March comes in like a lion and goes out like a monkey, (blame Jerome for the monkey jag.) Sizzor-guy is officially AWOL. The last day we saw the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher he was positively frolicking with a group of Cassin’s Kingbirds. A few days later we cruised through Woodlawn Cemetery only to find a few human fans huddled together keeping the home fires alive for his return.
No new birds this month. But a “New” camera thanks to W9. The SX-50 was sent in for repairs but the SX-60 was returned. Somehow, thanks to Lou and W9, a spare camera became available for me to investigate and test drive.
We visited Madrona Marsh a few times and are glad to report the ponds have returned.
A levitating horse was found at Will Rogers State Historic Park. One day, we took a fun walk around celebrity infested Pacific Palisades, taking photos of flowers while toying with camera settings. We chased Bushtits and hummers. I nearly took a serious header at Los Liones Canyon when attempting to navigate the dry creek bed, losing my footing. I spent the next few minutes lurching one way and then, staggering to recover my balance as I continued to stumble over the uneven rocky ground for a tediously long time. I felt that a gymnast final pose was in order, throwing both arms up in a victory stance. Clean socks and underpants are now on my must have packing list when we go adventuring. I don’t want to be a disgrace when the paramedics toss my mortified sack of bones, hopefully still unbroken, into the back of the van.
There is no guarantee that we will find any new (edit. not good. They are all good.) birds when we go out but friendship and camaraderie are always celebrated.
A big thank you to Jerry and W9.
And to my flickr friends a big thank you for all your support and inspiration.
Tags: Bushtit bunny levitating horse southern california birds SX-60 canon SX 60 canon pekabo90401 Los Liones los liones canyon inceville Camaraderie friendship flowers killdeer merlin sizzor-guy Scissor-tailed Flycatcher madrona marsh poppy Bird watching Birdwatching Los Angeles Will Rogers State Historic Park WRSHP Hummingbird city parrots Nanday Conure Nanday magic bowl vance street woodlawn cemetery birds red tailed hawk Red winged blackbird common Yellowthroat warbler tiny and fast lightroom lightroom collage collage fox sparrow mallard duckling mallard duckling horse lizard hooded oriole oriole lark sparrow vogel california quail near death fall
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Winter in Los Angeles has transitioned to Spring. The welcomed rainy season left our canyons green. Flowers are blooming. Great big scary bugs are flying the friendly skies. And it's baby season.
The alien looking flying insect is a Teddy ( not Honey) Bear Bee. Another horror that was hell bent on flying into my face. I think it's as big as a baked potato. And did I mention that it flies, slowly, at face level. Buzzing loudly. This and the White-crowned Sparrow were taken at Los Liones Canyon.
We happened upon two life birds this month. W9 IDed a bird based on the research done to find the bird with a voice in the background of a Cornell bird feeder cam. The Canyon Wren. He is sitting on a fence in poor light. What a fun filled song!
The center bird, yes there's a bird in there, is the second life bird we found this month. And by "we" I mean W9. We were skulking Ballona Freshwater Marsh when W9 stopped. I stop. We look. Off in the distance and through the haze stands The American Bittern. We have wanted this bird for a long time. Last year or the year before some teenage tourists stopped us to ask us questions. We told them that we were searching for the bittern. 30 minutes later they passed us giggling. They showed us photos of the bittern on their pocket sized point and shoot.
So W9 and I stood frozen watching the bittern. Too far away for anything but ID documentation photos. The bittern looked our way. Like that neighbor you never see and then one foggy morning you think you see him at the front door in his bathrobe…. before you can blink, the apparition has dissolved.
The Belted Kingfisher, baby coot, and gosling photos were taken at Madrona Marsh. I will never forget Tracy Drake’s warm welcome. We were new birders. So new that we didn't even know we were birders yet.
Jerry took us back to Malibu Creek State Park. The very place where last year we found the rare, Indigo Bunting. He hasn't arrived yet but his handsome cousins are there and they are singing their pants off.
Lower right hand corner holds the California Gnatcatcher. Photo taken on the last day of April. These birds are hopefully making a comeback. It was a bit more than a hop skip and a jump to get to White Point Preserve on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. It is an interesting area in many ways. The main road along the cliffs suffered a big landslide a few years back so a detour is the only way to get there. Great for the lucky folks who live where the coastal route was. The screaming motorcycles don't roar through the neighborhood anymore. Our Gnatcatchers were vocal (think slowly stepping on a squeak toy) while posing in the brush, fanning out their tails.
It was an exciting month and one we will be challenged to top.
Thank you for your visits and kind words.
For what it's worth I have tinkered with camera settings and gave shooting in RAW another stab.
I wish you all good light, no wind, and no biting bugs.... unless you like that sort of thing.
Tags: Gelbkehlchen Weidengelbkehlchen Antifacito Norteño Caretica Cigüita Enmascarada Cuelliamarillo Común Enmascarado Norteño Mascarita Común Reinita de Antifaz Reinita Gorgigualda Reinita Pica Tierra Fauvette masquée Paruline à gorge jaune Paruline masquée Sylvette masquée Желтогорлый масковый земляной певун 黄喉地莺 カオグロアメリカムシクイ kaoguroamerikamushikui wesen Catherpes mexicanus pacific palisades birds canyon monkey pekabo90401 camaraderie friendship birds of southern california inceville lightroom mus 80-D 100-400 canon canon 80-D Zonotrichia leucophrys Bruant à couronne blanche Zacatero mixto spatz Chim sẻ Sparv passero воробей 참새 スズメ american bittern bittern 麻雀 collage sparrow moineau spurv chim se sẻ manu liilii σπουργίτης marsh monkey lazuli bunting malibu creek state park marsh ballona freshwater marsh life bird lifer bird canyon wren california gnatcatcher gnatcatcher gnat raptor gosling Canada goose american coot coot coot baby belted kingfisher kingfisher honey bear bee TLDR Teddy bear bee
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We got a hot tip about the White-eyed Vireo. (Top row photo, next to the King of Snakes.) Drive here, park there, walk a block or two.... Ca-Ching! New bird! And for the brief time it commanded the limelight, we were all mesmerized.
A smallish clot of polite birders gathered off the path. Everyone watching. Vigilantly listening and waiting. We compare equipment and notes. Who has seen what and where they saw it. We are envious of the Orange County birders. We meet Gabriel, a Santa Monica College professor and a Herpetologist. His wife jogs by us with their new baby in a stroller. I like this Gabriel and a smidgen of hope swells in my heart. This new baby will grow up to be a gifted scientist.
homepage.smc.edu/gartner_gabriel/AboutMe.html (Guess who’s holding the snake?)
We all get a little punchy after explaining to person after person what we are looking for. People walk by with whatever the current version of a boom box is called. Loud-music-to-go because the world without continuous or constant noise is obviously unbearable.
We take turns ignoring people. We size up the curious folk before we talk. Carrying binoculars or a camera gets you in. Clownish loudly patterned yoga wear merits a dumb answer. "We are watching squirrels." Gabriel snorts but I know I could have been kinder. I make myself a promise to be less mean. Maybe Gabriel's child will develop a cure for meanness.
W9 and Jerry got the Chat as a life bird at Malibu Creek State Park. We were on the lookout for the chat after using the ebird Explore the Hot Spot tool. He put on a song and dance show for us. Thrilling, but be quick if you want a photo.
And have a gander at the red crustacean deal in the second row. How can you scream and focus a camera at the same time??? Asking for a friend.
The green landscape we experienced a few months ago is rapidly fading. Birds have disappeared. Migration and nesting. They have left or they're hiding.
Slowly my bird list is growing.
The original lists were probably carved in stone and represented longer periods of time. They contained things like "Get more clay. Make better oven." David Viscot
Die Liste der alten Leute war vermutlich in Stein gemeißelt und vertreten längere Zeiträume. Sie enthielten Dinge wie "Holen Sie sich mehr Lehm. Machen Sie besseren Ofen."
La liste des personnes anciennes était probablement sculptée en pierre et représentait des périodes plus longues. Ils contiennent des choses comme "Obtenez plus d'argile. Faites un meilleur four".
고대 사람들의 명단은 돌로 새겨 졌을 것이고 오랜 기간을 대표 할 것입니다. 그들은 "더 많은 찰흙을 얻으십시오. 더 나은 오븐을 만드십시오."
La lista de personas antiguas probablemente estaba tallada en piedra y representaba períodos de tiempo más largos. Contienen cosas como "Obtener más arcilla, hacer horno mejor".
Tags: ash-throated flycatcher mourning cloak butterfly king snake white-eyed vireo california scrub jay yucky red lobster thing from the marsh green heron barn swallow phainopepla lazuli bunting Spotted Towhee California Thrasher Yellow-breasted Chat Cabora Road Western Bluebird acorn woodpecker Lightroom collage pekabo90401 Los Liones Inceville Pacific palisades birds southern california birds Bird watching Bird watching Los Angeles friendship Canon Camaraderie 80D canon 80 D Canyon monkey california towhee malibu creek state park madrona marsh Ballona Freshwater Marsh Ballona South Coast Botanic Garden thistle george F. Canyon park Playa Vista MDR Lifer Life bird bird list phainopeplas are in Los Liones Canyon in June pepla guy Splash zone at the picnic table Chat room Is this a thistle? TLDR
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June 2015 Los Angeles It's been a bunch of fun.
Tags: photoshop lightroom pekabo90401 Bird watching Birdwatching Los Angeles southern california birds california incline construction collage
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April was a rough ride for some of us. Have you heard the ancient Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times?" Internet research says that phrase is not ancient, Chinese, or even a curse.
This past month brought a bit of rain (SoCal folks might have to google "rain,") and two new life birds for me: A Cliff Swallow, thanks to Lou Orr, and a White -throated Swift, thanks to Emma Hanna, both seen yesterday, at Ballona Freshwater Marsh.
Don't look for their photos in the collage. I had to settle for seeing these life birds and having someone there to confirm the ID. We weren't jumping up and down with exuberance but the moment was wonderful. We celebrated the team effort and camaraderie.
Several photos in the collage feature the Lego exhibit at South Coast Botanic Garden. There we discovered that W9's monopod controls a force that attracts restless bored, or is it curious, children. We are still discovering new aspects to this weird super power.
I mixed in some flower monkey photos so that the collage would not be wall to wall with dirt colored birds...my favorites.
Best wishes for a stable and comfortable level of "interesting" for the month of May to all my Flickr friends. Check in when you can. And if there is a way I can be of help, let me know.
One more Chinese proverb, perhaps easier said than done, “That the birds of worry and care fly above your head, this you cannot change. But they that build nests in your hair, this you can prevent.”
Tags: Canon SX 50 canon SX-60 SX 50 canon SX 60 vivid camera setting vivid inceville southern california birds Bird watching Birdwatching Los Angeles Ballona Ballona Freshwater Marsh Camaraderie friendship pekabo90401 lightroom collage lightroom collage template lightroom collage temescal canyon Los Liones South Coast Botanic Garden lego wesen Bushtit California thrasher black oystercatcher oystercatcher del rey lagoon stupid photo enforced stop sign temescal canyon mallard ducks flowers adamson house malibu flower monkey skink Hummingbirds baby hummingbird nest WRSHP WRSP Will Rogers State Historic Park Will Rogers State Park birds of madrona marsh birds of Will Rogers State Historic Park birds of Ballona birds golden-crowned sparrow sparrow Spatz lebendig butterflies butter brain common yellowthroat nuttall's woodpecker woodpecker not SOOC no photo border may you live in interesting times sx 60 in hospital flycatcher pacific slope flycatcher hooded oriole allen's hummingbird rain rain in los angeles starling orange-crowned warbler migration magic monopod April 2016 you never know what you're going to get temescal canyon stop sign
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