Dad on the pylon

Posting so late today (around 12:30 p.m.), after sleeping in, much later than usual. Unless I have to, I'm trying not to set my alarm, in order to get more sleep than I normally get, hoping to give my shoulder rotator cuffs and my back the best chance to improve.

Yesterday afternoon, I checked the weather forecast before dashing down to the Frank Lake area, SE of the city. Pretty much a spur of the moment thing. The temperature had gone down a few degrees from the unbearably hot day before, and the sun was shining. On the Weather Network, I discovered that there was a weather Alert in effect, possibly huge hailstones and also the possibility of a tornado. Thinking I might get a chance to see some interesting clouds, I decided that I would still go.

My first destination was Frank Lake, where I bumped into friend, Greg Wagner, who is extremely knowledgeable about the area and its wildlife, and does an amazing job of recording all his sightings. I saw Eared Grebes with their young ones (quite big now), a few Ibis and Black-crowned Night Herons (no photos). Did manage to get a few shots of a Sora (thanks for telling me to watch out for them, Greg!). After I'd finished at the blind, Greg took me to various spots around the lake, pointing out places where he had seen interesting things, hoping that they might still be there for me to see. Thanks so much, Greg, I enjoyed this and really appreciated it! One of these was a Western Kingbird - our more common Kingbird is the Eastern, so I was very happy to see a Western. We also passed by this male Great Horned Owl, who was perched on one of the huge pylons. He and his family seem to be doing well. I used Picmonkey to "frost" the edges of the photo, to soften the harsh metal of the pylon. Photo was quickly taken from inside the car, using 48x zoom and then cropped. Of course, more natural surroundings would have been nicer, but this family of owls likes to use this pylon : )

The clouds were building up as the hours went by and it did rain just a little when I was driving home. Fortunately, no hail or tornado!