Category: Blogging

Time to finish up our trip to Colorado before I forget that we actually visited there.  We arrived early for Zoe’s graduation so that we could see Sydney’s state tournament.  It turned out to be a bit of a disappointing day, mainly because Sydney’s team lost the game, ending their run.  To make it even more disappointing, though, I didn’t get many decent shots because I took the wrong lens to the game.  I brought a birding telephoto lens instead of a zoom lens.  So, during the first half, Jen wanted me to take some pictures at Zoe’s graduation, but I didn’t feel comfortable standing up or walking around during the ceremony even if it was outside.  After 30 years of attending high school graduations, I see them as a formal event, not a celebration, though that is what they seem to have become. I couldn’t get a single shot of Sydney.  I did manage a few shots in the second half where she was a lot further away, but more often than not she was blocked out by other players.  It was a disappointing way to be reminded how often you left the wrong lens at home.

We only got one more chance to take pictures on our trip.  Jen, Tyson, and Logan took us for a walk where we saw Snowy Egrets

and a small flock of White Pelicans, coincidently one of Jen’s favorite birds. They obliged us by landing right in front of us

and flying so close over our head that I couldn’t fit the whole Pelican in the frame.

It was a nice way to end our trip, especially after failing so miserably on taking pictures of the soccer game.  

As I mentioned long, long ago, in a previous post (it seems) not only do you find Black-necked Stilts where you find American Avocets, but you are also likely to find White-faced Ibis.  

I couldn’t quite believe my eyes the first time I saw a White-faced Ibis at Malheur.  I would have sworn it was a tropical bird that had wandered off course, not a bird you can regularly find in Southern Oregon and Utah.

When I first saw one, it was that long, curved beak that stood out.  Over time, though, it was the breeding plumage that fascinated, 

and frustrated, me as a photographer.   At a distance or in poor light the plumage appears to be a dark, muddy brown, but seen in just the right light and right distance it is absolutely beautiful,

and the closer you get

the more beautiful and distinctive it appears.

I got a bit of a shock yesterday after posting my entry on Black-necked Stilts at Bear River.  When I received my entry by email it was accompanied by a warning from Google that it contained a malicious link to a Wikipedia article.

While looking up information about Black-necked Stilts on Google’s Bard I copied a part of a line that said that stilts are“colonial nesters” with a link to Wikipedia where that information could be found.  

In the end, I didn’t quote the line directly but paraphrased it and took out the link to Wikipedia — at least I thought I did.  I deleted the blue highlighted word and typed in my own words.  

Apparently, the link stayed though it doesn’t appear anywhere on the page I entered in WordPress.  I’m not sure how to get rid of a link that doesn’t even appear on the page.  In an abundance of caution, I went back and deleted the whole section — but I have no way of knowing if I actually managed to delete the link.

This whole incident raises so many questions. First of all, why would Google’s Bard include a link to a site that Google itself says is “suspect”? I know they warn you that you need to check the “facts” they use, but that’s really not the same as embedding a link to a site that they consider “dangerous,” or at least suspicious.

Second, does Wikipedia really contain links to sites that may mislead you or trick you into downloading dangerous software?  If so, why the heck aren’t they policing their links?

Finally, if you delete a linked word, how can you be sure that the accompanying link has actually been deleted?  If the linking word has been deleted, how can a reader click on that link to go to that site?