Osprey Fish

I have been leaving my camera in the garage when doing chores in the evening, just for this reason - a cool bird in the yard.

Our Multi-Purpose Feeder

Huge whitetail buck this morning and currently a turkey and pheasant, front yard feeder. Wood ducks and California quail, native red squirrels, oh, and song birds too. Cool.

Food!

I always joke with the kids in programs, "Every night before I go to bed I brush my teeth, then go to freezer for bird food. There is the ice cream, pizza, hamburger, quail, mice, heart meat, squirrels..." working my way from top to bottom in an imaginary freezer. This is the real thing, packed to the max, and fit some more squirrels in the door. Tom suggested we get a separate "people food" freezer years ago...
And Mookie laying in the creek, every day walk.

Missoula Wildlife

Osprey Tactics

When the river water is this high and murky, many Ospreys travel up to the clear, Bitterroot  mountain lakes for fish. Often a thieving Bald Eagle will try to rob their prize when they return. Once I saw an Osprey catch a fish only to have an eagle force him to drop it 100 yards upstream, and the fish swam away! Here comes an Osprey at dark last night, and an older photo with a whitefish.

Another Kestrel Nest!

Yea!  I found another nest about 200 yards from the doomed one, tree blown down and family killed. Hopefully better luck this time and about the smallest diameter tree I have ever seen for a cavity kestrel nest. How do they fit in there? This will be fun.

My Favorite Photo

I didn't know it was Bald (American?) Eagle Day, so here is my favorite. That young eagle had fledged from the nest two hours prior, to have the cruel territorial American Kestrel perch on her head for a ride. Twice!

MAM Camp Creations

Safety protocol was followed and the first Missoula Art Museum Summer Camp during the pandemic was a success! I taught the first day with Sibley and Owen the Owl, then Bev Glueckert and our friend Paul helped the kids create paper mâché creatures, Raptors And Art. Bev and I have been holding this camp for 20 years and this was certainly a strange one. We'll Be Back, in full force we hope.

Sandpiper Opening in Polson

Bev Glueckert,  me and about 50 art lovers attended the Opening at the Sandpiper Gallery in Polson last night, a bird Mecca. My second attempt at wearing a mask and talking for two hours, after our Missoula Art Museum class Monday. Bev's photos of the kids' paper mâché birds next, they had a great week!

Calliopes Tonight

And tomorrow, join Bev Glueckert and me for the Friday Opening at the Sandpiper Gallery in Polson, birds in printmaking from both of us! From 5 until 7 pm, safe social distancing, promise.  306 Main Street

Nighthawks at the Diner

(Get it, Tom Waits fans? 1975 record)
Just saw our first Nighthawk of the year and an archive photo. Not a hawk and sure not night, and certainly not "goatsuckers" for you bird enthusiasts. The same species that was hunting under the lights at Riverfront Stadium at Cincinnati Reds Games when I was an early ornithologist. Watched them and not Pete Rose.

Camp During Covid

Nearly 20 years of Raptors And Art Camps with Bev Glueckert and the Missoula Art Museum and the new norm. Those kids are all smiling under their masks, Sibley posing as usual. A very different camp this year and hopefully back to normal next June.

Magpies Everywhere!

Hey, Best Friend Ron - We have three Black-billed Magpie nests in our yard, each fledging 5 or 6 babies and all over the place! This one youngster perched on my steel Gyrfalcon sculpture this morning, missed the shot of two others perched there just before!

"Our" House Wren

Chichimoco

My Mom used to call chipmunks "Chichimocos" a colloquial Spanish term. Here is a lovely Yellow-pine Chipmunk on the way to our daily dog hike.

Calliope Last Evening

The Metcalf

Nearby Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge denizens, in a recent "drive-by shooting,"   HA!

June Eagle

So now you show up! This was taken from the driveway, the famous nest across the river right where it says Kate. Canada Geese the last two years. Maybe next March the eagles will come to their senses and not hand over their fine abode.

Montana Public Radio

It's a delayed fund-drive at our public radio station and Raptors of the Rockies donates a premium of greeting cards. I made collections of six different cards plus envelopes, looking for a bag for delivery to the station. I found a great old Rockin Rudy's bag with a totally faded receipt inside. It was dated 1/29/04 and totaled $140.88. Twelve jazz CD's! That inspired me to dig them all out and give them a listen.
And give MTPR a listen and donation, all this week, at MTPR.org - An Essential Service!

Wow Wonderful Wisconsin!

We had our program/tour for the 100 3rd graders in Wisconsin, and way better than I even imagined, thanks to Dave Oberbillig's nice comments, and “filming” by son Ian. We met all the birds, had a chat with an irate-for-some-reason Sibley, checked out the sculptures in the yard, then hooted up some owls, little faces filling the computer screen. Sign us up for these! Teacher Julia Massino texted Dave just after we ended: 

AMAZING! Everything we wanted and anticipated!! Bravo!! We appreciate it so much!!!

Here is Ian over here about 18 years ago, and today. What a smile, thanks Oberbilligs.

Virtual Program/Tour

Tomorrow morning we will be in the homes of 100 3rd graders in Wausau, Wisconsin in a virtual program and tour, via iPhone! My pal Dave Oberbillig and I met in the early '90's when he was teaching high school science. Our tour will start in the eagle building and finish in the office with Sibley the Peregrine. Of all places - I was accepted in the ultimate art show in 1993 for a monoprint etching of an Osprey- "Birds in Art" at the Leigh Yawkey Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin. We 100 artists in attendance were wined and dined that week, absolutely unreal. Love Wisconsin, especially Elkhart Lake Race Track, where we kids were raised watching Grand Prix auto racing. See you kids and teachers tomorrow!Plus that zinc plate etching, "Flipper."

Poor Kestrels

Wild wind and trees down all over the place. On Saturday the female kestrel flew into the nest and sadly Sunday, the snag had blown down and she was dead along with two hatchlings. A few tears. I took this picture and then left the bodies in the nest cavity. I was very excited to photograph that family, the highlight of the day is the hike at One Horse Creek and visit to the kestrel nest.