[Leica] IMG: Birds from Sierra and Plumas Counties

[Jim Nichols]

Beautiful work, Doug.  That last shot of the Cinnamon Teal is an amazing 
pose, with great colors and detail.

Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA

On 6/4/2019 3:15 PM, Doug Herr via LUG wrote:
> 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
>
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