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Bob D'A
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Jul 26, 2013 - 09:39pm PT
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In the San Fran area to visit my new born grandson and see my son play at the Great American Music Hall tonight...when to Point Reyes this AM and had a great morning. Been there a number of times but the area is simply stunning and full of life. So beautiful.
Need help to ID this one. Just not sure. Pacific Slope Flycatcher?
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Jul 26, 2013 - 11:09pm PT
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Tony; I loved the Northern Gannet photos.
Bob; pissed off owls are always good.
And Chiloe; OMG "Pacific loons near Anchorage this week." awesome. What are you doing in Anchorage?
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Slater
Trad climber
Central Coast
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Jul 26, 2013 - 11:24pm PT
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Runaway chick being chased back to the nest by mom.
Taken using the "POLE CAM".
Not as naughty as it sounds...
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john hansen
climber
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Jul 27, 2013 - 02:02am PT
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I would love to get a Snowy plover..
Nice one Slater
Where did you see it?
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Jul 27, 2013 - 07:13am PT
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And Chiloe; OMG "Pacific loons near Anchorage this week." awesome. What are you doing in Anchorage?
In town for a nephew's wedding, I took that fuzzy shot with a pocket camera while on a morning walk.
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shady
Trad climber
hasbeen
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Jul 28, 2013 - 12:02am PT
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Kool! Occipitors need love too.
Bird feeders make good bird feeders.
I have a resident Kestrel and Merlin who haunt my feeders, much to the horror of my elderly neighbors who have witnessed some of the carnage.
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Slater
Trad climber
Central Coast
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Jul 28, 2013 - 12:26am PT
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John,
It's snowing Snowy Plovers down here at Oso Flaco Beach. I see them every time I go during nesting season. The place is crawling with them. Like cotton balls with legs.
This sucker was in MY backyard. He'd eat a plover for dessert.
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john hansen
climber
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Jul 28, 2013 - 01:43am PT
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When I was about 20 years old I got into birding with a friend of mine,
Jim Booker.
We used to go out to a lake about a mile from my house. I had grown up around there and had spent a lot of time in the woods around there.
There was a pair of Great Horned Owl that we would see every once in while.
One day when I walked over a rise I saw the owl flying away from a tree branch. I went up and checked it out and could see that that the owl had perched here many time's watching out over the field in front of this perch.
The bark was worn smooth.
A couple days later I very slowly worked my way up the back side of the slope. Probably a half hour to go 100 feet.
When I crested the slope, I saw the owl on his perch with his back to me maybe 50 feet away.
I spent another half hour working my way one step at a time getting closer ,trying not to make a sound or snap a stick.
I finally got with in 15 feet when the owls head swiveled and looked me right in the eye.
It was like " where did you come from" as he launched off his perch and flew off across the meadow.
It would have been better if I could have touched it's tail or even got a feather but I thought I had done pretty good sneaking up on an owl.
Another time I took a group of friends out to Robber's Roost above Lake Clamintine near Auburn Ca. It was on private property but we used to go out there quite a few times.
There was a cool cave you could go thru with a 5 ft traverse over 5.4 to get to it. It went thru a 50 ft tunnel. the rock and ended with a 15 foot long 18 inch tunnel that came out on the edge of a 400 foot cliff where you could scramble up the last 50 feet of limestone to the top. Maybe old school 5,3 or 5.4..
Going thru the tunnel, leading my friends I got to a rise you had to climb over, standing on top of this rise I was confident.
When I turned to go forward there was a Barn Owl flying at me about 5 feet from my face. I ducked and he flew out of the cave above me.
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10b4me
Ice climber
Wishes-He-Was-In-Arizona
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Jul 28, 2013 - 02:14pm PT
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dee ee
Mountain climber
citizen of planet Earth
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Jul 28, 2013 - 08:36pm PT
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Ash-throated at Irv. Pk. last night. There were many Blue-gray Gnatcatchers but I couldn't get a photo.
Western and Clarke's Grebes together at the Back Bay (Sea and Sage bird walk this morning). A good walk but nothing new. I did learn a lot from our leader Mark Kinchloe.
Western came close. Nice "red eye."
After the Back Bay (Upper Newport Bay) I went over to the San Joaquin WS to take another stab at finding the Least Bittern. I did the usual around Pond 5 (last known sighting) stopping to play the songs and calls here and there and scanning the reeds along the waters edge from every possible angle. From there I usually go over to Pond B where the second most recent hearing was (no sighting).
The Ibird Pro has a call that is 8 repetitions of a "kek" note (they call it a tutu-tutu). At one point I heard a call with 4 of what was the exact same note, but it wasn't 8. Hmmm?
I felt pretty confidant that it was the Least Bittern but waited till I got home to get excited.
I looked it up on the internet and found a site that had many recordings and they varied from 3 to 6 of the same note. None had 8.
I'm gonna' check it for now but I still need to see that little bugger.
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Bob D'A
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Jul 28, 2013 - 08:45pm PT
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Had a great day with Tony, Amy (From ST) and my son Jeremy near San Rafael and Petaluma. Got over 60 species.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jul 28, 2013 - 11:27pm PT
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This sucker was in MY backyard. He'd eat a plover for dessert.
Dood, he'd eat you for the main course. Baddest of the bad pound for pound. Just ask the Ranger in Minnesota who was blinded by one for 'intruding'.
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Slater
Trad climber
Central Coast
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Jul 29, 2013 - 01:02am PT
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John, sorry your post got burried by photos.
Don't take it personally, happens all the time.
People get excited about their own sh#+.
But man, that was some good story telling!
I could totally picture a young kid doing that.
That was a cool story dude!
I got to within 6 feet of a barn owl sleeping on a post out at Kern NWR a while back. I was at its back, so I carefully maneuvered around to the front of the owl.
I wanted a photo of its face, eyes OPEN, so I made a soft noise with my tongue and BAM the eyes went on and I got a similar reaction from the owl... "Hey, what the hell!? You just woke me up!" He puffed himself up to try and look menacing...
I cranked 5 frames before it stumbled off the post and crashed into the bushes. I think it was still half-asleep. Best owl shot I've ever gotten though (below). Although I did feel guilty and a little bad for waking it up.
I am 100% sure I could have petted the thing, but opted for the photo instead!
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cyndiebransford
climber
Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
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Jul 29, 2013 - 02:11am PT
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Today I went to Palmer Creek Road, near Hope, Alaska. It is about a two hour drive to the road and then 7 miles of steep and rugged dirt road. Then we hiked about another three miles. We saw 24 species of birds. But I got very few photos. The birds were busy catching bugs and they didn't sit still for long. Some of the species seen were Yellow-rumped Warblers, Orange-crowned Warblers, Yellow Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Townsend Warbler, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow and Olive-sided Flycatchers. It was a beautiful day for birding.
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Jul 29, 2013 - 02:29am PT
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I can hear all of those birds... Thanks for taking me home
Golden Crowned has one of my all time favorite calls...
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dirt claud
Social climber
san diego,ca
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Jul 29, 2013 - 10:54am PT
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Wow, check out this crazy bird, highest flying bird I believe.
Rüppell's Vulture or Rüppell's Griffon Vulture (Gyps rueppellii) is a large vulture that occurs throughout the Sahel region of central Africa. The current population of 30,000 is in decline due to loss of habitat and other pressures.[2] Also known as Rüppell's Griffon, Rueppell's Griffon, Rüppell's Griffin Vulture, Rueppell's Vulture and other variants, Rüppell's Vulture is named in honor of Eduard Rüppell, a 19th-century German explorer, collector, and zoologist. Rüppell's Vulture is considered to be the highest-flying bird, with confirmed evidence of a flight at an altitude of 11,000 metres (36,100 ft) above sea level.[3]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%BCppell%27s_Vulture
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jul 29, 2013 - 10:44pm PT
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DC, some kind of geese have been seen well above the top of Everest and they didn't soar to that height as the vultures likely did.
I thought a Lammergeier was making a run at me once at 13K in the Pamirs. That was a trip.
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dirt claud
Social climber
san diego,ca
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Jul 30, 2013 - 06:03pm PT
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Yeah Reilly, I've seen documentaries how those geese try to get over mountains with the wind blowing against them, crazy stuff.
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little Z
Trad climber
un cafetal en Naranjo
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Jul 30, 2013 - 06:13pm PT
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Rüppell's Vulture is considered to be the highest-flying bird, with confirmed evidence of a flight at an altitude of 11,000 metres (36,100 ft) above sea level.
confirmed evidence meams it was pulled out of a jet engine (seriously)
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