Modern-winged antique

With autumn colors in the background, a northern harrier hawk takes flight in a field along the Umpqua River near Elkton in southwestern Oregon on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021. Northern Harriers hunt mostly small mammals and small birds, but they are capable of taking bigger prey like rabbits and ducks.

 

                    To a Marsh Hawk in Spring 

(the marsh hawk has been renamed the northern harrier)

There is health in thy gray wing,
Health of nature’s furnishing.
Say, thou modern-winged antique,
Was thy mistress ever sick?
In each heaving of thy wing
Thou dost health and leisure bring,
Thou dost waive disease and pain
And resume new life again.

by Henry David Thoreau 

 

Fall at the falls

Colorful maple leaves show off their falls colors at the Smith River Falls near Reedsport in southwestern Oregon on Friday, Oct. 29, 2021. The river is a tributary of the Umpqua River and is named for Jedediah Smith, who in 1828 led a party of explorers from Utah overland to northern California and southern Oregon. 

A coho salmon leaps into the air while attempting to clear the Smith River Falls during its migration to spawning ground up river near Reedsport in Southwestern Oregon on Friday, Oct. 29, 2021. 

 

Open wide

A Steller’s jay makes off with an English walnut while foraging in an old orchard on a farm near Elkton in southwestern Oregon.

 

Spin cycle

A rufous hummingbird shakes off rainwater while perched on a barbed wire fence along a road near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021. The National Weather Service is predicting a series of potent storms which could deliver torrents of rain and feet of snow across the West over the next few days. The system predicted for Sunday is being called a "bomb cyclone" because of its ferocity.

 

Bomb Cyclone: at least the mushrooms will be happy

On a rain drenched afternoon, a small mushroom grows in a field of clover in pasture along a country road near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Thursday, Oct., 21, 2021. The National Weather Service is predicting a series of potent storms which could deliver torrents of rain and feet of snow across the West over the next few days. The system predicted for Sunday is being called a "bomb cyclone" because of its ferocity.

 

Newt walkabout

A rough-skinned newt crawls through rain soaked grass on a hillside near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2021. The body of the amphibian contains a powerful toxin similar to the toxin found in pufferfish and a number of other marine animals. 

 

Making applesauce at 1/8000th of a second

Sometimes it's fun to just make a mess. In this case I was testing the high speed capability of my Nikon Z6II mirrorless camera shooting at 1/8000th of a second while my friend took aim with a 12-guage shotgun. The results were explosive.

Milk jug with water.

Sports drink bottle.

 

Showing a little leg

The American kestrel is the smallest falcon in North America. Weighing 3-6 ounces, a small kestrel weighs the same as about 34 pennies. 

An American kestrel grooms itself from a perch in a roadside plum tree near Elkton in rural western Oregon. 

Afternoon by the river

A pair of bald eagles perch together on the branch of an oak tree along the Umpqua River near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021.

It is thought that bald eagles mate for life. However, if one member of a pair dies or disappears, the survivor will choose a new mate.

Like other birds of prey, bald eagles females are larger than males.

 

Rain, rain, go ... gobble?

On a rainy day, male wild turkey forages in a field along a country road near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. The National Weather Service is predicting clear skies and sunny weather over the next few days for the area.

 

Alpha Doe

As dusk falls, a wild black-tailed deer doe stands on its back legs as it threatens a smaller deer in a pasture along a country road near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Monday, Oct. 4, 2021.

 

Handsome fella

A Roosevelt bull elk walks on a foggy ridge near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021. The Roosevelt elk is the largest of the four surviving subspecies of elk in North America by body mass.