Al Larson Photography

Several tom turkeys come into the yard and strut around. I often wonder what is on their mind. Are they just establishing a ranking in the group or are they trying to attract the attention of a female? Sometimes they just seem to be herding each other around.

I snapped this photo from some distand away. There were a couple of hens present but there seemed to be no other reaction among them. Some times a lone male shows up and struts around in the yard and no female is in sight. Is he just a self-centered egotistical individual that likes to show-off?

Yesterday I was on a fieldtrip to the Southwestern Idaho Birders Association “Bluebird Trail” which is located a few miles east of Jordan Valley, Oregon. At first the weather was a little bit chilly but as the day progressed the sun came out and one could be comfortable in shirt-sleeves. There are 33 nestboxes on this trail and there was evidence of activity in all but 2 of them. There had been a severe rain storm two days previously. Many of the nests were still moist from rain blown in through the entrance hole. Several boxes contained 6 warm eggs. Other boxes had lesser amounts of eggs some of which were cold to the touch. Probably the female had not completed her clutch and had not yet begun to incubate. Hopefully the temperature was not low enough to kill the unattended eggs.

Occasionally I find a pair of birds that stay relatively close as I inspect their nest. These I call my photogenic birds. They pose for me as you can see by the accompanying photos. Soon there will be baby birds to photograph.

Sandhill Cranes leave their roost on the sandbars in the river and fly out into the farmlands to glean the fields for dropped grain, tender plants, rodents, insects etc.  They put on fat to fuel the remaining flight to their nesting grounds in the Arctic.

When the cranes rise from the sandbars in the river in early morning the skies can be filled with clouds of the magnificent birds. This photo represents only a portion of the migrating flocks. Sandhill Cranes roost along many miles of the river near Kearney, Nebraska.

Tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes roost on the sandbars in the Platte River in March.

Here’s a pair of Trumperer Swans photographed at Crescent Lake NWR in Nebraska. There is a Northern Pintail in the upper left background. There are many wonderful things to see if you will leave the freeway and explore the back country.

I looked out the window this rainy morning and was greeted with this scene.

 I recently visited the Bear River National Wildlife Refuge on the return trip from Kearney, Nebraska with a group of friends. The weather was threatening rain and the wind was blowing. In the scene above we find the Wahsach range capped with storm clouds.

The wind was howling and rain was falling. A group of American Avocets lines up in the lee of a tumble weed. There were large flocks of Avocets totaling perhaps 3000 individuals.

Yellow-headed Blackbirds took refuge in the tules, all facing toward the wind

 On this memorable day, my 90th birthday, the four of us had breakfast at Denny’s in Tremonton, Utah. From left to right: Bob Breen, Al Larson, Denise Hughes and Cheryl Huizinga. I ate for free since it was my birthday.

Somehow I think this is a more peaceful scene than a photo of a turkey flat on its back in a roasting pan with its drumsticks sticking up in the air!

It is interesting to go outside after a slight snowfall and check the stories written in the snow. It’s best when the snow falls on bare ground and the tracks are highlighted by the dark ground below. Here we have a set of squirrel imprints as it leaped across the snow. Also an Oregon Junco passed along this route then doubled back a few hops and took to the air. The Junco footprints ended. Then we see the marks left in the snow by the bird’s primaries as it left the ground.