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Continue reading →: Ash-throated Flycatcher BreakfastThe short whistle of the Ash-throated Flycatcher, kind of like an old-time police whistle, is always a welcome sign of spring. These elegantly feathered members of the Myiarchus family of flycatchers arrive in Southern Humboldt in April from as far away as Mexico to raise a family and then return…
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Continue reading →: When Opportunity KnocksFor all of the majesty ascribed to Bald Eagles, they have some less than majestic habits, such as eating carrion or road kill and stealing food others have worked hard to catch. I once met an 8-year-old boy who told the story of an eagle swooping down to take a…
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Continue reading →: New Kingfishers in the HouseEvery summer there is a time when a loud abrasive rattle returns to the airwaves after many weeks of absence from the little stretch of Eel River that river I observe . The absence of this noise has serendipitously allowed more focus on the songs of the spring migrants as…
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Continue reading →: Gray Squirrel Moving DayIn the summer of 2022 I was lucky enough to witness an event which for me might have been a once in a lifetime happening, but for mama California Gray Squirrel, was just the routine moving of her young from one nest to another. Maybe she does this to be…
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Continue reading →: Gray Fox MorningEven at 8:15 in the morning the temperature of the air began to feel ominous, rising by the minute, six days into a heat wave that was starting to feel permanent. The chorus of birdsong was beginning to slow down, and even the clouds of insects seemed a bit unenthusiastic…
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Continue reading →: Make Way for DucklingsIn 50 years of living beside the South Fork of the Eel it is always with eager anticipation that I begin to look for duck families on the water in the late spring, early summer. We see Common Mergansers more than any other species near where I live, and I…
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Continue reading →: Grasshopper Sparrows at the Community ParkThis small sparrow has probably travelled over a thousand miles by the time it arrives in our local community park where it will raise a family and then migrate back to Mexico for the winter. At first glimpse it appears drab, but upon closer examination it has fine detail in…
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Continue reading →: American Beaver on the South ForkSightings of the American Beaver have been slowly increasing on the South Fork of the Eel, but are still rare enough that when I saw one, swimming in the river at some distance, for the first time last May I at first assumed it was an otter until I checked…
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Continue reading →: American Mink with Pacific Lamprey CatchAmerican Minks are small and fierce members of the weasel family, and they make their living along the South Fork of the Eel, catching a wide variety of prey, and sometimes that prey is significantly larger than the mink itself. One morning in late May I watched a mink travel…
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Continue reading →: Wood Ducks on the South ForkIn 50 years of observing wildlife on this little stretch of the South Fork of the Eel, it has always been a special occasion when Wood Ducks visit. I have only seen a family with young once, many years ago, but the fact that I have seen this pair multiple…
Welcome to Free Range Photography, a photo-journal of encounters with birds and wildlife, mostly in Humboldt County, California.
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