Birding fail.

I set out yesterday morning on an adventure down the valley to look for some interesting birds... I did not check the weather forecast.  It ended up raining somewhere between steadily and angrily all day long.  I took 123 pictures of which I kept seven.  SEVEN.

I will jump to the most exciting bird of the day:


It's true.  As this crappy photo indicates, the Blue Jay was the best bird of the day.  East coasters might be scratching their heads, but here in Oregon we don't see Blue Jays very often.  Bald Hill Park in Corvallis was my last birding stop of the day, and the first one the dogs were able to accompany me at.  We walked around in the downpour for an hour and a half before finally finding this bird.  I whipped out my camera for four quick shots before throwing it back in the safety of my waterproof bag.

I won't go into all the failures I accomplished yesterday, but I will share this photo of a Red-tailed Hawk taking a poopoo at Ankeny NWR:


When all was said and done I realized I had a great time regardless of the rain, the dips, and the long, stinky, wet drive home.  It was just so ridiculous.  The icing on the cake was getting home and finding out I had driven RIGHT past a Snowy Owl.  Twice.  Yep.  Can't win em all...

Good times!

Comments

  1. I love the Red-tailed Hawk "action" shot. The rainy weather sure does keep the birding down. We did a CBC on Tuesday that was underwhelming indeed.

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  2. I must say that a Red-tailed Hawk taking a poopie qualifies as a home run.

    BTW - please don't tell anyone I sent you down there for Northern Shrike and Great Horned Owl.

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  3. I've been having this kind of birding day all too often lately! I guess they do make the 'big' days seem that much bigger...c'mon spring!

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  4. Great post. You sent the rain and wind to us. We also have a difficult time finding Blue Jays here, but we had one here last spring.

    The rain has removed all the snow that we had here in the valley.

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  5. Sorry about the rain, but it wasn't a total loss. Is the bluejay a new "state" bird for you? And what a capture of the hawk in action. LOL! Having dogs I know exactly what it is like to have a long smelly ride home. I hope you find some great birds in 2012, Happy New Year.

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  6. Jen, you made me laugh! Missing a rare bird like that has happened to me too. So you go birding with your dogs? Not a good idea, since most birds will hide from a dog, but I do it too, since there is only so much time for walking the dog and looking for birds. Have a happy and productive 2012!

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