Peenie Wallie: Photos Archives

January 29, 2012

A mom and three yearlings

These deer came up to the house tonight as Jennifer and I were leaving. She tossed them a couple of pears which they loved. Thee look pretty healthy. This is the first winter for the three small deer. I'm not clear if the mom can claim all three of these does as her own. While it's common for a doe to have twins, but triplets would be very rare, I think.

Posted by Rob Kiser on January 29, 2012 at 2:00 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

January 25, 2012

Critters in the hood

Here's some critters I shot recently around the hood.

Above: Coyote (Canis latrans). Canon EOS 40D with L-Series Canon f/4.0 IS USM 600mm lens. The coyotes are omnivores, and opportunistic scavengers. This one was chasing after a Northern Magpie that was scolding it. Image selection in Cam2PC. Post processing in Adobe Photoshop CS5.

Above: Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger). Canon EOS 40D with L-Series Canon f/4.5-5.6 IS USM 400mm lens. This squirrel box was a project Jennifer dreamed up in honor of "Squirrel Appreciation Day". The squirrels are said to "hibernate" at this time of year, though their hibernation is mainly a period of less activity, as opposed to sleeping for months at a time. This time of year, they commonly move from their leaf nests into hollow tree cavities, if possible. Image selection in Cam2PC. Post processing in Adobe Photoshop CS5.

Above: Immature Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). Note that this is an young bird as indicated by the yellow eyes and prominent tail banding. Canon EOS 40D with L-Series Canon f/4.0 IS USM 600mm lens. Image selection in Cam2PC. Post processing in Adobe Photoshop CS5.

Posted by Rob Kiser on January 25, 2012 at 12:49 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

November 13, 2011

The Butcher Bird

Well, the leaves are off the trees, so the "Butcher Birds" are back. Jen and I spotted this Northern Shrike (Lanius excubitor) this morning near Charlie's house off North Turkey Creek.

This bird catches other birds and eats them. If he can't eat them all in one meal, he pins their carcass on a barbed-wire fence or a thorn bush and returns for them later. Hence the name, "Butcher Bird".

They are migratory and only appear after the leaves are off the trees. Here are my Butcher Bird photos from 2010 and 2009.

Posted by Rob Kiser on November 13, 2011 at 5:16 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 15, 2011

Weekly Photos

Above: California's central valley near Modesto.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 15, 2011 at 12:27 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 14, 2011

Swainson's Hawk

Above: Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni). This is the first Swainson's Hawk I've photographed this year. I think that they returned to Colorado about a month later than last year, for whatever reason.

Above: Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni).

http://www.whatbird.com/forums/forums/233087/ShowThread.aspx#233087

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 14, 2011 at 11:29 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 9, 2011

Fox Kits

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 9, 2011 at 1:57 PM : Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 7, 2011

The Cuteness is Strong in this one

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 7, 2011 at 9:19 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Coyote

Above: Coyote (Canis latrans).

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 7, 2011 at 8:58 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

The Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 7, 2011 at 3:13 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

April 20, 2011

Blue Lights and Adrenaline

Above: A flowering tree in the Myrtle family (Myrtaceae).

So after work, I walk outside and the wisteria are hanging straight down from the rain. I stop to take some photos of them because, if not now, when?

I climb onto my adrenal-cycle with a camera and a couple of lenses and I begin to prowl around San Francisco. I'm never sure where to go but I'm going somewhere, right? I'm not going to sit at home. Not a chance.

So I'm rolling down somewhere...17th or 18th or so....sort of rolling through the Mission toward the Castro because, let's be honest, if you're looking for flowers and flowering trees, you can't ignore the Castro district.

So I'm rolling around and I see a cop come by. One of those clearly marked black and white units and he gets a good eyeful of the back of my bike and, let's be clear here...there's nothing there. Nada. As in, no plates. I'm free-balling.

So he goes down about a block and I figure he's probably watching to see which way I go, but I go on my way. I'm not living my life for other people. That's not my ticket.

So I keep on rolling and I see this tree blooming like mad with these ridiculous red flowers all over it. Like something out of a dream. Something Dr. Seuss would make up and I stop to get some shots because I don't take much for granted these days.

I don't lump all of the Myrtacaea together like I used to in San Diego. I don't make that mistake any more. I'm out, examining the flowers, the leaves, the bark, and the seed pods.

Now, mind you, so far as I can tell, no one else is doing this, but that's none of my concern. If you're driving through the Garden of Eden, there's no pride in being perfectly ignorant of the flora around you. To my way of thinking, anyhow.

So I pull over to snap some shots of this surreal looking flowering tree and suddenly, here comes that pig. The same one, slipping down an alley and coming out right in front of me and he sees me and turns on his lights. Now, mind you, my bike is parked and I'm off of it, but here he sits, lights flashing, looking right at me.

Those of you that had April 20th as the day I'd get stopped and fined for driving without plates please take one step forward. Now, take one step back. Because he turned left and took off and I never saw him again. And I don't know where he was going but he wasn't after me. Heeeheeee.

And I'm happy to be free of the clutches of the pig and running loose in this mad and beautiful city, but that's the way it is out here. I know you don't believe me, but San Francisco is a wild-west frontier type of mentality where the cops ride two to a car, in fear for their own lives. (In Lima, they ride four to a car). And they're not about to start something over a license plate. That's just not how it is out here. It's not like that. Not that way.

So I continue to wander around the city on the bike. It's sort of misting. Trying to rain. But not bad enough that I put on my Dry Ducks. I think about it a lot though. But never I do. Never I do.

And it's nearly dark when I get off work. There can be no denial of this. It's too dark to be shooting, really, but this is what I have. I crank the ISO up to some ridiculous number to buy myself some daylight at the expense of grainy photos. A deal with the devil. But all I have is a few minutes after work to roll around in the misty Pacific coast and this is this is this. This is this.

I wind around and it's getting darker and wetter and finally I decide I'll go to The Grove and download my photos and collect my thoughts over an Anchor Porter.

And I'm winding down from the hills around Buena Vista and Corona Heights and I roll past this tree with both reddish/orange flowers and white flowers and I'm like.."OK...I'm calling bullsh1t on this one. There's no way one tree could possibly have two completely different flowers on it like that." But it was an illusion. They'd planted a tree and let this vine grow through it. Or, possibly, it was two trees woven together, but it was definitely two completely different species intermingled and I have no doubt they did it on purpose because, well, you should have seen the rest of the place.

My GPS is dead. I've not wired it into my bike yet. Only I attach it and run the batteries down which doesn't take long, apparently. And I end up on Market, but way out near the end where the trolley doesn't go along with Market Street any more. So, it seems safe enough to follow for a block or three. And I'm rolling up to a red light and a bike pulls up beside me and I hear this sickening crunch and I'm thinking. WTF? Seriously. What was that. And, I decide that the noise came from the crankcase of the bike next to me. Like his transmission is seriously screwed. And I'm looking at him with this chick on the back thinking...dude...you need to get that checked out. But now he's looking back. So I look back. And the two cars beside us have wrecked. Like...at a red light...one car ran into the back of another one going about 3 miles and hour and I look at the guy on the bike and I say "Dude...seriously...what the fck?" And we're all laughing. Me and him and the chick on the back of his bike. Like...dude...open your fvcking eyes already.

A woman at work told me about this house for sale in the city for $45M. I tell her I'm going to give them a low-ball offer of $40M and see if they'll take it. So I decide I'll try to find it, but my GPS is dead so I can't find it. I get within a block or three of it, but I dunno. I don't know where it is and it doesn't matter that much anyway. Does it?

The bike could use some work. I've stretched out the chain riding wheelies across the city. Need to tighten the chain. The headlight shines up and about a 45 degree angle like I'm hunting coons. The engine has developed a small oil leak, from where I'm not clear yet. The left rear turn signal sort of droops. The guy had taped it with black tape when I bought it and I missed this fact. Shame on me.

It is ideal transportation in the city, but it's not exactly maintenance free. It needs a little TLC before I make my next trip up to Alaska in August.

Above: Wisteria. Family: Fabaceae (or Leguminosae) is a large family of flowering plants, commonly known as the legume family, pea family, bean family or pulse family.

Update: I now suspect that this mural on Shotwell in the Mission District was painted by Reyes78, author of the "Mispelled" series of letters painted in SF.

Above: Blooms of the Ruby Red horse chestnut (Aesculus x carnea 'Briotii'). Family: Hippocastanaceae.

Above: Tthe Ruby Red horse chestnut (Aesculus x carnea 'Briotii'). Family: Hippocastanaceae.

Posted by Rob Kiser on April 20, 2011 at 9:14 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

The Bottle Brush Tree

Above: The Bottlebrush Tree (Callistemon rigidus). Family = Myrtaceae.

Posted by Rob Kiser on April 20, 2011 at 12:02 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

April 19, 2011

Corymbia ficifolia

After going back and taking some more photo today, I'm reasonably sure that the trees across the street are Red Flowering Gum trees, aka Albany red flowering gum trees, or Orange Splendour. The scientific name is Corymbia ficifolia, formerly Eucalyptus ficifolia. Family = Myrtaceae.

The trees flower heavily only every second year; typically parts of a given tree will flower one year and other parts the next, but this varies greatly: in typical corymbia fashion, each individual tree seems to have its own particular habits.

Posted by Rob Kiser on April 19, 2011 at 11:30 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

April 14, 2011

The Pride of Madeira

The "Pride of Madeira" (Echium candicans or Echium fastuosum), a shrub from the borage family (boraginaceae), native to the Madeira archipelago. This flower has bothered me since I arrived in San Francisco back in February. I've been pulling my hair out trying to find out what it is. I see this all over the place and no one knows what it is. I'd never even heard of the "Pride of Madeira", or even of the Madeira archipelago, for that matter. But it is a spectacular flower.

Posted by Rob Kiser on April 14, 2011 at 8:59 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

March 27, 2011

Day 2 in Hawaii

Above: The Koʻolau Range near Waimanalo, Oahu.

Above: Rabbit Island at dawn.

Above: The Koʻolau Range near Waimanalo, Oahu.

Above: Kailua Bay.

Above: Hanauma Bay.

Above: Flat island and Rabbit Island.

Above: Great frigatebird (Fregata minor).

Above: Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis).

Above: Plumeria.

Above: Hibiscus.

Above: Bouganvilla.

Above: Red-crested Cardinal, Brazilian Cardinal (Paroaria coronata).

Above: Red-footed Booby (Sula sula).

Above: Java Sparrow (Padda oryzivora).

Above: Spider Lily (Crinum asiaticum).

Above: Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis).

Above: Hibiscus.

Above: Jennifer and Brian at the Department of Agriculture, Honolulu.

Above: Jennifer in front of an Indian banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis), Family: Moraceae.

Above: Me swinging from an Indian banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis), Family: Moraceae.

Above: James swinging from an Indian banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis), Family: Moraceae.

Above: Blooms of the Pink Bombax (Pseudobombax ellipticum), Queen's Medical Center.

Above: Blooms of the Pink Bombax (Pseudobombax ellipticum), Queen's Medical Center, Honolulu.

Avove: Nawa tree (Sterculia urens), Queen's Medical Center, Honolulu.

Above: Brian at the Department of Agriculture, Honolulu.

Above: Jennifer and Brian at Lanai Lookout along Kalanianaole Highway near the Halona Blowhole.

Above: Java Sparrow (Padda oryzivora).

Above: Red-crested Cardinal, Brazilian Cardinal (Paroaria coronata).

Above: Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva).
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Above: Jennifer at Lanai Lookout along Kalanianaole Highway near the Halona Blowhole.

Above: Jennifer at Lanai Lookout, Koko Head Crater in the background.

Above: Lanai Lookout.

Above: Jennifer at Lanai Lookout near the Halona Blowhole.

Above: Brian at Lanai Lookout near the Halona Blowhole.

Above: Jennifer at Lanai Lookout near the Halona Blowhole.

Above: Boogey boarder at Sandy Beach Park.

Above: Spider lily (Crinum asiaticum).

Above: Lobster claw, False-bird-of-paradise (Heliconia rostrata).

Plants verified at Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk.

Above: Jennifer in front of a street-side food vendor.

Above: Jennifer in front of a Baobab tree at the Department of Agriculture, Honolulu.

Above: Jennifer and Brian at the Queen's Medical Center, Honolulu.

Above: Jennifer at the Department of Agriculture.

http://www.whatbird.com/forums/forums/219529/ShowThread.aspx#219529

Posted by Rob Kiser on March 27, 2011 at 3:34 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

February 27, 2011

Red-Tailed Hawks

Above: Immature Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), as indicated by yellow eye color.

Above: Mature Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), as indicated by dark reddish/brown eye color.

Posted by Rob Kiser on February 27, 2011 at 10:40 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

February 24, 2011

San Francisco Sucks

Above: Dinner in the Marina district.

Above: Blooms of the Tulip Tree.

Above: Fortnight Lily (Dietes iridioides).

Posted by Rob Kiser on February 24, 2011 at 9:57 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

February 12, 2011

First Day in the Field

So, today was my first day in the field with the new Canon "Cannon", as I like to call it. First of all, I should mention that this camera garners a lot of attention. I had people stop their cars and ask me what type of lens I had. The police approached me for taking photos while parked in the middle of the road. Total strangers asked for me to take their pictures. So, obviously, if I'm going to walk around with this thing, I'm going to have to get some business cards printed out just so people will leave me alone. At this point, they don't even ask if I'm a photographer. There's no plausible denial at this point. I think I've lost that battle.

I shot the camera free-hand, and after a day in the field, I can tell you that my arms and wrists are sore. It's one thing to be able to raise the camera up to your eye. Quite another to old it steady above your head while shooting birds all day. This is more challenging than I'd imagined.

These images aren't great, but for my first day out, I'm happy with them. I need to work with a tripod and a remote shutter release, of course. But a lot of these images were shot from further away than I normally shoot. A large part of bird photography is getting lucky and having the bird sit still while you approach him. The closer you get, the better the shot.

Saw several hawks today. Mostly Red-tailed hawks. Some mature, some immature. Also, I shot a female American Kestrel. We saw a mature Bald Eagle, but it flew before I could get any shots.

Above: Female American Kestrel, as indicated by the lack of blue on the leading edge of wings and the lack of pronounced markings on the breast.

I assume that the bird above is an immature Red-tailed Hawk. (Verifying at Whatbird.com).

Posted by Rob Kiser on February 12, 2011 at 10:14 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

February 7, 2011

The Butcher Bird

Jennifer and I were driving up the canyon yesterday when I saw a small bird fly across the road. I wasn't clear what it was, but I stopped to get a shot because it looked unusual enough that it caught my attention.

As it turns out, it was a Northern Shrike (Lanius excubitor) eating a male House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) with an unusual orange coloration.

This is the 2nd time I've seen a Northern Shrike eating a male House Finch in the winter. (Here's one I shot in December of 2009.)

Posted by Rob Kiser on February 7, 2011 at 6:45 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

January 21, 2011

Postcards From Nowhere

Above and below: Mature Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) in Coraopolis, PA.

Some of the towns I've been in so far this year.

Madison, MS
Dallas, TX
Denver, CO
Milwaukee, WI
Madison, WI
Pittsburgh, PA
Charlotte, NC
Phoenix, AZ

Posted by Rob Kiser on January 21, 2011 at 10:14 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

January 11, 2011

Postcards From Nowhere

Posted by Rob Kiser on January 11, 2011 at 3:01 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

January 8, 2011

American Kestrel

Above: Male American Kestrel. This American Kestrel is easily identified as a male by the blue leading edge on the wings and the very pronounced black spots on the chest.

Posted by Rob Kiser on January 8, 2011 at 10:50 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

January 7, 2011

Immature Red-Tailed Hawk

This is an immature Red-Tailed Hawk. Patagial markings (leading edge of the underside of the wings) make the identification as a Red-Tailed Hawk unmistakable. The yellow eye and tail banding indicate it's an immature hawk.

Posted by Rob Kiser on January 7, 2011 at 5:23 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

January 5, 2011

Pennsylvania in January

Above: I'm thinking it's an immature bird due to the red eye. I'm thinking Sharp-shinned or Cooper's hawk mainly due to the coloration and distinct broad banding on the tail.
Update: I had the eye color backwards. The red eye indicates a mature bird. Immature would have a yellow eye.

Lack of distinct patagial marks appears to indicate it's not a Red-Tailed Hawk. The elongated tail appears to indicate it's an accipiter.

Posted by Rob Kiser on January 5, 2011 at 9:27 PM : Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

December 23, 2010

Daily Photos

Posted by Rob Kiser on December 23, 2010 at 9:54 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

December 22, 2010

Daily Photos

Posted by Rob Kiser on December 22, 2010 at 10:35 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Catching up on recent photos...

Posted by Rob Kiser on December 22, 2010 at 12:46 PM : Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

November 28, 2010

November's Last Saturday

Posted by Rob Kiser on November 28, 2010 at 2:41 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

November 21, 2010

The Red Powderpuff

Last year, when I was working in in San Diego and traveling through Mexico, I spent a good deal of time interrogating strangers about the flowers I encountered. I was never able to accurately identify the red flowers I saw on the bushes at the San Diego airport.

Yesterday, I noticed that one of the flowers we saw at the Denver Botanic Gardens was referred to as the Red Powderpuff "Calliandra haematocephala". Family: Fabaceae, Sub-family: Mimosoideae. This was a flower that bothered me a great deal, as I'd initially mistaken it for the flower of a Bottlebrush tree. I'm reasonably certain this is the same flower I shot last year in San Diego.

Posted by Rob Kiser on November 21, 2010 at 11:46 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (1) | Permalink

November 20, 2010

Denver Botanical Gardens

Above: Blue Ginger (Dichorisandra thyrsiflora). Commelinaceae: (Spiderwort Family).

Went down to the Denver Botanical Gardens with the kids and some lady friends today. They have an indoor rain forest similar to the Butterfly Pavilion. Fairly decent variety of flowers. Makes me wish I were back in the jungle.

Above: Common Morning Glory (Ipomoea purpurea).

Above: Angel-Wing Begonia (Begonia coccinea). Begoniaceae: (Begonia family).

Posted by Rob Kiser on November 20, 2010 at 6:03 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

November 11, 2010

Cold Busted

So, I pulled the memory card from the game cam today and it looks like there's a lot more critters out there than I'd realized. Aside from catching myself and Timmy, we've now photographed a fox the size of a pony, a raccoon the size of a bloodhound, two other cats, and a magpie.

Posted by Rob Kiser on November 11, 2010 at 4:35 PM : Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

November 9, 2010

Aha!

I got up this morning and the live animal trap had been rolled away. I was thinking...if I don't have photos this time, then I think Robert R. is right - I'm dealing with "Predator". But, I checked my game came and this time, I got him. So, this appears to be a large red fox (Vulpes vulpes). I'm working on getting a larger live animal trap. Stay tuned.

Posted by Rob Kiser on November 9, 2010 at 8:30 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

November 6, 2010

Final Soccer Game of the Season

The girls played great today. Many thanks to coaches and assistants for putting in so much time and effort. Looking forward to next year. :)

Posted by Rob Kiser on November 6, 2010 at 10:36 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

October 31, 2010

Country Club Warriors

Posted by Rob Kiser on October 31, 2010 at 11:51 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Soccer Photos

Posted by Rob Kiser on October 31, 2010 at 11:40 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

The Halloween School Dance

Posted by Rob Kiser on October 31, 2010 at 11:36 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

October 23, 2010

Parting Shots

Now that I'm home, safe and sound in Colorado - only now can I begin to put the trip around Lake Michigan in perspective.

Always, when I go off on some epic journey, I convince myself that it will be some process of discovery. That I'll finally figure out what I want to be when I grow up. That I'll be a better person because I'll finally discover who I am.

But never, this happens. I never discover any deeper truths about myself, at least, not in the sense that I had hoped. I never come back with any wisdom that I didn't leave with. Only I'm more tired and confused than ever before. Probably that's the best way to describe my little adventures, if they could even be called that.

On the first day, we got up and as we were gassing up, Chak noticed that my rear tire was low, something that I'd not noticed. I didn't have a tire gauge, but got it inflated into the right ball-park of pressure before we left.

Another time, Chak noticed that my backpack had become unzipped by the 100 mph winds passing over it. This was a huge save, as my laptop was in there. This is something I would have missed.

At one point, I stopped and picked up a can of chain lube and sprayed my chain and Chak's, which were both in bad need of oiling.

Raj, of course, planned the entire trip, and led for much of the way. For some reason, as the leader, he had the balls to drive 95 mph for hours straight. Not clear why he decided to do this, but I'm very glad he did. It helped us catch up on the day's journey and made the trip a lot more fun, of course.

By the time we got to Macinac, I decided to break down and buy a map. Chak had is little hand-held phone, I'm not clear what it is, and between the two, we were able to plot our journey across Michigan a little better.

Raj was the one who picked where we would eat on the last day, and he hit a homerun. We ate at a little place in Manistee, I believe. When I wanted to eat at Wendy's, he stepped up and led us to this little local café that served the best Walleye on the planet.

When I think of riding with Chak and Raj, I think about "the wisdom of crowds," and, in our case at least, I think it worked as advertised. Namely that the group as a whole performed better than three individuals.

It made the trip so much more enjoyable, that as I'm planning next year's journey, I'm thinking I may not want to go alone.

Posted by Rob Kiser on October 23, 2010 at 3:40 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

October 21, 2010

Soccer Practice

Posted by Rob Kiser on October 21, 2010 at 11:51 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

October 17, 2010

Postcards from Nowhere: Lake Michigan - Day 3 - The Muskegon Ferry

Day 3 - The Muskegon Ferry

I get up this morning before 8:00 a.m. and start packing up my things. Getting ready to leave the hotel room. Following my little ritual to make sure nothing gets left behind. When you travel, if you're not diligent, then things tend to disappear. Over time, they just go away. And where they went, no one knows and no one can say. They're just gone is all.

I walk next door to Raj and Chak's room and they're just starting to move.

"You already got your shower and everything?" Chak asks in amazement.

"I took a shower last night. Let's go Cinderella. Up and at 'em."

I've realized by now that, although Raj gets huge points for planning this trip to being with, no one is pushing the group to make deadlines. We're not accurately predicting our daily mileage. We're not arriving on time. Possibly it should have been a hint that they both left late from Madison to meet me in Green Bay.

"We haven't had breakfast yet," they whine.

They're spraying hairspray and packing away their slippers and I'm like "You brought hair spray and slippers? OK. I'm going to get gas. To hit US Highway 31 south, you go to the bottom of the hill and turn left. I'll be at the gas station."

And I drive to the gas station. When they come by, I'm waving at them but they don't see me. So, I hurriedly try to close up my gas tank but it's got this silly locking gas cap and I've never had trouble with it before but apparently it can sense that I'm in a hurry this time. This time, I can't figure out which way to turn it. Can't get the key to come out. Finally, I get the key out of the gas cap and jam it in the ignition but now I can't get the ignition to work. Can't get the key to turn and I feel like I'm living in a bad dream. The light is about to turn green and they'll be heading South at 90 mph and I'll never catch them. Finally, I get the key to turn and I fire up the bike and run the red light to catch up to them.

Predictably, no one is sure how many miles we'll drive today. The estimates range from 200 to 300 miles, a significant (50%) variation. Raj wants to take a scenic detour out of Traverse City that will take us some 50 miles out of our way.

But we all decide that we'll sort it out once we get to Traverse City, and not before then. So we take US Highway 31 south out of Petoskey. There is water on both sides of the road, and with so many lakes, rivers, bays, and inlets, it's hard to keep straight which direction the water is supposed to be. We're frequently surrounded by water on all sides, seemingly. At this point, we're heading down a narrow isthmus and I see a sign and motion for Chak to pull over.

It's a sign indicating the 45th Parallel - halfway between the North Pole and the Equator. Raj had mentioned this a few times during our travel. This was necessarily the place he had in mind, but it was, in fact, the 45th Parallel, as indicated by a sign on the side of the road. So we stopped and posed for some cheesey photos.

When we rolled into Traverse City, we discuss our options and we're not sure that we have enough time and Raj reluctantly agrees to scrap the scenic loop up the peninsula at Traverse City on Highway 22.

Instead, we hit US Highway 31 south out of town and as soon as we do, I'm regretting it. 31 south out of Traverse City is a 4 lane nightmare of urban sprawl - no different in Arizona or Texas or Michigan. Just bland, generic, urban clutter. And Raj doesn't say anything. He doesn't have to. This sucks and we all know it.

We head South for a few miles down this disenfranchised river. Straight south. Death. Not what we came here for.

Suddenly, ahead the road sign indicates we turn right to follow 31 South. Here we're actually heading due west, back to the coast. The road narrows down to 2 lanes and headed toward the coast, I never felt better.

I'm in the lead and running about 75 mph and eventually, we come to the little town of Honor, Michigan. Here, I pull over and get out the map.

"Look. We're here. We can cut over to Highway 22 here and follow the coast. That's what we wanted, right?"

Raj is on partially ameliorated, but I'm happy to be getting back to his scheduled course, even if we had lopped 50 miles off the trip.

A sign said "Hidden Bear Dunes", which I assumed took us to the coast. But Raj has his iPod out and he's saying that this is County Road 508 and we actually want County Road 506. So I wait for the next turn which is, in fact, County Road 506 and we take it and before long, we're on Highway 22 headed South along the coast.

Although the color in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan was not ideal, now that we're in Michigan, the color is getting better as we head south along the coast.

At first, I was a little disappointed that I didn't get good shots of the Tunnel of Trees. But here, on Highway 22 heading South along the coast, the colors are actually better than in the Tunnel of Trees, and the road is very nearly the same.

Shortly after we hit Highway 22, I see a sign that says "Lighthouse" and so I do a quick right and pretty soon, we're on the coast of Lake Michigan beneath this ancient lighthouse and we all park our bikes and begin shooting away like crazy. Raj has a boner for light houses and I'm hoping this will make him happy.

Words can't do justice to the Michigan countryside, but I'll try.

The land appears to be largely undeveloped. Mostly, the land is used to grow hay or corn. Or orchards. Scads of apple and cherry orchards. Countless roadside produce stands "The Starving Farmer - Fresh Produce".

Tractors and all sorts of farm implements are busy toiling away in the fields. Every farmer seems to be harvesting or discing or working the land in some other curious manner.

Every little town we roll through has some sort of fall celebration going on...parades, pumpkin festivals, fall color celebrations. Everyone seems to be celebrating the fall, and for good reason, of course.

Those that aren't celebrating are busily raking the fallen leaves into great burning piles. They toss in a few apples to sweeten the smell so that the smoke from these fires smells like a county-wide cookout.

There are no police in northern Michigan or Wisconsin. Or, possibly to be slightly more specific, there are no state highway patrol officers. And as for the city police and county deputies, they apparently aren't interested in ruining someone's day just because they're driving without a valid license plate, speeding, or riding through town on one wheel.

The roads are littered with roadkill. Animals of all sizes - from chipmunks to possums to deer. And of course, we're dodging them as best we can. We missed hitting deer by a few seconds or so. Some creature scurried across the road that I managed to avoid. Not clear what it was. I hit a dead skunk at one point.

Many of the fields are a deepest green - possibly planted with Winter Wheat to restore nitrogen to the soil.

The skies are filled with flocks of birds. More than you would imagine lived in all of North America. Never-ending flocks of Canada Geese and Sandhill Cranes stretch.

And when the winds blow, they strip the leaves from the trees so that, as we're driving down the road, it's hard to tell at a glance whether the skies are filled with leaves, or birds or both.

And framing all of this are the trees in their richest colors. Reds, Oranges, Yellows, Greens. Just breathtaking beauty. Stunning.

I feel as though I'm driving through a wet oil painting. The pain and misery of last night has all faded from my memory as we circumnavigate Lake Michigan on these flying carpets.

Every so often, we stop and snap photos. Some scenes we pass by, but many times, we'll crest a hill and just all pull over simultaneously. We signal and break and pull onto the shoulder and kill the bikes and we all just start snapping away at the landscape.

Much of the time, Raj is in the lead, I'm in the middle, with Chak bringing up the rear. Many times, I can tell when Raj is going to pull over before he knows himself. I can read him like a book.

We stop and take photos and then move on, not always as a group. We get scattered frequently, and just keep track of who's ahead and who's behind. If you're ahead of the group and you stop, it's your responsibility to make sure that they see you when you pass.

So we're migrating south in this manner. Shooting the fall foliage and the rural landscapes at our leisure. Shooting and dispersing and reassembling as we go.

Highway 22 ends at Manistee, and we stop for lunch. I'm wanting to get something fast. They want a sit-down dinner and say we have plenty of time. Raj picks a restaurant it's it's just the coolest little local place you could find. Normally, I'd get a burger and fries to be safe, but instead I get the Walleye and American Fries and it's just spectacular. Sensational.

In Manistee, I find a service station that has chain lubricant for sale and I oil my chain and Chak's. Both of our chains were very dry and rusty looking. Not in good shape at all. After a good oiling, the look much better.

South of Ludington, MI, 31 becomes a 4 lane all the way to Muskegon and I'm driving like a mad man. I open it up and actually get the bike into triple digits for the first time. They claimed I was running at 100 mph - 105 mph for some time. The speed limit in Michigan along this stretch is 70 mph, but it's not like it matters. I just opened the throttle and held on.

When you're going triple digits on dirt bike, you become one with the motorcycle. The two sort of fuse into one. I lower my helmet until it touches the speedometer and just hang on. The winds blow the bike from side to side. Everything is whipping in the wind. Even with my helmet on, my eyes start to tear up. The jacket seems as though it might fail at any moment. The chin strap vibrates madly in the wind. If I don't hold my shoes just right, they feel like the wings of an airplane pulling me down. It's a grueling ride on a dirt bike, as the winds just beat you to death.

And then, of course, we have the morons driving in the passing lane, so I just resort to passing them on the shoulder at 105.

Eventually, we roll into Muskegon, but we have no idea where the ferry departs from, of course. Reminds me very much of when we rolled into La Paz, Mexico, Baja California Del Sur last year, only to find out that the ferry actually leaves from Pechilingue. But I digress.

We have reservations and all, and the tickets aren't cheap. The motorcycles ride for free, but it costs each of us $85 to cross. So, we want to make sure we're on the ferry. And we're running out of time, of course.

So, we're racing around through Muskegon like lunatics, without really getting any closer to the ferry. At one point, I'm riding a wheelie through a subdivision when I see a cop. I drop the front tire just as he turns onto the street I'm on and passes me going the other way. For some reason, he didn't come after me. It's possible he didn't see me riding a wheelie, but the bike doesn't even have a plate for Christ's sake. What's a guy got to do to get arrested around here?

Eventually, we find the ferry and we pull in and they're all deadly serious official-like...a bunch of TSA wannabees.

"You need to have your photo ID out and blah blah blah," and I show my driver's license to two different people at the ferry and he tells us to go to the front of the line where there's three other bikes already parked, all much nicer than mine, of course.

We ask them where they've been and basically, they did exactly the same ride we did, as best as I could tell.

Eventually, they start loading us up and they tell us when to drive onto the ferry and this is really exciting for me. I've never had a motorcycle on a ferry before. And I haven't been on a ferry since we were in Ireland so I'm pretty excited about this.

They show us where to park our bikes and where the tie downs are to secure them. Somehow, Chak and Raj have never seen or used tie-downs before, which is hard to imagine, but I have to show them how to use them and after a while, we get all three bikes strapped really good like because I have no idea what the lake will be like. I'm not sure how rough it is, but that folk song about 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald' is about a real ship that sank in Lake Superior in a massive storm, so I know it can get pretty rough out on the Great Lakes.

Then, we go upstairs on the ferry and all of the good seats are taken, of course, so I spy a separate lounge that says "Premium Passengers Only" and motion for Raj and Chak to follow me.

Pretty soon, someone shows up and informs us that the lounge is, in fact, only for "Premium Passengers" and that, unless we pay the additional charge, we'll have to leave.

"How much extra is it?"

"15 dollars each"

"Done."

I'm thinking this is the best money I've ever spent. So we sit back for the pleasant ride across the lake in what are essentially airplane chairs that recline. And we get free soft-drinks and chips and the ride is so relaxing that I nearly fell asleep.

Eventually, about dark thirty, we arrived in Milwaukee. We all unloaded. Raj headed south toward Chicago, and Chak and I headed west back to Sun Prairie.

"Where are you staying tonight?" Chak asked.

"I dunno."

"You don't have a room yet in Sun Prairie."

"Nope. I'll sort it out when I get there."

And we shook hands and said goodnight and, so far as I know, everyone survived and lived to take a warm shower tonight and crawl into a clean bed and dream of the North Woods, the Tunnel of Trees, and the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Posted by Rob Kiser on October 17, 2010 at 8:58 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

October 16, 2010

Postcards from Nowhere: Lake Michigan - Day 2 - The North Woods

Day 2 - The North Woods

In the morning, we're fresh as baby bunnies, ready to hit the road on our journey. We shoot some photos in the parking lot. Eat a casual breakfast. Refill the bikes across the street.

Refueling and then mounting the motorcycle is a didactic ritual. It has to be done just so every single time. There is an order to it. Nothing can be missed. Nothing can be skipped.

First, make sure the fuel tank is not set to reserve. If it is, set it back. Refill the tank.

Put earplugs in. Without them, I'll go deaf. My bike is too loud.
Put helmet on.
Fasten helmet strap.
Make sure all zippers are closed on backpack.
Make sure all pockets on the jacket and pants are snapped shut.
Take a photo of the gas pump so you'll have a record of the gas consumption.
Take a photo of the odometer so you'll know what gas mileage you're getting.
Put the gloves on.
Start the engine.

Any variation from this ritual is a failure. Put the gloves on too soon and you can't fasten the helmet strap. Put the helmet on without earplugs and you'll go deaf in a matter of minutes.

This is a ritual I practiced down in Mexico last year. It's just come back to me now.

So we gas up the bikes and we take off.

We didn't get away as soon as any of us would have liked.

Yesterday, I was on mostly interstate. But today, my understanding is that we won't be on interstate. I asked someone for directions to Macinac. They indicated that we'd go north on 41 out of the city and, when the road forked, the scenic route would be to keep right.

So, I was hoping that we'd take the scenic route and keep right at the fork. But I wasn't the leader. Just following along. And when we come to the fork, we go right and we stay on US 41 and I'm very pleased with this. Most of the way, it's a two lane road, which suits me much better than an interstate. We come to lots of little towns and I gas up frequently. I've calculated that I'm getting somewhere between 25 mpg and 35 mpg. Whenever I go 60 miles, I hit the reserve which is a little unnerving.

When you're running wide open and the engine shuts down unexpectedly, it can cause some consternation, of course. It can put you in a precarious situation in a hurry. So, always I reach down and switch the engine over to reserve just before my impending death.

The skies are broad and blue and clear and when we pass something someone wants to shoot, they'll stop and maybe I'll keep going. Or I stop and just wave them on. I take a few photos and catch up.

At one town, Raj decides to detour off of US 41 and the next thing I knew, we're at some marina. From the marina, he spies a light house and decides we need to go check it out. Chak and I both go down and determine that there's no public access to the light house. Then, we go back to the marina but we can't find Raj. Next thing I know, Raj and Chak are talking in Telgu on their helmet radios and somehow, Raj has figured out the road to get to the light house.

So, we drive down there and they park, preparing to walk out on the jetty that leads to the lighthouse. Of course, I just drive right past them and drive across the jetty out to the lighthouse. I mean, if you don't have a license plate, there's no real reason to follow the law, is there?

But I like this about Raj. He has a nose for adventure. He's the one that planned this trip. And I'd have driven right by the town, the marina, and the light house, and probably never realized they were there. But he took us off the beaten path down to check it all out. A very cool move.

As a group, we're not really tracking our progress well. We stop and shoot a lot and by 2:00 p.m., we've only about 90 miles when our goal is to drive 300 miles for the day.

So, at this point, we decide that we've going to have to make better progress, and basically we quit screwing around with our cameras and we open the bikes up and let them breathe.

Wide open, my bike will run about 90 to 95 mph. So, this is what we do. We open the throttles up and pretty much run wide open for two hours straight, stopping only for gas.

Now, for clarification, their bikes are faster than mine. Much faster. Why they're not going faster than 95 is anyone's guess. I mean, the speed limit up here is 55 mph. So, I'm not clear what their game is. I mean, if you're going 95 mph, why not go 130? What difference does it make at that point?

I dunno if it makes any sense or not, but this is what we did. We ran just under triple digits for hours through the North Woods of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. And it was just spectacular.

When I'm running wide open like that, I lean down over the handle bars so my cameras are resting on the gas tank. Occasionally, I adjust them some because I lost one of my lens caps yesterday, so I try to keep the lens off of the metal gas tank, essentially.

So, I'm driving down the road at about 95 mph, looking down and rearranging my cameras when Chak decides to pass me. Now, I don't have any idea how fast he was going when he passed me, but if felt like I was standing still, or possibly going backwards. I'd guess he was going about 150 mph.

As we get closer to Macinac, they stop to take photos and I pass them. Like a genius, I drive down onto the beach in a "Protected Area". I get some nice shots, but I see them drive by and they don't see me down on the beach, of course. I'm out of their field of view and I can only see the tops of their helmets as they pass.

So I take off after them, hell bent for leather, but of course I can't catch them. And I can't call them on the cell phone because you can't hear it ringing at triple digits. So, I just follow behind them, hoping they'll stop.

Eventually, they do stop to shoot photos of the Macinac bridge, and I catch up to them finally, laughing like a jackal.

We cross the Macinac bridge, and a gust of wind nearly blows me off the bridge. Once we get off of the Upper Peninsula, we promptly get lost. We drive around the general vicinity loosely following County Road 81. We hit a few dead ends and get turned around fairly good.

We have a GPS, and iPhone, and a map, but somehow we're fairly well lost and we're racing through the woods which finally have some decent color somehow. And we're lost as hell and we keep running down the dead ends and finally I decide to follow County Road 81 more religiously. It's possibly not the only route, but it's a guaranteed route. It's a known thing.

So, we're burning daylight...the sun is setting fast...and we're racing through the most spectacular countryside you could ever imagine and I can't help but think....'what a beautiful place to get lost."

Finally, I see a sign for Cross Village and we head there like a bat out of hell. I'm running balls out through the fading sunset. I dunno how, but one minute we were on the shore and the next we were 10 miles inland. So I'm heading due west as fast as I can go. Low on gas.

Finally roll up to a gas station in Cross Village and I walk inside and ask the woman behind the counter:

Can you tell us how to get to Puh-TOW-skee?

You mean Puh-TAU-skee?

Whatever.

Well, you can go to the stop sign, turn left. Left again. Left again.

"Is that the scenic route?" I caution her.

"You want to take the Tunnel of Trees?"

And I'm like...do you have to ask? I mean seriously? Of course I want to take the "Tunnel of Trees" you moron.

"There's lots of deer out there this time of night.

And I'm like...look...we're all going to die one day. At least I'm not going to die working behind the counter of a gas station in Cross Village.

So we take the Tunnel of Trees of course and it's just spectacular. The light is fading, so I don't have good photos of it, but the trees grow over the road and it's all hardwoods in peak foliage. Lots of yellow and gold and orange and red and it's a one lane black top road with no center line and speed limit of something crazy like 45 mph.

So, we're going through the Tunnel of Trees as the sun sets over Lake Michigan and it's spectacular. Just spectacular.

And we're heading south, following the coast. Eventually, the road changes some and it now has a double yellow line and there's a vehicle in front of me. It might be a cop. It's hard to say. But I go ahead and blow by him. I pass him in a blind curve on a double yellow line, speeding, with no license plate. And it was a cop. And he didn't even pull me over. I have two witnesses that will swear that they saw this happen.

Why did he not pull me over? I dunno. I personally don't think it's possible to get pulled over in Michigan or Wisconsin.

By the time we roll into Petoskey, it's dark thirty and I'm cold and exhausted. We've driven 350 miles and the first hotel we stop at tells us that not only do they not have any rooms, but they don't know any hotels that have rooms. The whole town is booked up due to the fall foliage pilgrims, apparently.

And this sucks. It's dark. Cold. We're exhausted. And we can't find a room.

On a motorcycle journey, you always wake up fresh and excited and ready to hit the open road. But at the end of the day, you always feel like you've been run over by a steam roller and wonder if you can go on.
Somehow, Chak finds two rooms at the Days Inn for $100 a night and I'm like "Oh dear God yes. Get them both." And we race down there and check in and get a warm shower and order pizza and plan our trip for tomorrow.

Posted by Rob Kiser on October 16, 2010 at 9:04 PM : Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

October 15, 2010

Postcards from Nowhere: Lake Michigan - Day 1

I currently on an extended journey around Lake Michigan. Tonight, we're in Green Bay, WI. Tomorrow, we hope to make it to Macinac Island, or perhaps as far as Petoskey, MI. One of the guys knew about this trip because of a website he frequents called OpenRoadJourney.com. Ramesh pointed out to me that it was in USA Today yesterday as one of the "10 great motorcycle trips".

So, it looks like we may be set for a decent ride.

License Applied For

Earlier this week, I found out that some guys from work were going on a trip around Lake Michigan on motorcycles and I was like..."count me in."

"But you don't have a bike," they complained.

"I will. Don't worry about me. I'm in. That's all you need to know. Plan on 'one more'."

I called Expedia and told them I needed to change my flight. I wouldn't be flying back Thursday night after all, it seemed. The general plan was to find a motorcycle, buy it, drive it around Lake Michigan, and then fly back some time next week instead.

"Your trip has been suspended," Expedia informs me.

"Huh? Suspsended. WTF does that mean," I choked.

Like...suspended? I've never even heard of this nonsense.

Sir, you'll have to call the airline directly. So, I call Frontier. "Oh no. That's United's 'ticket stock.' We can't touch it. You'll have to call them.'

OK. So, I call United. They proceed to tell me that I "no showed" the flight to Madison. I'm like...'No. I didn't NoShow the flight. I was on the flight. I took the outbound leg on Sunday from Denver to Madison. I was on the plane. I'm in Madison for God's sake. How do you think I got here?"

Just maddening, but this is where we are. Finally, she gives in. I can fly back on Wednesday next week. Fine.

I hang up the phone.

After scouting Craigslist for a bike, I found one in Milwaukee and went and checked it out on Thursday over lunch.

It's a 1994 Honda XL640R. I swore to my brother earlier this year that I was through buying motorcycles, but once you get started, it's a hard habit to break. I bought 1 ATV and 3 motorcycles over the last year and a half.

Current tally is that I have 3 motorcycles and 3 four wheelers, which might seem like a lot for one person. At least my brother seems to think so. But I digress.

So, I called my brother and told him I was breaking my promise

The bike looked good, but the genius didn't have the title, so I had to walk away from it.

On Friday, Manju started asking me some questions about my plans. I was just pretty much silent. She was like "If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to."

"It's not that I don't want to talk about it, but you're asking questions that I don't have an answer to. There is no Plan B. I have to find a bike, buy it, go get on it, and drive it around Lake Michigan. That's all there is. If I can't find a bike, then I don't know what happens. There's no reason for me to go to Colorado. My daughter's not there. She's at Mt. Rushmore. There is no Plan B."

When he got into the office, Chak had a bunch of gear for me. A jacket. Helmet. Gloves. I knew I'd freeze if I didn't pick up some gear. It's October, and the "Yew Pea" (Upper Peninsula) can get pretty cold this time of year.

The guy with the bike in Milwaukee called and he'd straightened out the title situation, so I left work at noon and drove over there with my rental car.

Bike is in good shape. I hand the guy some cash. He hands me the title and the bill of sales and proceeds to remove the license plate from the bike and I'm like "whoa whoa whoa there sparky. The plate goes with the bike."

"Not in Wisconsin it doesn't."

"What am I supposed to do? The pigs will pull me over."

He proceeds to slap a black license-plate sized piece of plastic where the license plate should be and that says "LAF" in large letters.

"What's that for? LAF? What's that mean?"

"License Applied For," he replied. "You have the title. You have the Bill of Sale. You've got like 30 days to get a license plate," he replied.

We dropped off the car I'd rented in Madison at an Enterprise location in Milwaukee. He took me back to the bike. I got on and waved goodbye.

Stopped at a Good Will and picked up some camouflage pants and a vest for about $8.00 total, just to make sure I wouldn't freeze on the trip.

"How long will it take me to get to Green Bay?" I ask the girl at the Good Will register.

"I don't know. I've never been," she replies. It's hard to imagine how we live on the same planet as these people. We are in two different worlds, she and I.

The original plan was that we'd all meet up in Milwaukee and head north together to Green Bay for the night. But one guy was late leaving Chicago, so then they decided that we'd all just meet up in Green Bay, which meant I'd be on my own from Milwaukee to Green Bay. Not knowing how to get there, I just got onto I-43 and followed the signs on the interstate.

I have a GPS, but the battery runs down because I don't have it wired into the bike. So I just roll north on the interstate following the GPS and signs for Green Bay.

Along the way, I stopped to snap a few photos, but with daylight fading and the temperature dropping, I didn't want to risk driving in the dark. I didn't want to end up freezing to death along the way.

After I'd gone 62 miles, the motorcycle engine shuts down hard and I know I'm out of gas. But this time, I won't make the mistakes I made in Mexico. I pull over, fill it up, and calculate my gas mileage. I determine I'm getting 21 mpg, and the tank is hitting reserve after about 1.8 gallons. That means I can only go about 50 to 60 miles between fillups. The math doesn't seem right on this, obviously. But this was my calculations, anyway. I'll check them again tomorrow.

About the time it's getting dark, I roll into Green Bay and check into the hotel. I'm eating a fried perch dinner and reviewing my photos when Chak and his buddy walk in at about 8:00 p.m. and I'm glad to see them.

Chak's friend states the obvious...that we've clearly missed the peak fall color, as most of the trees have lost all of their leaves.

This had not escaped my attention, of course.

"This is a fair point," I offered. "But what we have is what we have. We either turn back, or we go on a motorcycle adventure. I'm all for the adventure. And if we've missed the fall foliage, then so be it. This is where we are."

And we all laugh and agree we start plotting our adventure for tomorrow.

Posted by Rob Kiser on October 15, 2010 at 8:45 PM : Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

October 10, 2010

Children of the Corn

Jennifer and I bought her a viking costume on Saturday, and then on Sunday, we hauled the kids down to the Corn Maze. It's sort of an annual tradition at this point.

Posted by Rob Kiser on October 10, 2010 at 11:42 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

October 9, 2010

Soccer Photos

Posted by Rob Kiser on October 9, 2010 at 8:58 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

October 5, 2010

Fall Colors

Posted by Rob Kiser on October 5, 2010 at 11:21 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

The Nightmare of Turkey Creek Canyon - US 285

I'm trying to get some shots of the nightmare that is US Highway 285 through Turkey Creek Canyon. This is the place were Jennifer and I were very nearly crushed by a 60 ton boulder back in April.

This is a very dangerous canyon and it's only made worse by the morons in charge of the highways. I'm not clear who's doing the work in the canyon right now, but I can only assume it is being performed by CDOT.

In this dangerous stretch, US 285 drops from an elevation of 8,200 ft down to 5,280 ft at a 5% grade. At the bottom on the grade, the highway enters a series sharp turns. To keep cars from hitting each other head-on, someone wisely installed a Jersey barrier down the center, dividing the opposing lanes of traffic.

This barrier is so destroyed that words cannot do it justice. I shot some photos tonight (I finally felt well enough to go outside today.) The photos I shot today are of poor quality, as I was shooting from my motorcycle in low light. This road is very dangerous, as there is no shoulder to stand on. Turkey Creek forms the southern border, and the mountain is the northern border.

The City of Morrison operates a quasi-legal speed-trap in this canyon, which is nowhere near the town of Morrison, but somehow they annexed a section of this road so they could write speeding tickets for people going uphill. Hard to believe, but that's what they do.

In addition to the normal wear-and-tear of the Jersey barrier caused by 18 wheelers losing their brakes going down the 5% grade before they enter a series of tight switchbacks, the pigs decided that they needed to create a couple of turn-around points so that they could write more traffic tickets. That's right. They cut holes in the Jersey barrier so they could increase revenue. What's the worse that could happen?

I'm glad you asked. What could happen is some poor bastard could go head-on into their little illegal turn-around-point where they neglected to install a crash attenuator and get cut out of his car with the jaws of life.

Tonight, I took a ruler and measured the distance from the outside of the yellow line to the Jersey barrier. In 3 places, the distance is insanely small. In the location I measured, it was 4". And no reflectors, of course.

http://www.coloradodot.info/news/2010news/08-2010/turkey-creek-canyon-project-set-to-start

Posted by Rob Kiser on October 5, 2010 at 8:50 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

September 29, 2010

Baraboo, Wisconsin

Posted by Rob Kiser on September 29, 2010 at 10:22 PM : Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

September 26, 2010

Thirteen Minutes from Madison

Posted by Rob Kiser on September 26, 2010 at 8:45 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Badger - Three Weeks Old

At this point, Badger is able to fly somewhat. He can get off the ground, and his wing feathers are much more pronounced, but I think he won't be ready to release for another couple of weeks, I'm guessing.

Posted by Rob Kiser on September 26, 2010 at 12:01 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

September 25, 2010

Soccer Photos

The girls played a great game today. I think that we were ahead like 4-0 when Jennifer fell and injured her wrist/thumb of left hand. That took us away from the game and to a Doc-in-the-box for x-rays. Everything seems to be fine. Sprained is all. So, in a splint for two weeks and then she should be as good as new.

Posted by Rob Kiser on September 25, 2010 at 11:51 PM : Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

September 18, 2010

Soccer Photos

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Sunflowers and Cosmos

Posted by Rob Kiser on September 18, 2010 at 10:24 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Badger - Two Weeks Old

Above: Jennifer's pet quail flew today for the first time. He only got a few inches off the ground, but he did get airborne.

Posted by Rob Kiser on September 18, 2010 at 10:04 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

September 13, 2010

The Chocolate Shoppe Mural

I was hanging out down on State Street tonight with some friends and after dinner we wandered into the Chocolate Shoppe at 468 State St. The place has crazy good ice cream, but tonight I noticed the huge mural on the back wall for the first time. It took the artist a year to paint it. It's a pretty cool mural.

http://www.avclub.com/madison/articles/alien-ice-cream-chaos,24103/

Posted by Rob Kiser on September 13, 2010 at 9:02 PM : Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

September 12, 2010

Kenosha Pass

Above: Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors).

http://www.whatbird.com/forums/forums/179326/ShowThread.aspx#179326

Above: Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis).

http://www.whatbird.com/forums/forums/179326/ShowThread.aspx#179326

Above: Dark morph of a mature Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis).

Posted by Rob Kiser on September 12, 2010 at 11:12 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Soccer Photos

Posted by Rob Kiser on September 12, 2010 at 12:11 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Tiny Town

Posted by Rob Kiser on September 12, 2010 at 12:00 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

September 11, 2010

Morrison Speed Trap Claims Another Victim

The pigs in Morrison, Colorado have a little racket going. They expanded their city limits just enough so that they could fine people for driving at safe speeds going up US 285 into the foothills. They sit there every day when the weather is nice, writing tickets like there's no tomorrow.

Of course, if it's dangerous out (i.e. rainy or snowy) then they're nowhere to be found. Even though the roads are more dangerous then, suddenly the pigs disappear and your safety becomes much less important than it was when the sun was shining, apparently.

One of the things pigs love to do is make little "emergency vehicles only" access between the opposing lanes of traffic so that they can turn around and go after people going the other direction.

This is the achilles' heel of the Morrison piggy speedtrap - that they could only get people going southbound and couldn't access the northbound lane due to a Jersey barrier that divided the traffic safely.

So, of course, the pigs got their way. They somehow convinced CDOT to cut a gap in the jersey barrier last week so that they could menace even more innocent citizens. Of course, what they didn't consider was how dangerous it would be to open up a gap in a well-placed jersey barrier without bothering to install crash attenuators.

Unfortunately, today their little cash-cow speed trap appears to have claimed another casualty. Someone coming northbound ran into the concrete jersey barrier.

Very sad day for humanity. Of course, the pigs of Morrison couldn't care less.

Posted by Rob Kiser on September 11, 2010 at 11:38 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (1) | Permalink

Aerial Photos of Wisconsin

I hardly have time to breathe I'm so busy these days. Every Sunday they're paging me at the Denver airport and every Thursday they're paging me at MSN (the Madison airport). Days are getting shorter, and very little free time to go out to shoot any more. Here are some shots from the plane. We tend to come in from the North of Madison over Deforest, WI. These photos are from that general area just north of Madison.

Posted by Rob Kiser on September 11, 2010 at 12:02 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

September 4, 2010

Half-pint Weenie Roast

The girls wanted to roast weenies tonight, so I started them a fire in the fire pit out back while they rounded up some weenie-roasting sticks. They both said they'd never roasted weenies before, which is hard to imagine, but probably true somehow.

Posted by Rob Kiser on September 4, 2010 at 10:45 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

September 3, 2010

A Quail Named 'Badger'

Jennifer ordered a dozen quail eggs in the mail and, unfortunately, one of them hatched. Just what I needed - one more mouth to feed. (Granted, it's a fairly small mouth, but have you seen the prices on corn meal lately?) This is a 1 day old Coturnix quail, aka Pharaoh's quail, aka Japanese quail. Scientific name is (Coturnix japonica).

Update: The quail's name is "Badger".

Posted by Rob Kiser on September 3, 2010 at 8:44 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Lake Mendota

Lakeshore Nature Preserve on Lake Mendota, Madison, Wisconsin.

Posted by Rob Kiser on September 3, 2010 at 7:14 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Sandhill Crane

Above: Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.

Posted by Rob Kiser on September 3, 2010 at 2:26 PM : Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

August 28, 2010

Picnic Point

University of Wisconsin's Lakeshore Nature Preserve Picnic Point on Lake Mendota.

Posted by Rob Kiser on August 28, 2010 at 12:29 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

August 22, 2010

Hopscotching the Continental Divide

This weekend, I drove the XR650L over 300 miles in 24 hours. It was a pretty serious little trek to cram into a weekend. Many places I'd not been in years. Some, I'd never been to before. Didn't take my GPS or anything, but I took the cameras and got a few snapshots which I'll post, time permitting.

Basic route was this...285 South to Park County Road 60. Across Webster Pass (12,114 ft) and then down into Summit County. Tried to ascend Radical Jeep Hill, but was not successful. The trail is steep and rocky, bike got crossways, I jumped off on the downhill side. Laid it down for the first time. Decided to got a different route. Turned around and came back down into Montezuma to Keystone. Swan Mountain Road to 9 South to Breckenridge then 9 North to Frisco where I refueled. As it got dark, I was shivering so bad I couldn't continue. I refueled in Frisco the trip meter said I'd gone 80 miles - I figured about half was hard top and half was dirt or 4wd trails.

Teeth chattering, I showed up at Brian's and he saved me by letting me crash for the night. (Thanks Brian).

Saturday morning woke up to a spectacular view of the Gore Range. Hit I-70 west to Vail Pass (10,662 ft) then up and across Shrine Pass(11,089 ft), and down to Wearyman Creek. Up Wearyman Creek (FDR728), which is basically driving up a rocky creekbed for a few miles - not especially easy. Up over the Ptarmigan Pass (11,777 ft) and down Resolution Road (Forest Service Road 702) to Camp Hale (10th Mountain Division).

Then west on US 24 to Red Cliff for lunch at Mango's Mountain Grill. Then east on 24 up over the Tennessee Pass (10,424 ft) and down into Leadville aka "Cloud City (10,200 ft). When I refueled in Leadville, the trip meter said 160 miles.

In downtown Leadville, take East 7th Street to Lake County Road 3 up over Mosquito Pass (13,185 ft). Then, down Park County Road 12 to US 285 just south of Alma. North on Colorado Highway 9 across Hoosier Pass (11,542 ft) and back down into Breckenridge.

From Breckenridge, up Boreas Pass road across Boreas Pass (11,481 ft), back down into Park County ghost town of Como. North on US 285 to Jefferson where we stopped to snag some Praline Fudge. Then up across Kenosha Pass (10,000), down into Bailey. Up Crow Hill and finally back to the house. Trip meter said I'd gone something crazy like 293 miles in just under 24 hours. Pretty cool ride.

Update: I've added some photos. As I look at the images, it doesn't look like the roads I took are all that treacherous. Probably most of the trails that I took weren't considered "Expert" level trails. Maybe they were "Moderate" trails. But when I was going up the steepest, gnarliest hills, I wasn't taking a lot of photos. Usually, at that point, I was hanging on for dear life and praying I didn't fall a few hundred feet to my death. Some of these roads are, at times, extremely narrow, steep, and rocky. You've been warned. ;)

Update 2: Although you don't see my helmet in any of these images - trust me. I was wearing one. I'm not that stupid. I just took it off for the photos.

Update 3: I found some photos from the last time I went over Mosquito Pass in July of 2005.

Posted by Rob Kiser on August 22, 2010 at 11:59 AM : Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

August 20, 2010

First Day of 7th Grade

This photo (above) just totally reminded me of Molly Ringwald in Sixteen candles so I photoshopped her in (poorly).

Posted by Rob Kiser on August 20, 2010 at 5:28 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

August 14, 2010

Lesser Goldfinch

Above: Female Lesser Goldfinch (Carduelis psaltria).

Today, while the girls were engaged in a futile but desperate attempt to dam up North Turkey Creek with rocks, I wandered around and shot these photos of a flock of Lesser Goldfinch (Carduelis psaltria). These shots are not very good, of course, but the bird is very small and equally shy and this today was the first time I'd ever seen it.

Above: Male Lesser Goldfinch (Carduelis psaltria).

Above: Male Lesser Goldfinch (Carduelis psaltria).
http://www.whatbird.com/forums/forums/174542/ShowThread.aspx#174542

Posted by Rob Kiser on August 14, 2010 at 11:19 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

What Price Summer?

Jennifer and Allie started out by checking on the baby western bluebirds. They're clearly ready to fledge any day now. Then, off to Morrison for ice cream. Then to Turkey Creek to explore the creek and a tunnel. Then down to Evergreen to eat dinner on the lake and feed the ducks. Summer seems like it's going by so fast.

Posted by Rob Kiser on August 14, 2010 at 9:57 PM : Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

August 12, 2010

Mad City

I was in Madison for the week. Weather was hot and humid. Really didn't get out to take many photos. Only a few snaps here and there.

Posted by Rob Kiser on August 12, 2010 at 11:34 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

August 9, 2010

August in Colorado

Above: Cosmos.

Posted by Rob Kiser on August 9, 2010 at 12:57 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

August 7, 2010

Camping at West Chicago Creek

We went camping up at West Chicago Creek campground. I've been there before, but Jen never had. It's not far from the house (about 45 mins) and is fairly scenic. We camped out at probably about 10,000 feet above sea level. Jen even managed to catch a brook trout. Plus, of course we drove up to Echo Lake and fed the ducks. Why not, right?

Posted by Rob Kiser on August 7, 2010 at 9:19 PM : Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Harvest Moon

We started running Bluebird Trail yesterday, and saw that we have four healthy happy Western Bluebird chicks, but then Jen got distracted by the garden and started harvesting squash and radishes.

Posted by Rob Kiser on August 7, 2010 at 9:08 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

August 5, 2010

Feeding Ducks

Jen and I went back to the lake today but first, we went to the grocery store and I sent her in to beg for day-old-bread for the ducks. They loaded her up and we paddled the canoe out into the lake. This time, we were surrounded by ducks and geese. At one point, I counted 31 ducks/geese around the canoe. And then, a Mallard hen showed up with 9 baby ducks following her. Very cute. I'll post photos later.

Update: Photos added.

Posted by Rob Kiser on August 5, 2010 at 11:50 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

August 4, 2010

John Steinbeck - The Pearl

Above: Crested Caracara (Polyborus plancus), formerly Caracara cheriway.

Jennifer and I just finished reading "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck. I love the way he writes, but of course, I had to point out to her that the moral to the story isn't necessarily one we need to take to heart as, like so many talented left-brainers, he's practically a communist. The Grapes of Wrath is one of the best books I've ever read, but it was little more than a clarion call for socialism. I think my mom was ready to strangle me after I read it.

One thing found interesting about "The Pearl" is that it was set in Baja California del Sur in the town of La Paz.

In the early 20th century, this area was the chief producer in the world's pearl fishing industry. The pearl beds that made the area world famous for four centuries stretched from La Paz to Loreto and even as far north as Muleje. But the pearl beds have been decimated by overfishing and a mysterious disease.

La Paz is a town that I rolled into for the first time last October. Nearly out of gas, I rolled downhill out of the desert on fumes toward La Paz and the Sea of Cortez. Very glad, once again, to be out of the cruel desert. I was actually in La Paz twice because I did a little loop at the bottom of the Baja peninsula. All of these photos were taken in La Paz or the outskirts of La Paz (including Pichilingue) in October of 2009.

Posted by Rob Kiser on August 4, 2010 at 9:45 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Fire in Morrison

Not clear how it started, but a good chunk of land burned up on the Dakota Ridge Hog Back down near Morrison. It's been burning for a few days now. I got a few shots of it I'll post later.

Update: Photos posted.

Posted by Rob Kiser on August 4, 2010 at 11:11 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

August 1, 2010

Gilpin County in August

Wendy and I went for a little ride today through Gilpin County (named after the 1st Governor of the Colorado Territory - William Gilpin). We went up Golden Gate Canyon nearly to the Moffat Tunnel, then back through Coal Creek Canyon. It was mostly rainy, but we managed to snap a few shots along the way.

Posted by Rob Kiser on August 1, 2010 at 11:56 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Saturday at the Lake

Jen and I went to the lake on Saturday and paddled around a little bit. We didn't catch anything, but it wasn't like it mattered. We fed the ducks and watched the cormorants, tree swallows, and muskrats.

Posted by Rob Kiser on August 1, 2010 at 11:22 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

July 29, 2010

Parting Shots from Rocky Mountain National Park

Above: Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja linariaefolia).

Above: Aspen Sunflower (Helianthella quinquenervis).

Above: Mountain Harebell (Campanula lasiocarpa).

Above: Little Pink Elephants (Pedicularis groenlandica).

Above: Tall Chiming Bells (Mertensia ciliate). Family: Borage.

Above: Dwarf Sunflower (Helianthus pumilus).

Above: Colorado Blue Columbine (Aquilegia coerulea)

Above: American Pipit (Anthus rubescens).

Above: Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina).

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 29, 2010 at 6:51 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

July 28, 2010

More photos from Rocky Mountain National Park

Above: Mule deer fawn near Morrison, Colorado.

Above: Stellar's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) near Estes Park, Colorado.

Above: Golden-mantled ground squirrel (Spermophilus lateralis) near Estes Park, Colorado.

Above: Male Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides).

Above: One-sided Penstemon (Penstemon virgatus asa-grayi). Figwort family.

Above: Looking west toward the Continental Divide from Moraine Park near Cub Lake Trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Above: One-sided Penstemon (Penstemon virgatus asa-grayi). Figwort family.

Above: Sulphur Flower (Eriogonum umbellatum). Buckwheat family.

Above: Fireweed (Chamerion danielsii), formerly Chamerion angustifolium. Evening Primrose family.

Above: Cutleaf Coneflower (Rudbeckia ampla). Aster family.

Above: Russian Thistle (Salsola tragus). Chenopodiaceae family.

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 28, 2010 at 12:05 AM : Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

July 25, 2010

Rocky Mountain National Park

Above: Bee Balm (Genus: Monarda).

Above: Male Mountain Bluebird in breeding plumage.

Above: Cutleaf Coneflower (Rudbeckia ampla). Aster family.

Above: Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis).

Above: Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium).

Continue reading "Rocky Mountain National Park"

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 25, 2010 at 11:32 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

July 24, 2010

Mount Evans

S.L. said she wanted to go up in the mountains so we drove up Mt. Evans today.

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 24, 2010 at 9:36 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

July 22, 2010

Foxgloves

Above: Foxgloves (Genus: Digitalis).

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 22, 2010 at 12:01 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

July 21, 2010

Pine Siskin

Above: Male Pine Siskin (Carduelis pinus).

http://www.whatbird.com/forums/forums/170428/ShowThread.aspx#170428

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 21, 2010 at 11:50 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

July 18, 2010

Kenosha Pass and the Fort Pitt Tunnel

Above: Showy Penstemmon (Penstemon spectabilis).

Jen and I took the scenic route back from Breckenridge yesterday, crossing over Hoosier Pass and then Kenosha Pass. It just fascinates me how she's not managed to figure out the names of the mountain passes yet. Yesterday, I asked her the name of the pass we were crossing (Kenosha) and she had no clue. Wasn't sure if we were on the continental divide or not. So, I laid it all out for her (again). But this time, we stopped, got out, and took some photos.

The thing that's unique about Kenosha pass is that, when you cross it heading toward Park County, you suddenly explode out of the mountains onto this enormous plain. It's a singular experience. In fact, the only thing I can think of that's even remotely close to it is going through the Fort Pitt tunnel on the way into Pittsburgh. And if you've never done that, well you should. That's all I can say about that.

So, yesterday, we stopped and got some photos and hopefully next time she'll remember Kenosha pass.

Above: Fairy Trumpet (Ipomopsis aggregata).

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 18, 2010 at 12:33 AM : Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

American Coot

Above: Jen and I saw a few American Coots (Fulica americana) swimming around up on Kenosha Pass yesterday. These birds are not technically ducks, as they don't have webbed feet.

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 18, 2010 at 12:26 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

July 14, 2010

Nice Driving, 004PYM Colorado

Vaunne called me today and told me some genius had run off of High Drive in broad daylight in ideal weather conditions, so I hustled down there and got some shots.

I dunno how stuff like this happens. In the snow, I might could understand something like this. But in broad daylight in ideal weather conditions? How? Somehow, she got all of the Cadillac Escalade's airbags to deploy (front, side, you name it). It has expired plates, for whatever reason (April 2010).

I'm not clear what the story was, but JeffCo Sheriffs department was first on the scene, then the Highway Patrol. Three tow trucks showed up, but the cops waved them all off. Apparently, this person is well-connected and they "lawyered up" when the state cops showed up, so they weren't letting just anyone tow the vehicle. They wanted the vehicle and they got it. I managed to snap a few shots without going to prison.

Update: This looks like a late model Cadillac Escalade. This is the Third Generation GMT 900 (1997 - 2010). The MSRP on this vehicle ranges from $62,000 - $85,000. This one looks pretty tricked out

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 14, 2010 at 7:18 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

July 11, 2010

More Photos

Oddly, we ran into my sister Molly at the Renaissance Fair event. (That's her in the photo above. She's sort of in a soft focus, but she's the one with the coke bottle glasses and the smart little Fidel Castro army cap.)

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 11, 2010 at 2:16 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Fawn Patrol

I'm not clear how old these fawns are, but they're not weaned yet. I can tell you that much. I saw them both nursing on mom tonight. I actually jumped the fawns out of some very deep grass. Nearly stepped on them when they both bolted, ran up to mom, and immediately began nursing.

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 11, 2010 at 1:56 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Renaissance Festival

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 11, 2010 at 12:49 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Red-tailed Hawk?

Above: Saw this bird perched today over Highway 85 near Sedalia, Colorado. I'm thinking it's a Red-tailed Hawk, but not certain. He appears to have a light colored belly with reddish-brown streaking "belly band". Dark eye probably would indicate a mature bird. He never flew, so I'm not clear what the wings look like (shape/markings). The tail does not appear to extend very far past the wings, so I'm thinking Buteo as opposed to Accipiter. The tail looks a little off to me, though. I don't see the prominent sub-terminal black/white band, and it does appear that there is some banding in the tail. Could still be a Red-tail though, I suppose, as they do have more prominent banding when immature. Even mature birds can have a light banding as well. I dunno. Based on the location, I'd say it's more likely to be a Red-tailed or Swainson's, as opposed to a Sharp-shinned/Cooper's/etc.

http://www.whatbird.com/forums/forums/168563/ShowThread.aspx#168563

Update: Confirmed that this is a Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis).

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 11, 2010 at 12:16 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

July 10, 2010

American Goldfinch

Above: Male American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) in breeding plumage.

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 10, 2010 at 11:44 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Prairie Falcon

Above: Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus) near Larkspur, Colorado. Although the Prairie Falcon looks similar to the Peregrine Falcon, the facial "whiskers" on the Prairie Falcon are much more slender facial markings on the Peregrine Falcon. The bird has dark armpits which indicate it is a Prairie Falcon.

http://www.whatbird.com/forums/forums/ShowThread.aspx?PostID=168551#168551

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 10, 2010 at 11:20 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Bullock's Oriole

Above: Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii).

http://www.whatbird.com/forums/forums/168420/ShowThread.aspx#168420

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 10, 2010 at 9:24 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Black-billed Magpie

Above: Black-billed Magpie (Pica pica).

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 10, 2010 at 12:44 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Fawning Over Fawns

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 10, 2010 at 12:30 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Red-winged Blackbird

Above: Female Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus).

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 10, 2010 at 12:03 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

July 9, 2010

Western Meadowlark

Above: Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta).

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 9, 2010 at 11:52 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

House Finches

Above: Male and Female House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus).

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 9, 2010 at 11:29 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Cordilleran Flycatcher

Above: Cordilleran Flycatcher (Empidonax occidentalis).

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 9, 2010 at 11:09 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Northern Flicker

Above: Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus).

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 9, 2010 at 10:41 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Spotted Towhee

Above: Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus).

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 9, 2010 at 10:27 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Immature American Robins?

Jen and I saw these two birds today sitting on a barbed wire fence in a field near Morrison, Colorado. There was an American Robin nearby, which made me notice the resemblance (i.e. beak, wings, overall size, etc.) Are these birds possibly immature American Robins?

http://www.whatbird.com/forums/forums/168244/ShowThread.aspx#168244

Update: Confirmed that these are young American Robins. :)

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 9, 2010 at 2:17 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Immature House Wren?

Jen and I spied this little critter near Morrison today. I think it might be an immature House Wren (Troglodytes aedon).

http://www.whatbird.com/forums/forums/168237/ShowThread.aspx#168237

We saw this tiny perching brown and white bird this evening near Morrison, Colorado. It has a long, thin, straight bill (presumably for catching insects). The bird appears to be light brown on the back with a white/buff breast. Now that I look at it closer, it appears to have light banding across its tail. Is this possibly an immature House Wren?

Update: This is an immature House Wren (Troglodytes aedon).

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 9, 2010 at 12:12 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

July 7, 2010

Flowers

Above: Clustered Penstemon (Penstemon confertus procerus).

Above: Great Mullen Or Velvet Dock (Verbascum thapsus)

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 7, 2010 at 2:24 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Tree Swallow

Above: Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor).

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 7, 2010 at 2:19 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Teleporter....Activate

I got a couple of shots of this fawn and the mom before they climbed into the teleporter and disappeared. I went down there in camo again and followed where I saw them go and they'd vanished, once again. The bucks are down there, chewing their cud. Just looking at me like I'm retarded - out walking around on a cold July morning. And I'm like...."I know you saw them...where did they go?"

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 7, 2010 at 1:34 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

The Ghosts of the Forests

"Deer appear, and they disappear. Yes, I do believe they have mastered teleportation." - Russ Chastain

I'm with Russ on this one. As improbable as it may seem, I think deer have mastered tunneling through the time-space continuum. Jen and I went out back looking for the fawns today, and it is truly maddening. Deer pop up and then disappear again like a whack-a-mole at the county fair. I dunno what's going on here, but I suspect it does involve time travel, worm holes, and the Black Hole of Calcutta.

We found 2 bucks and a doe or two out back, but no fawns. I suspect that, in addition to mastering time and space, the fawns have the added power of being invisible as well. Just maddening.

And Jen and I out there driving around on the four wheeler and I'm like...whatever you do, don't turn toward them or we'll be gored. I've been charged by one of those precious creatures and let me tell you...when they lower their racks and charge you, your life will flash before your eyes (assuming you live that long).

We've got a lot moving around up here this time of year. Elk, deer, bears, mountain lions, foxes, coons, skunks...I'm scared to open the door without a firearm. And somehow, Timmy moves through this world like he owns the place.

I'm out back mowing with a bushhog and Timmy comes marching out of the elephant grass with some prize in his mouth. I go after him because he's killed more animals this year than BP. He runs up under the 18 foot dual axle trailer and I dive underneath to try to save whatever he's captured. I'm thinking it's another chipmunk (he's killed two this week), or another Mountain Bluebird (he's killed 6 and counting), but it's just a ginormous field mouse so I leave him be and scamper back out from under the trailer.

Wendy assures me that he'll be killed, but I don't buy it. Timmy moves through the woods like he owns the place. He's two years old and hasn't ended up in another animal's digestive system so far. He's been treed before, but he's never been eaten. I think that says something. I think he's a winner.

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 7, 2010 at 12:26 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

July 6, 2010

Bluebird Trail - 7/6/10

Above: Male Western Bluebird from Box 3.

Box 1: Empty.
Box 2: Empty.
Box 3: Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana).
Box 4: Abandoned House Wren nest (Troglodytes aedon).
Box 5: Empty.
Box 6: Empty.
Box 562: Empty. The single Mountain Chickadee (Poecile gambeli) chick has fledged. I've recently noticed a Western Bluebird investigating this house. Apparently, this is now prime real estate since the field has been mowed.
Box 7: Five baby Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor).
Box 8: Empty. The six Mountain Bluebird chicks (Sialia mexicana) have fledged.

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 6, 2010 at 11:59 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Cordilleran Flycatcher

Above: Cordilleran Flycatcher (Empidonax occidentalis). This shy dimunitive bird prefers pines and coniferous forests. They've apparently built a nest or two out back this summer, as I hear his distinctive call every day. I hunted for them for sometime before I spotted them, as they're so small. When Jennifer finally spotted one, I took her for ice cream. I spotted this one on my own today and got a fairly decent shot of the tiny bird just before it flitted away.

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 6, 2010 at 11:38 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

July 3, 2010

When Words Escape

When words escape, flowers speak.
- Bruce W. Currie

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 3, 2010 at 11:41 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Bluebird Trail - 7/3/10

Above: Box 1. I was surprised to find a White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) squatting in Box 1. I'd seen him hanging around recently, but this bird was just hunkered down in the birdhouse and did not appear to be building a nest. This box previously contained a decoy House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) nest, which I removed.

Not shown: Box 2. This box is currently empty. It previously contained a decoy House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) nest, which I removed.

Above: Box 3. A breeding pair of Western Bluebirds (Sialia mexicana) are currently building a nest in this box. Today I moved this box to a separate post wrapped in tin to prevent predation. The Western Bluebirds were confused at first, but quickly resumed nest building. Previously, this box contained 5 baby Mountain Bluebirds (Sialia currucoides) which were killed by a predator.

Not Shown: Box 4. This box has an empty House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) nest. According to the neighbor's kids, these chicks were killed by our cat Timmy,

Not Shown: Box 5. This box contained a Mountain Chickadee (Poecile gambeli) nest with eggs, but was abandoned, possibly due to predation. Today, I removed the abandoned nest and eggs.

Not Shown: Box 6. This box is empty. It previously contained a House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) nest with 3 eggs, but was abandoned. Possibly due to predation.

Above: Box 562. This box contains one healthy happy Mountain Chickadee chick (Poecile gambeli). The other eggs in the nest did not hatch for whatever reason.
.

Above: Box 7. This box contains 5 healthy Tree Swallow chicks (Tachycineta bicolor).

Above: Box 8. This box contains 6 healthy Western Bluebird chicks (Sialia mexicana).

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 3, 2010 at 10:58 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

June 30, 2010

Bluebird Trail

Above: Day 17 for six Mountain Bluebird chicks (Sialia mexicana).

Jen and I ran Bluebird Trail for the first time in a long time. The house wren chicks do not look good at all. They all seem to be dead or dying. House 562 has one happy healthy Mountain Chickadee chick. The Tree Swallows have some very tiny chicks that seem to be alive and kicking. The Western Bluebirds are doing great. 6 healthy happy chicks.

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 30, 2010 at 9:36 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Fox in the Henhouse

Jennifer and I saw two amazingly cute spotted mule deer fawns with white spots today. They came through the back while we were building the treehouse. I dropped my tools and ran inside to get my camera and I swear those things disappeared like ghosts.

"Where did they go," I squawked.

"I dunno. They went behind the barn and then I didn't see them any more," she replied.

I walked all around the property. I jumped no less than 10 bucks in velvet, but not one doe. I couldn't find her or her fawns. Majorly disappointed.

So, in any event, we decided to run Bluebird trail and I heard these magpies just going nuts out back so we drove the ATV down there to see what the ruckus was. I was hoping that it was the fawns, but instead found a Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) eating something...probably a magpie.

The last fox up here died of an acute onset of lead poisoning. I think that this fox and Timmy can coexist, but I'm going to bushhog out back tomorrow so he can't sneak up on Timmy in the weeds.

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 30, 2010 at 9:21 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

June 29, 2010

Brown-headed Cowbirds vs. Brewer's Blackbirds

I have no idea what these birds are. I saw them today in Morrison and snapped a few shots. Possibly Brown-headed Cowbirds . Possibly Brewer's Blackbirds Hopefully whatbird.com will clear things up.

http://www.whatbird.com/forums/forums/166371/ShowThread.aspx#166371

Update: They're Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater).
Update 2: Or, they're possibly Brewer's Blackbirds (Quiscalus breweri).

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 29, 2010 at 11:09 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Bullock's Oriole

Above: Male Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii) near Morrison, Colorado. I've been seeing this bird around Morrison recently, but couldn't quite get a fix on what I was seeing. Today, Jennifer pointed this one out to me and I was so happy I took her to get ice cream.

It's really hard to believe the color of this bird. It's orange and yellow, with some black and white thrown in for good measure. This is the true color of the bird (in both photos). Jennifer pointed it out to me and I was like "Oh wow. You're getting ice cream for this one."

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 29, 2010 at 10:45 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Cordilleran Flycatcher

I'd been hearing this bird out back for the last few weeks. I could hear his very distinctive song, but could never spot the little bugger. Finally, I told Jennifer that I'd take her to get ice cream if she could find him. Before long, she'd pinned down the tree was in and presently, she pointed him out to me. He's a very small fellow, and deathly shy. He has a favorite tree out back that he hides in, bouncing around like a ping pong ball in a dryer. I snapped a few grainy shots of the fellow and then began scouring my books and the internet to identify the mysterious summer visitor.

Eventually, with the aid of whatbird.com, I was able to pin down the taxonomy. He's a Cordilleran Flycatcher (Empidonax occidentalis). Funny how I'd never really noticed him before. He's a very pretty bird. Hopefully I'll get some decent shots of the recluse one of these days. You can listen to his song here.

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 29, 2010 at 12:30 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Sweet Peas

Jennifer and I saw these flowers down in Morrison at a little quasi-legitimate garage sale this weekend. She found a little television she wanted with a remote control and got them down to $8.00. They said the flowers were called "Sweet Peas."

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 29, 2010 at 12:23 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

June 26, 2010

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary

Every day after work, Bud and I go out and weed our gardens. It's a labor of love, really. It's not like you could ever get enough out of your effort to say it made sense. It's just something cool to do. Plant a little Obama garden and stay close to the land.

Bud usually gives me grief at the weeds in my garden. When I was out of town, it gor pretty ugly, and it took me a while to get it under control. Bud lampoons me in the evenings, yelling across the field "You should enter your vine weeds in the county fair."

But I finally got it all under control and this afternoon, we got a good little rain and, feeling ambitious after hanging floor joists for Jennifer's treehouse all day, I went out and hoed up another row and planted cabbages and lettuce.

Row 7 /Corn
Row 6 Cabbage / Radishes / Corn
Row 5 / Corn
Row 4 Okra / Squash / Squash / Corn
Row 3 Okra
Row 2 Green Beans / Cabbage
Row 1 Peas

At this point, the Peas, Green Beans, Squash, and Corn is coming up. I've really not seen any okra to speak of. May need to replant it.

I'm reasonably sure my corn won't be "knee high by the fourth of July", but it's coming up. I'll have corn this year.

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 26, 2010 at 9:02 PM : Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

June 24, 2010

Ulee's Gold

Alice called me and warned me that the boys were going to be stirring the bees so I ran outside and got a few shots while Bud and Matt made some adjustments to the hive. After their changes, the worker bees will store honey in the top section but the queen can't access it, so there won't be any bee larvae in that section...only pure honey.

The bees are amazing. Jennifer and I stood about 15 feet from them while they performed this complicated operation on the hive and no one got stung.

Matt handed us some honeycombe with bee larvae covered in honey and we dug the larvae out and ate the honey. Unbelievable. Jen and I stood there laughing, spitting out bees, and chewing on beeswax.

"I always wondered what "beeswax" was," Jen observed.

"It doesn't get any better than this," I offered.

Probably I should call it "Matt's Gold" instead of Ulee's Gold. It was all Matt's idea. Genius. Pure genius.

Now Jennifer wants to start a hive.

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 24, 2010 at 11:43 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Aquanuts

Jennifer and Katarina at the Denver Aquarium.

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 24, 2010 at 11:20 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

June 23, 2010

House Wren

Above: House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) at Bud's house.

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 23, 2010 at 9:53 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

June 22, 2010

Webster Pass

I'm going to make a quick run up Webster Pass to see if it's open. If I don't post back here by midnight, send help. :)

Update: I made it back alive. Pass is not open yet. Still heavy snow up just below the lip of the pass. Probably won't open for a week or two.

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 22, 2010 at 5:38 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

American Hobo

Above and Below: North American Hobos (Dumbius Maximus).

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 22, 2010 at 5:20 PM : Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

American Crow

Above: American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos).

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 22, 2010 at 4:27 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Brown-headed Cowbird

Above and below: Female Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater). This bird doesn't bother to build a nest, choosing instead to lay her eggs in another bird's nest. The surrogate mom normally raises them as her own, often at the expense of her own young.

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 22, 2010 at 4:09 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

June 19, 2010

Dinner Party

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 19, 2010 at 9:51 PM : Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

2 More Tadpoles Released

These two tadpoles turned into frogs so we released them today. We'd previously released "Quinter". These were named "Mingo" and Wakeeny(sic?) Hard to describe how small they are, but those are Jennifer's fingers in the photo. Not mine.

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 19, 2010 at 12:09 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

June 18, 2010

Birds at Dry Creek Trail

Above: Black-crowned Night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax).

Above: Snowy Egret (Egretta thula).

Above: Male Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) attacking a light-morph Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni).

http://www.whatbird.com/forums/forums/thread/164282.aspx

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 18, 2010 at 11:57 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

The Butterfly Pavilion

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 18, 2010 at 11:50 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Bluebird Trail - 6/18/10

Last night, Timmy caught a mouse and I took the mouse and put it into an empty 40 gallon aquarium with a lid so he was safe for the night. Then, Timmy woke us up again making a terrible racket. It was about 4:00 in the morning. Pitch black outside. Timmy chasing something like mad through the house. I reluctantly got up, expecting to find him after another mouse. Instead, he was chasing our female mountain bluebird through the house. I caught her and released her outside. She seemed fine, but was confused by the light on the front patio and kept returning to it like a moth to a flame. So I turned of the light and then released her again and she flew away.

I wasn't sure what to do, so we scolded Timmy good and went back to sleep. In the morning, we found that the top was off of the bluebird house and the babies were all gone. Later, we saw the neighbor's cat slinking away from the nest with a very guilty look on her face, like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

Our best guess is that the neighbor's cat killed and ate the babies. The mom somehow got inside our house and was flying around. Possibly she was distraught and Timmy caught her. Possibly Timmy was the sole culprit. It's hard to know.

We'll move the box onto a post and put tin around it so that cat's can't get into it so easily. We've seen mom today, and she looks fine. No sign of dad. It's a sad day for the bluebirds.

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 18, 2010 at 7:21 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

June 15, 2010

Bluebird Trail - 6/15/10

Above: Day 3 for 5 baby Mountain Bluebirds.

Above: Day 3 for 6 baby Western Bluebirds.

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 15, 2010 at 11:00 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Red-tailed Hawk

Above: Mature Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo Jamaicanainsis) scanning the Flying J Ranch for a meal. When the birds are backlit like this, you can see they were aptly named.

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 15, 2010 at 10:50 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Pollywogs and Tadpoles

Jennifer and I captured some tadpoles (or pollywogs as we used to call them) in Mississippi and brought them back to Colorado in a cup. We stopped in Louisiana to get some more water for them, and ended up with another cup full of tadpoles. So, we brought them home and divied them up according to size. I got the big ones and she got the little ones. Less chance of cannibalism, we figured.

So I threw mine in an aquarium with a heater and in a day or so, these things started to emerge from the water. Jennifer asked me to take a photo and I was like "are you serious?" These things are tiny. To try to put some perspective in the photo, I put a nickel in the photo. So, that's what you see on the right - a nickel lying on its side. The tadpole/frog is perched on a piece of aquarium gravel with his vestigial tail still showing.

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 15, 2010 at 10:14 PM : Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Bluebird Trail - 6/14/10

Above: Day 2 for 5 baby Mountain Bluebirds. Here the mother is on the nest.

Above: Day 2 for 6 baby Western Bluebirds. Here the mother is on the nest with a green caterpillar in her beak.

Above: Day 2 for 6 baby Western Bluebirds. Here, mom has left the nest to catch insects for her ravenous chicks.

Above: The first sighting of mom, a Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor).

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 15, 2010 at 9:57 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Western Kingbird

Above: Male Western Kingbird in downtown Denver.

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 15, 2010 at 9:38 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Male Meadowlark

Above: Jennifer and I recently spotted this Meadowlark near Quinter, Kansas. I was going to identify it as a Western Meadowlark, but this area of Kansas apparently has Eastern and Western Meadowlarks and they're apparently nearly indistinguishable in the field. So I'll just identify it as a male Meadowlark and leave it at that for now.

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 15, 2010 at 9:32 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

June 13, 2010

Bluebird Trail - 6/13/10

Above: Box 3 - Mountain Bluebirds - Mom laid 5 blue eggs and began incubation on 5/30/2010. I'd say the eggs hatched on June 13th.

Above: Box 4 - House wrens - 6 pink speckled eggs. Not clear if incubation has started yet. I've never seen mom on the nest.

Above: Box 7 - Tree swallows - 4 white eggs. Tree swallows finally made a nest out of feathers after I left town. No sign of incubation, but at least 4 white eggs in the nest.

Above: Box 8 - Western Bluebirds - Mom laid 6 blue eggs and began incubation on 6/1/2010. 5 eggs hatched on June 13th. 1 egg still not hatched when I checked today. Mom not on nest.

Box 1 - House wrens - 0 eggs. This is a decoy nest.
Box 2 - House wrens - 0 eggs. This is a decoy nest
Box 3 - Mountain Bluebirds - 5 blue eggs. Mom on nest. I'd say she officially began incubation of 5 eggs on 5/30/2010. Assuming an incubation period of 13-15 days, her eggs should hatch on June 12-14. I checked today and she was sitting on at least two live chicks. I'd say the eggs hatched on June 12-13th. We'll call it June 13th.
Box 4 - House wrens - 6 pink speckled eggs. This nest has straw in the nest of twigs, indicating that the nest was completed, but no eggs were ever laid until after I left town. Now, there are are least six eggs in the nest.
Box 5 - Mountain Chickadees - 7 white eggs. Mom was incubating the eggs when I left, but I didn't see her today. The eggs were uncovered and she wasn't on them. Assuming an incubation period of 12-14 days, her eggs should hatch on June 13-15.
Box 6 - House wrens - 3 pink eggs. This nest has been abandoned, and I noticed a hole in one of the eggs today. Perhaps Timmy got the mom.
Box 562 - Mountain Chickadees - 7 white eggs. Mom still on the nest. Unknown if any have hatched. She officially began incubation of 7 eggs on 5/30/2010. Assuming an incubation period of 12-14 days, her eggs should hatch on June 11-13.
Box 7 - Tree swallows - 4 white eggs. Tree swallows finally made a nest out of feathers after I left town. No sign of incubation, but at least 4 white eggs in the nest.
Box 8 - Western Bluebirds - 5 baby Western Bluebirds and one unhatched blue egg. Mom not on nest when I checked.

Mountain Bluebird eggs laid: 5
Western Bluebird eggs laid: 6
House Wren eggs laid: 9
Mountain Chickadee eggs laid: 14
Tree Swallow eggs laid: 4

Total eggs laid: 38

Mountain Bluebird chicks hatched: at least 2 - possibly as many as 5
Western Bluebird chicks hatched: 5
House Wren chicks hatched: 0
Mountain Chickadee chicks hatched: 0
Tree Swallow chicks hatched:

Total chicks hatched: at least 7 - possibly as many as 10.

I was incorrect on my assumption that all eggs had been laid by June 1. The wrens continued to lay eggs in June, as did the Tree Swallows.

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 13, 2010 at 10:37 PM : Comments (3) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Take-out in the rain

This morning, I saw this hawk eating another bird in the rain near Marshdale Colorado. This is about 8,000 ft above sea-level in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It has been raining steadily for about a day or so, and the hawk is soaking wet. I'm not sure what type of hawk this is. The hawks I most frequently see up here this time of year are Red-tails and possibly Swainson's hawks. This bird appears to have prominent tail banding and a reddish-brown eye.

Juvenile Red-tails have prominent tail banding, but their eyes are yellow when they're young, and I don't see a prominent belly band. So, I'm thinking this is a mature hawk, but not a Red-tail. Possibly a Swainson's?

Update: This is a Cooper's hawk. :)

Update 2: Bob Cohen elaborates - "From the shape (relatively slim, small-headed and long-tailed), it's an accipiter rather than a buteo, so it's not either a Red-tail or a Swainson's. So, the possibilities are Goshawk, Cooper's, and Sharp-shinn. The ventral (underside) orange barring, most visible in this photo on the flanks, rules out a Goshawk. The relatively light-colored nape (back of neck) indicates that it's a Cooper's rather than a Sharp-shinn. Also, compared to Cooper's, Sharp-shinn is even smaller-headed and smaller-beaked, which doesn't agree with your photo."

Update 3: Poor Matty adds - "The length of the tail is a very good thing to look for. Most Buteos don't have a tail that extends very far past their primaries when the bird is perched, if it extends past them at all. Accipiter tails on the other hand are always quite a bit longer. Also, in adult birds, the bluish back is a good mark for an Accipiter. Most Buteos (though there are some exceptions) are brown above. Of course, immature Accipiters are also brown on the upperparts."

http://www.whatbird.com/forums/forums/163299/ShowThread.aspx#163299

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 13, 2010 at 11:33 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

June 12, 2010

Eastern Kingbird

Above: Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus).

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 12, 2010 at 2:17 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Orchard Oriole

Above: Male Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius).

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 12, 2010 at 2:13 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Northern Cardinal

Above: Male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis).

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 12, 2010 at 1:31 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 31, 2010

A Little Excitement in the Hills

Above: Someone in the neighborhood got medivac-ed out today. Not clear what happened.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 31, 2010 at 12:55 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Bluebird Trail - 5/31/10

Box 1 - House wrens - 0 eggs (I'm reasonably certain at this point that this is a decoy nest.)
Box 2 - House wrens - 0 eggs (I'm reasonably certain at this point that this is a decoy nest.)
Box 3 - Mountain Bluebirds - 5 blue eggs. Mom on nest. I'd say she officially began incubation of 5 eggs on 5/30/2010. Assuming an incubation period of 13-15 days, her eggs should hatch on June 12-14.)
Box 4 - House wrens - 0 eggs. (This nest has straw in the nest of twigs, indicating that it's probably not a decoy nest, but no eggs yet.)
Box 5 - Mountain Chickadees - 7 white eggs. (One more than yesterday.)
Box 6 - House wrens - 3 pink eggs. (No change from yesterday). I'm not clear why the mom is not incubating yet. Possibly the mom abandoned the nest?
Box 562 - Mountain Chickadees - 7 white eggs. (Mom on nest. I'd say she officially began incubation of 7 eggs on 5/30/2010. Assuming an incubation period of 12-14 days, her eggs should hatch on June 11-13.)
Box 7 - Tree swallows - no nest yet.
Box 8 - Western Bluebirds - 6 blue eggs (1 more than yesterday). Mom still not incubating.

Mountain Bluebird eggs: 5
Western Bluebird eggs: 6
House Wren eggs: 3
Mountain Chickadee eggs: 14

Total eggs: 28

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 31, 2010 at 11:15 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (1) | Permalink

May 30, 2010

Bluebird Trail - 5/30/10

Above: Male Western Bluebird perched atop Box 8.

Box 1 - House wrens - 0 eggs
Box 2 - House wrens - 0 eggs
Box 3 - Mountain Bluebirds - 5 blue eggs. (Mom on nest. Possibly has begun incubation. She's on 5...~~possibly 6 eggs~~.) Update: Only 5 eggs at this point.
Box 4 - House wrens - 0 eggs
Box 5 - Mountain Chickadees - 6 white eggs. (No change from yesterday.)
Box 6 - House wrens - 3 pink eggs. (No change from yesterday).
Box 562 - Mountain Chickadees - 7 white eggs. (Mom on nest - unknown if more eggs).
Box 7 - Tree swallows - no nest yet.
Box 8 - Western Bluebirds - 5 blue eggs (1 more than yesterday).

Mountain Bluebird eggs: 5
Western Bluebird eggs: 5
House Wren eggs: 3
Mountain Chickadee eggs: 13

Total eggs: 26

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 30, 2010 at 7:37 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Planting Time

Well, it's planting time again. Jen and I plowed and planted the garden last weekend. We plowed it on Friday May 21st and then planted the first couple of rows with peas, green beans, and cabbage on Saturday May 22nd. Then today, on Sunday May 30th, we planted okra, squash, and corn.

Row 9
Row 8
Row 7 /Corn
Row 6 /Corn
Row 5 /Corn
Row 4 Okra / Squash / Squash / Corn
Row 3 Okra
Row 2 Green Beans / Cabbage
Row 1 Peas

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 30, 2010 at 12:53 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 29, 2010

Can I see her, daddy?

Perched atop her Honda Rancher, Jen peeks in at the female Mountain Bluebird on her nest in House #3.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 29, 2010 at 11:11 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Love at first squeeze

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 29, 2010 at 10:59 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Western Bluebird

Above: Male Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana) near Morrison, Colorado.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 29, 2010 at 10:52 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

American Kestrel

Above: Female American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) in flight near Bear Creek Lake Park.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 29, 2010 at 10:32 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Bluebird Trail - 5/29/10

Box 1 - House wrens - 0 eggs
Box 2 - House wrens - 0 eggs
Box 3 - Mountain Bluebirds - 5 blue eggs. (1 more than yesterday).
Box 4 - House wrens - 0 eggs
Box 5 - Mountain Chickadees - 6 white eggs. (1 more than yesterday).
Box 6 - House wrens - 3 pink eggs. (No change from yesterday).
Box 562 - Mountain Chickadees - ~~6 white eggs. (Mom on nest - unknown if more eggs).~~. Update: 7 white eggs.
Box 7 - Tree swallows - no nest yet.
Box 8 - Western Bluebirds - 4 blue eggs (1 more than yesterday).

Mountain Bluebird eggs: 5
Western Bluebird eggs: 4
House Wren eggs: 3
Mountain Chickadee eggs: 1213

Total eggs: 2425

Photos in extended entry:

Continue reading "Bluebird Trail - 5/29/10"

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 29, 2010 at 2:42 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 28, 2010

Bluebird Trail - 5/28/10

Box 1 - House wrens - 0 eggs
Box 2 - House wrens - 0 eggs
Box 3 - Mountain Bluebirds - 4 blue eggs. (1 more than yesterday).
Box 4 - House wrens - 0 eggs
Box 5 - Mountain Chickadees - 5 white eggs. (1 more than yesterday).
Box 6 - House wrens - 3 pink eggs. (1 more than yesterday).
Box 562 - Mountain Chickadees - 6 white eggs. (1 more than yesterday).
Box 7 - Tree swallows - no nest yet.
Box 8 - Western Bluebirds - 3 blue eggs (1 more than yesterday).

Mountain Bluebird eggs: 4
Western Bluebird eggs: 3
House Wren eggs: 3
Mountain Chickadee eggs: 11

Photos in extended entry:

Total eggs: 21

Continue reading "Bluebird Trail - 5/28/10"

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 28, 2010 at 10:35 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 27, 2010

Bluebird Trail - 5/27/10

Jen and I numbered the Bluebird houses recently so that we could track the activity better. It looks like all of the boxes are occupied at this point. Some of the House Wren nests could possibly be decoys, but all of the nest sites appear to show signs of activity.

Box 1 - House wrens - 0 eggs
Box 2 - House wrens - 0 eggs
Box 3 - Mountain Bluebirds - 3 eggs (blue)
Box 4 - House wrens - 0 eggs
Box 5 - Mountain Chickadees - 4 eggs (white)
Box 6 - House wrens - 2 eggs (pink)
Box 562 - Mountain Chickadees - 5 eggs (white)
Box 7 - Tree swallows - no nest yet.
Box 8 - Western Bluebirds - 2 eggs (blue)

Mountain Bluebird eggs: 3
Western Bluebird eggs: 2
House Wren eggs: 2
Mountain Chickadee eggs: 9

Total eggs: 16

(Photos in the extended entry.)

Continue reading "Bluebird Trail - 5/27/10"

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 27, 2010 at 11:21 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 23, 2010

Yellow Warbler

Above: Male Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia) at Rifle Falls State Park.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 23, 2010 at 11:59 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

American Dipper

Above: American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) at Rifle Falls State Park.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 23, 2010 at 11:49 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Red-winged Blackbird

Above: Male Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) at Rifle Falls State Park.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 23, 2010 at 11:36 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Audubon's Warbler

Above: Male Audubon's Warbler, a sub-species of the Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata) at Rifle Falls State Park.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 23, 2010 at 11:18 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 22, 2010

Spotted Towhee

Above: Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus).

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 22, 2010 at 10:05 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Western Meadowlark

Above: Male Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) sings to attract a mate.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 22, 2010 at 9:30 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 21, 2010

Bluebird Trail - 5/21/10

Bob Cohen has inspired me to number my Bluebird Houses. Not that I have very many, but Jen and I kept close tabs on the birds last year and it makes it easier if the houses are numbered.

1 house wren - nest made of twigs
2 empty
3 mountain bluebirds - nest made of grass, feathers, maybe fur
4 empty
5 mountain chickadee - soft stuffing
6 house wren - full to the top with twigs
562 mountain chickadee - moss below a layer of soft stuff
7 empty- possibly for tree swallows
8 western bluebirds - grass, feathers, and maybe fur

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 21, 2010 at 1:19 PM : Comments (2) | TrackBack (1) | Permalink

May 20, 2010

Evening Grosbeaks on the feeder

Above: Male and female Evening Grosbeaks (Coccothraustes vespertinus) on the feeder.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 20, 2010 at 8:15 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Bluebird Trail - 5/20/10

Above: A House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) hard at work building a nest. Update: This Bluebird box was subsequently numbered Box 1. We later determined that this house wren was building a decoy nest, instead of creating a nest to rear young.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 20, 2010 at 8:08 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 17, 2010

The Mountain Bluebird

Of course, photographing birds is a truly humbling experience. It seems it's impossible to get the equipment close enough to the subject, and if you're ever near enough to the bird, then some obscure setting is almost always set incorrectly.

Above: A shot of a male Mountain Bluebird Wendy and I found today at Chase Gulch Reservoir on Upper Apex Road in Gilpin County.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 17, 2010 at 8:48 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Bluebird Trail - 5/16/10

I took these photos yesterday of two Bluebird nests under construction.

Above: Mountain Bluebird nest (under construction). Update: This was later numbered Box 3.

Above: Western Bluebird nest (under construction). Update: This was later numbered Box 8.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 17, 2010 at 8:19 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Mystery nest near the Moffat Tunnel

Saw this nest today near the Moffat Tunnel in Gilpin County, Colorado. This would just west of Tolland, Colorado at an elevation of around 9,000 ft above sea level. The nest is built in an Aspen tree, and is approximately 12" tall. Posted at Whatbird.com.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 17, 2010 at 8:13 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

The Birdhouses of Gilpin County

I took Wendy up today and showed her the birdhouses of Gilpin County. It's a singular place. Unique in my experience. For dozens of miles, there are bluebird houses with wren guards every 50 yards. As a result, there are more Tree Swallows and Mountain Bluebirds than you could shake a stick at. In some of the photos, we noticed that the Tree Swallows were banded. The area in question is primarily in the general vicinity west of Rollinsville, Colorado to Tolland, and even up to the Moffat Tunnel. Also, I've noticed the bluebird houses South of Rollinsville along Colorado State Highway 119 as far South as Golden Gate Canyon.

I posted on Whatbird.com, as always, to try to ascertain what exactly is going on up there. My best guess is that it's the feds studying cavity nesting birds in the Roosevelt National Forest, but this is only a hunch. If anyone knows, please advise.

Update: Apparently, these birdhouses were set up by "Bob Cohen", who is somehow affiliated with "Denver Metro College". He's been studying the birds since the mid 1970's. He is, I believe, the same "R. R. Cohen" cited in this study:
http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/JFO/v059n04/p0395-p0402.pdf

Update 2: Apparently, Bob Cohen is a retired professor from Denver State Metro College and he's been banding swallows in Gilpin and Boulder Counties and has been for roughly 35 years.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 17, 2010 at 7:54 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 15, 2010

Mountain Bluebirds

I saw a breeding pair of Mountain Bluebirds (Sialia currucoides) flying into one of my bluebird houses today. I so hope that they're building a nest. This is easily one of the prettiest birds in Colorado. If they build a nest, I should be able to get the best Mountain Bluebird photos I've ever taken. (Fingers crossed.)

Update: I have a pair of Mountain Bluebirds, and Bud has a pair of Western Bluebirds. This makes me so happy I just can't say. :)

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 15, 2010 at 1:27 PM : Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 13, 2010

Global Warming Strikes Hard

Above: Jennifer talks to a friend after school as they suit up in a late spring snowstorm.

Categories: Photos

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 13, 2010 at 10:38 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

American Kestrel

Above: Male American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) near Morrison, Colorado.

Categories: Photos, Birds

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 13, 2010 at 10:32 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 11, 2010

Chipping Sparrow

Above: Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) in Wendy's feeder.

Above: Closeup of Chipping Sparrow in Wendy's feeder.

Categories: Photos, Birds

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 11, 2010 at 6:35 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Evening Grosbeaks

Above: Female Evening Grosbeak (Coccothraustes vespertinus - formerly Hesperiphona vespertina) on Mountain Lilac.

Above: Male Evening Grosbeak.

Categories: Photos, Birds

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 11, 2010 at 6:28 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 10, 2010

The Owlets Have Fledged

The owlets have flown the coop. Yesterday, when we drove by, we didn't see them. I went by today and verified they are no longer there. Assumption is that they fledged on or around Saturday, May 8th.

My best estimate as to when the owlets were born is March 14-17, meaning that, when they fledged on May 8th, the owlets would be approximately 52-55 days old. So, I'd say that they fledged at approximately 7-8 weeks of age.

Kinda weird now that they're gone. There's just a tree with a broken nest and no owls. I'll miss them, and I doubt they'll use the nest again next year as it's too torn up at this point.

Categories: Photos, Birds, Owls

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 10, 2010 at 10:20 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

The Pine Squirrel

Above: A Pine Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) in Wendy's feeder.

Categories: Photos, Mammals

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 10, 2010 at 10:06 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

House Wren

Above: Male House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) singing to attract a mate.

Categories: Photos, Birds

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 10, 2010 at 8:12 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

European Honey Bees

Wendy found another European honey bee hive this weekend. She's found 2 so far this year.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 10, 2010 at 7:51 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Photos from Saturday's Soccer Game

We won the game on Saturday 1-0. :)

Continue reading "Photos from Saturday's Soccer Game"

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 10, 2010 at 11:37 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Broad-tailed Hummingbird

Above: Male Broad-tailed hummingbird. I refilled my feeders this year with a 1:1 mixture of sugar and water. They're basically full of syrup at this point. When it drips, it makes little sugar stagmites on the patio.

Categories: Photos, Birds

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 10, 2010 at 11:32 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 9, 2010

Swainson's Hawk Takeout

Above: Swainson's hawk getting a prairie dog to go.

Categories: Photos, Birds, Hawks

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 9, 2010 at 11:44 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Mystery Bird with Long Toes

I've posted this on Whatbird.com.

Update: This is a Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia).

Categories: Photos, Birds

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 9, 2010 at 11:18 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 6, 2010

Swainson's Hawk

This bird had me scratching my head today when I saw it. I couldn't decide if it was a Red-tailed Hawk or a Swainson's Hawk. The tail doesn't look like a mature Red-tailed Hawk's tail to me. There's too much banding and no sub-terminal tail band. Also, I don't see the dark semi-circular patagial marks on the leading edges of the wings. But, what threw me was that this bird does appear to have a distinct dark "belly band". So, I wasn't sure and checked with the experts at Whatbird.com. Turns out that this is an intermediate morph of the Swainson's Hawk, as indicated by the "white front/throat, dark tail, white rump".

Categories: Photos, Birds, Hawks

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 6, 2010 at 10:15 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Great-horned Owlets - Day 50

Above: In this photo, both owlets have left the nest, which is in a sad state of disrepair at this point. The owls will obviously not be able to reuse the nest next year. Both owlets are now in the same tree that holds the nest where they hatched. One owlet left the tree for a day or so, and was perched in an adjacent tree about 50 yards away, but somehow he's managed to return to the tree from whence he came. I'm not clear if he flew, walked, or climbed to get to back his tree of origin, but they look to me like they could fly away any day now.

My best estimate as to when the owlets were born is March 14-17, meaning that in this photo taken May 6th, the owlets would be approximately 50-53 days old.

Update: According to this site: "Young owls move out of nest onto nearby branches at 6-7 weeks of age. Fully fledge at 10-11 weeks. Fledged owls remain with parents throughout most of summer, who continue to bring them occasional food items. May be seen begging for food into October, 4-5 mo after leaving nest."

So, according to this, the owls are right on track. They moved out of the nest and into nearby branches at 6-7 weeks old, so they'll probably still be around for another 3 - 4 weeks. Cool.

Categories: Photos, Birds, Owls

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 6, 2010 at 10:07 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Great-horned Owlets - Day 48

Above: In this photo, both owlets have left the nest, which is in a sad state of disrepair at this point. They will not be able to reuse the nest next year. Both owlets are now in the same tree that holds the nest where they hatched. One owlet left the tree for a day or so, and was perched in an adjacent tree about 50 yards away, but somehow he's managed to return to the tree from whence he came. I'm not clear if he flew, walked, or climbed to get to back his tree of origin, but they look to me like they could fly away any day now.

My best estimate as to when the owlets were born is March 14-17, meaning that in this photo taken May 4th, the owlets would be approximately 48-51 days old.

Categories: Photos, Birds, Owls

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 6, 2010 at 9:51 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 4, 2010

Morrison Park

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 4, 2010 at 1:25 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Soccer Photos

Continue reading "Soccer Photos"

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 4, 2010 at 1:10 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 3, 2010

Great-horned Owlets - Day 47

Above: In this photo, both owlets have left the nest. One is still in the same tree, but one has moved to a tree about 50 yards away. I'm not clear if they flew, walked, or climbed to get to their new locations, but they're clearly ready to fledge.

My best estimate as to when the owlets were born is March 14-17, meaning that in this photo taken May 3rd, the owlets would be approximately 47-50 days old.

Categories: Photos, Birds, Owls

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 3, 2010 at 7:25 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Great-horned Owlets - Day 46

Above: In this photo, the owlets have left the nest for the first time. They're still in the same tree, but have somehow managed to gain purchase on higher ground in the tree. I'm not clear if they flew up there, or climbed. But they're very clearly close to being ready to fledge.

My best estimate as to when the owlets were born is March 14-17, meaning that in this photo taken May 2nd, the owlets would be approximately 46-49 days old.

Categories: Photos, Birds, Owls

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 3, 2010 at 6:23 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Great-horned Owlets - Day 44

Above: Both owlets in the nest, sans mom. This is the last photo I have of both birds in the nest.

My best estimate as to when the owlets were born is March 14-17, meaning that in this photo taken April 30th, the owlets would be approximately 44-47 days old.

Categories: Photos, Birds, Owls

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 3, 2010 at 6:11 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Great-horned Owlets - Day 39

Above: Both owlets were in the nest, sans mom, but I couldn't get a decent shot of both of them together. One of the pair has always been shy, reclusive, and not as photogenic. In this shot, you can only see his brother's back.

My best estimate as to when the owlets were born is March 14-17, meaning that in this photo taken April 25th, the owlets would be approximately 39-42 days old.

Categories: Photos, Birds, Owls

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 3, 2010 at 6:04 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

April 27, 2010

White-faced Ibis

Today, Wendy and I spotted these birds in a little marsh on the side of US 280 near Alamosa, Colorado. Turns out that the birds we saw were White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi). They spend their winters from El Salvador to Louisiana, but right now, they're passing through Colorado and will continue further north as the weather warms.

Categories: Photos, Birds

Posted by Rob Kiser on April 27, 2010 at 11:50 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

April 26, 2010

Yellow-headed Blackbirds

Today, Wendy and I spotted these birds in a little marsh on the side of I-25 up near Loveland, Colorado. Turns out that the birds we saw were male Yellow-headed Blackbirds (Agelasticus thilius).

Categories: Photos, Birds

Posted by Rob Kiser on April 26, 2010 at 7:39 PM : Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

April 25, 2010

Swainson's Hawk

Above: Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni). This hawk recently returned from a winter in Argentina, only to be slammed by an April snowstorm. Here, the snows have receded and he's hunting by hovering in place near Bear Creek Lake Park.

It was really wild to watch him hold his position. Basically, he put his nose into the wind, and just angled his tail and wings as the rapidly changing winds blew past him. He wasn't flapping his wings at all. Just bending them a bit now and again to adjust for the winds.

Categories: Photos, Birds, Hawks

Posted by Rob Kiser on April 25, 2010 at 5:09 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

April 24, 2010

Great-horned Owlets - Day 37

Above: A single Great-horned owlet suffers through a late spring storm. Both owlets were in the nest, sans mom, but I couldn't get a decent shot of both of them together. They were standing facing roughly east, with their backs to the weather, as they were pelted by snow and rain.

My best estimate as to when the owlets were born is March 14-17, meaning that in this photo taken April 23rd, the owlets would be approximately 37-40 days old.

Categories: Photos, Birds, Owls

Posted by Rob Kiser on April 24, 2010 at 9:43 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

April 22, 2010

Tess

I shot this photo of Jen's friend Tess the other day at school. I like the way it came out. Her eyes sort of remind me of the famous Steve McCurry photo of the girl in Afghanistan.

Posted by Rob Kiser on April 22, 2010 at 9:41 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Great-horned Owlets - Day 36

Above: A single Great-horned owlet with mom.

My best estimate as to when the owlets were born is March 14-17, meaning that in this photo taken April 22ndth, the owlets would be approximately 36-39 days old.

Categories: Photos, Birds, Owls

Posted by Rob Kiser on April 22, 2010 at 9:32 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Red-tailed Hawk

Jen and I shot this bird as it hovered in the air near Bear Creek Lake Park. It was really wild to watch him hold his position. Basically, he put his nose into the wind, and just angled his tail and wings as the rapidly changing winds blew past him. He wasn't flapping his wings at all. Just bending them a bit now and again to adjust for the winds. At first, I thought it might be a Swainson's hawk, just returned from a winter in Argentina. But, as he got closer, I saw it was a mature Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) that wintered here in Morrison.

What I've noticed is that, now that the weather is warmer, the Red-tailed hawks are soaring more as they search the fields for food. Also, they're pushing up higher into the mountains as the temperatures rise. In the dead of winter, they just hunkered down in the trees, and spent much less time soaring over the fields. Probably partly because it was so cold, and partly because there wasn't as much food moving around on the ground.

Categories: Photos, Birds, Hawks

Posted by Rob Kiser on April 22, 2010 at 9:29 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

April 20, 2010

Great-horned Owlets - Day 33

Above: Two Great-horned owlets with mom.

My best estimate as to when the owlets were born is March 14-17, meaning that in this photo taken April 19th, the owlets would be approximately 33-36 days old.

Categories: Photos, Birds, Owls

Posted by Rob Kiser on April 20, 2010 at 12:11 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Mourning Dove

Above: Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) near Bear Creek Lake Park.

Categories: Photos, Birds

Posted by Rob Kiser on April 20, 2010 at 11:52 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Peenie Wallie

A confused jumble of paranoid ramblings, politically incorrect diatribes, worthless photographs, amateur slideshows, and disturbing videos. Guaranteed to offend the narrow minded and amuse the rest.

January 29, 2012

A mom and three yearlings

January 25, 2012

Critters in the hood

November 13, 2011

The Butcher Bird

May 15, 2011

Weekly Photos

May 14, 2011

Swainson's Hawk

May 9, 2011

Fox Kits

May 7, 2011

The Cuteness is Strong in this one

Coyote

The Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

April 20, 2011

Blue Lights and Adrenaline

The Bottle Brush Tree

April 19, 2011

Corymbia ficifolia

April 14, 2011

The Pride of Madeira

March 27, 2011

Day 2 in Hawaii

February 27, 2011

Red-Tailed Hawks

February 24, 2011

San Francisco Sucks

February 12, 2011

First Day in the Field

February 7, 2011

The Butcher Bird

January 21, 2011

Postcards From Nowhere

January 11, 2011

Postcards From Nowhere

January 8, 2011

American Kestrel

January 7, 2011

Immature Red-Tailed Hawk

January 5, 2011

Pennsylvania in January

December 23, 2010

Daily Photos

December 22, 2010

Daily Photos

Catching up on recent photos...

November 28, 2010

November's Last Saturday

November 21, 2010

The Red Powderpuff

November 20, 2010

Denver Botanical Gardens

November 11, 2010

Cold Busted

November 9, 2010

Aha!

November 6, 2010

Final Soccer Game of the Season

October 31, 2010

Country Club Warriors

Soccer Photos

The Halloween School Dance

October 23, 2010

Parting Shots

October 21, 2010

Soccer Practice

October 17, 2010

Postcards from Nowhere: Lake Michigan - Day 3 - The Muskegon Ferry

October 16, 2010

Postcards from Nowhere: Lake Michigan - Day 2 - The North Woods

October 15, 2010

Postcards from Nowhere: Lake Michigan - Day 1

October 10, 2010

Children of the Corn

October 9, 2010

Soccer Photos