Tuesday’s drive through the center of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge didn’t yield nearly as many bird shots as I’ve gotten in the past. Unfortunately, most of the birds I did see were at considerable distance or flew away as I approached in my car. And while it is exhilarating to have a flock of White Pelicans and Egrets fill the sky as you approach, it doesn’t yield the greatest of shots:
Probably the best bird shot of the day, was this shot of a Northern Shrike, a bird I’ve only seen once before, on an earlier trip to Malheur.
In fact, except perhaps for coyotes, dragonflies made the greatest impression on me this trip. There were so many at times you could hardly hear distant birds because of the whirring of their wings.
Luckily, I’m easily distracted and have a particular fondness for dragonflies, so I entertained myself by shooting shot
after shot of these insects
that have invoked a sense of wonder since I was a young child.
When I couldn’t imagine how I could use another shot, I turned to taking pictures of grasshoppers
which might have been even more numerous than the dragonflies. I must admit I wondered more than once why there were so few birds when there was so much food available.