Osprey with a fish near Bear Creek

I am working on a slideshow of this Osprey. It flew over my chicken coop and landed in a snag next to it. At first I thought it was a hawk after my chickens. Then I saw the fish. I was able to photograph it out of my upstairs window. Pretty cool!

Some facts:

• One of the largest birds of prey in North America, it is one of the most widespread birds in the world, found on all continents except Antarctica.
• The Osprey eat mostly fish. Barbed pads on the soles of its feet help it grip slippery fish. It dives feet first into the water and when an Osprey takes a large fish to its nest, it carries the fish headfirst to make it as aerodynamic as possible.
• Osprey mate for life.

To see the slideshow (all photos) in a new window click Merle's SmugMug Osprey near Bear Creek Album.

Pileated Woodpeckers near Sweathouse Creek

The Pileated Woodpecker lives throughout North America and as the third largest woodpecker, it is slightly smaller than the American Crow. The feathers appear to be black, has a long tail used as a brace when chiseling and sports the characteristic red crest.


This bird is found in both coniferous and decidous forests living year round (they don't migrate) in large, dead trees called snags. Pileated Woodpeckers are monogamous, staying with the same mate for life.

For more interesting facts visit my source of information Pileated Woodpecker Central.com.

To see all the photos in a new window click Merle's SmugMug Pileated Woodpecker Photos.

I first saw these birds about 18 months ago and I have been photographing them for about 6 months. I will be adding photos as I take them throughout the seasons.

Fly Fishing the Blackfoot River in an August Rain Storm

Nick Stipich is a talented Missoula area guide and Jack loves working with him. We all had an open day so we fished the lower Blackfoot River on Friday. Fishing with guides is the best way to really know their strengths and match them up well with clients.

Our day started out nice, but we got a big rain and wind storm about noon and had some rain, wind and clouds through out the rest of the day. We caught fish on dry flies and streamers. Our faithful companions Freda and Flicka came along. We used Nick's RO Drift boat, had plenty of room and skimmed over most of the rocks.

The slideshow below shows the trip and some of the features of the lower Blackfoot. It is beautiful!

See all the photos in a new window, click on Merle's SmugMug Blackfoot River in August

Quail in Montana

I tried to find this quail on the internet, but it looks like either a Gambel's Quail or a California Quail and neither of them are supposed to range here in western Montana. If anyone has better information, comment or send me an email. They are really cute and I see quite a few on the roads and in the pastures near our Bitterroot Mountains. They move too fast for me to get a better photo so far and usually are in coveys or groups.

Click here to view all in a new window

A Photo Journal of Eastern and Central Idaho

These photos were taken July 7, 2009 as we traveled through the Snake River Plain and include Gilmore, Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, Arco and Twin Falls, Idaho.

Excerpt from wikipedia.org: The Snake River Plain is a geologic feature located primarily within the state of Idaho in the United States of America. It stretches about 400 miles (640 km) westward from northwest of the state of Wyoming to the Idaho-Oregon border. The plain is a wide flat bow-shaped depression, and covers about a quarter of Idaho. Three major buttes dot the plain east of Arco, the largest being Big Southern Butte.

Many of Idaho's major cities are in the Snake River Plain as is much of its agricultural land. Also located within Snake River Plain is the Idaho National Laboratory.


Click Merle's SmugMug Idaho Roadtrip Album to see all the photos in a new window.