ML461140831

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

photo by J. Boone; First heard we agitated calls, three adults staying in a small area. Jess got several photos of the adults carrying food (looked like beetle and long-legged insect) and we watched the adults move about in several trees. Eventually we were able to determine a tree that likely had a nest, but after about ten minutes of observation, we moved on, knowing we'd get another chance to observe on our return. When we did get back to this spot, the birds were still present and the agitated calls were still observed. Then we noticed a red squirrel on the tree (that we thought the nest was in). As the squirrel went up the tree, the birds seemed more agitated. Then ALL OF A SUDDEN a fledgling flew from the nest to a nearby tree. It's inefficient wing beats and very short tail gave me the impression it just came out of the nest. The squirrel remained in the area where the nest must have been (high in a conifer tree). After a few more minutes of observing, a second fledgling flew out in a different direction. We left at this point as the adults now had two chicks to locate and feed and we didn't want to create any more stress for them. NOTE IN RECORDINGS: First recording is from first observation when there was no squirrel obvious (to us). Second recording is from second observation when the squirrel was observed by the birds!

Technical information

Model

NIKON D5500

ISO

640

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/1000 sec

Dimensions

1620 pixels x 1080 pixels

Original file size

572.33 KB