Blog Archives

Early afternoon walk in the Laguna

5/28/2015

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Northern Mockingbird, the Laguna

Female red-winged blackbird with seeds

Song sparrow, the Laguna

Male red-winged blackbird, defending its territory

Blue wild flower, the Laguna

Wild roses in the park

Back on the Cherryridge property...

Why the Violet-green swallow has its name...male sitting in the sun, old orchard

Old orchard red-tailed hawk, announcing its prsence

Look-out quail, watching over a small group on the ground

Tree swallow in the lower orchard on the utility wire

Male Western Bluebird, on the alert for bugs

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

Adult bring a suet morsel to its chick

Adult Chestnut-backed chickadee bringing a buggy snack to its chick

Chick (on right, just its head showing in tree opening) as adult arrives with food

Oak Titmouse youngster in the back yard

Lesser goldfinch feeds a fledgling, back yard

This bluebird pair above the nest box they have chosen

Western bluebird male brings food to a nest box

Pygmy nuthatch at peanut feeder, back yard

In the middle of nesting flurries among the small birds, the resident Red-shouldered hawk has been very active.

California long-tailed weasel

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

Curious weasel in the back yard; also visited a neighbor's house on the property

Lots of noise and wing gesturing from this Acorn Woodpecker on top of one of the utility poles near the mailbox

This little Allen's hummer in watch over a flowering bush, private drive near Furlong Rd

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

Western Kingbird

Song sparrow belting out a song, Tolay Lake

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)

Male and female Western bluebirds guarding their nestbox, Tolay Lake Regional Park

Male Western Bluebird, poised to take action if necessary

Tree swallow, Tolay Lake

Tree swallow in flight

Tree swallows in park are also busy with their nests

Adult red-winged blackbird with bugs for a nest

This is either a juvenile red-winged blackbird or a female

Goldfinch in the park feeding on wild plant seeds

A kestrel flew high overhead

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

Female Violet-green swallow peeping out of box right next to back yard

Smart swallows, they picked the store bought nest box!

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.

Female Violet-green swallow, checking things out after hawk was perched on top of nest boxes.

Ash-throated Flycatcher in lower orchard

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Female Western bluebird peers shyly out of nest box in lower orchard

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

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....

The rookery was at the end of a pond, where there were some Canada geese

Double-creasted cormorants in the nest

Cormorant parent with chicks, at the Laguna Rookery

The rookery tree, the Laguna de Santa Rosa

Red-winged blackbirds were abundant

Song sparrow in the mustard grass

Probably 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.

Barn 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...