During one of my Costa Rican bird photo trips I had the opportunity to visit a private facility that displayed native reptiles and amphibians, normally secretive and difficult to find. For a small fee the curator would bring them out and place them in natural settings for photography.

Red-eyed tree frog


Helmeted basalisk


Eyelash viper


Mexican burrowing tree frog


Green iguana


Fer-de-lance


Glass frog


Green palm viper


Green tree anole


Speckled palm viper

Very nice sharp images with good backgrounds. The singing meadowlark is outstanding.

What a great find and the images are exquisite. Which Natl. Park in the Sierras did you find this in?

I especially like the sora.

My experience indicates wildlife is more affected by movement than by color. Obviously, bright colors and white makes one stand out more against the background but I’ve found no difference in camo clothes vs. regular khaki work duds. A few years back I bought a Lenscoat Lightweight Blind in hopes to replace my cumbersome doghouse blind. I used it once and it’s been in the closet ever since. I placed it in the same spot I had used my doghouse at a water source. The birds noted the slightest move I made and stayed away or departed when the fabric moved. The doghouse provides a dark interior that covers movement. As for the camo lens cover, I’ve shot in the blind with another photographer using an uncovered Canon lens (mine has a camo cover) and saw no affect.

I believe I just ran out of subject material. Thanks to all for your viewing and input.

Black-headed grosbeak


Golden-crowned sparrow


Oak titmouse


Ash-throated flycatcher


Lesser goldfinch


Spotted towhee


Hermit thrush


Brown-headed cowbird


Western meadowlark


Bushtit

Some of the numerous species previously found in Paradise, CA

Acorn woodpecker


Phainopepla


Hooded oriole


White-breasted nuthatch


Brewer's blackbird


House sparrow


Yellow-rumped warbler


House wren


Tree swallow


Anna's hummingbird

Now that we’re enjoying the coolness of the north coast of California we realize how, as we got older, we dreaded the 100+ degree summers of the Central Valley. But for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction; I do miss the variety of birdlife that surrounded my home in Paradise as the coastal rainforest is less productive and the birds in it more difficult to observe. Here are images of some of the over 50 species I took from my home in Paradise over the past 20 years.

Western bluebird


Dark-eyed junco


Mockingbird


American goldfinch


Turkey vulture


White-crowned sparrow


Nuttal's woodpecker


American robin


Brown towhee


Rufous hummingbird

Suet thieves.

Couldn't figure out why the cat's food and bird seed was disappearing so fast at the new residence. Now I know why.

You are correct and the image is labeled as such in my files. I got careless when I posted it.

I have been frequenting the Sacramento, Delevan, Colusa and Sutter NWR refuges as well as the California Gray Lodge Wildlife Area for the past 20 years, probably a dozen times a year. I have had visits where I virtually got nothing but others when I did very well.

Last, but not least.....

Ring-necked duck


Western kingbird


American kestrel


Common yellowthroat


Gadwall


Bald eagle


American merganser


Cinnamon teal


American avocet


Eared grebe

One more to go after this one.

Mallard


Marsh wren


Red-tailed hawk


Greater white-fronted goose


Spotted sandpiper


Sandhill crane


Mourning dove


Long-eared owl


Black-necked stilt


Say's phoebe

Having spent a career working in concert with the FWS, I can assure you political pressure will circumvent any non-binding policy statement such as this one.