Birds of a feather

I've been busy taking pictures of our feathered friends recently. Enjoy!!

A wild peregrine falcon alights on a dead tree on a ridge high over the Umpqua River near Elkton in rural western Oregon. Peregrine Falcons catch medium-sized birds in the air with swift, spectacular dives, called stoops. According to guinnessworldrecords.com, a captive peregrine falcon in Friday Harbor, Wash., was clocked at 242 mph in 2005 making it the fastest animal on earth.

A western bluebird grooms its plumage while perched on a sapling in a hazelnut orchard near Elkton in rural western Oregon.

A great blue heron takes flight while hunting for fish in the Umpqua River near Elkton in rural western Oregon.

Pollen shower

As grains of pollen rain down, a grasshopper feeds on minuscule grass seed flowers on a hillside near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Thursday, June 18, 2020.

Modadenia fidelis

Wikipedia says it’s a Modadenia fidelis, common name Pacific sideband. An air breathing terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk. I says it’s a cool looking snail. 

Super lizard

A western fence lizard climbs in a brush pile on a hillside near Elkton in western Oregon on Thursday, June 11, 2020. A cluster of ticks are visible attached to the lizard's neck area. A study at the University of California, Berkeley has shown that ticks who feast on the blood of the common western fence lizard are purged of any Lyme disease. Scientists speculate that this may helps explain the lower levels of Lyme disease found in humans in areas with high populations of western fence lizards.

Air brakes

A great blue heron slows its airspeed while landing on a rock outcropping in the Umpqua River near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.

Animal crossing

A black-tailed deer fawn walks on a lightly used country road near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Tuesday, June 9, 2020. The mother of the fawn was nearby. 

Maybe next time

Droplets of water shake from an osprey as it takes to the air after a near miss while hunting for fish in the Umpqua River near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Monday, June 8, 2020.

Gulp!

A wild bullfrog leaps to eat a grasshopper while feeding in a cattle watering trough on a ranch rear Elkton in rural western Oregon on Wednesday, June 3, 2020. The number of grasshoppers seems to be unusually high this year with thousands of them feeding nearby to the frog's home. 

Big-ass snake

The last rays of the setting sun warm a massive bull snake as it basks on a blacktop road near Elkton in rural western Oregon, on Saturday, May 30, 2020.

Turkey trot

A family of wild turkeys trot down the side of a country road near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Saturday, May 30, 2020. 

Sometimes you're the bug, and sometimes you're dinner

A dragonfly perches on a twig while hunting for other insects in a pasture along the Umpqua River near Elkton in western Oregon on Thursday, May 28, 2020.

With a mouth full of insects, a male Brewer's blackbird perches on a strand of electric fence at the edge of a pasture.  

The coloration of a moth matches a hazelnut tree sapling and helps it avoid being a meal in an orchard on a farm near Elkton in western Oregon on Friday, May 29, 2020.