Herbert's Pond: Part I

Feb 15: ....We pulled into Herbert’s Pond on our way home from Grants Pass..... wood ducks!  Usually wood ducks are all too private.  They ease off as soon as we get anywhere close; but these are sharing a small pond with a gaggle of ‘funny ducks,’ i.e. various shades of domestic.  The wood ducks seem reasonably tolerant.

It is almost sunset so we don’t have much time. I immediately start to sketch.

Feb 17:  We arrived back at Herbert’s Pond late morning.  Before parking I got in the back seat of the car, behind Dale, so we could both sit on the pond side of the car.  While he photographed I sketched.  

Two double-crested cormorants sun themselves on a partially submerged log.  Already their faces have turned bright yellow, but no ‘crests’ yet.  That will come closer to nesting time. 

For a moment I thought my stomach was growling.  No, just the mumblings of the cormorants.  Then “HAANNK!”  Loud.  So loud I startled.  I thought someone had come up behind me.  Then I realized it is just more cormorant talk.  Apparently he said, “Let’s go fishing.”  Both slipped into the water and have been making frequent dives.  One comes up with a fish and tosses it quickly.  Down the gullet it goes.  

The cormorant dives a few more times but soon heads back to his log.  A coot has been enjoying the log, but there is no doubt in the coot’s mind as to whether the log is his or the cormorant’s.  Off he goes.  

Just before the cormorant climbs onto the log he ruffles and shakes .. a quick splash bath before climbing up.  Water droplets pearl on his dark feathers.  After a few quick preens he spreads his wings to dry;  first he angles his breast towards the sun, then his back.  

Feb 19:  Back to the pond.  When we first arrived one wood duck drake displayed once.  I want to see more!  He fluffed and threw back his fabulous head and kicked  up his tail; but it all happened so fast!  I can’t remember the exact sequence.  Head first?  Tail?  both at once?  I watched and watched.  I see little head bobs, but no real display.  

After three sessions of pond sitting I go home realizing how little I know about wood duck behavior.  It is obvious they are pairing up before they reach their nesting territory and I think I am seeing some courting behavior.   The interesting behavior happens so fast I’m not quite sure what I’m seeing.  I’ve got a plan of action -- read about them on Cornell’s ‘Birds of North America Online’  and I’m going to try to video some of their antics so I can slow down the action.  

More to come........

Winter Hummers

I still can’t get used to humming birds in winter.  Of course our winter isn’t all that harsh, but I still think any sane humming bird should go to warmer climes.  Our winters are green and soggy.  Snow fall on half a dozen days is a lot;  freezing nights are few.

When we first moved here, over thirty years ago, a humming bird in winter was an unusual occurrence. I subscribed to the philosophy I should take down my humming bird feeder in late summer and nudge the little sweeties on their way.  What I didn’t realize is that our common summer humming bird, the rufous hummer, is a smart little creature.  They go south.  Seeing one here in the winter would be very unusual.  The hummers we do get in the winter are Anna’s hummingbirds.  They aren’t in my yard in the summertime, only in winter!  

I still don’t feed in the fall, but, as soon as the weather turned and I caught sight of of an Anna’s, my heart melted and I rushed to put out a feeder.  Later on we had a cold snap.   For over a week either Dale or I got up early to put the feeder out at first light.  We took it in every night so it wouldn’t freeze.  When it was just getting light enough to sort juncoes from white-crowned sparrows, there he would be, waiting for us.  He’d even sneak a few sips while I reached to hang the feeder!  Have you ever been tickled by a hummingbird?  

Most of the winter our regular visitor has been an immature male Anna’s, but when the weather was its nastiest we suddenly had four hummers! Big, wet snow flakes drifted down and there sat four Anna’s hummingbirds, all fluffed up.   It was as if it was too cold to argue.  They perched and bickered and mostly inhaled our sugar water.  As soon as the weather improved we were back down to one pugnacious immature male and a second who’d sneak in when the coast was clear.     

I happened to be in the yard one day when a glorious mature male perched first at one end of the yard and then the other, scolding the whole while ... but he wouldn’t come close to the feeder.  

About ten days ago the tides turned.  Now ‘Fancy Dan,’ the beautiful male Anna’s is the regular visitor and the immature male sneaks in when the coast is clear.  Fancy Dan is such a handsome fellow!  Depending on the angle of light, his iridescent feathers can be almost black .... or magnificent.  

And he knows he is magnificent.  I caught him perched, puffed, and singing his pea-pick’n heart out.  The song is so soft I can barely hear it from less than fifteen feet away.  

Cut the Willow Switch!

A great blue heron stalks ever so quietly in a small pond. While we wait for a good photograph, I’ve been busy sketching --  cormorants, Canada geese, shovelers, and now a great blue heron.  

While I sketch the heron a flock of twenty Canada geese fly into the pond and set up an earful of chatter.  The heron stays focused, slowly moving one foot forward and then the other.  

Squabbling and chasing, the geese have been here for five minutes and the air is still filled with goose chatter, not the low murmur of contented geese. The raucous commotion accompanies them as they settle who gets the choice spots.  It takes another five minutes before the geese calm down.  Most are now onshore preening; three bath; others swim slowly.  While we sit, waiting for the heron to catch something, two green-winged teal come swimming along the shoreline.  The heron moves ever so closely towards us.

Drat and rats!  Dale says, “Go cut yourself a willow switch!”  

When we left the house this morning we were on our way to a meeting.  The weatherman predicted ‘cloudy,’-- not ‘partly cloudy,’ not ‘mostly cloudy’ .... just ‘cloudy.’ Silly me said, “Lets not bother taking the big lens with us.”  By the time the meeting ended the clouds were burning off.  Now that we are parked at the little pond, an otter has come out on the far side of its tiny island  --  a little far away for the lens we have with us.  Shame on me for suggesting we leave the big lens at home.

All is not lost.  The otter decides to go hunting.  The otter is underwater a lot.  Sometimes we see a tight spattering of popping bubbles and we know he’ll come up near where we last saw him.  When he decides to move quickly from one place to another, we see a wake and a straight string of bubbles.  At least he gives us a clue as to where he’ll pop up next.  A road edges much of the pond so we inch along when he is underwater.

The heron is having none of this! When the otter nears, the heron quickly climbs on shore and keeps an eye on the otter’s meanderings.  Ducks move out of the way too.  

The otter has a fish!  A good sized bass, maybe ten inches long.  He is close to us, but this isn’t a good place to eat it.  He dives and comes up looking at us ...  dives again and heads towards the little island.  He quickly climbs onto solid ground and starts eating his catch.  We’re wishing for that big lens again, but I really can’t complain.  He did catch his fish right near us.

I’m surprised how quickly he eats the whole thing, just a few minutes.  Once done, he slips back into the water for a short swim around, underwater a lot again.  Soon he is back up on the island rubbing, rubbing, rubbing.  He rubs every bit of his body ... back, belly, sides.  Over and over.  

A little scratching and some licking is in order after the long rubbing.  He even grooms the tip of his tail.  His coat is beginning to look glossy and dry, not drenched.  

The otter gets lazier and lazier as we watch.  At first he tackled grooming with vigor, but now it is more snooze than motion.  He just has to find the right position for a good nap.  Time for us to head home for our lunch.

The Perfect Sketchbook

Red-tailed hawk drying his wings.  Watercolor and ink on Aquarius II paper.

Get two sketch artists together, and usually sooner rather than later, the subject of the perfect sketchbook comes up.  The answer is simple:

There is no perfect sketchbook!

But we keep trying to find it.  

For many years I did most of my field sketching in hard bound plain paper blank journals.  My drawings hardly showed through onto the backside of the page and the paper didn’t buckle very much when I got wet and juicy.  I’m now in Volume 41.  As the years have gone by I realize the paper used to be better in these journals, plus I’ve developed a taste for even better paper. I’ve been trying other sketchbooks quite a bit during the past couple of years.  I try to have both my journal and a good sketchbook in the car ... but which sketchbook?

There is a variety of sketchbooks with lovely paper  -- many with paper far too nice for scribbled notes. Most of these sketchbooks are rather expensive.  Stillman & Birn is putting out a deluxe series of sketchbooks; Aquabee almost marries price with good paper, but still seems spendy to write copious notes on; Strathmore has some nice sketchbooks.... and many others.  On all of these I get intimidated when the sheet of whiteness in front of me costs somewhere around a dollar a sheet and and tearing one out seems sacrilegious.  Suddenly I worry about messing up a page; I don’t want to start something I might not have time to finish; I don’t want to write herky, jerky notes on that good paper.  Trying to reinvent myself as neat and tidy was an exercise in how to ruin spontaneity. My field journaling is all about trying to capture the moment, both in words and with sketches.  “Bless this Mess” is a good motto for my journal.  For more on my thoughts on journaling, please go to my post:, “Thoughts on Keeping a Journal” Feb 2011.

http://elvafieldnotes.blogspot.com/2011/02/thoughts-on-keeping-journal.html

and “Warts and all”  March 2012.

http://elvafieldnotes.blogspot.com/2012/03/warts-and-all-my-journal.html

Plein-air sketches on index.

A few weeks ago I suddenly had an a new idea on how to handle my conundrum.  I still plan to keep a plain paper, hard bound journal for most of my writing and lots of sketches; but I also plan to keep a “Inspiral Info-Bind” binder filled with my choice of paper.  (www.Komtrak.com). 

Years ago I bought a Komtrack Inspiral Info-Bind binder and promptly shelved it because refill paper is so expensive. My recent brainstorm is that I can cut up large sheets of paper and punch my own refills  .. and pick any type  of paper I want.  Every so often I can take out finished pages and insert new ones.  I had to buy a hold punch -- that cost me $50.  It’ll  be a bit of a bother to cut, punch, and insert the pages; but right now I’m excited to have a variety of paper under one cover:  I currently have five types of paper in my binder:  Strathmore’s Aquarius II for watercolor, Strathmore’s high surface bristol for fine pen and ink work, some cheap index for just sketching, some typing paper for notes, and even some ‘write-in-the-rain” paper.  

Wren Tit found along the Oregon coast.  Watercolor and ink on Aquarius II paper.

Another advantage of the Inspiral Info-Bind coil is that I can fold the book all the way around, i.e. I don’t have to work with it wide open.  I often sketch in our little car where space is limited.  

I have another Komtrak binder, one with a smooth back, but it doesn’t fold back.  I see they also offer a simpler binder which might work just as well.

I haven’t lived with my new system long enough to know whether it will stick as long as filling one hard bound journal after another has -- gee I’d have to live another 37 years for that.  I doubt I’ll be so lucky.  

A Contest!

I have a fun announcement to make:  a contest!  Some of you just might enjoy entering.   First a little introductory information is in order.  

Dale and I have a very gifted daughter, Lita Judge.  She both writes and illustrates children’s books.  I’m proud to say some of her inspiration has been nurtured while sharing our love of wildlife and the outdoors; and many of her books have a personal connection to us, mostly in the form of using our photographs for reference material.  She especially loves our grizzly photos. 

A few of her books have a very different connection.  I’ve done a considerable amount of knitting for her!  The knitting started with half a sock -- yes, just half a sock.  The clerk who sold me the wool was quite puzzled when she asked about the project and I answered, “I only need enough wool for half a sock.”  Lita needed an illustration of a half knitted sock for “One Thousand Tracings; Healing the wounds of World War II” -- Hyperion Books for Children.

Most recently I’ve been knitting red hats.  Lots of red hats. LOTS!

 The first red hats were for Lita’s book “Red Sled” (Atheneum Books / 2011), a delightful adventure book.  In it a bear borrows a red sled and ends up taking a variety of woodland friends on a wild ride.  Since the child in the book wears a red hat, Lita decided she wanted a red hat for her book jacket photo .... and she then asked for about 30 miniature hats to help with marketing.  Out came my knitting needles and I made a dent the Norwegian wool I had stored for years.  

My little hats were a big hit.  More important, the book was a bigger hit!  Lita was encouraged to come up with a sequel.  

 “Red Hat,” the sequel to “Red Sled,” will be released this March.  What mischief do the bear and friends get into this time?

Out came my knitting needles again.  This time she not only wanted another batch of miniature hats, but also a variety of unique hats to kick off a ‘Red Hat Contest.’  I’ve had lots of fun creating red hats for the initial contest site.  I put a hat on an onion blossom; cut holes in my straw gardening hat and put it on a pony; and I stared knitting weird and wonderful: one for her parrot, one for her kitty, for a goat, and for Sophie, a Scottie I know.  

Poor Sophie.  She wasn’t at all excited about wearing a red hat.  She suddenly went mournful and froze.  “Oh dear!  What on earth is this thing on my head?”  But Sophie is a quick learner and found out that subjecting herself to wearing ‘that thing’ also came with very special treats.  Pretty soon Sophie forgave me the indignity and decided to look quite cute in her hat. 

Now it is your turn to be creative and enter the Red Hat Contest.  It can be a photograph or a drawing.  You don’t need to knit a hat ... just use a hat that has been hiding in your closet or borrow one from a friend or draw it.  In any case be sure to go to Lita’s web site and enjoy her art.  More information about the contest is there too.  

Lita’s books can be found in many local bookstores and on Amazon.com <http://www.Amazon.com> .  .  Here is her website:  www.Litajudge.net

A State of Inelegence: Dec 23, 2012

A while back I jotted down a favorite quote from a letter written by Jane Austen, the famous English novelist:   “What dreadful hot weather we have!  It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance...”.  I only need to change one word for it to fit my sharp-shinned hawk perfectly:  “What dreadful wet weather we have!  It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance ....”  

Oh so wet!  The indignity of it.  It’s been raining for days.  The mosses and lichens are green sponges; the ground is soggy and puddly; the sky drips.   It rains and rains.  I try to remember back to last summer when we were at three months without rain and counting.  Why can’t Mother Nature put all her rain drops and drips in a barrel, shake them up, and distribute them more evenly?  

I think the sharp-shinned hawk agrees with me.  He looks just plain miserable as rain drips off his tail and off his beak.  Every so often he just shakes a little and sends droplets scattering.  I even saw him open his beak and swallow a droplet!  

But what is a sharp-shinned hawk to do?  He still has to make a living.  This one has been making regular visits to our bird feeder.  As far as I’m concerned I wish he’d only eat house sparrows, but I’m afraid goldfinches, pine siskins and juncoes are also on his platter.  .... But he’d better not dare take one of my chickadees!  

Watching this sharpie has been fun. Sometimes I draw him through the front window, and sometimes I ease my bathroom window open and don’t have any glass between us.   It’s a rare opportunity to be so close to a relaxed, wild, sharp-shinned hawk.  I never realized before all the head bobbing they do when they are perched and hunting.  He reminds me of a little owl,  looking up down, to the left, to the right.  Lots of quick little head bobs.  It can be a very effective hunting technique.  

I haven’t been watching when this sharpie has caught anything, but a few years ago I noticed one eating a pine siskin in my front yard.  I started drawing.  It took him twenty minutes to pluck and eat; then he paused and looked around ... looking into the shrubbery.  He merely popped down from his perch and came up with siskin number two.  When he’d polished off his second d'oeuvre, he grabbed a third!  This time he flew off with his prey to eat somewhere else.  

Ferruginous Hawk

I’m using my blog for a slightly different purpose tonight -- to make sure interested birders can get a look at the photos we took today which verify the presence of a ferruginous hawk only about a mile from my home.  I wish I could say I spotted him.  I didn’t.  Matt Hunter, an excellent birder, noticed this particular buteo didn’t look quite right to be a red-tailed hawk.  Red-tails are common here and very variable in plumage.  Most winters one or two rough-legged hawks are seen by someone in the county; and we have a decent number of red-shouldered hawks.  I can only remember one other ferruginous hawk in the county in all the thirty plus years we have lived here.  Ferruginous hawks nest in eastern Oregon and Washington, southern Idaho, most of Montana and Wyoming, and western North and South Dakota -- and usually go farther south for the winter.

Matt spotted the bird a few days ago and took the best picture he could using a cell phone and binoculars!  Then he sent a call out hoping someone could get better pictures.  Yesterday we got good enough photos to verify it is a ferruginous hawk.  Today the sun cooperated and we got even better photos.  

We spent a lot of time waiting for the hawk to come hunting near us and for awhile he landed in a tree near us.  While Dale photographed I got to sketch. 

Note the feathering on his legs, typical of Ferruginous and Rough-legged hawks.

At some  angles very little red shows on the tail.

In different light the tail has a reddish cast.  We are quite sure there is only one bird.

..... and we were treated to an extra surprise while we waited.  A black-colored red fox came out and hunted in the same pasture the ferruginous hawk often hunted in.