Bye-bye Blackbirds!

I love red-winged blackbirds! I have seen them often at Willow Lake, but this was the first time I had seen them at Watson. They flew in fast and disappeared into the grasses along the shore, and then flew away just as fast. In between, I could hear them inside the weeds. Sometimes other flocks would join them- and then off they’d go. It’s a successful shoot for me if the red shows on their wings. Getting a good closeup shot is on my bucket list!

Besides the blackbirds, we saw a bald eagle, a great blue heron, an egret, many ducks, and possibly two loons!

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Morning Birding

What a sweet face this Cooper’s? Hawk has as it sits atop the shepherd’s pole waiting for birds to come out of the bushes to get breakfast from the feeder hanging below! I only got one click of the shutter through the window and off it flew! Update: Although my Merlin birding app identified this photo as a sharp shinned hawk (with Cooper’s as second choice), my son-in-law thinks it is a Merlin Falcon, and he is pretty sure. Lonnie thought it was a falcon as it flew in- and I thought kestrel or peregrine falcon because of its size, but I trusted my app! Now I’m not so sure!

Meanwhile across the yard, our Gambel’s quail family was making an entrance. The mom has discovered the Bird Buddy in the apple tree and enjoyed her breakfast for a good ten minutes as I took photos through the window.

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Shelter from the Storm

Winter has finally hit Prescott! Until yesterday, our snowstorms had been short lived, depositing just a few inches that mostly melted by the end of the day. Yesterday’s storm left almost a foot of heavy wet snow, and today’s snow is expected to last most of the day. We are blaming the atmospheric river coming from the west.

Yesterday, our backyard birds emptied the feeders, so I took some extra birdseed and sprinkled some on the birdhouse. I was hoping for a photo like the one above, but the birds didn’t notice the extra seeds. Within an hour, however, a lone javelina came to eat up whatever birdseed had fallen to the ground.

This morning, a dozen or so sparrows, a finch, and a couple spotted towhees discovered the birdseed and flocked to the birdhouse. I stuck my lens through the sliding glass door and managed to get some shots of the sparrows through the dead willow branches and the falling snow.

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Dinnertime

During our “elder years” (I put this in quotes, because I haven’t quite accepted my role as an elder), my husband and I have taken to eating many of our summertime meals out on the patio while we to watch the birds. Last night, I was enjoying watching the goldfinches, when many more finches swooped in and crowded each other on one of the feeders. I was surprised to see the spotted towhee (on the left) join them; I’m used to see the towhees under the feeders, rather than ON them.

What a relaxing way to start our evening!

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Sheltering

The floofy little sparrows took shelter among the snow covered branches last week as the snow continued to come down last week. And now the snow has melted, and I’m thinking spring is just around the corner!

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Everything will be okay . . .

Late one afternoon, we finally got over to Willow Lake to visit the white pelicans that flew in a few weeks ago. They are earlier than usual- and staying longer- perhaps because of the hot weather. As I drew closer to photograph them, it seemed the pelican on the right was becoming nervous, and it looked as if the bigger one was reassuring him. This went on for awhile, and eventually he did take off over the water to find a place to swim.

FYI- It has been about 11 months since my knee replacement, and during this walk, I noticed that I really don’t even think about my knee at all before taking a step. Before surgery, each step on uneven ground was wobbly as my knee was very unstable. I can’t say that it feels like a normal knee, but it WORKS!

 

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I Heart Pelicans

Last week I started hearing about some white pelicans that people were seeing at Watson Lake. I had seen a group (a “brief”, a “scoop”, a “squadron”) of pelicans fly over last year, but I had never seen them by or in the water. So of course, we went over to take a look.

The first day, we got there too late. At five o’clock they were already tucking their heads under their wings, but at 8:30 the next morning, there they were! I didn’t lug my long lens along, so the photos are not stellar, but it was so much fun to see them. Those of you that know me know I am NOT a birder- or even a lover of birds- but I do love water birds, shore birds and herons etc. And pelicans are my favorites!

We watched for about 45 minutes, and then all of a sudden a jerk with a camera strode across the grass right toward the pelicans and off they flew to another part of the lake. *&%#$

I also took some egret and heron photos- I’ll post those another day.

 

 

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Making Friends

There were some newcomers to the waterfront- at least new since the last time we visited!

20150805-MMA_1326_melinda_anderson-EditI had seen (and photographed) pelicans flying over the Benicia Bridge before, but never actually saw any down at the water. On this visit, we saw them on the Martinez side and the Benicia side of the bridge. Fun!

 

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