My very first encounter with these exquisite sonnets of perfection was in February 2011. A friend talked about a hanging a sock of thistle and seeing if any finches would visit. The idea was intriguing, and off I went to Home Depot and bought a kit of a white sock and a bag of thistle to fill it with. The sock had a loop at the top to tie it shut and the loop could be used to hang the whole contraption from a tree limb. I hung my spanking new blinding white thistle sock from a low limb of the Oak tree right outside the kitchen window.

I came indoors and sat by the window looking intently at the white sock swaying sensuously in the mild breeze. We were fortunate that winter in Texas and the temperatures stayed a very salubrious 60F. Five minutes went by. No Goldfinches yet. Then ten minutes passed and still no visitors. Then fifteen minutes slid away, I began feeling a little foolish for frittering away time looking out the window at my new shining white thistle sock. I was just about to turn away and get on with the tasks of the day, emptying the dishwasher, preparing breakfast, feeding the dog and all the other stuff that constitutes my life. A flash of black and gold flew by and a very small bird clung, with determination in every sinew of his little black feet, to the fabric of the thistle sock. The bird penetrated the fabric with his small sharp dark gray beak and immediately withdrew it, drawing back his brilliant gleaming black head and looked around with satisfaction. I watched, with my heart in my mouth, almost afraid to breathe for fear the little bird would be frightened away.

That was the beginning of these miniscule nuggets of gold and onyx visiting my back yard in search of a steady supply of thistle. Since that fateful day in February 2011 when I spread a banquet for the Goldfinches, not a day has gone by that these energetic birds have not come for their repast. The birds are year round residents, year round visitors to the feeders. Lesser Goldfinches especially like the tube feeders that only finches can extract seeds from. A thistle sock is truly an irresistible attraction to the Lesser Gold finches. I have seen the birds, adults, juveniles, males and females come and eat voraciously, yet delicately and gracefully, day after day. Regardless of weather, rain or shine, the goldfinches grace the feeders. Heavy winds are a major impediment to these small light delicate birds, those are the days when they come in more tentatively and fly about very carefully. On all other days they come charging in, large happy flocks, singing, chirping and chatting delightfully.

The Lesser Goldfinch is also called The Dark Backed Goldfinch. The Latin name for the Lesser Goldfinch is Cardeulis Psaltria. Lesser Goldfinches, American Goldfinches and Lawrence’s Goldfinches belong to a small group of the Goldfinches found in North America. The Lesser Goldfinches are can be seen from Western Washington State, all across the Rockies and the entire Southern United States down into Mexico. In South America the Lesser Goldfinches can be seen from Peru to Venezuela. Their diet includes weed seeds and tree buds.

The Lesser Goldfinch when fully grown is about 4 inches in length and weighs about a third of an ounce. The males can be identified by their gleaming black head and back, brilliant yellow belly and distinctive white and black wings. The females are olive green with white or soft yellow belly. The females are slightly smaller than the males. For rather tiny birds they have fairly strong gray bills. The males and females trill and sing and intersperse their song with piercing whistles. The Lesser Goldfinches spend most of their time in flock and the sounds they evoke can be impressive for their size.

Mating occurs in late spring and the females lay about 3 eggs in a small nest in early summer. The Lesser Goldfinches are among the last birds to set up nests and are called “late nesters.” The male and female Lesser Goldfinches are monogamous during the mating and breeding season. The birds get new partners every year for the breeding season. The females build the nest, tend to the eggs until they hatch, and then raise the chicks to fledging stage. It is a 3 to 4 week process. The males participate minimally in the process of rearing the young. Life expectancy in the wild is documented to be close to 7 years, if they make it past their first year.

The birds are year round residents in the Hill Country of Texas.. They rarely migrate even when it is quite cold. If they do migrate it is for just a few miles to slightly warmer location with a decent supply of food and water. The Lesser Goldfinches with their brilliant plumage and their eager energetic flocks are welcome visitors to the thistle feeders in my backyard. They are a sight calculated to put a smile on the face of every bird watcher, every single day of the year. Who could ask for anything more from a fellow living creature?

Hummingbirds are found only in the Americas: These birds are utterly charming “jewel like flowers” of the bird world. The smallest of all birds that visit my backyard is the Hummingbird. Hummingbirds can be seen from Canada all the way down to the tip of South America’s Tierra Del Fuego. There are 160 different types of Hummingbirds and large numbers of different varieties are found in The Andean Rain Forest regions, in Columbia and in Ecuador. In the United States the most common types are The Ruby Throated Hummingbirds, The Black Chinned Hummingbird and The Rufus Hummingbird. The birds are truly small, so very tiny that they are in fact the smallest of all the birds in the world

The shimmering shining glittering Black Chinned Hummingbirds are the radiant gems of my back yard. They are feisty, gutsy, persistent and regular visitors to the Hummingbird Feeders in the yard. However, what they feed upon is quite specialized, the birds come to sip on Hummingbird nectar which is one part sugar to four parts water The Hummingbird hovers over the feeder with wings beating at 15 to 50 flutters per second and it’s little heart beats at 650 beats per minute. The Black Chinned Hummingbird is about two and one half inches in length, the range being 2 to 3 inches in length and weighing between .1 to .2 ounces. Miniscule packages of exquisite beauty and courage, strength and aerodynamic precision, Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backwards.

The most common Hummingbird in our part of Texas is the Black Chinned Hummingbird. They are migratory and the vast majority of them fly down to Mexico and South America for the winter. A few intrepid hangers on continue to stay in Texas during the winter months. The Black Chinned Hummingbird has an iridescent green back and similar shimmering wings, it has green flanks and a white belly. The male has a black head, a black chin and a purple band around the neck. The female has a white neck with a few slender black streaks. Her tail is rounded and is black with white edges. The male has a black forked tail. The Hummingbird has a long bill and an extendable long tongue to reach deep within flowers to get at the nectar. The long tongue is also protruded to get catch insects.

During mating season the males engage in elaborate diving displays. The male flies 25 feet above the female then dives steeply down just over the female with a loud high pitched sound. It is dramatic display of aerodynamic prowess. After mating it is the female Hummingbird that builds the nest and does so entirely on her own, the nests are small and cup shaped. She lays a clutch of 2 eggs occasionally 3. The eggs are white in color. The female incubates the eggs for 12 to 14 days and then the hatchlings appear. The female feeds the hatchlings with nectar and little insects which she brings in her long bill and inserting her bill into the open mouth of the chick and regurgitates the food for the chick. In 2 weeks the chicks fledge out of the nest. In their first year of life the hummingbirds are very vulnerable and many of the juveniles don’t make it past the year. The longest documented life span for a Hummingbird is 12 years.

The diet of Hummingbirds is nectar which is the sweet liquid of flowers and apparently hummingbirds can judge if the sugar content is 10% or more. The birds do not sip from the lower sugar content flowers. In addition to nectar the birds require protein. They get protein from little spiders and insects. When awake and flying around hummingbirds have a very high metabolism and their heart beats can attain incredible heights. The highest rate recorded for a Hummingbird heart 1200 beats per minute. The heart rate slows down significantly when the hummingbird goes to sleep. Their sleep is a semi hibernation state called Torpor and in that state their heart rate is down to 100 to 150 beats per minute.

Hummingbirds are readily attracted to gardens which have nectar producing flowers, the butterfly bush, cone flowers, columbines and salvia are all popular and draw these delightful flying beauties. The sugar solution in the Hummingbird feeders adds to the food source and provides a ready supply of energy for these highly active, super high metabolism birds. Hummingbirds are great communicators and will call out loudly with their tik tik chirp and with the surprisingly loud hum from their feathers to one another with utter delight and abandon. Watching these flying beauties never fails to bring a smile to every onlooker and to have one or several visit regularly is the ultimate joy and delight of every Backyard Birdwatcher.

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There is no one who has ever sent or received a Christmas card that has not seen a brilliant fire engine red bird with a gleaming red beak, a black face mask and a sassy spike atop the head? This red bird in a winter wonderland in the Christmas cards says it all, this beauty is an urban resident, year round, in almost the entire United States.

The bird is the Northern Cardinal. It is so well known around these parts and even someone utterly uninterested in birds is likely to have noticed this beautiful, bright red bird zipping around. The Northern Cardinal is ubiquitous and seen everywhere in Texas, in back yards, flower gardens, copses of trees and in the urban woods. The males are striking as they flit around, bright red and with a spiked tuft on their heads they are readily spotted. In fact they are unmistakable. The males are frequently seen perching high up on trees at first light of day and can be heard singing their hearts out. Theirs’ is a lilting four note song which is so uplifting it truly does herald the start of day. For me the song and the sight are as warming to my soul as the first rays of the sun are to the body. These birds don’t leave the area as the seasons alter and remain faithful and regular visitors to the bird feeder. They are daily visitors and bring a smile to the onlookers. When the male of this mid-sized bird is perching he photographs well with his striking red plumage and red beak and the most amateur of photographers can look quite proficient with a few pictures of these gorgeous red flying wnders.

There are eight different types of Cardinals in North America and the one that is frequently seen at the feeder in my back yard is the Northern Cardinal. The Latin name is Cardinalis cardinalis. In the past these birds were kept as caged pets but fortunately for the birds this practice was outlawed by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, 1918. Today we are able to enjoy the exuberance of these gorgeous birds while they are living free in the outdoors. I did read somewhere that the birds were named for the Cardinals at the Vatican, with their red caps and red robes. The word Northern is used since the range of this bird in North America is the northernmost of all the different types of Cardinals.

The Northern Cardinals are 8 to 9 inches in length and weigh about 1 ½ ounces. The adult male is a stunning red color and has a bright red beak, a distinctive spiked tuft and a long red tail. The male has a black mask right around the red beak. The female Northern Cardinal is an olive and beige-brown color with an orange beak, gray face mask around the beak, a reddish spiked tuft and red stripes on the wings and tail. In the male and the beaks are cone shaped and are strong. The juveniles have the same coloring as the adult females until they are full grown and then the males molt and shed their dull plumage and don their Cardinal’s red robes and cap. All the stages of development and change of plumage can be witnessed right at the feeders in the back yards in Texas since these birds are our permanent residents and non migratory.

Northern Cardinals mate for life and during courtship the male will bring seeds to his mate. On occasion the male will be seen to bring seeds to the female and then he proceeds to feed her, carefully and tenderly. If you observe this once you will become a fan of these birds for life! The pair builds their nest together with twigs, dry grass and dry leaves. The nest is built in about a week and is used only for one season. The female lays three to five eggs each one is gray speckled with blue, green and brown. The female incubates the eggs for 2 weeks and then she cares for the hatchlings for another 2 weeks. The male Northern Cardinal helps to feed the female and the fledglings until the young birds can fly and feed themselves. The Cardinals may have two or rarely three clutches of eggs each year. Unfortunately the Cardinals have a very high mortality rate especially for the juvenile Cardinals, as is the case with all the small song birds. The primary predators are cats, hawks, shrikes, owls, squirrels and snakes.

The Northern Cardinal is easy to attract to back yard feeders; sunflower seeds and safflower seeds are especially popular. The diet is seeds, grain and fruit. In addition they consume copious amounts of insects primarily beetles and caterpillars. Apple and cherry trees are a major attraction for these colorful gorgeous birds. Watching the cautious approach of the male to a feeder and chomping energetically on the sunflower seeds and then calling out to his mate to come and join the feast is a sight to behold. It is so utterly charming and these birds are so watchful and tentative but at the same time they are so readily visible that their lives are lived in a captivating contradiction!

Every bird watcher knows the utter delight of the first visit of a Northern Cardinal to the backyard bird feeder. Look at the photographs I have attached to this article and you be the judge. I have experienced hours of delight listening to their sweet four note call “cheer, cheer, cheer, wheet “and watching them bathe in the bird bath and feed at the feeder. Setting out a back yard feeder just to have the Northern Cardinals visit you daily is a gift and a joy. They are one of the earliest arrivals to the bird feeder each morning. Then the birds pop in many a time during the day. Northern Cardinals are usually the last ones to leave for the night. They leave in a flurry of red feathers with the unspoken promise of returning with the morrow.

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The very first time one of these charming and beautiful birds visited my bird feeder I was completely bowled over. It was an adult male with red on his head, his neck and chest and his rump. As I watched him hover over the feeder and leisurely chomp on sunflower seeds and safflower seeds I was utterly captivated. I had to look him up in my Beginner Peterson Bird Guide and learned he was a Finch and the colorations in the photographs were confusing, I couldn’t tell if he was a House Finch or a Purple Finch. I didn’t yet know enough to look for a map indicating the distribution and frequency. I was excited to identify a Finch at my bird feeder. I took a picture, hazy and grainy and simply had to post it on Facebook for my friends. It was a Finch and that was good enough. The specific type and the differences between the House Finch and the Purple Finch were details that I learned about much later on.

The House Finch, whose Latin name is Carpodacus Mexicanus was originally a resident of Mexico and the Western States of the Unites States. The birds were introduced to the North East by bird sellers and when it was determined that the sales were illegal the sellers just released the birds into the cities immediately and without a thought to their survival in the location so far from their native habitat. Surprisingly the birds did thrive and spread ever westward until eventually they are found all over the United States, the Eastern seaboard and the Western one as well and all along the Midwest.

House Finches are small, full grown adults are 4 ½ to 5 ½ inches in length. The adult males are pink orange to red in the cheeks, head, breast and the rump, the wings, the tail and the underside are gray brown. The female house finches are plain gray brown with speckles and streaks. House Finches have strong, short, convex beaks that can break seeds easily. Flocks of House Finches can be seen frequenting feeders and chomping on sunflowers seeds, peanuts or thistle cheerfully and sociably. They are very active and call out to one another frequently and the soft, sweet cheep cheep sound of Finches chirping is pleasant to hear around feeders.

House Finches have sweet gentle mating rituals with the males touching the female’s bill in a stroking manner. The male also offers food for the female and sometimes will even be seen feeding the female. After the mate has been chosen then nest building which is usually done in cavities. It is the female House finch that builds the nest out of twigs and grasses. She is quick and efficient and completes the nest in a matter of 2 or 3 days. She lays between 3 and 6 eggs, small blue gray in color with black spots. The female broods for 2 weeks and when the eggs are hatched her job changes to finding food for the chicks. In the House Finch pair the mother is the one who finds food and tends to the feeding of the hatchlings. While it is the female who feeds the hatchlings, the male helps her in this task, even if only cursorily. In 2 weeks the fledglings start hopping around. The chicks eat well and grow fast. In 2 or 3 weeks they begin coming out of the nest and foraging for seeds and weeds. Then the chicks begin flying easily find their own food and start departing from the nest. In one season the House Finch might have 2 broods and very infrequently have 3 broods.

House Finches eat fruits berries and sunflower seeds. American Beautyberry is an especial favorite. House Finches love to eat seeds and berries, they also consume weeds and insects and are viewed favorably by gardeners since they eat dandelions and thistles and nettles and in the process they consume the insects that inhabit these weeds. They like Evergreens for cover and to perch upon and look around for feeders and food. In my backyard the Oak Tree seems to be a favorite and it isn’t uncommon to see half a dozen or more perching in the branches fairly close to the feeders. What is so delightful is that these birds are permanent residents in Texas and stay here year round. We get to enjoy their visits to the feeders and the bird baths all year round. The flutter of brown feathers the flash of red in the head, the neck and shoulders as the birds fly off to feed, bathe, and just fly around to chat and socialize, is a delight which we celebrate year round in Texas.

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The bevy of beautiful birds and animals that come to the backyard at various times make it difficult to choose the first to begin this series. I have to begin with The Northern Mockingbird. It is, after all the State Bird of Texas. And it is truly ubiquitous. Backyards and front, the streets and lanes and the parks all have one or several of this gutsy little song birds perched high up on the top branches of a sycamore or a telephone pole singing their hearts out. They are brilliant mimics and can imitate the song of many other song birds in the area.

The Northern Mockingbird is found all over North America from Canada through the USA and into Mexico, and the islands in the Caribbean Sea. The Mockingbirds stay year round, and only in particularly harsh winters do they migrate to the Southern States and return in the spring.

The Northern Mockingbirds are usually about 8 or 9 inches long, their feathers are gray on their backs and white in the breast and belly. The wings are gray, black and the underside is white, the tail is long and slender. When the bird sets off in flight it is a flurry of black, white and gray. The beak is small, sharp and colored gray black. The legs are black and the talons are also black. Their eyes are bright orange and gleam in the sun as the bird swirls his head around in a characteristic manner. These birds are very observant and aware of any incursions into their space, regardless of the species, man or bird.

Mockingbird males are very territorial and lay claim to trees and are fearless in defending their claim on it. They can often be observed chasing off not merely members of their own species but bravely seek to attack hawks and eagles. Jim Baines the Bald Eagle photographer has a favorite photograph of a Male Mockingbird determinedly trying to chase off a Bald Eagle, a brave and singularly ineffective struggle and gutsy beyond measure.

Mating season with Mockingbirds can be a display of song and flight. When the male seeks to impress the female he does looping dancing flights and sings the songs of numerous other birds. The greater his repertoire the more appealing he is as a potential mate to the female of the world of Mockingbirds. Theirs is a courtship replete with music and dance.

Once a mate has been chosen by the female, the couple begins nest building in earnest. In mid February and they gather small twigs, bits of dry grass, dried leaves and lint and threads when available. The female allows the male to do most of the nest building work. She then lays the eggs, a light blue green color, the clutch is between three and six. The female broods for 2 weeks until the chicks emerge. For the next 2 weeks the chicks are totally helpless and rely on their parents for food. Both parents work hard to feed the chicks. Once the chicks have some or most of their feathers grown they venture out of the nest hop onto the nearby branches, and even on to the ground. Soon they begin flying close to the nest initially and then further out.

The diet of the Mockingbird is insects, spiders and even very small snakes. As the colder months come the birds switch their diet from insects to berries and seeds. There is a confident cheeriness to Mockingbirds. They sing as they look for food, sing when seeking a mate and sing for the sheer joy of it. People have been known to complain about their singing being a “nuisance” but that is way beyond my comprehension. The songs of Mockingbirds cover the range of songs of most of the other birds in the area. They are often heard singing their little hearts out, cheerfully and in an unmistakable celebration of being alive in this glorious world.

The Northern Mockingbird is the state bird of, not just Texas, but also of Florida, Arkansas and Mississippi. There is a belief in the South that Mockingbirds are special and to kill one of them is a sin. This theme is expounded on in Harper Lee’s book “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Occasionally Mockingbirds become pets and there is documentation that Thomas Jefferson, the father of the US Constitution owned a pet Mockingbird. Jefferson called his pet Mockingbird Dick. Clearly these birds have graced our skies and our yards for eons and have been enjoyed and appreciated for a long time. In Texas they continue to charm and delight us on a daily basis.

The Buddha said:  “Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.”

Happy Holidays to all of you and may we all have the wisdom to live as The Buddha suggested.

Year End reflections :

2011 is rapidly winding down and and easing away. It has been an interesting, stimulating, challenging year for me. I have spent the year with what I have called my American Icon Series. The animals and birds that I have written about, photographed and painted were at one time plentiful in North America. The European invaders and settlers described each of these species in detail. The rapidity of the expansion of settlements placed enormous pressure on the natural landscape and many a species was driven to the brink of extinction. Some of these were showcased in my blogs in 2011 and each of these was brought back from the edge of extinction by the concerted efforts of a lot of dedicated people. This journey of learning and documenting these species is winding down.

In 2012 I will be embarking on a different journey altogether. This one will not require going very far. I will be focusing on the birds and animals that visit my backyard, observing, learning, reading and writing, photographing and painting these visitors. The birds that come to the feeders for a quick snack or a full meal. The ones that fly in for a drink of water and the others that come and splash and bathe in the little pond.

The squirrels are an everyday presence, harassing the birds, teasing the juveniles, eating pretty much anything set out for them and then reaching for the bird food, they are a definite presence in my yard. The wild hares are still visiting but are much more circumspect, tentative and cautious. They get hungry and thirsty and venture in clearly hesitant and quick to flee at the first sign of danger.

I plan to observe and learn about each species, read and write about what I have gleaned, photograph and paint some of them. My goal for 2012 is to get acquainted with the the energy, the activity , the life and death struggles that are being played out in my backyard. This will be a time to live in Mindfulness

Let me end with a quote from Sylvia Boorstein : “Mindfulness is the aware, balanced experience. It isn’t more complicated than that. It is an opening to or receiving the present moment, pleasant or unpleasant, just as it is, without either clinging to it or rejecting it.

Wishing each and everyone a very happy New Year and may 2012 heap upon you all good health and happiness.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Shyamala Rao

An Interview with Mr. Jim Baines photographer par excellence:

The Colorado River courses through the Canyon of Central Texas and has long been a winter haven for Bald Eagles. The Bald Eagles come down in September and build their nests, raise their chicks and along with the juveniles return to the North in March of the following year. Eight years ago one Bald Eagle pair (The eagles mate for life) wandered further south to the Llano River and found the Sycamore and Ficus trees between the Llano River and Highway 29 appealing. This pair built a nest alongside Highway 29. Year after year the pair came to the Llano river site refurbished their nest, had their brood, raised the chicks and returned to their summer home up north. Two years ago the Eagles moved to second tree a little further up the road. They built a completely new nest and have used this nest for the past two years in row. The Bald Eagles have returned again in 2011 and are presently busy keeping the nest comfortable and feeding the hatchlings, even as I write this vignette.

And watching them with respectful eyes is Mr. Jim Baines. He has served in the United States Army for his entire adult life. His military career spanned four decades the years were devoted to duty and honor, serving his country, both overseas and stateside. Four years ago, he retired and settled down in Kendalia, an hour’s drive from Llano.

The propinquity of the Bald Eagles in Llano and Mr. Baines quite naturally led to their paths crossing and for Mr. Baines it was an immediate recognition of a deeply felt connection and respect for this, the National Bird of the USA. Mr. Baines began coming to watch the Bald Eagles and take an occasional photograph. His interest has now become a commitment to monitoring and photographing the Bald Eagles of Llano on a once or twice weekly basis and recording their entire stay in Llano from September of each year to March of the following year. Mr. Baines is now the Official Photographer of the Bald Eagles in Llano and posts his exquisite pictures at http://job2458.zenfolio.com/p424037029 and visitors to the site can enjoy the pictures of the Bald Eagle Family.

I have had the good fortune to meet Mr. Baines and he kindly consented to an interview which will show how he came to love the Bald Eagles and how much he has enjoyed watching them and photographing them. He generously shares the pictures with everyone who is interested in learning about these magnificent and marvelous Raptors.

1) When and how did you begin your watching the Bald Eagles that come to Llano every year to nest and have their chicks?

It was early in ’07. I retired as a Department of Army Civilian (DAC) on 3 Jan 07 and began spending as much time outdoors as I could. I roamed the back roads every chance I got, which was often. On really nice days I rode a ’02 Harley Davidson Softail with a Point & Shoot Coolpix 8800 as my companion. I discovered the eagles’ nest enroute to Llano specifically to look around town and see the Llano River. I took my very first eagle photo with that 8800 but found out quickly that it was quite inadequate for the distances involved. The 8800 had a nice digital zoom, 35-350 (35mm equivalent). But even that wasn’t strong enough, so I bought a 1.7x adapter with lens and went back as soon as I got it. I had no idea what I was doing as you can tell from the photos attached. They were taken on 16 March ’07 just before he fledged. He was actually hovering over the nest that day, but the 8800 shutter release is not fast enough to catch the action.

But it was on that day, 16 Mar 07, that I got hooked on the icon that I had served under for over 47 years, half active military and half civilian. I became determined to learn how to bring home decent photos to share with others and learn as much as I could about this magnificent raptor that represents the USA. The Army taught a lot about Old Glory, but it seems they never gave any training about the Bald Eagle. All I knew was that they were scarce and I had never seen one in the wild until that day in 2007.

2) When did you begin your web site and start posting photographs of the Bald Eagles through their annual visit to Llano?

During a tour in Iraq in ’04-’05 I had taken what I thought were some pretty decent photos so was looking for a photo contest online when I discovered BetterPhoto.com. I starting using in early ’05 but didn’t have any eagle photos at the time. The first eagle shot I posted on BetterPhoto wasn’t until Oct 09. I finally posted a total of four which were recognized by the judges and sent to the Finals, but never got any farther than that.

Oct 09

http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/big.asp?photoID=9289896&catID=&style=&rowNumber=150&memberID=113591

Nov 09

http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/big.asp?photoID=9331349&catID=&style=&rowNumber=144&memberID=113591

Dec 09

http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/big.asp?photoID=9497259&catID=&style=&rowNumber=132&memberID=113591

May 10

http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/big.asp?photoID=10098132&catID=&style=&rowNumber=104&memberID=113591

A photographer friend I met on BetterPhoto.com introduced me to Zenfolio galleries. I fell for the format as I had been using PowerPoint while with the Army. I found it quite inexpensive and user friendly so fell for it in September ’09 and have been using it since. It sort of coincided with the eagle photography as I started posting the annual nest cycles in 09-10.

I have pretty much stopped the contest entries on BetterPhoto as it seems to be clannish and political at times. I photograph a variety of subjects and find that Zenfolio suits my needs quite adequately. I send many of the slideshows to my family in Virginia. My daughter is a photographer as well, so she enjoys looking at dad’s work. She has been formally schooled, I am self-taught … she still asks for advice and techniques so I think I’m holding my own.

After the eaglets fledge I shift my focus to other birds, insects, arachnids, wildflowers, and anything else I happen upon while beating the bush. I am currently in the midst of a project of my own involving the Yucca Moth (Tegeticula yuccasella), the only insect that pollinates our Twist-leaf yucca (Yucca rupicola). An extremely interesting relationship nothing short of miraculous. And I am the photographer for another ongoing project at Doeskin Ranch, a part of Balcones National Wildlife Refuge. I was selected my Dr. Walter Stewart to photograph his efforts in expanding the range of the Eastern Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadia). Currently there are only about 50 plants in existence in this area.

3) What are the most interesting aspects of the day to day life of these birds that captures your interest?

I am intrigued by their vision. They can obviously see sharply for miles. I would love to be able to see through Bald eagles eyes for a day.

Their ability to communicate. I know nothing about their hearing abilities, but surely it must be honed to about the same degree as their sight.

Surely both of these senses account for their ability to communicate with each other so efficiently. Viewing from a distance with the distractions of road traffic, wind, background construction on the ranch, all of these things deafen my ability to hear their calls, but it seems they take it all in stride as though it doesn’t even exist!

Just the other day (18th) when I arrived the female was on the nest. She left the nest for a nearby dead tree trunk and as soon as she perched the male flew in with a huge amount of fresh grass. He settled into the nest and within a few minutes she joined him. But I never head a sound because of the distractions, but I know they did. For them it was all so efficiently prearranged.

I am in awe of their unpredictability, their element of surprise. And that is what makes visits to the nest so exciting and entertaining. I recall my first visit to the nest trying to capture a photo. I was thinking, “I’ll just focus on the nest, when it mounts the edge of the nest for take-off that’s where I’ll be focused.” So I did that, but to my surprise the eagle flew straight out of the bottom of the nest, there was no preflight preparation, no launch pad. It just happened instantly and I missed the photo because my tripod was locked in place and I could not react fast enough. I quickly learned to never lock it in place.

There have been instances where I have focused on them through the viewfinder for 20-30 minutes, then look away only briefly to say something to another observer or scan the space behind me and when I turn my head back it will already be in flight or in a different tree. Sometimes I think they have ESP! Perhaps it just coincides with my own bad timing, but I believe they can read us.

When I peer through the telescope sometimes I get this eerie feeling that it is looking me straight in the eye through the opposite end of the scope, as if staring at me with that stone-cold serious look. To me it feels like a definite one-on-one connection.

4) Are there any unusual events you have witnessed while watching the Bald Eagles?

It was in October, early in the season, when I observed the Northern mockingbird trying to get the male eagle to leave its territory. I considered this a pretty bold move on the mockingbird’s part and got some good chuckles from it as I titled it “Death Wish”, but I have since read that other species of small birds will do similar acts in attempts to get larger birds to leave their claimed territory.

Several Eastern fox squirrels add some amusement when things get boring. In this one particular photo (attached) the squirrel went all the way up to the nest. When the eagle popped its head up the squirrel retreated quickly. I have never seen one of the eagles try to do any harm to the squirrels, only warnings to avoid the nest.

Two years ago (20 Dec 09) an ultra-light aircraft swooped over the scene and circled the nest tree several times. I wasn’t sure if it was lawful or not, but had ill feelings about it so captured a few photos and reported it to Texas Parks & Wildlife in Brownwood. They investigated the incident, as they have other similar ones, and have issued fines and warnings. During this incident neither the male nor female showed any signs of fear that I could tell. However, the female was on the nest and she did go into a 10 minute display of wing spreading and wing flapping which continued even after the ultra-light had left the scene. I think she was rather upset over the entire event and wanted it out of there.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/releases/?req=20110216a

Additionally, I am sometimes surprised by seeing deer and coyotes on the opposite side of the road as well as other small bird species. There is a Loggerhead shrike that hangs around the brush piles there; I see it on almost every visit.

5) How long do you think you will continue to watch and record the Bald Eagles that come annually to Llano, Texas?

I will continue for as long as the eagles come and I am physically able to do it. I look forward to it with enthusiasm each season. My time there is quality time and I always look forward to the next visit.

Addendum:

For all those of us who love Wildlife and are delighted by marvelous photographs representing all aspects of the lives of Llano’s pair of Bald Eagles let us hope Mr. Baines will keep his vigil, take his fantastic photographs and allow us to enjoy them on his Zenfolio site for many years to come.

It is December 2011 and I have been writing about one species of animal or avian of North America every month of this year. Each of these species went to the very edge of the abyss, the brink of extinction and was then pulled back to thrive and slowly and painfully increase in numbers. Many of these have been written about extensively by Conservationists. I chose 12 different species for my series “ American Icons “ 2011. I have read about them, to inform myself, written about them and painted them over the past year. It has been a joyous journey of discovery and education of each of these 12 species. They have become family members to me. It has been a time of renewal of hope and faith. We humans make a lot of mistakes during our stewardship of the planet but we have also shown courage and wisdom in recognizing some of our missteps and changing course as needed. This makes me optimistic about the future.

The choice of animals and birds for this series “American Icons” has been strongly influenced by Jane Goodall’s book “Hope for Animals and their World.”

American Icon Series: The Red Wolf                                                    by                                                   Shyamala Rao

The Red Wolf, Latin name Canis Lupus Rufus, was found all across the North Eastern United States. Red Wolves were present from New York in the North to Florida in the South. The Red Wolf is genetically closely related to the Gray Wolf and to the Coyote. In 1970 the Red Wolf was declared extinct in the wild in the United States. The remaining fourteen animals were taken into captivity and the numbers have increased slowly until today we have 200 of these mammals in captivity and a 100 have been released into the wild and are being monitored closely. The Red Wolf population is very fragile and is still on the Endangered Animal List.

The Red Wolf is a beautiful creature, a full grown adult weighs about 75 pounds and it has beautiful rust colored fur, a sweet face with a broad forehead, almond shaped eyes, an alert and inquisitive demeanor. This slender, elegant, graceful and swift apex predator was once seen all over the Eastern and south central United States. The numbers swiftly declined with the advent of Europeans to the USA, expansion of farmland and the mistaken belief that this mammal is a threat to livestock. Red Wolves eat Raccoons, hispid cotton rats, muskrats and do not as a rule seek sheep, goats or cows. They were feared and vilified perhaps from the time of the story of Red Riding Hood. There is no record of a Red Wolf eating a human ever in the entire United States. This fact has not prevented them from being shot, poisoned, hunted, trapped and ruthlessly destroyed with relish and delight. Their hunters truly believed these mammals were a danger to livestock and to humans. As has been documented by numerous biologists taking out an apex predator means populations of raccoons and rats grew exponentially.

The Red Wolf lives in the classic packs of all wolves, a breeding pair, with the offspring of prior seasons and the current pups of the season when they are being observed. They hunt alone rather than in packs, feed the pups in the den by returning there and regurgitating the kills. The wolves become sexually mature at 21 to 22 months of age and have one litter per year. The number of pups each year is between 2 and 4 occasionally there may be 5 or 6 pups, but this is rather the exception. The pups stay with the pack until they are at least two years old. The males leave earlier than the females.

In the wild Red Wolves mate with Gray Wolves and with Coyotes, if other Red Wolves are unavailable. Apparently Red Wolves, Gray Wolves and Coyotes are genetically completely alike and indistinguishable. The Conservation program for Red Wolves has been successful in breeding Red Wolves in captivity. In 1970 a Red Wolf Breeding program was set up in Point Defiance Zoo in Texas. Since 1976 repeated attempts have been made to reintroduce Red Wolves to the wild. It has been a slow painful process with many missteps along the way. At present thirty facilities are participating in the Red Wolf Survival Program. From the time of declaration of the Red Wolf Extinct in the United States in 1970 to the present time when there are a total of 300 alive in North America. These smart sinuous glorious ancestors of domestic dogs are still definitely at risk for extinction but so many people have expended so much effort to bring them back from the very brink. The animal had been declared extinct in the wild in 1970. It has taken immense dedication and hard work to increase the numbers and the attempts to reintroduce into the wild have been having mixed results. Red Wolves are gorgeous and extremely elegant creatures and have been historically significant. Literature is replete with stories of infants taken into the care of a Female Red Wolf and then suckled and nurtured into becoming a healthy toddler. Remus and Romulus, the founders of Rome were suckled by a Red Wolf. Mowgli was adopted by a Wolf and cared for by the wolf

until he was able to enter a village and become a member of the Human Community. Somehow these stories seem to have been trivialized by the fear and misinformation about wolves. So even though neither humans nor livestock are the preferred prey of Red Wolves somehow this became the source of the fear and the reason for hunting them into extinction.

Fortunately the Red Wolf is not extinct and has been successfully brought back into viable numbers thanks to dedicated naturalists, biologists, conservationists , environmentalists and legislators have all worked together to keep the Red Wolf in our consciousness and in our environs in North America.

American Icon Series: The Red Wolf

The Red Wolf, Latin name Canis Lupus Rufus, was found all across the North Eastern United States. Red wolves were present from New York in the North to Florida in the South. The Red Wolf is genetically closely related to the Gray Wolf and to the Coyote. In 1970 the Red Wolf was declared extinct in the wild. The remaining fourteen animals were taken into captivity and the numbers have increased slowly until today we have 200 of these mammals in captivity and a 100 have been released into the wild and are being monitored closely. The Red Wolf population is very fragile and is still on the Endangered Animal List.

The Red Wolf is a beautiful creature, a full grown adult weighs about 75 pounds and it has beautiful rust colored fur, a sweet face with a broad forehead, almond shaped eyes, an alert and inquisitive demeanor. This slender, elegant, graceful and swift apex predator was once seen all over the Eastern and south central United States. The numbers swiftly declined with the advent of Europeans to the USA, expansion of farmland and the mistaken belief that this mammal is a threat to livestock. Red Wolves eat Raccoons, hispid cotton rats, muskrats and do not as a rule seek sheep, goats or cows. They were feared and vilified perhaps from the time of the story of Red Riding Hood. There is no record of a Red Wolf eating a human ever in the entire United States. This fact has not prevented them from being shot, poisoned, hunted, trapped and ruthlessly destroyed with relish and delight. Their hunters truly believed these mammals were a danger to livestock and to humans. As has been documented by numerous biologists taking out an apex predator means populations of raccoons and rats grew exponentially.

The Red Wolf lives in the classic packs of all wolves, a breeding pair, with the offspring of prior seasons and the current pups of the season when they are being observed. They hunt alone rather than in packs, feed the pups in the den by returning there and regurgitating the kills. The wolves become sexually mature at 21 to 22 months of age and have one litter per year. The number of pups each year is between 2 and 4 occasionally there may be 5 or 6 pups, but this is rather the exception. The pups stay with the pack until they are at least two years old. The males leave earlier than the females.

In the wild Red Wolves mate with Gray Wolves and with Coyotes, if other Red Wolves are unavailable. Apparently Red Wolves, Gray Wolves and Coyotes are genetically completely alike and indistinguishable. The Conservation program for Red Wolves has been successful in breeding Red Wolves in captivity. In 1970 a Red Wolf Breeding program was set up in Point Defiance Zoo in Texas. Since 1976 repeated attempts have been made to reintroduce Red Wolves to the wild. It has been a slow painful process with many missteps along the way. At present thirty facilities are participating in the Red Wolf Survival Program. From the time of declaration of the Red Wolf Extinct in the United States in 1970 to the present time when there are a total of 300 alive in North America. These smart sinuous glorious ancestors of domestic dogs are still definitely at risk for extinction but so many people have expended so much effort to bring them back from the very brink. The animal had been declared extinct in the wild in 1970. It has taken immense dedication and hard work to increase the numbers and the attempts to reintroduce into the wild have been having mixed results. Red Wolves are gorgeous and extremely elegant creatures and have been historically significant. Literature is replete with stories of infants taken into the care of a Female Red Wolf and then suckled and nurtured into becoming a healthy toddler. Remus and Romulus, the founders of Rome were suckled by a Red Wolf. Mowgli was adopted by a Wolf and cared for by the wolf

until he was able to enter a village and become a member of the Human Community. Somehow these stories seem to have been trivialized by the fear and misinformation about wolves. So even though neither humans nor livestock are the preferred prey of Red Wolves somehow this became the source of the fear and the reason for hunting them into extinction.

Fortunately the Red Wolf is not extinct and has been successfully brought back into viable numbers thanks to dedicated naturalists, biologists, conservationists , environmentalists and legislators have all worked together to keep the Red Wolf in our consciousness and in our environs in North America.

                                    The Black Footed Ferret                                                         by                                          Shyamala Rao

The Black Footed Ferret has a Latin name Mustela Nigripes. It is small mammal which belongs to the class of animals that includes badgers, otters, polecats, minks and weasels. The Black Footed Ferret ranged in the North American Prairies and lived over a full third of this continent. The Black Footed Ferret lived alongside the giant herds of American Bison and the large herds of Prairie Dogs. The Black Footed Ferrets evolved to keep the population of the Prairie Dogs in control. As the population of the Prairie Dogs declined the numbers of the Black Footed Ferret diminished substantially. By 1960 the Black Footed Ferrets were estimated to have lost 98% of the lands they once roamed in. Places where they had raised their kits and thrived in. for centuries.

The Black Footed Ferret is a small carnivorous mammal. It grows to a maximum size of twenty to twenty five inches in length. The Ferret has a tail which is about six inches in length. Adults when full grown weigh a little less than two pounds. They have an elongated attractive face with large black eyes, and Jane Goodall describes them as “tiny in size, mighty in courage and utterly enchanting. They are covered with fur which has white roots and black and brown ends. The face is almost all black and their feet are completely black.

The Black Footed Ferrets spend most of their time underground and some biologists estimate that the animals spend 95% of their time in their underground burrows. They usually find the burrows of other animals and reside in them. Black Footed Ferrets’ eat rodents, birds and prairie dogs. Black Footed Ferrets mate in the spring in April and May. Their gestation period is forty days. They have up to three or four kits in each litter. In the wilds the Black Footed Ferrets live for about four years. In that four year life span the female may have a total of three litters.

As their habitat disappeared the bison and the prairie dogs disappeared and the Black Footed Ferret which is a reclusive animal was seen more and more infrequently. In 1937 the Black Footed Ferret was declared extinct in Canada. In 1967 the Black Footed Ferret was put on the endangered species list. In 1996 the Black Footed Ferret was declared extinct in the wild in the USA.

A concerted effort by biologists and conservationists has led to a slow return in numbers and reintroduction into the wilds and the hope is for the status to be downgraded to a threatened species.

Conservation and the Black Footed Ferret:

This agile, lively and gutsy little carnivore, the Black Footed Ferret was declared extinct in the wild in Canada in 1937 and in the USA in 1967. They had roamed all across the North American Prairies for eons and shared their habitat with the Bison and the Prairie Dog. As the North American prairies disappeared the Prairie Dogs and the Black Footed Ferrets declined in numbers. The decline in the numbers of the secretive and seclusive Black Footed Ferret went quite unnoticed by biologists.

In 1981 biologists made a surprising and welcome discovery of a population in the wild of Black Footed Ferrets in Wyoming. Biologists began studying this population. The numbers began declining fast and by 1986 there were only twelve left of this group of Black footed Ferrets in the wild. They were taken out of the wild and placed with the others for captive breeding in zoos.

In 1991 the biologists began reintroduction of Black Footed Ferrets into the wild. Several different reintroduction techniques were experimented with including soft and hard releases. The recovery plan was gradually developed and the goal was to have them back in the wild in all of the states in North America that they lived in before becoming extinct in the wild. By 2010 the saga of reintroduction has become a success story and the species will now be listed as threatened rather than endangered.

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                                  The California Condor                                           by                                          Shyamala Rao

The California Condor sports the largest wing span of any bird in the world, an amazing nine and a half feet in the adult. When Europeans first began migrating to the New World these birds flew the skies all over North America. The birds were seen in such large numbers that they appeared like a large black cloud in the sky where carrion was found in plenty. The California Condor is found in California, Zion National Park and the Grand Canyon National Park. In 2010 the total number of condors in the wild was determined to be 192. Adult California Condors are black all over except for triangular areas on the underside of the wings which are white. The average wing span is nine and a half feet and the average length of the bird is 45 to 50 inches. The average weight of the California Condor is between twenty and twenty five pounds. The birds have grey legs and feet and their beaks are white. The entire body is covered with gleaming black feathers except for the head which is bare skin and red in color.

The California Condor may fly over 150 miles in the course of a single day in search of food. The California Condors like all vultures are scavengers and feed on carrion. The preferred diet is the carcasses of large animals such as deer, antelope, horses and domestic cattle. If large animal carcasses are unavailable the California Condors will settle for smaller animal carrion such as rabbits, large rodents and possibly fish and aquatic animals such as sea lions and whales. California Condors rely on their eyesight to locate carcasses since they have no sense of smell. When a California Condor has had a good meal it may go two or three days before seeking the next meal.

The California Condor in the wild lives along cliffs and mountains. The birds like very high spots to perch upon and they fly to amazing heights up to fifteen thousand feet. These birds glide on thermal currents and when soaring they demonstrate very little wing movement. Condors communicate with one another with vocalizations and with puffing out their feathers and flapping their large wings. These birds develop a dominance hierarchy and at feeding time several of them will share a carcass but the dominant birds feed first.

California Condors have a life expectancy of up to forty to fifty years. The Condors attain sexual maturity at age six or seven. California Condors mate for life. The female lays a single egg every other year. The incubation period is sixty days and both parents take turns at sitting on the egg. The chick hatches after the two month period and is small, vulnerable and covered with grayish white downy feathers. The chick cannot fly till it is six months old. For those first six months the parents bring back food for the chick. The chick has to be taught to fly. The parents take the chick out on short flights initially. As he gets more agile and efficient the chick will venture further afield. The chick starts to look for carcasses with the parents. The chick stays with his parents till he is two years of age. Then the young Condor moves out on his own. Essentially the two year old is displaced by the advent of the next hatching of a single egg. And the next generation of Condors gets underway.

In nature, all the Vultures, the California Condor being one magnificent specimen, evolved to scavenge and clean up carcasses. They are part of the clean up crew of nature. Humans did not understand that the vultures are not raptors  and that they are merely the scavengers of existing kills. These birds got negative press by sheer misinformation and ignorance of their habits. California Condors have many different factors that played a role in the precipitous drop in their counts, their low birth rate, habitat destruction, electric wires, poaching, hunting, lead poisoning and DDT poisoning all played a role. Slowly the numbers began diminishing. in the late 19th century. In the 20th century the drop in numbers became extremely rapid.  Hunting, poisoning as the Condors consumed poisoned meat in the carcasses of wolves, coyotes and other “nuisance wild life”, poisoning by lead in the lead shot in carcasses, snagging in electric wires and a myriad other ways in which the increase in human population and the activities of this population led to a stress on wildlife. The many ways in which human activity and progress negatively impacted on these birds continued to escalate.In 1987 the condors were extinct from the wild in North America. There were 22 California Condors and these were taken into safe keeping and bred in captivity.

A California Condor Recovery Plan was devised to breed the condors in captivity and then reintroduce them to the wild. Then Laws were passed for all hunters to use non-lead bullets in the condor’s hunting range. Hopefully the population of the California Condor will continue to grow in the wild and their numbers will increase. In November 2010 the count of California Condors living in the wild was 192. It was reported that the total number of Condors in the wild and in captivity was 381.