For many years I have wanted a Quail chick shot.  My son screamed that he saw Quail chicks in our neighbors yard.  Before you could say “Nikon” I had my long lens out running around looking for the miniature birds.  Got one shot……..

Check out the size of this mini.  Notice the nails in the boards. Compare them to the bird.  The vertical boards are 3 1/2″ inches wide.  This weensy guy is about 1 1/2″ tall.  TINY!!!!

Ever noticed how much work women do?

This is a Yellow Headed Blackbird.  A female.  The males are noisy, obnoxious, colorful, and not often collecting food.  At least not when I have been watching.  The female work their little beaks off.   They seem to be wound up tighter than a ten day clock.  She is not as pretty as the male.  What she doesn’t have in looks she has in effort.  Her cycling of rounding up food then delivering food then back to picking food again is remarkably short.  We are talking about chasing multiple bugs packing them in the beak then delivering to the family.  A bunch of times.  I watched this particular beauty as she would return to the same area at the refuge for bug catching.  Snacks of the sort.  Love this lady.  She works hard to feed to her family.  I still wonder what dad is doing all this time…..

Mornings and nights at the nest.

The Avocets have gotten familiar with me and my camera.  For 24 days my mornings and nights (when in town) have been at this Avocet nest……

Tonight I rushed to the Avocet nest minutes before the DWS closed the gates to the Refuge.  Still nesting and no sign of chicks.  Several times a day the mated pair would trade nesting responsibilities.  Almost to army exactness a ritual would ensue as the trade off took place.  The eggs would not be exposed for more than a few seconds.  Good parents I would say.  As the replacement parent would approach the nest they would shake their skinny blue legs to shake of any unwanted items.  In addition they would preen extensively before entering the nest.  Everytime.  I waited patiently watching the clock knowing that in a few minutes the DWS staff would kick me out.  Lock the gate and go home.  I wanted to stay and watch this new family in their home.  My first Avocet birth…..

I waited then out from behind Mom popped the new chick.  Less than one day old.  Teeny Weeny ball of fur with a beak……..

AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Stumbling, barley alive this cute little chick is not more than a couple of inches tall…maybe.

Mom and dad are VERY protective of these kids.  Two born, one to egg left.  What a night.  One of those firsts for me.  One moment I soon won’t forget!

At the refuge on the way home from Bear Lake tonight…..still NO CHICKS!!!!

Still no Avocet Chicks……..

I did however run into this beautiful pheasant.  Yikes.  The light was perfect.  While I was at the property boundary at a farm in Farmington getting shots of this beauty, I was approached by the landowner.  She asked if I was from Animal Control.  It seemed weird for her to ask such a question.  Photographing a pheasant?  I sure wasn’t trying to look conspicuous.  To her I probably looked somewhat covert….Like I intended.  I did not notice in the large field a 27 year old horse (not typically at full stop to photograph horses standing in their field).  She said that she has almost weekly complaints about how she is not caring for the horse.  It has a slight limp.  Arthritis she told me. Looked like a really old horse to me (still not worthy of the pixels).  She was pleased that I was not in fact from animal control.  And I was sure glad that the light was perfect and the bird was there for me.  Because as soon as she stopped and walked up to me the pheasant departed…….

Something is going on at the refuge.

Fight night? Eggs ready to hatch? Boredom?   All  I know is that the Acocets are beating each other.  Can’t we just get along?  Really it is ok with me.  Makes for some fun photographs……..

The Common Tern

Not so common a bird.  Black and White.  Short beak.  Pretty small at about 7 oz’s with a 23″ wing span.  Flies above water always looking down.  Food is down.  When the turn spots a snack it will stop and hover then dive into the water.  Or just turn quickly and dive in.  Often it will fly low.  Close to the water.  Then quickly drop their head so only their beak touches the water snatching up the morsel.  A blast to watch.   A monster to try and get in the camera.  Especially flying directly at the camera!  Tonight I really lucked out.  The little bugger flew right at me and scooped a dinner snack.  (by the way the Avocet chicks still have not hatched).  At 9-11 frames a second it was still pretty much luck that I got the shot.

Couldn’t help myself.  Just thought the Black and White beauty would look best on Black and White…….

(click on the photo to enlarge on your screen)

Yesterday was another great weekend day.

Ran a lot of errands, did a couple of chores and checked on the Avocet nest. No chicks yet.  Had a quick visitor.  A pelican.  Turned and got his landing…..

Man they can water ski.  Had the exposure a half stop too high.  Check out the white on the wing it is a little burned out.  Can’t win em all!

This morning I had to check on the Avocet nest.  No chicks yet.

I did however get a better shot of the coot little ones. They were all still buried in the thistle and cat tails.  This one peaked out for a second……

Tonight I was a bachelor and had to make some calls (thank goodness for cell phones) so I went out (again) to check on the Avocet nest.  Still no chicks!  Every trip out to FBBR puts me around common Malard ducks.  A lot of them.  Usually I down play the need to get a shot.  Not much to shoot tonight.  Until this guy did the big duck stretch!!!!

Kind of a show off don’t you think?  Gorgeous bird!

I have posted many time the White Faced Ibis.  Every time they are in my viewfinder I am dumfounded by their beauty.  Often I show people as they fly by.  Comments usually are that they are  ugly black or black plain birds.

Maybe it is my life’s ambition to bring this beautiful bird out of normalcy and obscurity.    I love the colors on these guys.

The colors are incredible.  These are not enhanced or saturated.  It is a late day shot that adds to the wrap of the light a little.

And Like most water fowl they love and need to bath….