Black and Yellow Mud Dauber Wasp

Mrsroadrunner Photography | Black and Yellow Mud Dauber Wasp






Meet the Black and yellow mud dauber wasp who comes around every year for the mud at our ponds. Never have I had a issue with these wasps! This is a shot I took as I was hovering over this one.

These wasps look much more aggressive then they truly are! All of them that show up here for mud fly off to the south, so I can only assume that is where they nest? In fact I watched a little boy harassing some form of bee in which he ran inside his home crying. Some  folks do have to learn the hard way.





One thing I found interesting while researching this wasp is how they have been found to be the direct result of bringing down airplanes killing everyone on board. I thought this was interesting.....

I watch these come and go for several years now. The other "bee", species who are here getting drinks or doing what they do do not appear to distract this wasp from daily duties. Nor have we ever had a issue with this mud dauber coming inside the house, or our  outbuilding in the years it has been coming here. We do actively check for such things since after all I am not one of those who have never been stung before by insects and it is not a pleasant experience.





I do understand the fact that some creatures on our planet are acceptable to kill. At this time these Mud Dauber we do not see as something that needs killing. We do not have children here as I have said these are not coming into the house and are not threatening.

The above photograph is showing the mud that these mud dauber's grab and fly off with.





This one is flying off with the prize of some mud. These Mud Dauber's help keep down the insect population here. Most folks know by now who keep up with my photography, or my blogs I do not use chemicals here. Therefor we do have bad and good insects here, black widow spiders for instance that are killed on site (both the males and the females). I do not put these black and yellow mud daubers on the bad list, I have had no reason to do this.

If you say go to the open web to research these black and yellow mud daubers you may come across pages and pages of how to kill them, however I found it interesting how a simple question as, "what eats the mud dauber", or "what eats the black and yellow mud dauber", will or has shown little results.

We have MANY birds here. Birds that eat insects. Never have I seen a bird pluck one of these black and yellow mud dauber's up and consume it. However, I can only guess the birds are what keep the black and yellow mud daubers in check other then the chemicals so many people LOVE to use......













I will finish this off with this black and yellow mud dauber washing itself on one of the native red rocks we have around the ponds. Some of these photographs have been shown and used before in blogs and such.

Thank you for coming by reading up on my observations of the life we have here at home.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mud_dauber

English Mastiff IE Side Kick

Mrsroadrunner Photography | English Mastiff IE Side Kick









Meet Dufus , not his real name of course but some of the nicer nick names that he has haha! Dufus is a English Mastiff we drove what 12 hours to another state to pick up him and his litter mate brother. Dufus we did not pick out per say, he picked ME out. Would not leave me alone so Guy perked up and told the owners we will take that pup too!

The brothers have such different personalities! This one likes to make us laugh! He is so nutty!









We joke around with him saying we could have bought a whole new puppy with the price of his vet bills due to taking the "boys", to contaminated mines here in our part of Oregon. I tell everyone do not take your dog to these abandoned mines! Or at least do not let them out of the truck and get into the water! Experience has taught Guy and I this one! Now Dufus is the healthiest dog we ever had ha! Of course his appetite has proven this and he can put on weight which is no good for these large dogs, small dogs too however you can pick up smaller dogs!!





We all hiked into a area of the Metolius River when he got up on this point so he could look down on us. Typical for him to do! He also LOVES the attention of the camera! His brother typically is right next to me unless Guy has to take them away from where I am photographing whatever. The English Mastiff has very good noses, meaning they will push me out of the way if something has gotten into that nose of theirs and then they get in trouble. Guy helps me out by taking the boys and giving them something else to do.

Come to think of it, I will check here soon but I think this is one of the times (there has been several), that a coyote was following us. However this time the coyote was across the Metolius and sat down as if it was told to just to watch us haha! If you notice dufus does not have a collar on? Well there is a reason for this. The boys have been taught voice commands. They listen ok, and we do bring such things with us just in case we need them.... It is very odd for us to run into people where we go. Coyotes and other wildlife on the other hand.......

Nothing other then say a bird, butterfly etc.  is allowed around me oh depends what it is.... , period. This is what the English Mastiff has been bred for , for thousands of years. They are one of the oldest dog breeds there is. In fact dufus here he does not bark, he bays like a bloodhound. I heard somewhere where the bloodhound came from the english mastiff, however true or not??

Their howling can get on peoples nerves...... Guy laughs when they howl though he does not have to hear people complain either these people come to ME haha



The boys are the second pair of English Mastiffs for Guy. This helped us obtain these boys for the breeder did not want the boys going to a house hold who did not understand the breed.





We already had the 6' fencing installed. The other pair of mastiffs already ate or chewed on everything there was to chew on around here ha! The food issues (big dogs eat more just fact). We have been through the hip and bone issues, and the "but we want to see the big dogs".

The "boys", are my constant companions when Guy is at work. Along with the other two dogs they keep life entertaining around here! Dufus here is a huge part of this. They do not have to jump to get anything off the counters here right? If I forget something, or I walk off with something on the counter, he will walk over and take it if I am not constantly watching! Dufus will even grab serving bowls , rather big ones and walk off with it to eat whats inside in the comfort he chooses!! Big stinker!!

Being wet mouths they are constantly shaking the drool from their jowls, so these two have been taught to come to me to get wiped off. Believe it or not they prefer which towel will be used and refuse to let me wipe them with the towels they dont like.  Dufus here likes water, his brother not so much. Dufus hates the cold but loves snow. His brother will sit outside in the below temperatures and well his brother is fearless and I no longer allow him to be out in the snow or ice alone very long.

They also fight amongst themselves as brothers tend to do!! I of course am usually the one to break up these fights which do cause blood shed. This of course is just them figuring out who the boss is, and dufus here usually lets his brother take the lead and sorry to remind them over and over but I am queen bee here!

They blow up like puffer fish if they feel any danger is around, and use that knot head of theirs to ram such things as fences, furniture, anything they feel is in their way. Dufus here will run outside, turn around and run inside at full speed and I tell you what if you are in his way it hurts!!

Dufus here will also play with strangers. He will act all puppy like then go for the person..... One service dude that was here fixing something (not real big community here and not the companies fault their service man acted like a jerk),  right off the bat the service man insulted me, dufus growled at him the whole time he was here and my son had to escort the service man off the property haha

I dont know if we will get another pair of English Mastiffs in the future however I am sold on the breed. They have great personalities, and very loyal to their families.

Thank you for coming by looking at my photographs and listening to me talk about the English Mastiffs.



https://www.akc.org/breeds/mastiff/history.cfm

American Dipper or Water Ouzel by Coralie

Mrsroadrunner Photography | American Dipper or Water Ouzel by Coralie




The Dipper is a great bird to find around unpolluted fast moving waters.

I happened to catch this one along the Metolius River.

When these dippers blink their eyes it looks funky with the white feathers, turns their eyes white!





These dippers have a extra eye lid to allow them to see underwater. Now that would be rather cool to do! It is said they have scales that close there nose when they go underwater where they get their food at.



These are funny to watch, this one just stood there and really did not mind the intrusion. Fact is I walked away before this dipper went away. This dipper new it was safe. 



I wrote the above words back in November of 2010. Not to much has changed of my thoughts of the American Dipper. I still like to watch them when we go to moving waters such as the Metolius River. I did notice photographs never made it to the website as many of my photographs dont, no other reason then another batch of photographs gets my attention.

Conservation issues of 2014. I did a search and did not find anything here in my state. I can only guess their population is doing fine here where we have so many fast running rivers, cascades etc.. ? Sounds like things are different in the east of the USA. Though to be honest the material I read was rather old.

Thank you for coming by checking out my photographs and little write up!

Assassin Fly Robber Fly

Mrsroadrunner Photography | Assassin Fly Robber Fly




Meet the Robber Fly or Assassin Fly. This one was following me around in a part of the High Desert we were at. Guy and the dogs of course did not see it, so when Guy asked what I was doing I told him what I found.

This rather large insect seamed to give off that dont mess with me attitude. I really do not know how to explain it. This insect had nothing to worry about I had no intentions of picking it up.





We do have such things as insects follow us about for we kick up things to eat. Of course you also kick up things to eat when you are out and about as well! Why you will have such things as birds of prey up in the sky checking you out. Same philosophy. Wildlife has learned to follow us about as a hunting technique.

This Robber Fly really did not seam to care that I was hovering over it with my camera. It did seam to keep a eye on me typically moving to face me. Hence this photograph I got before it positioned itself to see what I was doing. I actually walked away from this insect due to thinking it had enough of my invasion.

Thank you for coming by and checking out my write up and my photographs!

White-lined Sphinx or Hawk Moth

Mrsroadrunner Photography | White-lined Sphinx or Hawk Moth




Meet the Sphinx Moth or if you prefer the Hawk Moth or as I call it the "Hummingbird Moth", wrong or not that is just what I call it. This is just one of 1,450 species and this is the species that tend to visit our garden as well as at times comes inside the house to get put back outside. The moth above is in flight, hovering as hummingbirds do! Why I call them the "hummingbird moth", for it is easy for me to remember.

I have witnessed a hummingbird attacking one of these , due to thinking it was another hummingbird perhaps?? Hummers are very territorial as many of us bird watchers can testify to!



If you notice the hummingbird moths or um White-lined Sphinx like the Zinnia Flowers! I notice if you move slow as of no threat these moths do allow you pretty close to them. This of course comes in handy if you say, want photographs of them?



Hovering as they do, I get quite a few shots of them doing just that! They are quite big for a moth! 2" to 3" - 3" to 4". For instance the Rufous hummers (Hummingbird), are 3"-4" inches. So you can imagine why the hummingbird attacked the moth outside that I watched here.



Guy my other half has been warned about the caterpillar. Guy was told to kill them on site if he wants any tomatoes. I personally can not see doing this at this point. We just do not have reason to. However, if say the local farmers were having a infestation and asked folks to help them.... who knows? To my understanding and observations we do not have tomato farms here. We do have the apple trees, however we have the woodpeckers, and other birds who keep the insects in check. See a post I did about a woodpecker catching his dinner I photographed on one of my walks here. The woodpeckers do help out with the bugs !

I have put in four o-clocks in 2014 , I read that this is one of the plants they like to feed on? I had not seen this activity, though you never know what the future may hold?  I believe without going into my other hard drive of getting this moth feeding on the Ozark teardrop. Which of course is just another of the primrose species and one that I had to control in 2014 due to establishing itself in another part of the garden and getting over 6' tall, a good 3' in circumference with many blossoms and seeds! Seeds of course had to be destroyed before they were mature. Some of my flowers I do this with daily, or every other day only because they will try and take over the world.

I just find the moth itself does more good here pollinating then the caterpillars eat, though I feel this way about many of the butterflies I have established here as well. Ying Yang, everything has to eat.

I see as I look at the computer clock I have another 45 minutes before the walking dead is on, so perhaps I will find something else to write about? I found myself tossing one blog I wrote that just was not good enough in my eyes to share with you all.

Being asked if I am still taking photographs earlier today..... Am I still breathing? HAHA! Rest assured I am still doing what I do! Though the outside gardens are done for the winter.

Thank you for coming by, checking out my little write up here and of course my photography! More photographs of these moths and I do have more photographs to add to the websites.

http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Hyles-lineata

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/rufous_hummingbird/lifehistory

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyles_lineata

Pygmy Horned Lizard Of Jefferson County Oregon

Mrsroadrunner Photography | Pygmy Horned Lizard Of Jefferson County Oregon




Meet the protected Pygmy Short-Horned Lizard who lives here with us in Jefferson County Oregon! Like other species of wildlife I have photographed these Pygmy Horned Lizard came from east of Madras Oregon.

These little guys blended in so well I was afraid the dogs were going to step on them!! Though do not worry along with blending in they are quick!!



There were several of these in the location we were at this time, unlike other spots where we would only see one here in Jefferson County Oregon. This is a bigger one of the bunch. Not moving perhaps thinking  I did not see him/her if he did not move?? HAHA







We have several lizards here in Jefferson County Oregon and I will write about what others I have photographed soon enough. I do recall when I first moved to the high desert oh 10+ years ago how there were so many lizards you seen them everywhere!! Then after some time they just kind of disappeared. So I was pretty tickled to see this species!!















The place in which we came upon this Pygmy Horned Lizard was sandy, typical desert floor. Though the views were rather nice of the Cascade Mountains, though the views here are usually breathtaking!







Lots of insects for this one and the others to eat at this spot, more then likely why they seam to be at this spot? Sagebrush, the rocks to hide around. When these pygmy short-horned lizard bury themselves my gosh you can not tell where they are!!

The ODFW website says we only have these and the desert horned lizard of this kind here so this made identification of this species much easier!

• 
  http://www.dfw.state.or.us/oars/44.pdf
• 
  http://www.dfw.state.or.us/species/reptiles/

Western Kingbird of Jefferson County Oregon

Mrsroadrunner Photography | Western Kingbird of Jefferson County Oregon




The Crooked River National Grasslands is rather close to where we live here in Jefferson County Oregon , so we spend a lot of time on this 112,357 acres of land. This Grassland is part of the Ochoco National Forest consisting of 850,000 acres and for those who have kept up with my photography or blog have heard me talk quite a bit about the Ochocos.

We have a lot of such places here however this is where I captured photographs of this Western Kingbird.



I feel rather fortunate this Western Kingbird staid put long enough for photographs!





This area is super fun to go to ! This area is just a hop skip and a jump from the town of Madras Oregon, to the east. Keep in mind some of the roads are not kept up depends on the public funds. You may run into ruts etc.. so try and stay on the main roads if your vehicle is not made for these kind of roads. In spring and summer if the vegetation is higher then your chassis keep in mind you can start a wildfire quicker then anything just driving over the dry vegetation. We are after all the High Desert of Oregon!

Stop first in Madras or the other smaller towns (Culver, Metolius), for gas , water and snacks before heading out here! You will be glad you did haha!

Thank you for coming by!

Sources

• 
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crooked_River_National_Grassland
• 
  http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/western_kingbird/id btw check out their call!

Pair of Bald Eagles Waiting Their Turn in Central Oregon

Mrsroadrunner Photography | Pair of Bald Eagles Waiting Their Turn in Central Oregon

Pair of Bald Eagles Waiting Their Turn in Central Oregon

Our adventures start out usually early in the morning.

I woke up late, yes I admit! I got up gosh at 4 am or something. Guy was already up and drinking his coffee. I only have to get myself and my camera ready. Guy has the truck, the dogs, our lunch and extra truck supplies to get ready.

We left here a little before 5am, before the sun came up and hopefully before to much wildlife movement gets started.



The plan was to head to the Malheur National Forest. This drive is always a good one. We head to Madras for gas, munchies. Head to Prineville, to Post, drive on the public roads through large ranches, (historical Izee ranch  than and the Az which that one we are not sure if the road actually goes through that one?), than we hit the Malheur forest (getting the truck we just got, stuck in a 3' snow drift will be a story for another time). The only reason we go to the forest first off is, the dogs have to get out and go to the bathroom. This drive is really all private property, thus we have to be careful of going onto private land. Everyone needs permission from the land owners to go onto their property but the forest believe to us all.

We came upon An unkindness of ravens and the ravens are something we are always on the look out for. Why? Because ravens have this reputation of being very good scavengers and these groups of ravens will fight off even eagles to win the prize! Ravens are very smart, humans are not something they have learned to like and when they flew off and I noticed a deer carcass.

Knowing that eagles and other birds of prey are scavengers as well, it only takes one to look around to find other species of birds who are looking for a way to win  their dinners too. This instance was no difference. Off in the distance was a pair of Bald Eagles waiting for their chance. Or who knows maybe they already ate and were full??

This is the first set of photographs. In the one photograph another bird joined the bald eagles in the tree. Than, because Post Oregon is cattle and farming country, a heifer walked through some of the photographs. The pair of eagles did realize this but in the photograph shown something else got their attention. Than I added the male Bald Eagle who was watching the ravens and has his head cocked.

You can see in the photographs of the pair of Bald Eagles. Female Bald Eagles are the largest of the male and female. I am not a wildlife expert by no means! I can only assume this pair of bald eagles are at least 5 years old since I do not see any brown in their white feathers? I learned so much since I really got serious about this web site and showing my photographs on the computer about the wild animals I photograph!

This next set of photographs , I think I have to upload them backwards to come out with the story, but if I mess up you will get the gist of what is going on.

When birds get ready to fly they will tell us by body language. In no way was I doing anything to scare the birds other then just pointing my camera at them. Wild animals are not like tame ones. Humans are not to be trusted, therefor they really do not want attention brought to themselves. The pair of Bald Eagles noticed I was paying attention to them thus the female was getting ready to fly. She looked around first, then stiffened up, I added a photograph of her stance.

Than she took off and the male just watched her.

In this next and last series I kept the camera on the female. She flew onto private property, of course always my luck!! This private property was behind the Post Oregon's store, post office (all in one type thing. It is not a big town) and the grange hall. I figured I got enough photographs and had other critters to photograph which I will show later.

It was really cool to see all this! I did not show all the photographs I have of this pair of Bald Eagles but I think this is enough.

Thank you for coming by and sharing with us our adventure!

From my archive at mrsroadrunerphotography.com