Snowy Backyard Birds
Today’s first major snowstorm of the season (3 inches) made for some beautiful pictures of some Pennsylvania backyard birds: Mourning Doves, Cardinal, and House Finch.
Golden-crowned Kinglet–little balls of fluff with attitude
This tiny little ball of energy (only 4″ long!) doesn’t like to hold still long enough to have its picture taken! Unlike the Ruby-crowned who rarely shows any color on its crown, the golden stripe is always present on this bird. And when it’s REALLY upset, it raises his crown and shows a bright […]
Loony loons–Pacific or Common?
Towards the end of our day at Moss Landing, CA, we came across another photographer, Efren Adalem, a friendly guy with a big lens who was busy shooting something good. With his huge lens and tripod, he was getting much better shots than I ever will with my set-up (a Canon 7D with a fixed […]
Bluebirds Feasting in my Garden
I’m spoiled; I admit it! After the wonderful warm fall we’ve had, and two birding trips in October to both East and West coasts, birding in the cold with all the “good” birds flown south has had me depressed. Looking out the kitchen while doing dishes today, I saw a sight for sore eyes. Beautiful […]
Mr. Baldpate– The American Widgeon
On our way from Monterey to San Francisco, we stopped at Shoreline Park in Mountain View, hoping to find Burrowing Owls. We dipped on the owls, but found quite a few new species and lots of waterfowl on the bay and the lakes there. The park used to be a garbage dump for San Francisco, […]
Fall Dragonflies of Cape May
Great Blue Skimmer–male Cape May is famous for its incredible birding, but also for their varieties of butterflies and dragonflies. These aerial predators with their monster-like eyes and machine-like thoraxes can fly in any direction and will aggressively defend their territories. When I miss a shot, I’ve learned to wait because the dragonfly […]
Best Bird was a Bobcat!
Of all the beautiful photos we got on our birding trip to the coast of Central California, the most exciting to me was of a very cooperative bobcat at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park below Big Sur. When asked what my favorite bird was, I had to say, it wasn’t a bird at […]
Dark-eyed Junco–“I’m so pretty!”
“I’m so pretty, so pretty…” The Juncos we saw in California looked very different from our Slate-colored Juncos in Pennsylvania. They are of the Oregon race and have a slate-colored hood, but they also have brown and reddish sides and back. I had been trying all week to get a decent picture of one, and […]
Harbor Seals Tickling Each Other – Stop Pestering Me!
These blubbery sausage-like seals are a sight to behold, sometimes blending in with the rocks that they’ve hauled out onto. They stick close to shore so that when the tide goes out they can do their version of planking, often with head and tail upraised, looking something like a banana! They weigh between up […]
Whimbrels at Spanish Bay, CA
On our first full day in California, my husband and I put birding aside to do some sightseeing. We went on the 17-mile-drive through Pebble Beach with its famous golf courses and neighborhoods where the houses along the coast cost a gazillion dollars. Although the windy roads were scenic and enjoyable, our favorite stop […]