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March, 2010 - As the Rite of Spring fast approacheth...
Hold onto your biological clock: at 10:32 AM PDT, March 20, 2010 the sun will cross
directly across the equator bringing what us homo sapiens refer to as the Vernal Equinox
("equal night") - when day and night all over the planet are about equal in length
Hold onto your biological clock: at 10:32 AM PDT, March 20, 2010 the sun will cross
directly across the equator bringing what us homo sapiens refer to as the Vernal Equinox
("equal night") - when day and night all over the planet are about equal in length
On recent Nature Trips
we've been seeing
many signs of what
should be a fabulous
spring, including:
Birds a gathering.....
A California Towhee
builds a nest >>>>
Bluebirds defending a
nest box at from Oak
Titmice at Arastadero
we've been seeing
many signs of what
should be a fabulous
spring, including:
Birds a gathering.....
A California Towhee
builds a nest >>>>
Bluebirds defending a
nest box at from Oak
Titmice at Arastadero
Most all songbirds
are in full song now
The wildflower
season is going to
be a mighty one after
the wonderful rains
we've been enjoying.
Local breeding
shorebirds like
Avocets and
Oystercatchers are
bonding and
displaying for one
another. Virginia
Rails have been
particularly vocal
are in full song now
The wildflower
season is going to
be a mighty one after
the wonderful rains
we've been enjoying.
Local breeding
shorebirds like
Avocets and
Oystercatchers are
bonding and
displaying for one
another. Virginia
Rails have been
particularly vocal
A recent trip to Panoche Valley
was just buzzing with life...
was just buzzing with life...
Week of March 10 we did a Nature Trip up to the Lower Klamath Basin to see
what is one of the largest avian bio-masses in California - Snow Geese by the
tens of thousands and the largest gathering of Eagles in the Lower 48.
what is one of the largest avian bio-masses in California - Snow Geese by the
tens of thousands and the largest gathering of Eagles in the Lower 48.
Can you find the
Blue Geese?
One in each of the
images... at left,
O.K. that one is easy
How about the
image below?
Blue Geese?
One in each of the
images... at left,
O.K. that one is easy
How about the
image below?
O.K....I'll stop...just wanted to give you a sense of the scale.
Northern Pintails were staging up for their trip north too which was a great
thing to see of this declining species.
Northern Pintails were staging up for their trip north too which was a great
thing to see of this declining species.
Did I mention about
Bald Eagles? They
were everywhere!!
In one field we
counted over 50 Bald
Eagles mixed in with
Swans, Cranes,
Northern Harriers,
Rough-legged Hawks.
Since it takes Bald
Eagles 4 years to
reach definitive adult
plumage, it was very
fun to see so many
birds all together.
Bald Eagles? They
were everywhere!!
In one field we
counted over 50 Bald
Eagles mixed in with
Swans, Cranes,
Northern Harriers,
Rough-legged Hawks.
Since it takes Bald
Eagles 4 years to
reach definitive adult
plumage, it was very
fun to see so many
birds all together.
Here is one with a
sense of humor.....
"Waterfowl Hunting
Only" indeed......
I don't think they can
read because we
mostly saw them
catching small
mammals and they
almost never dined
alone - wishful guests
would soon appear any
time one made a
capture.
When we discovered
an Eagle on a nest, the
rangers closed that
area of the Auto Tour to
keep disturbance to a
minimum. They were
less concerned about
the Great-horned nest
in the cliffside behind
the Visitor's Center
sense of humor.....
"Waterfowl Hunting
Only" indeed......
I don't think they can
read because we
mostly saw them
catching small
mammals and they
almost never dined
alone - wishful guests
would soon appear any
time one made a
capture.
When we discovered
an Eagle on a nest, the
rangers closed that
area of the Auto Tour to
keep disturbance to a
minimum. They were
less concerned about
the Great-horned nest
in the cliffside behind
the Visitor's Center
Oh yeah, there were the little
guys too, like the
Rough-legged Hawks (above)
and the always varietal
Red-tails.
Harriers were abundant while
their more nocturnal
counterpart, Short-eared
Owls were hunting well into
the daylight - they all love
them mices to pieces.
guys too, like the
Rough-legged Hawks (above)
and the always varietal
Red-tails.
Harriers were abundant while
their more nocturnal
counterpart, Short-eared
Owls were hunting well into
the daylight - they all love
them mices to pieces.
We reserved a photo
blind one day....brrrr!
20 degrees that
morning. Was hoping
for raptors to land in
an adjacent snag but
for the longest time
only Blackbirds, so I
put the doubler on
and snapped a couple
and just as I was
going to leave, this
beautiful Baldy landed
for about two
seconds. Too much
lens to get the whole
bird, but what a bird!
blind one day....brrrr!
20 degrees that
morning. Was hoping
for raptors to land in
an adjacent snag but
for the longest time
only Blackbirds, so I
put the doubler on
and snapped a couple
and just as I was
going to leave, this
beautiful Baldy landed
for about two
seconds. Too much
lens to get the whole
bird, but what a bird!
Sure hope you enjoyed these images from our recent Nature Trips and we get
to see you out at birdy location real soon!
Happy Trails! Eddie B.
to see you out at birdy location real soon!
Happy Trails! Eddie B.
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