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Early afternoon walk in the Laguna

5/28/2015

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Northern Mockingbird, the Laguna
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Female red-winged blackbird with seeds
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Song sparrow, the Laguna
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Male red-winged blackbird, defending its territory
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Blue wild flower, the Laguna
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Wild roses in the park
Back on the Cherryridge property...
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Why the Violet-green swallow has its name...male sitting in the sun, old orchard
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Old orchard red-tailed hawk, announcing its prsence
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Look-out quail, watching over a small group on the ground
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Tree swallow in the lower orchard on the utility wire
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Male Western Bluebird, on the alert for bugs
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Acorn woodpecker in flight
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Fledglings from spring nests showing up at back yard feeders

5/18/2015

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Oak Titmouse fledgling prompting adult for food
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Adult bring a suet morsel to its chick
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Adult Chestnut-backed chickadee bringing a buggy snack to its chick
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Chick (on right, just its head showing in tree opening) as adult arrives with food
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Oak Titmouse youngster in the back yard
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Lesser goldfinch feeds a fledgling, back yard
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This bluebird pair above the nest box they have chosen
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Western bluebird male brings food to a nest box
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Pygmy nuthatch at peanut feeder, back yard
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In the middle of nesting flurries among the small birds, the resident Red-shouldered hawk has been very active.
PictureCalifornia long-tailed weasel



Surprise backyard visitor, this small California weasel, eating sunflower seeds under the feeders, and getting some water


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Curious weasel in the back yard; also visited a neighbor's house on the property
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Lots of noise and wing gesturing from this Acorn Woodpecker on top of one of the utility poles near the mailbox
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This little Allen's hummer in watch over a flowering bush, private drive near Furlong Rd
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Same hummer on a different branch
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Western Kingbird, Tolay Lake Regional Park

5/9/2015

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Western Kingbird, on wire fence driving into Tolay Lake Regional Park
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Western Kingbird
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Song sparrow belting out a song, Tolay Lake
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Male Western Bluebird, Tolay Lake Regional Park
Nesting is well advanced in the park, this male bluebird keeps a sharp eye on me as I approach its nest box - when I finally walk away, it immediately flies to the box (below)
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Male and female Western bluebirds guarding their nestbox, Tolay Lake Regional Park
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Male Western Bluebird, poised to take action if necessary
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Tree swallow, Tolay Lake
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Tree swallow in flight
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Tree swallows in park are also busy with their nests
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Adult red-winged blackbird with bugs for a nest
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This is either a juvenile red-winged blackbird or a female
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Goldfinch in the park feeding on wild plant seeds
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A kestrel flew high overhead
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When nearing the red-winged blackbird nests, the male sets up a vivid and noisy display, in order to attract attention away from the nesting female.
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Nesting begins on Cherryridge

5/6/2015

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Tree swallows are in one of the nest boxes in the old orchard
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Female Violet-green swallow peeping out of box right next to back yard
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Smart swallows, they picked the store bought nest box!
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Resident red-shouldered hawk uses nest boxes for a perch!
There goes the neighborhood!  Hoped this hawk wouldn't deter the nesting Violet-green swallows, and it seems that it hasn't, thankfully.
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Female Violet-green swallow, checking things out after hawk was perched on top of nest boxes.
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Ash-throated Flycatcher in lower orchard
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Ash-throated Flycatcher
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Female Western bluebird peers shyly out of nest box in lower orchard
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Scrub Jay eating grass seeds, private drive Furlong Rd
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The Heron and Cormorant rookery, the Laguna

5/4/2015

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Also, a single common look was in the pond, still in breeding colors
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There were a couple of Great Blue Herons nesting, this one was near the front of the tree -sorry, not the best photo
Special trip to the Heron and Cormorant rookery, not usually accessible to the general public, for the spring nesting activities of the Great Blue Heron and the Double-breasted Cormorant.  This year there were mostly cormorants...every year the grouping of birds is different - unfortunately, a very overcast morning, photos were not taken in the best light....
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The rookery was at the end of a pond, where there were some Canada geese
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Double-creasted cormorants in the nest
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Cormorant parent with chicks, at the Laguna Rookery
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The rookery tree, the Laguna de Santa Rosa
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Red-winged blackbirds were abundant
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Song sparrow in the mustard grass
PictureProbably a Vaux Swift, the Laguna
There were lots of swallows zooming all around the pond, and then one of the group leaders said among them were swifts!  These are similar to swallows, except they flutter their wings more when they fly, and have shorter tails.

Swifts are known for roosting in chimneys and other similar structures, as they do not perch, and spend most of their lives in the air.

PictureBarn swallow chick at the edge of nest opening
At one of the water pumping buildings along the pond, barn swallows had nests, and you could see the young chicks at some of the openings, waiting for a parent to return with food.

Meanwhile, around the Cherryridge Property...
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The ash-throated Flycatcher, in the orchard
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Ash-throated Flycatcher
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House finch in the orchard
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Violet-green swallows still flirting with the nest boxes, but no confirmed nesting as yet
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Male Western Bluebird, lower orchard
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Lesser goldfinch in the grasses, lower orchard
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Perched Violet-green swallow
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    Author

    Walking through
    California coastal parks and redwoods, and sometimes beyond, with a Nikon DSLR & telephoto lens (completely amateur)



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