Taking a walk at Muir Creek yesterday I was privileged to see a Northern rough-winged swallow feeding young. Hearing a lot of chattering I looked up and there was a Northern rough-winged swallow that had apparently fledged as it was no longer in the nest but was still requiring the parent to feed it. I don’t often […]
I did not start out today stalking the rare, elusive California quail, but what can one do when one hears unmistakable quail like noises coming from the underbrush. I looked, I searched and I hunted the noise. I caught momentary glimpses of them in the underbrush. I took pictures and it was like “where’s Waldo” […]
Did you know that birds love moving water? A great way to give them what they love is with this quick and easy birdbath drip. I have found that in the heat of summer, that a lot of birds come to my backyard, not necessarily for the bird seed but for the water. After observing this […]
Sounds like a murder novel… “The Mystery Of The Missing Huckleberries!” But really it’s not. I went out to pick some huckleberries to make some jam or muffins from our huckleberry bush and found that all the ripe ones were gone. Disappeared completely only leaving the unripened ones to pick. So leaving them on the […]
Today I was blessed with having lunch with a great blue heron. It was a rainy morning and I felt like I hadn’t been out of the house in 3 days and then this afternoon the sun dissolved the clouds along with the help of a brisk wind and I could see blue skies. Dropping […]
We have babies!! California quail babies that is. Well technically they are chicks, but it feels like we’ve had a part in their becoming so they’re babies. Did I mention I am excited? That’s because due to a brush pile that Rob created last fall we’ve had quail living just outside the front door all […]
As a photographer, drive by shootings don’t always end in disaster. In fact… you can get some of your best shots with a drive-by shooting. Birds don’t see a vehicle as a threat, so usually if you stop and turn off the engine, they will just keep going about their business as usual. Which makes […]
As I’ve been working in the garden and haven’t had the chance to go out in the field so am doing my birdwatching from the front deck. When I’m hot and tired from working in the garden and yard I take a break by sitting on the front deck and watching the birds at the […]
If you have ever seen a movie about the desert, you probably have seen a turkey vulture or black vulture. They are the bird version of a cleanup crew and when someone talks about picking the bones clean, just think vultures. They feed almost exclusively on carrion and lack the talons and sharp claws of […]
I had one of those special moments the other day when I saw a mother killdeer feigning a broken wing to protect her chicks. It wasn’t like I was running around chasing them and she decided to step in because… as I have mentioned before, it really important to keep away from the adults and […]
