Sunday, January 31, 2010



I'm sure there's bugs or bats or something in there.
Sometimes I miss. The sun is evasive.

.. Go home.

Saturday, January 30, 2010


Yellow-rumped Warbler. Still my favorite warbler. Look at that fancy plumage!



A 'hidden' Red-winged Blackbird.



Ruby-crowned Kinglet. This one actually decided to yell at us. Their tiny bill if for flying to the ends of needles and picking the bugs out.



A Pied-billed Grebe. He seems to be hanging out at this lake alot.



Common Merganser.



A Hermit Thrush. Seems I get a new bird then it's all I see. Ah well, no complaints.



California Ground Squirrel. I thought it was a regular fuzz-rat, but this one was all specialized.



A green Heron in flight. I still need work on the olde 'turn and shoot' method.



Male Brewer's Blackbird. Intense eyes. A shame they are so plentiful that they are viewed as vermin.



Ducks on a field of really narsty-looking algae. Mmmmmm.

Friday, January 29, 2010


Ducks are whores. WHORES. Seriously. I've seen more inbred, marbled, hybrid duck-mongrels in the last year...



WHORES.



New Bird# 134 Spotted Sandpiper. We were looking for rails and had a few close calls, but failed. This guy was flittering around on our way to the car. My little consolation prize!



Ring-billed Gulls. All of them.



Left from right. Canada Goose, Common Merganser, Double-crested Cormorant, Ring-billed Gull, Mallard, Bufflehead, domestic goose.



Male Common Merganser.



Annnd the female. For once I actually feel inclined to say that the female duck is the prettier one. This one has a fro cause she just surfaced from the water.



New bird 135: Barrow's Goldeneye. Looks really close to another kind of Goldeneye, but I lucked out and found the easiest time and gender to make an easy id. Incidently, it's a female, and the extensive orange on her bill gives her away.

*sings* The more you knooooow.

Thursday, January 28, 2010


Escapee! Always out onto the deck when I cheat.



Western Scrub Jay. They are alright, but I miss our handsome Blue Jays more.



Two hawks, circling together.



These were Red-tailed Hawks. There's a good chance we'll be going to the bay tomorrow. Should have some fun ones for us to share!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010


Crows. Nature's animal walk freebies.



Northern Mockingbird. Lovely singers.



Creepy cat. Always staring.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010


Anna's Hummingbird. Landed in front of me and made my job easier. I keep getting more and more 'Ha, nice camera' jeers as I walk. One lady stopped me and stated 'Oh honey, if you're taking pictures of natural beauty he's riiight here.' Granted, her flustered male friend was good-looking.



Northern Mockingbird. I almost got hit by a car getting over there, only to get an out of focus shot. Apparently hitting and waiting for the walk signal is not always a guarantee that you get to keep your shins. My only comfort is that I'm a fatass and the one that hits me won't have a car left. In fact I'll just jump and White-tail it right through the windshield.



Crows. I love a good Crow-strut.

Monday, January 25, 2010


Rainy day proof that I DO in fact get to see firemen washing their truck in the summer from my balcony.

Mmmm.

Sunday, January 24, 2010


Old man Cody. Golden years my ass. Golden showers is all he brings. On the floor. Like a hose.



Western Scrub Jay.



Northern Mockingbird.

Saturday, January 23, 2010


A Northern Mockingbird.



American Crow. You may wonder 'why not just call it a crow?' Because there's several kinds of crow. Fish Crows, for example. They look exactly like normal Crows. Have fun wondering.



That creepy cat next door.

Friday, January 22, 2010


There's worse ways to spend a January.



One of my favorite birds.



Red-shouldered Hawk. Just chilling out before bedtime.



Crow lookout. Never know when a small hawk will fly by that you need to scream at.



Cedar Waxwing stretching his pretty tail. Someone on a forum once described these birds as 'Egyptian' and I think it sums up their special kind of beauty.



Cedar Waxwings at the motherload.

Thursday, January 21, 2010




Raining a lot. This Ruby-crowned Kinglet was kind enough to hang out near our balcony, picking at things. Kinglets are obviously better at rain than cameras.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010


It's raining alot. There's a good chance this is the year it will flood. That means helping Eli's parents evacuate.



Pale female Merican Robin. I was convinced it was a new bird, but she's just a fair-feathered gal.


There's a crow in there. See?



See?!


It's an accipiter. That's the best I can do for you. That means it's either a Cooper's or a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010


Hairy Woodpecker. Exactly like the Downy but with a longer bill. New Bird # 132!



My camera, while pretty sweet, does have issues with ghosting and overexposure. This is a White-tailed Kite, arguably one of the best-looking birds of prey out there.



American Robin. Fat little bastards are everywhere making me think they are something else. Robins are from the Thrush family.



Just like this guy! Hermit Thrush. Parked at the bank and Eli put the window down. "Look, birds" like a parent who slaps in a Disney dvd for the kids while they go take a dump in peace. New bird # 133.