Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2020/06/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]This particular aspen grove has not been touched by recent fires. Closer to home, Lake Tahoe?s fires in the last decade or so have caused some disruptions with a few species temporarily displacing others. Longer term trends I?ve been seeing are a gradual shifting northward of several species, now common in northern California where in past decades they were unusual or even absent. Doug Herr Birdman of Sacramento http://www.wildlightphoto.com <http://www.wildlightphoto.com/> > On Jun 13, 2020, at 5:36 AM, Don Dory via LUG <lug at leica-users.org> > wrote: > > How have the past years fires affected your passion. The loss of habitat > in northern California surely caused many dislocations. > > On Fri, Jun 12, 2020, 9:25 PM Doug Herr via LUG <lug at leica-users.org > <mailto:lug at leica-users.org>> wrote: > >> The Williamson?s Sapsucker is a woodpecker of the mountains of western >> North America. Living in remote forests, it can be difficult to find >> reliably but one particular grove of aspens in a mixed conifer/aspen zone >> above 6300? elevation has been my go-to spot for at least a decade. >> >> The grove is several miles from the nearest paved road but fortunately the >> gravel road is in good enough condition for ordinary vehicles w/o high >> clearance or 4WD. This is where I found myself one day this week. >> >> My plan was to find a nest site, set up a blind nearby to allow for >> adequate lighting and decent backgrounds, and wait. Having visited the >> grove the week before I knew the birds were in the area so I began the day >> by looking for likely nest trees: a large dead aspen with several older >> nest cavities seemed a likely prospect, and the scattered wood chips at >> the >> base of the tree suggested recent excavation. I then set up the blind >> nearby and waited. >> >> No more than 5 minutes passed before one of the adults flew to the tree >> with a bill full of bugs. Refining my blind?s position for photos and >> waiting several hours resulted in numerous photos, two of which are here: >> >> male Williamson?s Sapsucker >> >> >> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/sphyrapicus/thyroideus/sphthy11.html >> < >> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/sphyrapicus/thyroideus/sphthy11.html >> >> <http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/sphyrapicus/thyroideus/sphthy11.html> >>> >> >> female Williamson?s Sapsucker >> >> >> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/sphyrapicus/thyroideus/sphthy10.html >> >> <http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/sphyrapicus/thyroideus/sphthy10.html> >> < >> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/sphyrapicus/thyroideus/sphthy10.html >> >> <http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/sphyrapicus/thyroideus/sphthy10.html> >>> >> >> This species is unusual among woodpeckers for its plumage differences >> between the sexes. When european-americans first encountered this bird >> they believed the male and the female were separate species because of the >> striking difference. >> >> As usual, all comments are welcome. >> >> Doug Herr >> Birdman of Sierra County >> http://www.wildlightphoto <http://www.wildlightphoto/> >> <http://www.wildlightphoto/ <http://www.wildlightphoto/>>.com >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug >> <http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug> for more information > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug > <http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug> for more information