Lots of Geese

Lots of Geese

Wildlife

Geese were plentiful in Fayette County yesterday.  Both Canada Geese ans snow geese.
 Corn feilds should not have any volunteer corn this spring.

Raptors

Raptors

Wildlife

Last night we attended the 75th Annual Meeting of the Montgomery County Soil and Water Conservation District.  The room was full of old photographs and old friends so it was a pleasant evening.  The program for the evening was presented by the World Bird Sanctuary.  Over the years, I have seen their presentations several times.  They change each time.  Several of the birds were not native to our area, but the two below are.  I have never seen a barn owl in the wild, but the one below is a beauty.

The American Kestral is very common in our are and Paige Davis, the presenter, added to my knowledge of the bird.  The Kestral is also known as a sparrowhawk.  I always thought that was because of their small size, but it is because some ornithologists thought they ate mainly sparrows and other small birds.  The Kestral is a falcon and closely related to the Peregrine Falcon.  They are capable of high speed dives and their peak will kill preay much bigger than them.

Barn Owl

American Kestral

Deer in the Cornfield

Deer in the Cornfield

Wildlife

As I was working on sampling this week, I spotted numerous deer tracks.  I even heard on rustle nearby.

Elk in Iowa

Elk in Iowa

Wildlife

I was able to photograph the Elk below at Neil Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa.  They are in an 800 acre confinement, not on the loose.  The confinement also contains Bison.  Most of the refuge is restored prairie.  There is also some effort being made to restore savanna habitat.

Deer

Deer

scenic Wildlife

We took a weekend getaway to Lake of the Ozarks. On the way home we saw 5 herds of deer grazing.  The top photo is south of Timber Lake Golf course near Staunton.  The bottom on is near Hillsboro.

Grazing Corn Stalks

Grazing Corn Stalks

Wildlife

I caught these turkeys grazing corn stalks a few days ago. 

Brown Snake

Brown Snake

Wildlife

It was very cold in November.  December weather has moderated somewhat, but I was still suprised to see the little brown snake below slithering along trying to stay out of my way.  He curled up to attack when I got close to try and photograph him.

Brown Snake