Had a beautiful fall visit to the Klamath and Tulelake Refuges.  The Fall colors were amazing.

Lots of ducks and geese starting to show up. We counted a total of about 45 Sandhill Cranes in 4 different places.

A Northern Harrier show us a great view of his tail light.

The  Petroglyphs and their history near Tulelake were really interesting.

A Rock Wren came to check us out while we were at the Petroglyphs.

Trying to take a little more time to blog again.

I had a beautiful birding drive to Agate Lake this morning. The fall colors were amazing after the rain showers. Many different types of water fowl are starting to become abundant again along the Rogue RIver and in several ponds. The best birds of the day were the Say’s Phoebe at Agate Lake and the Hermit Thrush near Gold REy Dam on the Rogue RIver.

 While visiting Agate Lake October 5th I saw my first fall Peregrine Falcon at the back of the lake sitting in the dead tree that is in the parking lot. Beautiful bird.

I did my usual birding loop to Agate Lake and back with Comet. We enjoyed the morning with a long walk around the lake area. We met a nice Eagle Point couple that were birding out there also. The Lewis’s Woodpeckers have arrived back to claim the fall and winter grounds. The Acorn Woodpeckers weren’t too  happy about that and were trying to drive the intruders away. The Lewis’s just moved from tree to tree until the Acorn Woodpeckers gave up and tired out. There are a lot of Turkey Vultures starting to form their Kettles for migration.  The Western Kingbird is still out around the back side of the lake along with the Black Phoebe. The 3 terns that I saw last week have turned into 23 birds. There are also more Raptors starting to show up in the area.

I guess I need to post a few of my favorite Southern Oregon creature pictures. Lizzards, butterflies, squirrels, and dragon flies – Oh My!

I did not do one blog in August. I started back to work so getting on the computer for the pure joy of it is hard. I have been doing some birding. Most of it in my own yard. I am seeing a lot of young Rufous and Annas hummingbirds around the feeders. It is hazardous just sitting out on the deck watching them establish and re-establish their territory. The Juncos and Chickadees have been gathering as well as the Goldfinches. As of September 1st there are 2 young Black-headed Grosbeaks still coming in for sunflower seeds and a bath. Speaking of the bird baths I saw 2 firsts in bird bathing. On was a Wilson’s Warbler coming in for a quick dip. I caught that one “fleetingly” with the camera. The other was a young Rufous playing and actually sitting on the pebbles in the bird bath bathing. He would fan its tail and scoot around like a little motorboat then perch on the rocks and scoop water over its back with its wings. I was so amazed that I forgot to pick up the camera.

Comet and I go out Agate Lake at least once a week to watch the changes there. The White Pelicans are still there along with Canada geese, Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Greater Yellowlegs, peeps (I am not fast enough to tell what kind), Osprey, Killdeer, Common Tern, Western Grebe, Western Kingbirds, Bluebirds, Juncos, Tree Swallows feeding in bunches getting ready for migration….and the list goes on. Each time I see something different out there. It is interesting to watch the change in the weather and the change in the birds.

  A pair of Red-shoulder Hawks have successfully raised young. I have at least 1 young hawk flying up and down our creek area making quite a racket this week. The other day it landed right outside my front door in an Oak tree so I grab the camera and slowly crept out the front door to get some pictures. The lighting was not good and I had to be fast so here is a couple shots  and a photo of the parents I had taken earlier this spring.

    

    

The early morning walks along the Rogue River have produced some fun pictures. Actually I have taken these right near the parking lot. Enjoy the pictures.