print bug netting (the same rudimentary blind I used for the Dipper photos), which turned out to be surprisingly effective.


As usual all comments are welcome and please feel free to share with others who might be interested.


Doug Herr
Birdman of Sacramento
http://www.wildlightphoto.com
http://doug-herr.fineartamerica.com