Al Larson Photography

Mallards are so common that I hesitate publishing photos of them. However, they are beautiful birds and I enjoy them. Here we have a pair resting on a very small island. Since there are just the two of them I assume that they planning to begin nesting. It is still a bit early in the season to start a family so I assume they are, at present, just enjoying each other’s company while basking in the sun.

This is a photo of our great granddaughter, Natalie Rose Bryant. This was at her first year birthday party. She was trying to catch bubbles being blown her way.

Here is another shot from the Kitchen Window. Oh, how I enjoy eating my breakfast with scenes like this in front of me! Cottontails seldom make themselves visible here at the ranch. I took this picture several years ago in the dead of winter. Some of our excess Christmas decorations (pyracantha) were placed in the snow beside the woodshed and adds a bit of color. Each year after Christmas I set our tree outside near the feeders. Just press the trunk into the snow and it will stand and stay green until the spring melt. This gives the birds added protection from marauding predators.

This is another file photo taken a couple years ago. It’s another scene taken from my kitchen window. This Northern Flicker is perched in the plum tree about 30 feet from the house.

I have a 1″ x 12″ board feeding station fastened to the frame of the kitchen window. All winter long this bird feasted on hulled sunflower chips just at arm’s length from me while I ate my Wheaties. You might say that we shared breakfast together. When it came time to roost for the night this guy would fly around the corner of the house and into an open space between a couple of rafters and spend the night in the crawl space above the sleeping porch. This went on for a couple of years. This year I saw no flickers at my feeder until one made a one day apearance around the 1st of March. I miss seeing my old friends at the feeders.

Here is a photo from my files that I took several years ago. It was taken from my kitchen window. When first observed the prey was nearly intact. Actually I think that the quail was larger than the owl. It took nearly three days for the owl to consume this large meal. During this time the owl would gorge itself then perch in the tree above. When another critter attempted to share this meal the owl would pounce down from the tree and drive the intruder away. Steller’s Jay and Pine Squirrels (Red Squirrel) were the main intruders. During this time I had ample opportunities to photograph the occasion. The moral here is to take lots of pictures when opportunity is present. The opportunity may never present itself again in this lifetime.

Our house makes a wonderful blind. Here is a scene from the bedroom window this forenoon. It had a pardner in the field across the creek.  This guy wandered slowly around stopping, watching and listening. I never saw it pounce on any prey. There are plenty of gophers around here and this hunter is welcome to help himself.