I was in the area attending a workshop with Nick Page and a group of 10 other photographers. The first afternoon we head out into the Palouse toward Steptoe Butte, which looks over the rolling wheat covered hills. The photograph below was taken about 1 hour before sunset. The low sun highlighted the contours in the hills and the grain silo and with the light in the farmhouse it created a line of sight between the two.
The migrant birds started to arrive last week and I decided to hike around the canyons northwest of Reno, NV. I started at Keystone Canyon where I found Rock Wrens, Gray and Dusky Flycatchers, and a fly over of a Common Poorwill.
Washoe Lake is a eutrophic, shallow lake that has a maximum depth of 12 feet (3.7m) and is located between Reno and Carson City Nevada. Extensive droughts in the past have caused the lake to dry up entirely, most recently in 1992, 1994, and 2004. Washoe Lake is fed by several small streams from the Carson Range to the west and ephemeral streams from the Virginia Range to the east. At its northern end, Washoe Lake narrows as it flows through the Scripps State Wildlife Management Area ending at Little Washoe Lake that feeds Steamboat Creek, which runs north to the Truckee River east of Sparks. This is a great place for birding with 212 species being recorded so far.
The Western Scrub-Jay was split into 2 species over the summer of 2016. The California Scrub-Jay is found west of the Sierras and the Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay east of the Sierras making 11 Jay species in North America. I have seen 7 of the 11 species. All the Jays I have encountered are very approachable and therefore make great subjects.
Owls are usually heard so it is a treat when you actually see one. A couple of weeks ago a report came across the NVbird listserve of a North Pygmy Owl at the Davis Creek County Park, which is located between Reno and Carson. When I arrived there were a couple of other photographers there so it was easy to find the owl.
