BIRDING - THE TALE OF THE ALBINO HUMMER

The photos above show the classic traits of an Albino - pink eyes, pink feet, and a pink bill. Not just a white hummingbird but a true albino. These photographs and an accompanying article appeared in "BIRDS & BLOOMS" Magazine. Thanks for stopping by. Jim Foster

NEVER PASS UP A PHOTO
By Jim Foster

The morning had been vastly productive and I was very pleased with the results. Photographing nesting osprey is many times frustrating but today it seemed they were posing for the camera and I had stayed much longer than intended.

The telephone rang as I was finishing a late lunch. It was my neighbor Bill Mead, a Lemhi Valley native, calling to invite me out to take more photographs. I was a split second away from begging off when he said his aunt had called saying she had a white hummingbird at her feeder.

In seconds I grabbed a jacket, my camera gear and was sitting in my neighbor’s pick-up.

The 30-mile drive seemed more like 60 miles as I looked out the window and watched the sun sink lower in the west.

Even without a white hummer Aunt Clover would be an interesting lady. Besides bird watching and alerting photographers she and her family have quite a history in the Lemhi Valley of Idaho. Her father was one of the last stagecoach drivers crossing the Lemhi Pass between Montana and Idaho - the same pass Lewis and Clark crossed in their trek to the Pacific Ocean.

After settling in with my photo gear on her front porch it was a full thirty minutes before the little white bird arrived. There had been other hummingbirds at the feeders during our wait and now they set it harassing their white cousin.

During the search period my Alpen binoculars came in handy for slowly scanning through the branches and using their close focus feature to see the hummers at the feeder. I did spot the white hummer in a tree some distance away through the binoculars.

Getting the first shot was tough until I figured out their program. My shots would need to be in the first thirty seconds to a minute when the the white hummer settled or hovered before the other birds tried to run him off.

He did finally get to feed while the others left him alone. He spent most of his time either perched on an electric line or in a nearby tree where the little white bird stood out distinctly.

Shooting in this way required a fast lens and a steady hand. The rapid movement of the birds made handholding a must. For this I was shooting a Canon 20D digital body shooting in the raw mode, using a Canon 2.8 70 to 200-zoom lens. In case of a distance problem I had both a 1.4 and 2X doubler's tucked in my pocket.

As I began to lose the light I moved my camera speed from 100 up to 200. As the light faded I was extremely happy for the fast lens. Shooting at every chance the little white bird afforded me I was kept quite busy.

Then the white hummer was gone.

“Oh well,” I thought, “there is always tomorrow.” I thought.

As the kids say, “NOT!” The next day at that location produced nothing.

The white hummer must have had enough of the unfriendly environment and moved on to more hospitable locales. After several trips without his appearance, I gave up.

The little white hummer did teach this old photo dog that I should never be too hasty in declining a photo opportunity and, shoot today because tomorrow’s chance may never appear.

If you news or comments about this or other articles Jim's Email is jim@jimfosteroutdoors.com

JIM'S GEMS - JUST A WORD OF THANKS!

A NOTE FROM JIM: Someone sent me this in an Email and I thought it deserved space on my Blog – I did take some liberties with the text but didn’t change the “sprit” or “meaning” of what was written. Again there was no photo credit attached with the images.
______________________________________________________

Don't know whether you heard about this but Denzel Washington and his family visited 
the troops at Brook Army Medical Center (BAMC), in San Antonio, Texas a short time ago.

This is where soldiers who have been evacuated from Germany come to be hospitalized in the United States, especially burn victims.

There are some buildings there called Fisher Houses. A Fisher House is a hotel where soldiers' families can stay for little or no charge, while their soldier is staying in the hospital on base, but as you can imagine, these hotels are full or nearly full most of the time. 

While Denzel Washington was visiting BAMC; they gave him a tour of one of the Fisher Houses.

He asked how much one of them would cost to build. He took his checkbook out and wrote a check for the full amount right there on the spot.

Soldiers overseas were amazed to hear this story and want to get the word out to the American public, because it warmed their hearts to hear it.



The question is - why do: 
Britney Spears, Madonna, Tom Cruise and other Hollywood fluff people
make front page news with their ridiculous antics and Denzel Washington's story doesn't even make page 3 in the Metro section of any newspaper except the local newspaper in San Antonio.

I guess they are just to busy letting long-time employees go and following the lead of most of the liberal press. What a shame.

I wish I could shake Mr. Washington’s hand and say Thank You in person.

Thanks Very Much!

If you have news or comments for Jim his Email is jim@jimfosteroutdoors.com

TRAVEL - East Fork of the Bitterroot River

WHERE IS SULA, MONTANA ?
By Jim Foster

If I didn’t drive by the “eye blink” town ever so often or stop at the little store and café on Highway 93 for a coffee refill I wouldn’t know either. But – Sula, Montana is a place consisting of nice homes, a store/café and Post Office. That’s it.

The drive from Salmon, Idaho up the mountain through Lost Trail Pass and then downhill into Montana takes the traveler by Sula. I made this trip this week in hopes of photographing wildlife or locating a new birding hot spot. Neither happened although I found subjects to photograph.

Before I even entered Montana I noticed a small road with quite a few bear grass plants in different stages of maturing. It was chilly but the light was good and I took several images. I have an article started on the subject of bear grass so I will only include a macro lens shot of the center of the flower. This is an interesting plant.

After reaching Sula and turning east along the east fork of the Bitterroot River I had only gone about 2 miles when I came up to the rear of an east bound herd of cattle. These bovine bellowers – cows are a noise lot - were being herded by 4 cow persons driving 4 wheelers.

I guess that was the high spot of the morning. I must add that on the drive out of Sula there were at least 30 head of cattle either heading back from whence they came or just milling around eating the knee high grass in the ditches.

I did enjoy driving several miles up Bear Creek and photographing the creek and some flowers and insects. The creek did have its share of mosquitoes. I am posting several of the images here – I do hope you enjoy.

If you have NEWS or Comments for Jim please Email him at jim@jimfosteroutdoors.com

JIM'S GEMS -THE MEDIA HAS NO HONOR.

SPECIAL NOTE: Michael Jackson dies and there is 24/7 news coverage That’s still going on.

A REAL AMERICAN HERO DIES AND NOT A MENTION OF IT IN THE NEWS.

THE STORY -

You're a 19-year-old kid. You're critically wounded and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley , 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray, Vietnam.

Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in. 
 


You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you're not getting out. Your family is half way around the world, 12,000 miles away and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day. 
 


Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter and you look up to see an unarmed Huey, but it doesn't seem real because no Medi-Vac markings are on it. 
 


Ed Freeman is coming for you. He's not Medi-Vac, so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come. 
 


He's coming anyway. 
 


And he drops it in and sits there in the machine gun fire as they load 2 or 3 of you on board. Then he flies you up and out, through the gunfire to the doctors and nurses. 
 


And - he kept coming back, 13 more times, and took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out.. 
 


Medal of Honor Recipient Ed Freeman died on Wednesday, June 25th, 2009, at the age of 80, in Boise , ID.

May God rest his soul.

If you have news or comments for Jim Foster his Email is jim@jimfosteroutdoors.com

WILDLIFE - DELISTING THE WOLF ?

THE WOLF – HERE WE GO AGAIN
By Jim Foster

It must be déjà view. It does seem like we have gone down this road before. Wait a minute – we have! It’s been recently announced that Montana will have its first official gray wolf hunting season this fall.

That is of course if there happens to be a shortage of ambulances to chase and the so-called animal rights legal nerds - with more money than gray matter - undertake more legal intervention. Remember last year when a Montana judge used the law above scientific facts and reissued the protected status of the wolf.

Montana Wildlife and Parks Commission unanimously agreed on a 75-wolf quota for a hunting season this fall. State officials said the historic decision (again) represents a victory for wildlife conservation in Montana. Dealing with the multi-flawed Endangered Species Act has been a challenge. Of course Obama hasn’t helped – so far.

Montana manages elk, deer, bears, mountain lions, ducks, bighorn sheep, and wolves in balance with their habitats, other species, and in balance with the people who live here,” said FWP Director Joe Maurier.

Wolf advocates have two lawsuits ready to file in federal court contesting the removal of gray wolves in Montana and Idaho from the protection offered by the Endangered Species Act, and say they expect to ask a judge to intervene in the wolf hunt. They haven’t filed as yet but it’s seems only a matter of time.

These were the same simpletons who put the Polar Bear on the ESL under the excuse of Global Warming, something anyone with a brain knows just isn’t happening. Even scientists who were promoting this myth/theory have now jumped ship creating the need for Al – the sky is falling - Gore to try and cover his soon to be frozen posterior.

The Alliance for the Wild Rockies, believes Montana shouldn’t have a wolf-hunting season until the population is fully recovered. The key word here is recovered and to be “recovered” the Gray Wolf must have been in Montana and Idaho in the first place. FACT: The gray wolf NEVER lived in Montana or Idaho.

A majority of the 180 public comments submitted to the commission stated that not only should a hunting season take place, but also the proposed range of a 26 to 165-wolf quota was too low. The favorable comments were from people who must live with and put up with the wolf. Those misguided souls against the delisting were mostly from eastern states. Let’s stock these canine darlings in Central Park in New York and see who starts yelling.

Montana is home to at least 500 gray wolves, with another 846 residing in Idaho and 302 in Wyoming. An estimated 1,000 wolf pups were born in the Northern Rockies this spring. (I question these numbers - the numbers are much higher.)

Idaho is expected to set a wolf-hunting quota in August, according to Ken McDonald, Idaho chief of wildlife. Wolves are being seen now in residential communities around Salmon, Idaho. In addition the Moyer Basin pack has removed or caused the relocation of the majority of elk and deer from that area.

GW Bush has caught the ire of the liberal populations for many things some true and some not, but it was the Bush administration took gray wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming off the endangered species list in 2008. Of course, a lawsuit by groups opposed to the delisting resulted in the injunction mentioned above and the USFWS pulled the delisting.

It is rumored (I haven’t red it.) there is a new plan, by the Obama administration, to delisted wolves in Montana and Idaho. ( NOTE: As this is written the wolf IS DELISTED.) For now the listing remains and wolves are still protected in Wyoming. No one seems to agree with the Wyoming plan – except people in Wyoming where the wolves are causing a multitude of problems. Does States rights enter in here at all?

So here we go again. I have never had faith in the U. S. Fish and Wildlife service or The Idaho Fish and Game but I am willing to watch and see what happens.

If you have comments or news for Jim Foster please email him at: jim@jimfosteroutdoors.com

JIM'S GEMS -A FIGHT WORTH FIGHTING

THE “C” WORD
By Jim Foster

This article is way out of my area of expertise BUT it’s one I believe needs to be written.

For those of you who have been reading this blog for a few years you noticed that last year I added a new sponsor – ALPEN OPTICS.
This company has beginning this year jumped into the fight against cancer – more specifically breast cancer - with both feet. Hence, it is the subject of this article. Thanks to those who helped with gathering the information used here.

Breast cancer is a disease in which cancer cells form in the tissues of the breast. It is considered a heterogeneous disease—differing by individual, age group, and even the kinds of cells within the tumors themselves.

Obviously no woman wants to receive this diagnosis, but hearing the words “breast cancer” doesn’t always mean an end. It can be the beginning of learning how to fight, getting the facts, and finding hope.

Women in the United States get breast cancer more than any other type of cancer except for skin cancer. It is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death in women.

Each year it is estimated that nearly 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 will die. A fact not widely known is that in addition to women approximately 1,700 men will also be diagnosed with breast cancer and 450 will die each year. Wake up guys.

In January of this year Alpen Optics introduced its new Alpen Pink 263P 8x25 compact and Alpen Pink 393P 10x42 full-size binocular. Alpen® Optics is the first optics company to partner with the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) and will make a donation to NBCF to help fight breast cancer.

“Pink is the color most associated with breast-cancer research,” says Vickie Gardner, vice president of Alpen Optics.

The NBCF is committed to spreading knowledge and fostering hope in the fight against breast cancer. By funding free mammograms for women who could otherwise not afford them and supporting research programs in leading facilities across the country, NBCF helps inspire the courage needed to win this monumental battle.

Now when you buy your next pair of binoculars you are helping the NBCF fight this dreaded disease.

I feel honored to have Alpen as a sponsor and be on their Birding Pro Staff and totally endorse this worthy effort.

Thanks Vickie!

If you have comments or news for Jim Foster please email him at: jim@jimfosteroutdoors.com