Al Larson Photography

A couple days ago I went out to Deer Flat NWR (Lake Lowell) to check nest boxes set up for Wood ducks. The weather was fine. All of the recent snows have melted away. Vegetation was void of leaves making it easy to find the boxes. Wood Ducks are cavity nesters. They respond to man-made cavities (nest boxes). I found remnants of old duck nests with down, unfertile eggs and broken egg shells which were removed and the nest tidied up with new shavings. Ducks have competition for these boxes. I found evidence of squirrels, kestrels and owls in many of the boxes.

Screech-Owls roost in nest boxes and other cavities in the cold weather months. They also nest in them. In making my rounds I discovered this pictured owl in one of the boxes. I love to work with these critters. Most of them seem quite docile and tolerate my handling and banding them. They make nice photo subjects.

Some time ago I posted a picture of my woodshed bursting at the seams with a winter’s supply of wood. This is an update on the woodpile. Nearly every day I make a trip to the house with a wheelbarrow loaded with wood. While the snow is piled deep and it is cold outside we are able to keep warm and comfy in the house. Will seven cords of wood last the winter?

Here is a scene from the kitchen window taken this morning. The sun had just came out and illuminated the bird feeders hanging on the clothes line in the yard. The snow in the background is still in the shadows. I like to have a dark background behind a well lit subject. The birds at the feeders are Pine Siskins.

This has been an extra ordinary year for snowfall. A few days ago there was nearly five feet of snow. Today it has settled to just three feet. I hear some folks complaining about all the snow. But I have actually been enjoying it.

This White-breasted Nuthatch is the largest of the three nuthatch species normally found in Idaho. It is a cavity nester and will sometimes nest in a nest box. Wintertime is a good time to photograph wild birds. They can be attracted to bird feeding stations when their natural food source is scarce. They seldom remain very long at a feeder, but come in, snatch a seed, and fly into a nearby tree or bush to eat their loot. I set my camera for flash and waited for this bird to fly in. After several blurred shots I finally found one to save. I noticed details on this bird I hadn’t been aware of before. Photography is a great way to study wildlife.

Icicles are supposed to grow straight down, or so I’ve heard. These crazy icicles are pointing in all directions. Gravity plays tricks! Each icicle when it was formed was perpendicular to the ground. They were frozen solidly to the snow that was sliding ever so slowly over the eave of the roof. Gravity bent the snow toward the ground tilting the icicles toward the horizontal and more. More icicles formed and in turn were tilted up. The process may take days. I thought this photo was quite interesting.