A Small Something

In the past, the American Avocets that have come around have been temporary visitors only. However, I’m pretty sure they are nesting. One will crouch down on it while the other hunts for food. They trade off, so one is always on the nest. Pretty cool!

The snowy egret has been around quite a bit. The cinnamon teal is a regular fixture. I watched a muskrat swim back and forth in the pond today. The hummingbirds have been here for about a week. This afternoon, two of them buzzed around in our tree in the back yard as Ninja stalked them. She never got close, but she sure tried.

This morning, Rachel looked out the window to see NINE snowy egrets! They seemed to be having a turf war, of sorts. Eventually, the most aggressive one chased off all of the others, until there was only one remaining.

We first saw him yesterday. I hope he sticks around for a while.

Oh, the male Cinnamon Teal I mentioned in a previous post seems to have a mate. Also, there is a pair of American Coots that seem to be breeding.

We’ve seen a number of birds so far this spring in the pond behind our house. Rachel usually sees them first and then points them out to me. American Avocets, Black-necked Stilts, Cinnamon Teals, an American Wigeon, Killdeer, and the usual assortment of Mallards and geese. I love our house.

The avocets came back after a day or two and have been hanging out for more than a week. I got this picture a few days ago.

Here is a Black Necked Stilt that hangs out a lot. Today we saw four of them at once.

Rachel and I saw a pair of American Avocets at the pond behind our house this morning. It was the first time either of us has seen one there. They landed and briefly scoped the area and then left again, apparently not finding it to their liking.

This afternoon I watched three black-necked stilts fly around the marshy area behind my house and wade on the shores of the pond. Today is the first day I have observed them this year. In previous years I only remember seeing one or two at a time.

They only stayed a few minutes and then flew on. I hope they’ll be back.

Rachel and I saw a Killdeer yesterday over by the pond. I’ve seen a few before near our house, but this was the first sighting this year. We also went for a walk and saw a dead muskrat, so I was relieved to see that the muskrat that normally hangs out in our wetlands was still there yesterday evening. The ducks have been pairing up over the last week or so and preparing nests.

Saturday morning I drove to Mona Reservoir and saw a couple hawks, a magpie, geese, mallards, and a bunch of American Coots.

Rachel and I enjoyed watching a Great Blue Heron through the binoculars on the far side of our neighbor’s pond yesterday afternoon for about twenty minutes before it flew to the north. It looked like it landed near some water about three blocks to the north. This is the fourth spring I’ve lived in this house, and haven’t seen a Great Blue Heron until now, so I was excited.

Yesterday morning we drove around the Provo Airport dike road looking for some Tundra Swans that had been seen there the previous day. We didn’t find them there. We did see an interesting sight though. Ice from the lake had been pushed up onto and above the dike road. Big slabs of ice, ten inches thick were piled very high (maybe 30 or 40 feet above the lake). Some combination of waves and wind had obviously been at work. I was impressed with the force that must have been necessary to create that mountain of ice.

The hummingbirds have discovered our feeder. We’ve seen a few before, but they’re regulars now. I’ve noticed at least three black-throated hummingbirds–two males and one female. The pictures I’ve taken have been of the female. It’s pretty cool becuase the feeder is right outside the kitchen window and when you sit next to it you can see the hummingbirds only about two feet away.

Rachel and I went to Salt Lake today and saw the IMAX movie, Deep Sea. It was a 3D movie. Usually I think that 3D is gimicky, but in this case it really added to the movie and was well done. Beautiful shots of sea life. I really enjoyed it.

After the movie we went to Tracy Aviary, which is always a treat. Spent some time watching a Great-horned Owl, a Sandhill Crane, Burrowing Owls, and others. There were some peacocks with amazing displays, and an Andean Condor who was also showing off his wingspan. Many beautiful ducks and waterfowl.

After that we went to Trolley Square and had a nice dinner at Rodizio Grill.

Last night Jonathan, David, Rachel, and I went to see Over The Hedge. It’s a pretty cute family film. We all had a good time although it cost the four of us over $45 after you factor in soda and popcorn. Still, every evening I can spend with my kids is a nice evening.

Sarah seems to be having a great time in Guatemala. She is answering email there whenever she can make it to an internet cafe, so drop her a line.

In my last post I mentioned I’m considering a digital SLR camera and a zoom or telephoto lens. After reviewing what money can buy and how useful it is for nature photography, I’ve revised my wishlist to a regular point-and-shoot digital camera (probably something in the Nikon Coolpix line) and a good spotting scope. People who have both are now routinely coupling them using mounting sleaves or brackets to take pretty stunning pictures for much less money than a similar DSLR setup. It’s called digiscoping. Although it will still be expensive, I’m planning on buying the necessary components over time. It’s something I know I’d enjoy for the rest of my life.

Tuesday I identified two of the wading birds we’ve seen this spring over in the farmer’s pond. One is a Snowy Egret, and the other is a Black-necked Stilt. Birds have cool names.

Last weekend Jonathan, David, and I went to a Father and Sons Outing™ at the Heber Camp™ owned by The Church™. We survived and possibly even had some fun. I spent some time talking with my friend Mark who, sadly, lost his wife in an automobile accident a couple years ago. He and his children seem to be doing quite well in spite of what life has thrown at them.

The next morning Jonathan, David and I had some fun with a frisbee and had breakfast before heading back to the valley. That evening, Rachel and I met my Dad and Leslie in Salt Lake for dinner.

Thusday I went with Jonathan to an overnight camp for the sixth grade at Maple Dell. We went canoeing and did some other activities. Friday David and I went to Take Your Son To Work Day at Novell. Sarah left Friday morning for a trip to Guatamala with her school group. One of the teachers on the trip is keeping a travel blog here.

Jonathan and David spent the weekend with me and Rachel. We started making a model rocket that we’re going to launch in a couple of weeks. We also had a nice time at a restaurant last night.

On the health front, Rachel fell down at work a couple of days ago and got scraped and bruised pretty good. My back has been hurting quite a bit this month–symptoms of the car accident in December. I’ve been to the doctor a couple of times, and got some X-rays. The last couple of days the pain has been in my neck. I’m hoping the flare-ups are a sign that it’s healing. Now that the weather is nice, I’ve been walking around the neighborhood more in the evenings.

Rachel and I have really enjoyed seeing all of the wildlife in the wetland area behind our home this spring. We have consistently viewed muskrats, pheasants, a crane, killdeer, and of course ducks and ducklings as well as a lot of other birds I haven’t identified. Seeing all of those birds has sparked an interest in birding. I just ordered a couple of field guide bird books and am contemplating getting a good digital SLR camera with a zoom lens so I can capture some of the birds I see.