Nerd Alert: More Bird Pictures

I spent today in at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, and it was pretty nice. I sat in on a meeting with a bunch of people involved in Bear River issues, then took the opportunity to drive around the Refuge, while I was there. I got some pictures, they're not amazing, but I'm proud I was able to get them with my camera from my truck. Some day I'll have a fancy camera and the time to stake out a position and get some really good shots, but I thought I'd share what I've got.

This is probably my favorite picture. It's a Black-necked Stilt, a cool bird in its own right, but I like how you can see its reflection in the water.

Here are some Pelicans. I like pelicans, they're such goofy looking birds in the water, but when they fly they looking really cool. Plus, they remind me of my Grandpa singing "Poor Mr. Pelican, mouth can hold more than his belly can."

These are some Western Grebes and grebelets (a word I made up). Grebe mating behavior is really interesting, they weren't displaying though (as the mating has already happened, obviously).

Here's a Snowy Egret, there were lots of them later, but they're hard to take a picture of, as they somehow refuse to sit still and wait for me to aim my camera.

And here's an American Avocet, one of my favorite birds. They're kind of graceful, and shorebirds in general are fun to watch.

This is a Barn Swallow chilling on a sign. I like to watch them dodge around catching bugs around bridges and stuff, because I'm a geek.

This isn't the best picture of a White-faced Ibis, but I think it kind of shows the different colors their feathers can turn, because they're really iridescent. They've got these wicked long beaks, and are just generally cool. My dad, Alex and I kayaked the Bear River about a year ago and saw huge flocks of Ibis' dropping down on the refuge for the night, it was cool.

I got some pictures to try and capture the lowered water levels in the wetlands. There are a lot of decisions being made as to how to manage the water, as the refuge can expect to see their water supply drop significantly as irrigation season begins. I think it's cool that not only have wetland plants adapted to being inundated with water, but they can also deal with seasonal lack of water. It's pretty cool.

If you get the chance to head up to the Refuge I highly recommend it. Even during the middle of the day in July you can see lots of birds. It's very cool. Also, check out the movie they have at the Visitor's Center, it's called "Wings of Thunder" and is amazing.