birds

November 12, 2017November 12, 2017

Kitties, dog, sea lions, flowers and birds

Yes, we have kitties and the dog along with sea lions and more. There’s a bonus arachnid tossed in, but I’ll merely link to it so that my friends who are phobic won’t be triggered by it.

I intended to post sooner, but the world wouldn’t stop for me to get off. I’m still here. 🙂 Despite a couple of trips to the dentist’s office, our last month wasn’t awful. We had a couple of small adventures, the weather is changing, and the sea lions have been posing for Lastech.

First off though we must take care of the stars of this show. The pointy eared people and the floppy eared one need their chance to shine.

Here is Tito perfecting the art of the ‘dead bug’ position

This is our lovely Miss Jenny looking a tad smug

And here it the pissy tyrant Titanescu, looking (don’t tell him) adorable.

This is the goofy Miss Pepi giving us the profile pose.

Yes, as you can see, we managed to get photos of the critters this time. Speaking of critters, Lastech has been getting some nice pics of the sea lions at work. Working graveyard shift can make that a tad tough at times. Still, he got a couple of great ones.

Here’s a closeup of a young male (I think). He wasn’t as close as it looks though.

On some of the docks, they have placed the strips as a deterrent. Those strips don’t go quite all the way to the end.

The strips left room for one sea lion. The docks visible in the background are all set aside for the sea lions. The deterrence is so that people can get to and from their boats safely.

“Wait! Where are you going? I was going to make Espresso..!”

Sunrise was beautiful and the drive home was rainy. The rain has been helping with the fires up North, so it’s a good thing.

After the rain, we went off to Martinez to get some fresh air, cloud watch, and bird watch.

Snowy egret enjoying the sun. You can see the head of a turtle doing to the same at the bottom left side.

Before Halloween, we drove down to the Danville Library for a nature talk. It was all about the nocturnal creatures on Mount Diablo. Trivia bit: The Gray Fox is the only American canid that can climb trees. They have claws like a cat. Anyhow, while there, I got to meet a lovely tarantula named Scarlett O’Hairy. If you click on her name, you can see the pic.

That’s it for this week. Hopefully I won’t take so long until the next post.

February 4, 2017February 11, 2017

Caturday: A view from the window

Yes, the kitties enjoy the view from the windows. They spend a lot of time there watching the world go by. The only view out of the old apartment window was a busy street. They like it much better here.

Jenny was watching the birds from the screen door

Titanescu was watching and wishing he could chase the birds

Pepi wasn’t watching out the window. She was enjoying her chewie.

I’m always posting pics of the fur kids bird at the window bird watching. I thought I might share some of what they’re watching.

While I’m not thrilled about the pruned shrub (it will grow back), we have had a variety of birds come visit and sit on the fence. We’re still having storms rolling through, so we’re finding it harder to get out. As a result, I’m quite enjoying watching the birds along with the fur kids.

This not-a-bird was perched on the fence earlier

I’ll keep watch for any different birds that might show up.

March 27, 2016

The Markham arboretum in glorious Spring colors

What a difference a few storms made at the Markham arboretum, now wearing its vibrant Spring blues, greens and reds from blade of grass to treetop. The Galindo Creek meandering through the gardens remains a few feet at its deepest, hummingbirds have begun their courtships, but the countdown to summer has already begun.

The following photos were all taken yesterday during the course of a single walk through, taking advantage of the blooms we waited months to see. There were over twenty of them, so we decided to arrange them in a slide show for convenience. Below, that, you’ll find a short video of Anna’s hummingbirds courting.

The female hummingbird perched at the very top of a tree, is being buzzed by a male. The chirping sound you hear as he passes by is made by fanning out his tail feathers.

October 18, 2015

Kitties, a dog, a sunset, and a bird

We missed Caturday again. Life gets strange. We’re making up for it this time, with kitties, dog, sunset AND a beautiful bird. Aside from still adjusting to graveyard shifts, we’re prepping for a short move. For whatever reason, to be designated as an RV park (as opposed to a trailer park), no one can stay beyond 6 mos. without moving out for a day (two nights). It’s a bit of a PITA, but our little abode will be towed out to the street behind the park for that time, after which we’ll return for another 6 mos. It’s worth it.

I can’t believe that it’s been almost 6 mos. already. We haven’t killed each other living in such a small space. In fact, we’re adapting well. I’m still getting rid of stuff. I avoid buying anything new (other than food stuffs) without seriously thinking about it first. I’ve done odd things like dump my two pyrex measuring cups and replace them with a plastic 2-cup measuring cup. Enough little things like that and it really lightens the load. I think the only glass or ceramic items we have left are our coffee cups, the Melitta coffee pot, and the cat food dishes. We no longer buy in bulk, except for the canned cat food. Both of us are still MUCH happier than we were before.

The kitties are happier too. In spite of adding a dog to the mix, they have adapted and learned to relax a lot more than before. Even though trailer walls are anything but soundproof, it’s much more quiet here. They like that. Speaking of kitties, here they are. Miss Jenny’s pics are a short series. They aren’t perfect photos, but we thought they were funny.

Tito: Yes, I'm slowly shredding the window dressings. Is it a problem? — Tito: Yes, I’m slowly shredding the window dressings. Is it a problem?

Miss Jenny

Noooooo, you don't say — Noooooo, you don’t say

Titanescu: Hungry eyes. I would say evil eyes, but he wasn't on nip at the time. — Titanescu: Hungry eyes. I would say evil eyes, but he wasn’t on nip at the time.

Miss Pepita: Gimme the cookie! Gimme the cookie!

After sleeping and listening to some rain off and on, we went off to watch the sunset last night.

While watching the sunset, we saw a pair of birds hunting. They were not as large as the hawks I’m used to watching and their color was different. However, they are incredibly beautiful and manage a very graceful hover before diving on their prey. I didn’t know what they were so I asked some friends on FB and was told that they were White-tailed Kites.

I went off to find a vid that would show the beautiful hovering and found two videos by a local documentary maker named Alex Burke. Both were filmed in the East Bay hills and are a joy to watch. Both vids end with the Kite eating its kill, so if that bothers you just avoid the very end. 🙂

July 27, 2014

Cock up at the park

Given the construction, we avoid leaving the kitties alone when the workers are doing their thing. Instead, we left very early and went to the park at sunrise. The last time we were there, we got to watch ducks, geese and robins. This time, it was very quiet.

Not a cloud in the sky as Karl The Fog was on a short vacaion. Photo by Lastech

Even with no clouds, the colors were pretty

Since a couple of ducks were the only wildlife we found at Stow Lake, we wandered off to another lake for a walk.

It had been a very quiet morning, all things considered. While slighty disappointed that we didn’t see more wildlife, we were very happy with the sunrise and eucalyptus and lack of other humans. In other words, it was peaceful. It didn’t last. Our peace and quiet was abruptly shattered.

We headed off around the next curve in the trail and came face to face with the rare and elusive Golden Gate Bawk-Bawk.

Here you see them investigating the noms that some human left for them — Here you can see them investigating the noms that some human left for them

This Bawk-Bawk has paused long enough to pose for me — This Bawk-Bawk stopped long enough to pose for me

Abandoning the noms left by humans, they can be seen scratching in the grass

Our very quiet morning turned into a rare event and will be much remembered. As we left, the Bawk-Bawks were safely roosting in the nearby shrubbery.

July 11, 2014

Birdies in the afternoon

My last post was from Stow Lake at dawn. This time we went in the late afternoon, before the fog rolled back in. The geese posed nicely and the water was reflections were pretty.

Blue sky with wisps of fog over Stow Lake

We paused to sit at a table and enjoy a cup of coffee. We had a visitor who sat at the other end of the table watching.

After our coffee we went for a walk around the lake.

Lady ducky showing off her feets and checking to see if we had noms.

Another pretty female duck with a Brewer's Blackbird lurking behind — Another pretty female duck with a Brewer’s Blackbird lurking behind

And here is my ultimate goal. In my last post I had a pic of a young girl ducky who was molting. I had taken pics of her and her siblings, but that was the only one that came out clear. I got lucky and got a cute pic of all three together.

July 9, 2014

Birdies at dawn

We went to Stow Lake at dawn to see what critters were lurking in the fog. It’s very peaceful, but not exactly quiet. The birds were noisy.

No boaters on the lake this early

The Chinese Pavillion and mist on the water

Hummingbird

Flappity flappity

Steller’s Jay and mate

American Robin

Robin with noms

Feed meh!

This little ducky is almost a big girl now. She’s molting.

And now for the bonus pic from Lastech. This was also taken at dawn, so it fits the theme. 🙂

Black Crowned Night Heron hunting for fishy noms

July 1, 2014

Duck, duck, goose, goose, goose!

Here are just a few ducks and geese I’ve found at Golden Gate Park. 🙂

October 3, 2013October 28, 2013

Sunrise with a bridge and birds

Now that Lastech is working days and has to get up early, we rise before the roosters on his days off to go adventuring. Sunday was no exception. We headed out around 0530. First we went out to Treasure Island. The new east span of the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge just opened. The view from the island won’t be pretty during the day until the old span is removed, which is supposed to take about 3 years. It looks lovely in the dark though.

San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge — I love it. You can just see a bit of the old span in the background.

Continue reading “Sunrise with a bridge and birds”

September 25, 2013September 25, 2013

Birdy, Birdy, WTF? Birdy?

These past couple of days have been frustrating, thanks to business providers. In order to put me back in a good mood, Lastech took me to the park and then the beach. We saw many birds and here are are some of them.

I call these parking lot birds. They are either brown headed cowbirds or Brewer's blackbirds. I'm not certain. They're everywhere. — I call these parking lot birds. They are either brown headed cowbirds or Brewer’s blackbirds. I’m not certain. They’re everywhere.

Sanderlings? I'm not sure. I just know that the lead bird had the noms and the other two wanted them. — Sanderlings? I’m not sure. I just know that the lead bird had the noms and the other two wanted them.

I love empty beaches. Ok, not quite empty as there were plenty of birds. That haze is sand as it was a tad windy.

These teeny weeny birds were fun to watch. Sanderlings, I think.

WTF?? No, not even sea gull noms. These were too big. Lastech decided I needed some good Zen this morning, so we went to the Japanese Tea Garden. I love the Koi

Sea gulls having an argument over noms. The gull on the lower left has the crab in question. Photo by Lastech

You got the noms? No I don't have the noms! There over there! Damn! — You got the noms? No I don’t have the noms! They’re over there! Damn! (photo by Lastech)

Note to self: Do NOT go to Ocean Beach when the wind is blowing. I’m still finding sand in my ears and other assorted nether regions. Baker Beach is safer in the wind. Yes, we knew it was bad when Lastech turned on the fan in the car and sand was blowing out of the vents.

That was the pleasant part of our adventure for the day.