A Couple of Native Beasts

Not much came by the photoblind this morning in the backyard. A few of the local squirrels came by for some free seed. The Western Gray Squirrel seemed to be saying, "Look at my beautiful tail!". The Douglas Tree Squirrel was just trying to figure out what that clicking noise was. God's light and love to all, chris

Day at the Polls

If you are a U.S. citizen did you exercise your right to vote today? I voted today and then I photographed "Badger the Wonder Dog" with my sticker. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Iconic Squirrel Pose

Once fall has truly set in the bird photography becomes extremely limited in the variety of birds that visit my bird feeders.Today there was a grand total of three species of birds that visited the feeder while I was sitting in the photoblind. In addition to the birds there were two types of squirrels. Not even the chipmunks came to visit. I decided just to work with what I had and create an iconic Douglas Tree Squirrel image. You know the look. The squirrel is sitting up with it's tail curled up behind its back and it has its paws held up in front of it.I hope I have succeeded in that with a richly colored,detailed and beautiful squirrel. God's love and blessings, chris

Serendipitous Squirrel

I spent a couple of hours in the photoblind this morning trying to capture another image of the chickadee with "Phaeomelaninistic Melanism" apparently it's pretty rare.A couple of Western Gray Squirrels came by and I shooed them away from the bird feeders. After awhile one of the Grays came back and I just decided to watch it and see what it would do. I'm glad I did because it decided to pose for me. Great squirrel! "Will work for bird seed!"Must be a member of the S.A.G. Squirrel Actors Guild. God's love, chris

Now Turn to the Right (Mug Shot)

Yesterday this Western Gray Squirrrel came to visit my bird feeders in the back yard. I loved the background so I pulled in tight for a nice close up mug shot. God's love and blessings to all, chris Here is a more natural image taken a little later.

By the Light of the Silvery Moon

Last night the moon rose large and full. I took a few images of the moon rising above Mount San Hedrin to the east of us in the Mendocino Range. About four a.m. I myself arose and created a long eight minute exposure of the Little Lake Valley below us. The valley was illuminated by the light of the moon. In the full moon image you can see the silhouette of a building on top of the mountain. I have been told that it is the fire lookout. In the moon lit landscape there is the light from a ranch house on the left just at the fog line. God's love and blessings, chris

For ID Purposes Only (ID Needed)

Sometimes when I am photographing out in the field or in my photoblind I will spot an animal or a bird that is unfamiliar to me.Rather than trying to remember all the details of it I will just shoot a quick documentary image of it. Then I'll to look up later in one of my field guides or try and ID it online. This image is one of those images.I spotted this dark Chickadee coming in to feed with the Chestnut Backed Chickadees at my backyard feeders. It kept landing on the end of a sawn branch before it went to feed. Not a very photogenic perch but at least it would give me some way to ID it. I have checked all of my field guides and numerous places online and so far I have no ID on it. Any thoughts out there ornithologists? Is this a Dark Phase Chestnut Backed Chickadee or something else? Habitat was Mixed Coniferous Forest 2,500 ft. Elev. Coastal Range. Mendocino County, Northern California. God's love and blessings, chris