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Continue reading →: New Yard Bird!April 14, 2025: Today was the first day this year that truly felt like spring at the river. The last few times I’ve been there lately a lingering dense fog has at long last lifted only to be replaced by a cold biting wind, masking bird sounds and holding activity…
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Continue reading →: Eagle Nest Update: April 9, 2025Do you remember those visual puzzles we all did as kids where you compare two apparently identical drawings and try to pick out the subtle differences between them? The girl has a bow in her hair in this one, but a flower in the second one. The man has five…
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Continue reading →: Eagle Nest Update: March 24, 2025When I arrived at the nest-watching spot on Monday, a thick fog completely blocking the view across the valley to the nest was just breaking up and was being replaced by harsh hazy sunlight. It took me a while to even find the new nest, partly because it is so…
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Continue reading →: Beauty Is In the Eye of the BeholderI’m not sure what it is about vultures that makes them so appealing to me. It’s probably more than a little anthropomorphic that when I look into their eyes I see a gentle but profound wisdom. Their niche in the web of life is undeniably beneficial for its contribution to…
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Continue reading →: Eagle Nest Update: March 8, 2025When I made the trek up to the Benbow Bald Eagle nest watching spot last Saturday, I knew to keep going past the old nest-watching spot and look for activity around the new nest apparently still being built this year. A friend had snapped a picture of the new nest…
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Continue reading →: Goose on the LooseThe river was finally beginning to green up a bit after weeks of a rain-swollen cafe latte-colored flow. There was a hint of spring in the late February air and it seemed like a great day to have a nice long sit on the shore, and wait to see who…
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Continue reading →: Rare Bird Alert: White-Breasted NuthatchBecause I hear or less often see this bird not exactly infrequently, I do sometimes wonder why it’s locally considered a rare bird when I report it on ebird, the world-wide citizen science website for recording and tracking sightings of our avian friends. In 2024 I saw or heard this…
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Continue reading →: A Visit to Bear RiverEvery winter I like to take Monument Road west out of Rio Dell and go up onto Bear River Ridge where a well-maintained county road rolls over beautiful open country for about 12 miles until it T’s at the Mattole Road. A left here takes you on a windy descent…
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Continue reading →: Eagle Nest Update Feb 8, 2025Last Saturday I walked up to the Benbow Bald Eagle nest, hoping to see some action. I took it as a good omen that there were lots of birds along the trail on the 20 minute walk to the nest-watching spot. Acorn Woodpeckers, Northern Flickers, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, American Robins, Hermit…
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Continue reading →: The Tao of Watching BirdsA good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving. -Tao Te Ching The best birding days are like that. We may start with plans and expectations, as well as a strategy for fulfilling them, but the sooner those goals fall by the wayside, the more likely…
Welcome to Free Range Photography, a photo-journal of encounters with birds and wildlife, mostly in Humboldt County, California.
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