Saturday, July 12, 2014

Robin with unusual food choice

This Robin was apparently feeding young today (a day of 90+ temps here in western Oregon), and had captured this large insect, which does not look like any butterfly I can find in the book. So... is it a moth, and if so, what kind is it, and where did the Robin find it on such a hot day? I wish I knew. (Enlarge the view by clicking on the photo.)

Saturday, July 05, 2014

Bird watching against the moon

This evening I was playing around with my spotting scope taking photos of the moon with my Samsung Galaxy S4 phone. As I was focusing the scope before mounting the phone/camera on it, I was surprised to see a flock of large birds flying east to west across the face of the moon. I didn't catch them in a photograph, but I immediately followed them with the scope and identified them easily as medium- to large-size gulls. They were so high I could not see them with the unaided eye. I'm guessing they might be California Gulls heading to the coast from somewhere inland, probably east of the Cascades. Apparently the breeding season is over for them.
(You can click on the photo for an enlarged view of the moon.)