Archive for the ‘Mountain Bluebird’ Tag
Male western tanager on Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS. Posted on Flickr by the US Fish & Wildlife Service; taken 5/25/17.
A red necked phalarope (adult male) on Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS. Taken 5/21/17 & posted on Flickr by the US Fish & Wildlife Service.
The American bittern is a rare sight…not because they are uncommon, but because of their secretive, solitary nature and streaky camouflage. They are more commonly heard than seen. Their call is an odd sound that could be described as “gulping”. Their nicknames include: “stake-driver,” “thunder-pumper,” “water-belcher,” “mire-drum, and “shy-poke”. They commonly eat fish, frogs, and insects, and have the ability to focus their eyes downward (making them appear cross-eyed at times). The bittern will stand completely still and point its bill into the air to blend in with the vegetation around it. This bittern is using a wetland protected by a FWS wetland easement in the Kulm Wetland Management District in North Dakota. Photo by Krista Lundgren/USFWS. Taken 5/16/17 and posted on Flickr by the US Fish & Wildlilfe Service.
Two of These Do Not Belong… This red-winged blackbird nest on the Baltzer WPA in the Kulm Wetland Management District has two eggs that don’t belong to the blackbird. The two white and brown speckled eggs are those of a brown-headed cowbird. Female cowbirds do not build nests of their own, but rather lay their eggs in other birds’ nests. Cowbirds are one of the most common “brood parasites”. Their young are then raised by the host parents, sometimes to the detriment of their own young. Photo Krista Lundgren/USFWS. Photo taken 6/8/17 and posted on Flickr by the US Fish & Wildlife Service.
Mountain bluebird on Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge Photoby Tom Koerner/USFWS. Taken on 6/15/17 and posted on Flickr by the US Fish & Wildlife Service.
Yellow headed blackbird on Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS. Taken 6/8/17 & posted on Flickr by the US Fish & Wildlife Service.
Cinnamon teal on Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS. Taken 6/5/17 and posted on Flickr by the US Fish & Wildlife Service.
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Mountain Bluebird. Tweeted by the US Fish & Wildlife Service, 3/18/17.
Hooded Mergansers winter at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. In the spring, these tiny diving ducks head for forested wetlands to nest in tree cavities. Tweeted by the Chincoteague NWR 3/19/17.
A male Red-shafted Northern flicker on Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 4/17/18.
Many birds are monogamous, but Laysan Albatrosses mate for life. Young birds search for a mate with elaborate courtship dances. Once they hit breeding age, Albatrosses breed their entire lives, hatching and caring for one chick at least every other year. Pictured here is Wisdom — the oldest living, banded, wild bird — and her current mate at their nest at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Pete Leary, USFWS, from the US Department of the Interior blog.
Sharp-tailed Grouse. Photo by Rick Bohn / USFWS. Posted on Flickr by the US Department of the Interior, 4/12/17.
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Great Blue Heron landing in a field of bullrush from the 2016 Bear River Photo contest. Photo by Ron Welker / USFWS. Tweeted by the US Fish & Wildlife Service, 11/30/16.
Greater sandhill crane pairs return to Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge in late March and early April. They immediately begin to re-establish a nesting territory and will begin nest building/repair activities. This pair was out for a mid morning foraging stroll, looking for meadow voles, crayfish, and invertebrates. The invertebrates are found by probing the damp soils and by flipping over the cow pies left from the prescribed grazing conducted during the winter. Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS. Posted on Flickr by the US Department of the Interior, 4/7/17.
Because of the flexibility of their diet, mountain bluebirds are able to migrate north earlier than most birds. Photo by Dave Fitzpatrick. Posted on Facebook by the US Fish & Wildlife Service, 4/7/17.
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A Prairie Falcon puffs up against the cold on a chilly morning at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 12/5/16.
Some winter commutes are wet. And cold. This mule deer is headed for a drier destination! Posted on Facebook by the US Department of the Interior, 11/22/16.
This mountain bluebird rides the storm out. Stay warm friends! Photo: Tom Koerner/USFWS. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 11/25/16.
Sunset glows purple over snow at Crater Lake National Park. Photo by John Dale. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 12/4/16.
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