tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10365934756855415372024-03-13T23:57:43.885-07:00Cockatiel ChaosPet birds and birding.Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-70492420464579111242011-08-04T10:59:00.000-07:002011-08-04T10:59:55.039-07:00<!-- Include the Google Friend Connect javascript library. --><br />
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</script>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-38163141697893813282009-11-26T17:05:00.000-08:002009-11-26T17:05:10.200-08:00New BlogHey all,<br />
<br />
I'm moving the blog to my new website: <a href="http://www.avianexplorer.com/">Avian Explorer</a>. Blogspot is a great host, but this new website has more functionality. So, please update your bookmarks. <br />
<br />
Happy Thanksgiving!Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-9720706419853540092009-11-22T19:24:00.000-08:002009-11-22T19:30:51.411-08:00Bushtits<div style="-webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial; font: normal normal normal 13px/19px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0.6em; padding-right: 0.6em; padding-top: 0.6em;">If you look carefully in the trees in California, you can usually see a tiny blur of feathers in the leaves and needles.<br />
<br />
<div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="bushtit1" class="size-medium wp-image-250 aligncenter" height="238" mce_src="http://www.avianexplorer.com/wp-content/uploads/bushtit1-300x238.jpg" src="http://www.avianexplorer.com/wp-content/uploads/bushtit1-300x238.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="bushtit1" width="300" /><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;">I remember the first time that I came to California, I was staring at a palm tree watching tiny birds dart in between the leaves. I bet you anything that I was looking at bushtits.<br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIpp3oBDuCMciqbiP-yqzurOgc4P7bxj8tguRv6fCGAF0CtLQzxX6neUEEXJ_iCdyKeicBcUkW-6PiN7MShgfH_onCOdZDUY6d7VTfeJky9PTs0qC8f3gJHCETmL9U-LTb6GF82V0dy1U/s1600/bushtit2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIpp3oBDuCMciqbiP-yqzurOgc4P7bxj8tguRv6fCGAF0CtLQzxX6neUEEXJ_iCdyKeicBcUkW-6PiN7MShgfH_onCOdZDUY6d7VTfeJky9PTs0qC8f3gJHCETmL9U-LTb6GF82V0dy1U/s320/bushtit2.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;">Bushtits are 4 1/2 inches long. But look at that tail! There's probably only two inches of an actual bird.<br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="bushtit3" class="size-medium wp-image-252 aligncenter" height="300" mce_src="http://www.avianexplorer.com/wp-content/uploads/bushtit3-254x300.jpg" src="http://www.avianexplorer.com/wp-content/uploads/bushtit3-254x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="bushtit3" width="254" /><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;">They move so quickly, it's hard to get a good shot without blurred feathers. Although, hey, I like blurred feathers!<br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="bushtit4" class="size-medium wp-image-253 aligncenter" height="237" mce_src="http://www.avianexplorer.com/wp-content/uploads/bushtit4-300x237.jpg" src="http://www.avianexplorer.com/wp-content/uploads/bushtit4-300x237.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="bushtit4" width="300" /><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;">Bushtits eat insects and seeds.<br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="bushtit5" class="size-medium wp-image-254 aligncenter" height="219" mce_src="http://www.avianexplorer.com/wp-content/uploads/bushtit5-300x219.jpg" src="http://www.avianexplorer.com/wp-content/uploads/bushtit5-300x219.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="bushtit5" width="300" /><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;">It's hard to tell in many of these pictures, the coastal bushtits have brown caps.<br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="bushtit8" class="size-medium wp-image-257 aligncenter" height="221" mce_src="http://www.avianexplorer.com/wp-content/uploads/bushtit8-300x221.jpg" src="http://www.avianexplorer.com/wp-content/uploads/bushtit8-300x221.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="bushtit8" width="300" /><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;">This is the most adorable bird expression ever.<br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="bushtit6" class="size-medium wp-image-255 aligncenter" height="251" mce_src="http://www.avianexplorer.com/wp-content/uploads/bushtit6-300x251.jpg" src="http://www.avianexplorer.com/wp-content/uploads/bushtit6-300x251.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="bushtit6" width="300" /><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;">The female bushtits have yellow eyes.<br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="bushtit7" class="size-medium wp-image-256 aligncenter" height="220" mce_src="http://www.avianexplorer.com/wp-content/uploads/bushtit7-300x220.jpg" src="http://www.avianexplorer.com/wp-content/uploads/bushtit7-300x220.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="bushtit7" width="300" /><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;">They travel in roving packs. Can you imagine roving packs of bushtits?<br />
</div></div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-20305494775597337402009-11-21T19:02:00.000-08:002009-11-21T19:02:35.725-08:00Red-Tailed Hawk<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;">Have you ever been close to getting the perfect picture?</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDeP6rvsdqvLRMH9ORuvOt9gcwZvdT5KbrOn6kd88pXthax8mUHNIIHi5NfmapecMN8BGO_6sjRHFzudK03678_oo-NgZqGg7s-AijekPfN-wyCQyyW7Ue6mninOzw4tcC1pRKOeca0Y0/s1600/hawk1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDeP6rvsdqvLRMH9ORuvOt9gcwZvdT5KbrOn6kd88pXthax8mUHNIIHi5NfmapecMN8BGO_6sjRHFzudK03678_oo-NgZqGg7s-AijekPfN-wyCQyyW7Ue6mninOzw4tcC1pRKOeca0Y0/s320/hawk1.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;">I saw this red tailed hawk and I had about five seconds to get a decent shot.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKz5qOPsC2SV5ktJp9WJmDUR6qsHT1Jazw-pNCjm1IzTlyKs1USczcMjWZQb8Osm0iTXO2PRskiWXvBrGgVcxOcwEqIp9XH8dA1AU5XM2w_ZV1VeeF1xieweSHbX5tiw_Nc7upGy5M-Y/s1600/hawk2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKz5qOPsC2SV5ktJp9WJmDUR6qsHT1Jazw-pNCjm1IzTlyKs1USczcMjWZQb8Osm0iTXO2PRskiWXvBrGgVcxOcwEqIp9XH8dA1AU5XM2w_ZV1VeeF1xieweSHbX5tiw_Nc7upGy5M-Y/s320/hawk2.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;">It’s a beautiful image, but without having the bottom part of his wings, I can’t help but cringe every time I see the photo.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLR8EYce9172AdYEw0Ujc4at2iiaeSOH-dAbv63IqhhjL2VzdQobsxeWlTlVdWzykeKox7ddi_RFrY-_AzdfRcl7YTMVrlvFAClsUIEohyphenhyphenEuau_GsiN_FC44PdFwHeo99VoG4IHdI7TOg/s1600/hawk3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLR8EYce9172AdYEw0Ujc4at2iiaeSOH-dAbv63IqhhjL2VzdQobsxeWlTlVdWzykeKox7ddi_RFrY-_AzdfRcl7YTMVrlvFAClsUIEohyphenhyphenEuau_GsiN_FC44PdFwHeo99VoG4IHdI7TOg/s320/hawk3.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;"><br />
</span></span>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-41103803871006980582009-11-18T20:18:00.000-08:002009-11-20T07:44:07.816-08:00Etsy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Have you ever visited <a href="http://www.etsy.com/">Etsy</a>? It's the best website for crafts. I did a search of "cockatiels" on Etsy and came across a seller that makes crochet cockatiels. Sweees sells <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33678390">patterns</a> for normal cockatiels and makes the toys upon request. I asked Sweees if it would be possible to personalize the pattern for Audrey and Conner. And yes! Here's the toy of Conner:<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEwXqKHuzMjAFd0PgImOCIpfiR8ICRjPBEmJSLFotKVEJ7_G8402sVOQPst2fJMHEzvrwcWGqR0N3IdIPxoFzaZ0F7sFQbui3M6sUoRPLP8WEp2qDIztPjfznC8_sBap4ymJktUrx3W_4/s1600/etsy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEwXqKHuzMjAFd0PgImOCIpfiR8ICRjPBEmJSLFotKVEJ7_G8402sVOQPst2fJMHEzvrwcWGqR0N3IdIPxoFzaZ0F7sFQbui3M6sUoRPLP8WEp2qDIztPjfznC8_sBap4ymJktUrx3W_4/s320/etsy1.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><br />
Conner is still terrified of the toy, so I can't show you a picture with them in the same frame. It took days before I could even keep the toy in the same room as Conner. But look at the similarity!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTbFVSwpbUcw6Q2XtVN2AMCdws0JOlY9OjTcEgAoI0-24Nj2kXoe889hwlmVJdzwC0gz-Chic6Dd5dpmVdQgJi9_yTocjSM-ccirDe3wCl7SCkN8qfOaY4H4hAmcyRxOgOKtwlu0A9jBc/s1600/etsy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTbFVSwpbUcw6Q2XtVN2AMCdws0JOlY9OjTcEgAoI0-24Nj2kXoe889hwlmVJdzwC0gz-Chic6Dd5dpmVdQgJi9_yTocjSM-ccirDe3wCl7SCkN8qfOaY4H4hAmcyRxOgOKtwlu0A9jBc/s320/etsy2.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's a side view.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_POQanAGzX1PXPAShitLqGWQ8S_Re7R0jHeSdPOcmtZlZGwLlahQCKP9ULbttqipALfSWMClQsmQRv7LeMU_4thoSVzd0VuMmgahyca7vdHhoHuWhScNxMDuduufr8gbQX71TgKMxXc/s1600/etsy3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_POQanAGzX1PXPAShitLqGWQ8S_Re7R0jHeSdPOcmtZlZGwLlahQCKP9ULbttqipALfSWMClQsmQRv7LeMU_4thoSVzd0VuMmgahyca7vdHhoHuWhScNxMDuduufr8gbQX71TgKMxXc/s320/etsy3.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><br />
<br />
And a side view of Conner.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhtuAB5oTkS29xrF-CzX9HShlRB2h7cEImKcRdEkWueV8Kcn6aZy8JqwM8dCTk-FWdMmDXsDeJ1JTmntHOcjo_BXkOd8SPnpQexXDCl07c_DmuOlNON0X5Goz4QnRibJNTKIF74DenXWU/s1600/etsy4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhtuAB5oTkS29xrF-CzX9HShlRB2h7cEImKcRdEkWueV8Kcn6aZy8JqwM8dCTk-FWdMmDXsDeJ1JTmntHOcjo_BXkOd8SPnpQexXDCl07c_DmuOlNON0X5Goz4QnRibJNTKIF74DenXWU/s320/etsy4.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><br />
Sweees has some skills, huh?<br />
<br />
Audrey is not scared of his toy. On the first night, he even snuggled up next to it, although now he treats it like part of the scenery.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijpqo1HOl3U3R0Iv7WVmA-fBGAgJEZYsiB10pS2SY0U94hImhQRTJywY214e5xMefII0ngyYTUYd5JfN2bkt-gQaRJ88veFmqiOSx7pz-iqkave5xVfOtoQFaG3y2WywG0WyADfuT7-7g/s1600/etsy5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijpqo1HOl3U3R0Iv7WVmA-fBGAgJEZYsiB10pS2SY0U94hImhQRTJywY214e5xMefII0ngyYTUYd5JfN2bkt-gQaRJ88veFmqiOSx7pz-iqkave5xVfOtoQFaG3y2WywG0WyADfuT7-7g/s320/etsy5.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The back is amazing!<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJVUg5o6RhFbZ-duBixFt63PyevSLzPf5-60Fo5OCk1a8WO6ejH4GE3vwgvNN2-uzAcJM1PBySUScM4oqyfja4EUM4UCVHRcIij5yBvTRFC82sJlIEAmcDfBtx_cViCbSmMnIgk9hk1x0/s1600/Audrey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJVUg5o6RhFbZ-duBixFt63PyevSLzPf5-60Fo5OCk1a8WO6ejH4GE3vwgvNN2-uzAcJM1PBySUScM4oqyfja4EUM4UCVHRcIij5yBvTRFC82sJlIEAmcDfBtx_cViCbSmMnIgk9hk1x0/s320/Audrey.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">This is the toy's permanent position. They look so similar!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm so impressed by someone that can crochet with such precision. A few years ago, I crocheted a scarf for Jon and I couldn't even make the sides straight. <br />
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</div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-20848186821016055372009-11-15T19:13:00.000-08:002009-11-16T19:39:35.843-08:00Black-Bellied PloverThe ocean is filled with food for many kinds of birds. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicK-6WhNsSNi3g7DBup7OuYS-aBiSYk0cLgDM1spFqnn2De8F5HNVYF6ES7qL9gh1Qil_eCCl_sNzS7GDYSp3TyWy-DjrtXVV4ZrLft58mT87C0p_KHOQ4ov6egbh2fnsIMF3_Rx8xF7c/s1600/plover1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicK-6WhNsSNi3g7DBup7OuYS-aBiSYk0cLgDM1spFqnn2De8F5HNVYF6ES7qL9gh1Qil_eCCl_sNzS7GDYSp3TyWy-DjrtXVV4ZrLft58mT87C0p_KHOQ4ov6egbh2fnsIMF3_Rx8xF7c/s320/plover1.jpg" /></a><br />
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The most dedicated birders will get up before dawn to see birds feeding at low tide. I still value sleep more than birding. But I lucked out yesterday, because the birds were feeding at the more reasonable time of 1 PM. I got to see a Black-Bellied Plover.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM8d3e6MsPSLsUkadBU5vNcLu-WSEOhlj3XmOFoDO7FbWRQL_hKswJV-OC9Ob7aKwanlcyUkH06OPZUbbUoZkcAUkaltxnw966P5l-ihf6k9yvQnXiTFuU83ZEF2MDUBBbNeV4BvzkzQE/s1600/plover2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM8d3e6MsPSLsUkadBU5vNcLu-WSEOhlj3XmOFoDO7FbWRQL_hKswJV-OC9Ob7aKwanlcyUkH06OPZUbbUoZkcAUkaltxnw966P5l-ihf6k9yvQnXiTFuU83ZEF2MDUBBbNeV4BvzkzQE/s320/plover2.jpg" /></a><br />
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These guys have a very diverse diet. Although they eat the typical crustaceans and mollusks, they also eat insects and berries.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCdEK-Kb3fyQ6jtpCcY6_vqAYWIY29Qtxyd-kwdI2oT2njyInB-yXL5QK2mvuhayEBrcrnOAJ0S0QVcfPX17ay12VVzORUxuG9IEdVtW2CWrXbY-DKzuJV8Uy3ul1kCbB8BgN9F4BMvX4/s1600/plover3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCdEK-Kb3fyQ6jtpCcY6_vqAYWIY29Qtxyd-kwdI2oT2njyInB-yXL5QK2mvuhayEBrcrnOAJ0S0QVcfPX17ay12VVzORUxuG9IEdVtW2CWrXbY-DKzuJV8Uy3ul1kCbB8BgN9F4BMvX4/s320/plover3.jpg" /></a><br />
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I saw only one Black-Bellied Plover yesterday, but he let me take many pictures. He was very cautious, looking up every few seconds. But he never retreated, and let me get within four feet.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">How is this for camouflage?<br />
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The Black-Bellied Plovers are different from the American Golden-Plovers, which don't have any golden color in their non-breeding plumage. Further, the Pacific Golden-Plovers has what looks like flecks of gold.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg1GlNe1O7e9ZYpAYvHPbiW3x7QC7gHWAa9flJrWM5lTwMWRLPzcrobqOy3vMuvf-DpQ13Gv6mfVomOjAlqrY_Z_Uf1nCML7Y2X4QLhr0W_z7wCWvnm5fHfi5pJ3XmCSHwt3PZFrbjghXk/s1600/plover5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg1GlNe1O7e9ZYpAYvHPbiW3x7QC7gHWAa9flJrWM5lTwMWRLPzcrobqOy3vMuvf-DpQ13Gv6mfVomOjAlqrY_Z_Uf1nCML7Y2X4QLhr0W_z7wCWvnm5fHfi5pJ3XmCSHwt3PZFrbjghXk/s320/plover5.jpg" /></a><br />
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This was my favorite picture because his posture reminds me of a ballet dancer.<br />
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The plover is a medium-sized bird. Here in the background, you can see a sandpiper, which is a much smaller bird, perhaps about the size of your palm.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivYLHpGJiSvbIylfQg_zyJpddyarY-W0zVPpWdEhbQjxK0OIM6e-2AWZpqHb_yOUPOgM9MkpaahbCrY5N8SMmwXrKs5hBcrindpNgXKsPSrQJWpZosHvB5NGAmHDW3-mDqyyOOrOQlYdVU/s1600/plover7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivYLHpGJiSvbIylfQg_zyJpddyarY-W0zVPpWdEhbQjxK0OIM6e-2AWZpqHb_yOUPOgM9MkpaahbCrY5N8SMmwXrKs5hBcrindpNgXKsPSrQJWpZosHvB5NGAmHDW3-mDqyyOOrOQlYdVU/s320/plover7.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's hard to imagine, but the Black-Bellied Plover's breeding plumage is all black in front. The pictures below were taken last August. They're most likely Black-Bellied Plovers in an intermediate stage between breeding and winter plumage, but they could be American Golden-Plovers. It's incredibly hard to tell the type of plover because the standard markers are obscured. The picture is close enough to give you an idea of the stark contrast between breeding and non-breeding plumage, though, especially for the plover on the left.<br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Cl-NbXDZJ8XQW5dCmwW5m0ERicj7Jme4v4I-YISMCEzlR2prJPxDvfNfjwEn7TTGjjOA-mmG53yuYhYtKCV8SAUUgvYbheyv19PQgcwSoYXa9SbsN4nA75_o4ZkNoLAWDGuH1C2T2IY/s1600/plover8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Cl-NbXDZJ8XQW5dCmwW5m0ERicj7Jme4v4I-YISMCEzlR2prJPxDvfNfjwEn7TTGjjOA-mmG53yuYhYtKCV8SAUUgvYbheyv19PQgcwSoYXa9SbsN4nA75_o4ZkNoLAWDGuH1C2T2IY/s320/plover8.JPG" /></a>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-90774547922824903102009-11-14T20:17:00.000-08:002009-11-14T20:18:29.991-08:00Pescadero State Park<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Today was a beautiful day in Pescadero. It was a bit cold, but not compared to the rest of the country. The beaches were mostly empty, though, so I guess the everyone believes that winter is approaching.<br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyGF9HGarXA0AiSYxk1p34rcn74w5n-ur9PV7feJL4SJfkgS0dVI_su0qSw9UBINlcmz3gczH-7yxaeJIS9keycNPc93_2lOp-CVqk7DzJ4m0hsguUyEzbXEx9X5_8z6p2qf4abveKcHLb/s1600-h/pesc1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyGF9HGarXA0AiSYxk1p34rcn74w5n-ur9PV7feJL4SJfkgS0dVI_su0qSw9UBINlcmz3gczH-7yxaeJIS9keycNPc93_2lOp-CVqk7DzJ4m0hsguUyEzbXEx9X5_8z6p2qf4abveKcHLb/s320/pesc1.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The seals were lounging about.<br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPh7DyE7pFaUihIkKrwGjXVH5h3cNl8_DqYqQKLFHgfZiflNLf2QT2tA2XGUyb1CmKMpgoYV_lEKBohQUk-xxpCHdjujCkC_8qCqdbSpmBEf1YHwvoNHBVq7wz8Ei-lsr3uIKI6ovYQyWn/s1600-h/pesc2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPh7DyE7pFaUihIkKrwGjXVH5h3cNl8_DqYqQKLFHgfZiflNLf2QT2tA2XGUyb1CmKMpgoYV_lEKBohQUk-xxpCHdjujCkC_8qCqdbSpmBEf1YHwvoNHBVq7wz8Ei-lsr3uIKI6ovYQyWn/s320/pesc2.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">They looks <i>exhausted</i>!<br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQrLDsv3cynlAZlRF5B5OHKn6FXiliJLbUiCmOM8zPWU21Xn9JUDi9fCpoMQqrL383z6hfE2je6FuuNGBtx0ny5nMJQkVln5yskm1Ei2nOpzr4yHx1UfXHWGGCvSbGKKVAYViAW2-xrV6/s1600-h/pesc3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQrLDsv3cynlAZlRF5B5OHKn6FXiliJLbUiCmOM8zPWU21Xn9JUDi9fCpoMQqrL383z6hfE2je6FuuNGBtx0ny5nMJQkVln5yskm1Ei2nOpzr4yHx1UfXHWGGCvSbGKKVAYViAW2-xrV6/s320/pesc3.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">They would look up at me with sleepy faces, and then their heads would flop back down.<br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_k1UzN3XCZvo_vKt-xlPaoH3Xda4-nG0Os-IOhiYPXnbJJlZkTic8IuD2cGfkJZ4ihRy_JemRrxpXtHc4-dU7IdzVrUdjfrdSiKtc3_A6zlBH80zwxzGySom1QLqLB-lmFCiOzBkHIBAJ/s1600-h/pesc4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_k1UzN3XCZvo_vKt-xlPaoH3Xda4-nG0Os-IOhiYPXnbJJlZkTic8IuD2cGfkJZ4ihRy_JemRrxpXtHc4-dU7IdzVrUdjfrdSiKtc3_A6zlBH80zwxzGySom1QLqLB-lmFCiOzBkHIBAJ/s320/pesc4.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I like this thoughtful expression. His face reminds me of a cat with those big whiskers and almond-shaped eyes.<br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIDrcRpGLbD-othpHnAspYjDftVMT1VOKH9uFYfwTOjYNaW5cU56UGPlVfO-hi5sJvoG1iFT7BjnFm6fQ_CY5LQqROKmeZQ2dGhCAQ0naAi2hQYKg8zPQ_1ALgJObx1PZVQ_0JKM1CB1r/s1600-h/pesc5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIDrcRpGLbD-othpHnAspYjDftVMT1VOKH9uFYfwTOjYNaW5cU56UGPlVfO-hi5sJvoG1iFT7BjnFm6fQ_CY5LQqROKmeZQ2dGhCAQ0naAi2hQYKg8zPQ_1ALgJObx1PZVQ_0JKM1CB1r/s320/pesc5.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I made my way to the marshes, which were full of birds. I saw a little sparrow on a log and approached.<br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieW2Bxwy9hUIVSuoZ8bGIhagPT9dkOazLHVI7MexXcC5izBUeSMQ5WFxj5pa3Z_UdnMas0EgoV4-j9pneqXsTlX0npMAsZ4lEtJUF7OnExMg1TS6qpzWEMqvc8GV-9HMu72yndOoz74943/s1600-h/pesc6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieW2Bxwy9hUIVSuoZ8bGIhagPT9dkOazLHVI7MexXcC5izBUeSMQ5WFxj5pa3Z_UdnMas0EgoV4-j9pneqXsTlX0npMAsZ4lEtJUF7OnExMg1TS6qpzWEMqvc8GV-9HMu72yndOoz74943/s320/pesc6.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is a Song Sparrow. They're extremely common. Many birders are unimpressed by their appearance, but I really like them. They let you get close and they have lovely songs.<br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQ-0H8nYYoD5j4nU8feu-vpGrIjQHKKb6vnONrUTSRL3CxznCrtqhsZ7v3iUARQUxxgo-aDGbg8Q_Gj1zhTNbqIr_28_0FN84h9-HImOLzskYRIMiR4oVSklIr3r02tLEejN8XcUyanf1/s1600-h/pesc7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQ-0H8nYYoD5j4nU8feu-vpGrIjQHKKb6vnONrUTSRL3CxznCrtqhsZ7v3iUARQUxxgo-aDGbg8Q_Gj1zhTNbqIr_28_0FN84h9-HImOLzskYRIMiR4oVSklIr3r02tLEejN8XcUyanf1/s320/pesc7.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The easiest way to distinguish between different types of sparrows is to look at the pattern on their chest and head. The Song Sparrow has dark-brown spots on his chest, with a prominent spot in the middle, and white markings on his head below and above the eyes.<br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK4WJ-U7zD2Nagqzn-AT0YRc63OEukEXH3F-ZPxcCsuQw35dw9Z4xD8SKlpmj6x79AlH3y1GENZhvmYLgsU3AlY45hfuvdmu3GMfPiHVbD48KbewzVXhOhTy4nSFioziQws-qzJQJ3b1PD/s1600-h/pesc8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK4WJ-U7zD2Nagqzn-AT0YRc63OEukEXH3F-ZPxcCsuQw35dw9Z4xD8SKlpmj6x79AlH3y1GENZhvmYLgsU3AlY45hfuvdmu3GMfPiHVbD48KbewzVXhOhTy4nSFioziQws-qzJQJ3b1PD/s320/pesc8.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Other sparrows will have yellow markings above the eyes or on the wings, or a colored patch in the center of his head directly above the nose.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUH3B9b3rw9WilMDuhNc7EmvjGElpXiCG-xcYCzmvaU_rgA4XJzif4zfb3WSIvUWUTUMTgPFzfnKTDpGLZ6Xt3Ayanv0hSvTXDuLs15Tezurfr65-YaacdJrImW90hezCmYq3_B7DkQnAk/s1600-h/pesc9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUH3B9b3rw9WilMDuhNc7EmvjGElpXiCG-xcYCzmvaU_rgA4XJzif4zfb3WSIvUWUTUMTgPFzfnKTDpGLZ6Xt3Ayanv0hSvTXDuLs15Tezurfr65-YaacdJrImW90hezCmYq3_B7DkQnAk/s320/pesc9.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Black Phoebes were everywhere today. I saw the first one on a sign post.<br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitEnaonTf3xCXGDqT3YhMMHe_UVLxyz9O8t94GPK-SQCqsDLtUnxCcENv6RXdlqP4iMvcuZEt4nGsSryH8490pIayixk33MV-mCAoEoHMD1fa0ap6WHUxim_86aHfhJyxIvY16dd7W2mlU/s1600-h/pesc10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitEnaonTf3xCXGDqT3YhMMHe_UVLxyz9O8t94GPK-SQCqsDLtUnxCcENv6RXdlqP4iMvcuZEt4nGsSryH8490pIayixk33MV-mCAoEoHMD1fa0ap6WHUxim_86aHfhJyxIvY16dd7W2mlU/s320/pesc10.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The second one was catching bugs. You can still see it in his mouth!<br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvGdYZQlH_YEvyTCr-y0FxJ6pCb4asbSZVSx4sBSxufHfigshyphenhyphenqrtVD4mimuQzLn1sTBzCwI8oU16LtHA7IuYcYhgubYxGuL0RjGl3h9becQTkQ-6cBzTBPBcF3XtJ9ApZNTNYKMWgk0E7/s1600-h/pesc11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvGdYZQlH_YEvyTCr-y0FxJ6pCb4asbSZVSx4sBSxufHfigshyphenhyphenqrtVD4mimuQzLn1sTBzCwI8oU16LtHA7IuYcYhgubYxGuL0RjGl3h9becQTkQ-6cBzTBPBcF3XtJ9ApZNTNYKMWgk0E7/s320/pesc11.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It was almost as if the phoebes were posing for me. The next one was in branches backed by a blue sky.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjphesHsZ5xrAx6jmP8Go7JvfqNFbSPfwGCunpuG3YPIZ-tAHkb8prZOaIX4hU-MruItsEWq5PQ-XuUbURky4R-SQdNaNcvA3YMR8fOJGaV3GHkHaAAJfWqW4MfUjSH9tPxi7DL-r9KG8fw/s1600-h/pesc12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjphesHsZ5xrAx6jmP8Go7JvfqNFbSPfwGCunpuG3YPIZ-tAHkb8prZOaIX4hU-MruItsEWq5PQ-XuUbURky4R-SQdNaNcvA3YMR8fOJGaV3GHkHaAAJfWqW4MfUjSH9tPxi7DL-r9KG8fw/s320/pesc12.jpg" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then he flew into the brush.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0GapvuEVVXe21HQUVjrS1wtZy98rt8dhM2uenzc3MDMU9x8cx-7pRaxPKm5Dw8TgsOU6EAhKlYGLdFqaITzBORYaLayfBbNFGQ1ArD7fNmjaxftRrGB2LSbhxoIdQO2ZX1q32LXz76dhS/s1600-h/pesc13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0GapvuEVVXe21HQUVjrS1wtZy98rt8dhM2uenzc3MDMU9x8cx-7pRaxPKm5Dw8TgsOU6EAhKlYGLdFqaITzBORYaLayfBbNFGQ1ArD7fNmjaxftRrGB2LSbhxoIdQO2ZX1q32LXz76dhS/s320/pesc13.jpg" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then on a bush.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWHCbmpqnWXudhVxwnCmE7E7hk8a8EKiDohzSsKLFT8VoFloW7y9dSsWu-Qd9f_71qzfvMqpZp1Zez52JWUDewkNx3F7zu2IhUcZACRRPnbfy3MsQSM9WdMtvfH-00z6L3OK9NkRW8Tyed/s1600-h/pesc14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWHCbmpqnWXudhVxwnCmE7E7hk8a8EKiDohzSsKLFT8VoFloW7y9dSsWu-Qd9f_71qzfvMqpZp1Zez52JWUDewkNx3F7zu2IhUcZACRRPnbfy3MsQSM9WdMtvfH-00z6L3OK9NkRW8Tyed/s320/pesc14.jpg" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then, I swear he asked me if he should pose on a man-made object to serve as social commentary about our interference with nature.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Drmc1j99lQnkRbDxncM0tJzegM0exq-clRfEe03QdfpU915dCodBwNsTTygOg_06IJeugonOkO2fbhaXjJTLAz7GdHayBE5vnQsSpJJ3Y0tfOmfPTO57u-bkUCpx-jdFVuySNj43JGx5/s1600-h/pesc15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Drmc1j99lQnkRbDxncM0tJzegM0exq-clRfEe03QdfpU915dCodBwNsTTygOg_06IJeugonOkO2fbhaXjJTLAz7GdHayBE5vnQsSpJJ3Y0tfOmfPTO57u-bkUCpx-jdFVuySNj43JGx5/s320/pesc15.jpg" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then he went back into the brush, but positioned himself carefully so that I could see the white tips of his feathers.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicPvx-3aNk4jo9Avke_q92iQRoSnhrUdcnSM9gPqMpWekBNAIhPg3tmpz1501Hw8XO6QMFriu0P5p5HPxjJTJ5EwCyIyf8CAPZSEIPqXGaYHMlldjOtX2yVB2c_cBqe4MFpqQeY42uVRkS/s1600-h/pesc16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicPvx-3aNk4jo9Avke_q92iQRoSnhrUdcnSM9gPqMpWekBNAIhPg3tmpz1501Hw8XO6QMFriu0P5p5HPxjJTJ5EwCyIyf8CAPZSEIPqXGaYHMlldjOtX2yVB2c_cBqe4MFpqQeY42uVRkS/s320/pesc16.jpg" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then some more bushes.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvG67TqdPs5YSA4Cpv9hxVo54TwPZJVfVR6__bZmlm9u0JwT9dA5uZ1FeCcOixqq59J2ZIGBhKnVvWe8lT2wz8RomvTMNc_4IXxaKo4778SoBy7rXKMqOZZ2rwAE7Z2ybaue4T2CWLQtyy/s1600-h/pesc17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvG67TqdPs5YSA4Cpv9hxVo54TwPZJVfVR6__bZmlm9u0JwT9dA5uZ1FeCcOixqq59J2ZIGBhKnVvWe8lT2wz8RomvTMNc_4IXxaKo4778SoBy7rXKMqOZZ2rwAE7Z2ybaue4T2CWLQtyy/s320/pesc17.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><br />
In case I wanted a brighter background, he flew over to some driftwood.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzMUSB6_ChXPXAJZo_ZtQrVTkI49ZwXzEmD-dlT2Ha5szRN8ewdx331rtJvT5ruRwlkB_7VE6h5NUN3_sRxjapZXAy4BrPfxFN3W5nsld0UCBlkeskVQ4tror8DdcpuZXroc-w-4SPWm2/s1600-h/pesc18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzMUSB6_ChXPXAJZo_ZtQrVTkI49ZwXzEmD-dlT2Ha5szRN8ewdx331rtJvT5ruRwlkB_7VE6h5NUN3_sRxjapZXAy4BrPfxFN3W5nsld0UCBlkeskVQ4tror8DdcpuZXroc-w-4SPWm2/s1600-h/pesc18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzMUSB6_ChXPXAJZo_ZtQrVTkI49ZwXzEmD-dlT2Ha5szRN8ewdx331rtJvT5ruRwlkB_7VE6h5NUN3_sRxjapZXAy4BrPfxFN3W5nsld0UCBlkeskVQ4tror8DdcpuZXroc-w-4SPWm2/s1600-h/pesc18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzMUSB6_ChXPXAJZo_ZtQrVTkI49ZwXzEmD-dlT2Ha5szRN8ewdx331rtJvT5ruRwlkB_7VE6h5NUN3_sRxjapZXAy4BrPfxFN3W5nsld0UCBlkeskVQ4tror8DdcpuZXroc-w-4SPWm2/s1600-h/pesc18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzMUSB6_ChXPXAJZo_ZtQrVTkI49ZwXzEmD-dlT2Ha5szRN8ewdx331rtJvT5ruRwlkB_7VE6h5NUN3_sRxjapZXAy4BrPfxFN3W5nsld0UCBlkeskVQ4tror8DdcpuZXroc-w-4SPWm2/s1600-h/pesc18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzMUSB6_ChXPXAJZo_ZtQrVTkI49ZwXzEmD-dlT2Ha5szRN8ewdx331rtJvT5ruRwlkB_7VE6h5NUN3_sRxjapZXAy4BrPfxFN3W5nsld0UCBlkeskVQ4tror8DdcpuZXroc-w-4SPWm2/s1600-h/pesc18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzMUSB6_ChXPXAJZo_ZtQrVTkI49ZwXzEmD-dlT2Ha5szRN8ewdx331rtJvT5ruRwlkB_7VE6h5NUN3_sRxjapZXAy4BrPfxFN3W5nsld0UCBlkeskVQ4tror8DdcpuZXroc-w-4SPWm2/s1600-h/pesc18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzMUSB6_ChXPXAJZo_ZtQrVTkI49ZwXzEmD-dlT2Ha5szRN8ewdx331rtJvT5ruRwlkB_7VE6h5NUN3_sRxjapZXAy4BrPfxFN3W5nsld0UCBlkeskVQ4tror8DdcpuZXroc-w-4SPWm2/s1600-h/pesc18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzMUSB6_ChXPXAJZo_ZtQrVTkI49ZwXzEmD-dlT2Ha5szRN8ewdx331rtJvT5ruRwlkB_7VE6h5NUN3_sRxjapZXAy4BrPfxFN3W5nsld0UCBlkeskVQ4tror8DdcpuZXroc-w-4SPWm2/s1600-h/pesc18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhBtIvRlzY_3SP7Kf4P8t11c3xSsaT874-euDWQ9mAckN9IkVCiJw9BTpo8Z2OCUrxjMIwfyt12BOJMJc3wwzlwlyzJfRPri3hgSRN_q_S-nUWdi9wdaxLWDBriRF_M0hznS64yCBKbzJo/s1600-h/pesc19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhBtIvRlzY_3SP7Kf4P8t11c3xSsaT874-euDWQ9mAckN9IkVCiJw9BTpo8Z2OCUrxjMIwfyt12BOJMJc3wwzlwlyzJfRPri3hgSRN_q_S-nUWdi9wdaxLWDBriRF_M0hznS64yCBKbzJo/s320/pesc19.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhBtIvRlzY_3SP7Kf4P8t11c3xSsaT874-euDWQ9mAckN9IkVCiJw9BTpo8Z2OCUrxjMIwfyt12BOJMJc3wwzlwlyzJfRPri3hgSRN_q_S-nUWdi9wdaxLWDBriRF_M0hznS64yCBKbzJo/s1600-h/pesc19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>And back on a post.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhBtIvRlzY_3SP7Kf4P8t11c3xSsaT874-euDWQ9mAckN9IkVCiJw9BTpo8Z2OCUrxjMIwfyt12BOJMJc3wwzlwlyzJfRPri3hgSRN_q_S-nUWdi9wdaxLWDBriRF_M0hznS64yCBKbzJo/s1600-h/pesc19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzMUSB6_ChXPXAJZo_ZtQrVTkI49ZwXzEmD-dlT2Ha5szRN8ewdx331rtJvT5ruRwlkB_7VE6h5NUN3_sRxjapZXAy4BrPfxFN3W5nsld0UCBlkeskVQ4tror8DdcpuZXroc-w-4SPWm2/s1600-h/pesc18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzMUSB6_ChXPXAJZo_ZtQrVTkI49ZwXzEmD-dlT2Ha5szRN8ewdx331rtJvT5ruRwlkB_7VE6h5NUN3_sRxjapZXAy4BrPfxFN3W5nsld0UCBlkeskVQ4tror8DdcpuZXroc-w-4SPWm2/s320/pesc18.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I actually left out several other places where he sat. Such an obliging little bird.<br />
</div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-13885971810375604262009-11-12T20:27:00.000-08:002009-11-12T20:27:07.390-08:00Cockatiel Clipping<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">There is a lot of controversy in the bird world about whether people should clip their birds' wings. Some people say that birds shouldn't be restricted, that they should be allowed to fly free. Others clip their birds so that the birds can't fly off and get into trouble.</span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"></span><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;">We clip Conner but leave Audrey unclipped.<br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwIGn1YOrE61ILOE4-AuBn_u1hhqLmK6_IMYo18h1GMIAmlhrOi6i_vyoIo1FjH6Qe1CyICgEVhMfObztBSLYluZUyhWxyvJ-DCHTcKQSfzYLdYwNeBBv75e6uEV8bsrF5A-Rohdhplflx/s1600-h/wings1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwIGn1YOrE61ILOE4-AuBn_u1hhqLmK6_IMYo18h1GMIAmlhrOi6i_vyoIo1FjH6Qe1CyICgEVhMfObztBSLYluZUyhWxyvJ-DCHTcKQSfzYLdYwNeBBv75e6uEV8bsrF5A-Rohdhplflx/s320/wings1.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Audrey is unclipped because he can't fly. I want to keep Conner unclipped, but the house is full of windows and Conner flies into them. Someday I want us to have a place where Conner can have his own room for flying.</span><br />
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</div><div mce_style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left;">Some tips for clipping:<br />
</div><ul><li>start with the primary wing feathers - those are the top feathers</li>
<li>on cockatiels, it's only necessary to cut one or two inches</li>
<li>don't ever get close to the skin! You can permanently damage a bird if you get too close.</li>
<li>give your bird extra attention after the clipping. It's a very demeaning process and their egos get hurt.</li>
</ul><br />
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</div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-77623428453302562872009-11-08T18:06:00.001-08:002009-11-08T19:05:31.488-08:00Black Turnstone<div>You remember how well the <a href="http://cockatielchaos.blogspot.com/2009/11/black-oystercatcher.html">Black Oystercatcher</a> can blend into seaweed? Well, that's nothing. There is a bird in the picture below. Can you see him?</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6v8EiEqhgBEwu3LEAP1L6NN8Dq7RfW06JJCUroVIWKlXk6QLoAzfdVDrhaKW6uGqnt_6ZYKlmDxnZ_kg2DMWa6tcri_kZOay6H3OC6QKFanTi2fGfpp0gc94MMdHVCrMPgWqgbrH7ReSj/s1600-h/turn1.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6v8EiEqhgBEwu3LEAP1L6NN8Dq7RfW06JJCUroVIWKlXk6QLoAzfdVDrhaKW6uGqnt_6ZYKlmDxnZ_kg2DMWa6tcri_kZOay6H3OC6QKFanTi2fGfpp0gc94MMdHVCrMPgWqgbrH7ReSj/s320/turn1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401922215542717650" /></a><div><br /></div><div>Black Turnstones blend really well. They blend with seaweed, they blend with rocks. I barely saw one standing on this rock below.</div><div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuoWmGLl6OwsAEoM4zAc7AIL9XY6d0cG-gRDfqWW5AjdgCub4gxjqJ4TKNUe-9ZTf2elD8itefYw35J0nRocXQfx09EYPnZFQTtOyCFQvDqTFtToikbxf9oGmPAXj2NeFu-VGcw1R2lE8/s1600-h/turn2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 88px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuoWmGLl6OwsAEoM4zAc7AIL9XY6d0cG-gRDfqWW5AjdgCub4gxjqJ4TKNUe-9ZTf2elD8itefYw35J0nRocXQfx09EYPnZFQTtOyCFQvDqTFtToikbxf9oGmPAXj2NeFu-VGcw1R2lE8/s320/turn2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401922206446657490" /></a><br /><div>I was hanging out at Ryder Court Park in San Mateo, CA looking out over the water.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ZDO_GBYRv-ItUClBFtkDqBhvpDDaIlw0q6rSTSeeBdFapHK5t1ueHOo81LDTGwut-qE38RLdzQjWrPPkU55cx_-W-zF46uIRfm9ugiCnjQ48jQmbEDosfKDypPQCPb5VugPaORZuEvls/s1600-h/turn3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 202px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ZDO_GBYRv-ItUClBFtkDqBhvpDDaIlw0q6rSTSeeBdFapHK5t1ueHOo81LDTGwut-qE38RLdzQjWrPPkU55cx_-W-zF46uIRfm9ugiCnjQ48jQmbEDosfKDypPQCPb5VugPaORZuEvls/s320/turn3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401922204387538738" /></a><br /></div><div>I looked down and saw this!</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz6shgxMV-4JflbkG88vyALjHRzbT9rH-wUj_7tFlLUsTwiyJpoTjmu-1yhnkZoMmi9avKyttcGWuZBa9jE1n8uVhepZX1A373hkkxU0Dc-Ei1ncC4YzmyKr8ooYuQE3fzCLTVkcOUholm/s1600-h/turn4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz6shgxMV-4JflbkG88vyALjHRzbT9rH-wUj_7tFlLUsTwiyJpoTjmu-1yhnkZoMmi9avKyttcGWuZBa9jE1n8uVhepZX1A373hkkxU0Dc-Ei1ncC4YzmyKr8ooYuQE3fzCLTVkcOUholm/s320/turn4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401922197431400082" /></a><br /></div><div>There were two of them sitting on rocks looking out at the water. They looked so peaceful.</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">Yes? Is there something you need?</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyabDSZNoflTNOoG5K7uweFg5FpPmTkyeUumiVBnqR6rdYJ0BF7mkcg72TizeW-Hcz6W8xrh41bpxILcgn1DGcqffTeGn2WTXwbr-LSNBNQracbNxP3FA__b7xJVIG-15_H-XinCsUZQlR/s1600-h/turn5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyabDSZNoflTNOoG5K7uweFg5FpPmTkyeUumiVBnqR6rdYJ0BF7mkcg72TizeW-Hcz6W8xrh41bpxILcgn1DGcqffTeGn2WTXwbr-LSNBNQracbNxP3FA__b7xJVIG-15_H-XinCsUZQlR/s320/turn5.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401919646291617266" /></a><br /></div><div>Turnstones eat mollusks, marine worms, etc. so they're frequently found foraging in seaweed. The name "turnstone" is a reference to their habit of turning over stones, looking for food underneath. If you look carefully, their beaks are slightly upturned to push under stones.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQQSTElcX8uKIFOgdPAbpnE20HqPSco4x2Kh2CS5idnIWjLiwCkrRUiu_8Ryta86-MY7Nz_eP3qwlWVqOfZ06QQjn7nWFBoQXc6ePd91YIWbak7w7cFvdunP84rMyaDCH3OrR2G9IqFHzi/s1600-h/turn6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQQSTElcX8uKIFOgdPAbpnE20HqPSco4x2Kh2CS5idnIWjLiwCkrRUiu_8Ryta86-MY7Nz_eP3qwlWVqOfZ06QQjn7nWFBoQXc6ePd91YIWbak7w7cFvdunP84rMyaDCH3OrR2G9IqFHzi/s320/turn6.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401919644830440514" /></a><br /></div><div>They like to forage in groups.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOoyLV-SeGVSSkhTXPjIV_BK2NjK7AVWgBE0gDMirxAVtYZqVhOKMbmHVsV4bGWqNMp6Ie6OGAoOzvFQ-FhyhdHyqudSi5hNnqPfagovoJ8RD1_yIYlEM0PmUWXGZChLl0mI0Pwy8ykXTD/s1600-h/turn7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOoyLV-SeGVSSkhTXPjIV_BK2NjK7AVWgBE0gDMirxAVtYZqVhOKMbmHVsV4bGWqNMp6Ie6OGAoOzvFQ-FhyhdHyqudSi5hNnqPfagovoJ8RD1_yIYlEM0PmUWXGZChLl0mI0Pwy8ykXTD/s320/turn7.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401919639313431490" /></a><br /></div><div>These pictures were taken at the Marine Fitzgerald Preserve in Moss Beach, CA.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkEEvNCV3Gs6jpYKmtcRInWoOQumjhqck_ldE7fVb_3Yk-RioTf_OS07otzyZgJ7h9hn2CYgjlPeVKaR8CHiWiVsl5S6RhJPTPPxQ7XgmleweRPXSOCNJGsn-MOD6Rqi3ifJMY9jsyKFQ2/s1600-h/turn8.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 146px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkEEvNCV3Gs6jpYKmtcRInWoOQumjhqck_ldE7fVb_3Yk-RioTf_OS07otzyZgJ7h9hn2CYgjlPeVKaR8CHiWiVsl5S6RhJPTPPxQ7XgmleweRPXSOCNJGsn-MOD6Rqi3ifJMY9jsyKFQ2/s320/turn8.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401919632348254930" /></a><br /></div><div>I found one other type of bird in the seaweed mixture that I'll talk about next week. For now, I leave you with this:</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OitHEqb0TJzm4Vf5ryR7hRqIKBoRVs0mtRAo-JfE1vMVz5yYEUFD-8cpqPinPQ3ImuBzgIGq1P-m_TuLd3wDU56Y5rZXZ7AEtW-zamNYwi1WQfzIknTJQz4MYMbK5WzhtE4AouLCTcU4/s1600-h/turn9.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 196px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OitHEqb0TJzm4Vf5ryR7hRqIKBoRVs0mtRAo-JfE1vMVz5yYEUFD-8cpqPinPQ3ImuBzgIGq1P-m_TuLd3wDU56Y5rZXZ7AEtW-zamNYwi1WQfzIknTJQz4MYMbK5WzhtE4AouLCTcU4/s320/turn9.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401919627724982834" /></a><br /></div></div></div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-30185639209322772852009-11-07T20:31:00.001-08:002009-11-07T20:51:46.499-08:00Chestnut-Backed Chickadees<div>California has a few signs of fall. Some leaves fall, some leaves change color. </div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2ERxXwE7tB_KEq-potZ-oQgm8tUjmKlaQZOiVBqB5ea7XchG7UJ_zzvxCXtwOQOfrXOmrrCtT-zAhU8_3loVHe6IelW6EZi683UDWSogRWZMC70DI-CoIkBDdARtz3piwcZZPkTB3llJ/s1600-h/chick09.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2ERxXwE7tB_KEq-potZ-oQgm8tUjmKlaQZOiVBqB5ea7XchG7UJ_zzvxCXtwOQOfrXOmrrCtT-zAhU8_3loVHe6IelW6EZi683UDWSogRWZMC70DI-CoIkBDdARtz3piwcZZPkTB3llJ/s320/chick09.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401586323930872434" /></a><br /><div>The lighting outside has been beautiful lately. I was really excited about capturing this old wasp nest.<br /><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhegG2dlk5KYuLwv1AhOUikJ0nhyauJl5C34CtESIJYKYwZ7Zhtpr4TwDV_xsXcy0Nhh7wqGo7DWhEqUI50k2RO7IlSgHhOr1SwwcPCRl-v-IqqbQd5nGcJ0Qi6evMtRXVySY5dSQAvAAGf/s1600-h/chick1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhegG2dlk5KYuLwv1AhOUikJ0nhyauJl5C34CtESIJYKYwZ7Zhtpr4TwDV_xsXcy0Nhh7wqGo7DWhEqUI50k2RO7IlSgHhOr1SwwcPCRl-v-IqqbQd5nGcJ0Qi6evMtRXVySY5dSQAvAAGf/s320/chick1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401586233562187122" /></a><br /></div><div>Wherever there are big trees, there are <a href="http://cockatielchaos.blogspot.com/2009/05/birds-of-neighborhood.html">chickadees</a>. We have several types of chickadees. There are Black-Capped Chickadees like this guy:</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoqxcmGONENY5IUojZTTY6v1JjvIiPr14L69jh-exWCX3l5T2o8D1UIz_-oUZHPUQNrLOsPwIE8cQjGNIMQiZstjCQgdNSwe7Id2LypKoHI7QLfSsEIRnNVFl9a5YkJ67jlMLrx4RlQDOv/s1600-h/chick11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoqxcmGONENY5IUojZTTY6v1JjvIiPr14L69jh-exWCX3l5T2o8D1UIz_-oUZHPUQNrLOsPwIE8cQjGNIMQiZstjCQgdNSwe7Id2LypKoHI7QLfSsEIRnNVFl9a5YkJ67jlMLrx4RlQDOv/s320/chick11.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401586228407712786" /></a><br /></div><div>But my favorite is the Chestnut-Backed Chickadee. They're incredibly small (4 1/2 inches) and fast. For awhile, my pictures all looked like this:</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujCgYZZjZVFJU37lgmDBOjWr8Z9co9fjbMpw8t4fJ63_Ij-J9948cuh3yRjZ7gwUFEqrQv9Dn68H3y1XwD3Ni3AsFaqsH98hxfhUijm_VuCtHkQczQzNUDLgB4jCHwuHcSLZO7VhIf66R/s1600-h/chick2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujCgYZZjZVFJU37lgmDBOjWr8Z9co9fjbMpw8t4fJ63_Ij-J9948cuh3yRjZ7gwUFEqrQv9Dn68H3y1XwD3Ni3AsFaqsH98hxfhUijm_VuCtHkQczQzNUDLgB4jCHwuHcSLZO7VhIf66R/s320/chick2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401586224307350130" /></a><br /></div><div>But eventually I succeeded!</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbyhUvK3oIJiP2f-dC7_-cjT7pHPY8mxJjwQjfgh9ZysU6RG3mUhB6UxnMypdCm9PVTqkK-kk16I01PrVzs8si1NDP1Jh5_Fqu7PAHur7zpE6Cq91apqxzZLiMHkKvxD_Vf33rPQD9xb5S/s1600-h/chick3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 245px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbyhUvK3oIJiP2f-dC7_-cjT7pHPY8mxJjwQjfgh9ZysU6RG3mUhB6UxnMypdCm9PVTqkK-kk16I01PrVzs8si1NDP1Jh5_Fqu7PAHur7zpE6Cq91apqxzZLiMHkKvxD_Vf33rPQD9xb5S/s320/chick3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401586219373107362" /></a><br /></div><div>If you stare at a tree long enough, you'll see them. They love to eat.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb939KQ_l6BXGG6UznazIhIYgZZI36LETPNjdv-MHJfF-zjCmhTEJrbGqlAai4_5ICnLimgAw50UG8H8YeOK_YYPIlPYMDEvEnSIrUH_iC4QtNoyE4-X1mwAkPEjU758w49QzodmS37t-I/s1600-h/chick4.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb939KQ_l6BXGG6UznazIhIYgZZI36LETPNjdv-MHJfF-zjCmhTEJrbGqlAai4_5ICnLimgAw50UG8H8YeOK_YYPIlPYMDEvEnSIrUH_iC4QtNoyE4-X1mwAkPEjU758w49QzodmS37t-I/s320/chick4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401586217368869570" /></a></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></span></div>And hang upside down.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEydts_nbXLieoLHMlgkB4pB3V5giYMFXHrY9wYLNDWdm7ww1Haf6gKY07c6g1TnYERdvSJNmNhv9aKtqb9Mf2rQw4A336td0KkP61uMZZl6hAkTp13p-jNwTpvPab4m1h4TivE-QeHY94/s1600-h/chick5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 279px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEydts_nbXLieoLHMlgkB4pB3V5giYMFXHrY9wYLNDWdm7ww1Haf6gKY07c6g1TnYERdvSJNmNhv9aKtqb9Mf2rQw4A336td0KkP61uMZZl6hAkTp13p-jNwTpvPab4m1h4TivE-QeHY94/s320/chick5.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401585977174742562" /></a>It's hardest to get pictures of their front. If you can, though, it's worth it. They have very fuzzy fronts.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjymYtHlbWeWRJpUvrwqgzE7R3eHOyjJjWDWQ5jTksvyqjl26Cyqeyu4HQdYPfcGBDzviiTh89tDyC5LWkni-fyUOSooH2be4Dk10FQpb-3pdKUgzIeaZrTA14elJDX4xk8_Kwi3yOZOvbY/s1600-h/chick6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjymYtHlbWeWRJpUvrwqgzE7R3eHOyjJjWDWQ5jTksvyqjl26Cyqeyu4HQdYPfcGBDzviiTh89tDyC5LWkni-fyUOSooH2be4Dk10FQpb-3pdKUgzIeaZrTA14elJDX4xk8_Kwi3yOZOvbY/s320/chick6.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401585972142941074" /></a><br /></div><div>As you can see from comparing the Chestnut-Backed Chickadee with the Black-Capped Chickadee, the faces look identical. The Chestnut-Backed Chickadee has a lot of brown on his back. The Black-Capped has merely a hint of brown on his front. </div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6PB-sKJqcUnzRKIobXn5q14Vchx-5tUtXOHNYtLjhy6_JuAxHYVX3B-VFVoq85LE29xb9NlGfnHfBxbQESGaGXt8zHTr5UQ05LZHiFmJV6me67wDFggSDmUF6QNmv6SVTmzEfJvsGRxqa/s1600-h/chick7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 291px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6PB-sKJqcUnzRKIobXn5q14Vchx-5tUtXOHNYtLjhy6_JuAxHYVX3B-VFVoq85LE29xb9NlGfnHfBxbQESGaGXt8zHTr5UQ05LZHiFmJV6me67wDFggSDmUF6QNmv6SVTmzEfJvsGRxqa/s320/chick7.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401585963628036578" /></a><br /></div><div>I know I say this practically every week, but these birds are one of my favorites.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGMHuBhVfS3NRfVnb9b3cmPoO3ljZCItUKc50LaIxDJptcDETU9-MQeTo43Tt2u42noQwOczdPJIZ11yR8-tUvEcImADtZD4TYL9Lqs0diUgEjPoIUJ-ECBMWlMeZy-lcXdTeuyOQCd8CU/s1600-h/chick8.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 136px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGMHuBhVfS3NRfVnb9b3cmPoO3ljZCItUKc50LaIxDJptcDETU9-MQeTo43Tt2u42noQwOczdPJIZ11yR8-tUvEcImADtZD4TYL9Lqs0diUgEjPoIUJ-ECBMWlMeZy-lcXdTeuyOQCd8CU/s320/chick8.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401585958333381890" /></a><br /></div></div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-31641195317109240192009-11-03T20:06:00.000-08:002009-11-03T20:26:32.338-08:00Cockatiel Singing<div>It starts with Conner singing. Then Audrey will yell, "Stop it! Quit it! That's my song!" But if you bring Conner over to Audrey's cage, then they will flirt with each other.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGLSTchpa-OfTTjwZ0cjd3qgcu9WJM3fHgVWZREEoHTycPiBBD8yYo-gmYdnchiD75vMy5NW89cjIWL9kWesFd21hy9373kxvsLcCaiDJa2-EzydkqwjaMhx__kP5NL61fxSFgU5_YSia0/s1600-h/singing1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGLSTchpa-OfTTjwZ0cjd3qgcu9WJM3fHgVWZREEoHTycPiBBD8yYo-gmYdnchiD75vMy5NW89cjIWL9kWesFd21hy9373kxvsLcCaiDJa2-EzydkqwjaMhx__kP5NL61fxSFgU5_YSia0/s320/singing1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400095393714659906" /></a><br /><div>Audrey can be convinced to sing along.</div><div><br /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 185px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdWgNQOyqwz5TTQfKUQaceSvVXk4Dg7ygL3YSOWmCAf4X23C_FRnYGcmRIKWvyzQVI_jpR-JEYL5-7OErusMk8AJX3r3SaHsh54Cx2_TKlNWGDclkbOvimQ7UL2d7pfqyXa_15FAuItN78/s320/singing3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400095381548769282" /><br /></div><div>But it must be on Audrey's terms. For example, Conner cannot walk on Audrey's cage, so he must be held up next to the cage. Conner will bow for Audrey and turn his head.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmdKnUoM67pDVRCexiL81b79NZbS5uz1MQQd-ACCwOD0gCT8BoCwLFEh3-jPKcregXTJHq6w_3Yfs3cC2XnG7MrGufbxQjEuNPs0hJtqkllkIY4_kQpEs9uEhRnlehkk9PgfqbLvyMGKqN/s1600-h/singing2.jpg"></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmdKnUoM67pDVRCexiL81b79NZbS5uz1MQQd-ACCwOD0gCT8BoCwLFEh3-jPKcregXTJHq6w_3Yfs3cC2XnG7MrGufbxQjEuNPs0hJtqkllkIY4_kQpEs9uEhRnlehkk9PgfqbLvyMGKqN/s1600-h/singing2.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 174px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmdKnUoM67pDVRCexiL81b79NZbS5uz1MQQd-ACCwOD0gCT8BoCwLFEh3-jPKcregXTJHq6w_3Yfs3cC2XnG7MrGufbxQjEuNPs0hJtqkllkIY4_kQpEs9uEhRnlehkk9PgfqbLvyMGKqN/s320/singing2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400095384325329746" /></a><br /></div><div>Audrey will bow back and everyone can sing together.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwyioUm6TTpQZ9wLOB-bGpxuHBrWV8URKXFaNfVmJrKmeYuPI2n1A2o4WOTSrFk0ntGZqlk5q7RxdhkybrjZKI9GTdO37nOnn-nJFNBJEM-e1JflrSUMppab4LWL45liHFmUCCOSpcO0l/s1600-h/singing4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 190px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwyioUm6TTpQZ9wLOB-bGpxuHBrWV8URKXFaNfVmJrKmeYuPI2n1A2o4WOTSrFk0ntGZqlk5q7RxdhkybrjZKI9GTdO37nOnn-nJFNBJEM-e1JflrSUMppab4LWL45liHFmUCCOSpcO0l/s320/singing4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400095375332258386" /></a><br /></div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-41741317607120161962009-11-01T16:52:00.000-08:002009-11-01T17:10:02.247-08:00Black Oystercatcher<div>If you want to see birds in California, you should head to the ocean. A scene like the one below can actually contain hundreds of well-camoflauged birds.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKJUxN9svQssIbTJLjt_NJavsjFqAjb3tCJTstseObv0mz-xXDhe_s2pw8yZmTlmTzkHjZ-dTyXiwYVtj0G6D-kbvWmi5Q_Vj1JgCx2y4n5UTvhAUMpubwAWyPZW1ByOaLfEStqqtb82I/s1600-h/oyster1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKJUxN9svQssIbTJLjt_NJavsjFqAjb3tCJTstseObv0mz-xXDhe_s2pw8yZmTlmTzkHjZ-dTyXiwYVtj0G6D-kbvWmi5Q_Vj1JgCx2y4n5UTvhAUMpubwAWyPZW1ByOaLfEStqqtb82I/s320/oyster1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399303260092874098" /></a><br /><div>As you get closer you see different types of birds flying across the water. If they have orange beaks, they're likely to be Black Oystercatchers.<br /><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3pfWjEitVKDMpGwJq_SlnfTJzyOTw207_VeLS4StLUiXgHoh3kxIWXoVtOyW2YfWs3To6z6KfQGKcMAJ2fFEFWkvp64VHSnl7Q1BFTsc7BLhkJ3L77WPYdCZ5r_p4G8p4aj6Qk2cYBvAu/s1600-h/oyster2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3pfWjEitVKDMpGwJq_SlnfTJzyOTw207_VeLS4StLUiXgHoh3kxIWXoVtOyW2YfWs3To6z6KfQGKcMAJ2fFEFWkvp64VHSnl7Q1BFTsc7BLhkJ3L77WPYdCZ5r_p4G8p4aj6Qk2cYBvAu/s320/oyster2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399303253887466450" /></a><br /></div><div>Here's a picture of one relaxing in the aviary in the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I thought that he was objecting to his captivity because the whole time, he kept saying "Eee...eee." But the ones outside make the same noise constantly, so it must be part of their nature.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXCgxv7uJFZwbu4UzLZCV9WD5Ob-4dMBsLnLihVm6foYY1k2vRyKzSsCWs6IZblQZpGxSnD78GH_P5CONyB9c89DDmPWAQInsKW5LPCqAYH2_fyTLvznC0W0qY6COjI5dDPKQSlP0rV_cv/s1600-h/oyster3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 219px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXCgxv7uJFZwbu4UzLZCV9WD5Ob-4dMBsLnLihVm6foYY1k2vRyKzSsCWs6IZblQZpGxSnD78GH_P5CONyB9c89DDmPWAQInsKW5LPCqAYH2_fyTLvznC0W0qY6COjI5dDPKQSlP0rV_cv/s320/oyster3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399303247595273906" /></a><br /></div><div>Below is the typical area where the birds forage for food. If the oystercatchers didn't have orange beaks and eyes, they would blend very well with the surroundings.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnlV83MBZwph1JyHAuOKCoG7Tf3Ze6ciwKT1ANv7SV19-QhgZyIFJDuJsP7vCkUdyCQOT4S3BwWzbQGzKyx_ZAJiZB_M4X41KyV0QlC5b5O4fJTMI0s2Z_h6JAEvL1j4eZ356I-1OkSUX0/s1600-h/oyster4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnlV83MBZwph1JyHAuOKCoG7Tf3Ze6ciwKT1ANv7SV19-QhgZyIFJDuJsP7vCkUdyCQOT4S3BwWzbQGzKyx_ZAJiZB_M4X41KyV0QlC5b5O4fJTMI0s2Z_h6JAEvL1j4eZ356I-1OkSUX0/s320/oyster4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399303070474102866" /></a><br /></div><div>Their beaks are designed for probing and cracking open shells. The oystercatchers walk around poking at the ground for food.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvliVyPyIx3G0y7lpiGzo49faMazPNfjwOq-L2SsOuu72xptPYGo3tagN26HwNRv1sqWB6J28_V7iCCVoxe685b9YEBKhND7-n93FdOqAwP0t-M5xxq8k3ZS6Ho0P9h7KeVcVvjMJL40K/s1600-h/oyster5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 172px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvliVyPyIx3G0y7lpiGzo49faMazPNfjwOq-L2SsOuu72xptPYGo3tagN26HwNRv1sqWB6J28_V7iCCVoxe685b9YEBKhND7-n93FdOqAwP0t-M5xxq8k3ZS6Ho0P9h7KeVcVvjMJL40K/s320/oyster5.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399303061942048002" /></a><br /></div><div>Here, the oystercatcher is telling me to leave. heh</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">shoo. shoo!</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Lk1sx9fW5AQAI-yHTsiZJ5PFl4U0AdRCsOVw_I1bQM_jxgVpFOstpiQXYthe6wdQMazD_pD0llvqMIB4zs2fWIzcmv5T7iGBCX4bQOp_3teovQZleNmVQjzI8ZDKjCXj5qVIP9TOgqjN/s1600-h/oyster6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Lk1sx9fW5AQAI-yHTsiZJ5PFl4U0AdRCsOVw_I1bQM_jxgVpFOstpiQXYthe6wdQMazD_pD0llvqMIB4zs2fWIzcmv5T7iGBCX4bQOp_3teovQZleNmVQjzI8ZDKjCXj5qVIP9TOgqjN/s320/oyster6.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399303059303714434" /></a><br /></div><div>They co-habitate with the seals.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnNSgbi1MxdGUhyphenhyphenP3QNLfwlr0kWd8T_tY9nkzoh7RI0Ea8A0A2JXrQx8-OHBXJD3i9hR4IzREFizvgLrbrguSJmdhXoTNaTBEIOhilzn-JM8XRfVyHHIJOoOHWVTo_GK811-aGmy2wkudq/s1600-h/oyster7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnNSgbi1MxdGUhyphenhyphenP3QNLfwlr0kWd8T_tY9nkzoh7RI0Ea8A0A2JXrQx8-OHBXJD3i9hR4IzREFizvgLrbrguSJmdhXoTNaTBEIOhilzn-JM8XRfVyHHIJOoOHWVTo_GK811-aGmy2wkudq/s320/oyster7.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399303055418372050" /></a><br /></div></div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-29624435573365030902009-10-31T19:43:00.000-07:002009-11-01T17:10:39.407-08:00Brown Pelican<div>The Presidio of San Francisco is a former military installation that was turned into a park in 1994. It's an excellent park for Californians because it includes water, trails for biking and jogging, and a cafe with many vegetarian options.</div><div><br /></div><div>Our timing was perfect today because the fog was in the process of lifting when we arrived. At the beginning you could only see part of the Golden Gate Bridge.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6elBBPP1LO9qLg0FhYhNGRyM0X7urfN3_KNsKm0gVbYQ7rHnqpSZzBTQuiAv1akpAhUaTUUBA0d2lTc5F9ODeShB6J1w3tJFxqacsfah-fVPZLrHSNzOfLzkk6en6XHJvCnoHh3Z26gf5/s1600-h/crissy1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 183px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6elBBPP1LO9qLg0FhYhNGRyM0X7urfN3_KNsKm0gVbYQ7rHnqpSZzBTQuiAv1akpAhUaTUUBA0d2lTc5F9ODeShB6J1w3tJFxqacsfah-fVPZLrHSNzOfLzkk6en6XHJvCnoHh3Z26gf5/s320/crissy1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398967189482476546" /></a>But soon you could see all of it.<br /><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg56VV54cgemOmxhYOOwRTy-wYhye4jpAMqmZuhGyL8QJr48MCid55dHcDbDTw-iOidEZSGJMaYX0ecfkqYHYaich-HXsw2p-egf2Am4iRM-mTX-ECBFQNA1yn_Xxy8COJ3j4Kh_EhpMWFg/s1600-h/crissy2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 138px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg56VV54cgemOmxhYOOwRTy-wYhye4jpAMqmZuhGyL8QJr48MCid55dHcDbDTw-iOidEZSGJMaYX0ecfkqYHYaich-HXsw2p-egf2Am4iRM-mTX-ECBFQNA1yn_Xxy8COJ3j4Kh_EhpMWFg/s320/crissy2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398967179245709010" /></a><br /></div><div>I saw many birds today including four new types of birds. But today I'd like to focus on the Brown Pelican. Pelicans of all different ages were everywhere.</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">they like posts</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSrTTtir97Fr-9X1b7mwxWtr_aO9gAYPgvVVeh3PwvATz_jlrwsOv-VAIQM1oka8Gga0UmVagMhJhpHHLnolfVfgPoH2xe15we4nFwrCNA02-ujZ4PBAb67XhqdLSdUC_VaBx-h68sQ_rL/s1600-h/crissy3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 292px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSrTTtir97Fr-9X1b7mwxWtr_aO9gAYPgvVVeh3PwvATz_jlrwsOv-VAIQM1oka8Gga0UmVagMhJhpHHLnolfVfgPoH2xe15we4nFwrCNA02-ujZ4PBAb67XhqdLSdUC_VaBx-h68sQ_rL/s320/crissy3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398967176553080370" /></a><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">they especially like sitting on posts</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinxRtMVNiDk6u6azMW6BlEudA2In9OrPKm9GHhX5jxZuIkSF7Ayno-9eU-_iezYzcAjcghGkKV5tQ5CLIY3SNH8N4vfpu99O-VQBy4wSeSf_F-kDa5TwhnBfmUpdbc0tjviLSnpuTJ_sod/s1600-h/crissy4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinxRtMVNiDk6u6azMW6BlEudA2In9OrPKm9GHhX5jxZuIkSF7Ayno-9eU-_iezYzcAjcghGkKV5tQ5CLIY3SNH8N4vfpu99O-VQBy4wSeSf_F-kDa5TwhnBfmUpdbc0tjviLSnpuTJ_sod/s320/crissy4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398966969622894770" /></a><br /></div><div>The bird above is a subadult, which means he's transitioning from having a blue beak and brown feathers to a yellow beak and white feathers.</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">there was also a lot of flying</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9g_TwO2Xs3WZIxlTS2QIGDFvMjg83TMTp4OA0hPPB-Mv-kyIC3twzG6Gw7ImgVjDj2GV39hTeNMQKFqralNf-A23HxU4B25RrBW1OlWvuI8xu7E8epcovhs40LGAKWNP5cDPXAr3nYss3/s1600-h/crissy5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9g_TwO2Xs3WZIxlTS2QIGDFvMjg83TMTp4OA0hPPB-Mv-kyIC3twzG6Gw7ImgVjDj2GV39hTeNMQKFqralNf-A23HxU4B25RrBW1OlWvuI8xu7E8epcovhs40LGAKWNP5cDPXAr3nYss3/s320/crissy5.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398966961804036738" /></a><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">looking for fish</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHoJSy5fM3YeSl8szYswVv7xyco_E1zYxXZbPb_buDlR1iHzxV11M7simqQPX65yKGH021QZ4BoXcdB-7iCEB8_-fB41hONmCaelnnRQQlaw7YA6zl19XcJUUDIM7HUbaddCHnGacGZtPh/s1600-h/crissy6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHoJSy5fM3YeSl8szYswVv7xyco_E1zYxXZbPb_buDlR1iHzxV11M7simqQPX65yKGH021QZ4BoXcdB-7iCEB8_-fB41hONmCaelnnRQQlaw7YA6zl19XcJUUDIM7HUbaddCHnGacGZtPh/s320/crissy6.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398966959984350418" /></a><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">and diving!</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP2JDRloST2KhKOyFWN0LDZXljh1aalPf14CjRQ3Y9rDfTwaBcqOIctyufJe-MgR6YFBsTO06Bnl_o5LHIVvw6b_mBdWbTPJsbpcTNeBXtsX28I6jVcFiNHzd7DN6AVm-lyjTb3E3xktre/s1600-h/crissy7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP2JDRloST2KhKOyFWN0LDZXljh1aalPf14CjRQ3Y9rDfTwaBcqOIctyufJe-MgR6YFBsTO06Bnl_o5LHIVvw6b_mBdWbTPJsbpcTNeBXtsX28I6jVcFiNHzd7DN6AVm-lyjTb3E3xktre/s320/crissy7.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398966951849774034" /></a><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">sadly, most of my pictures of the diving looked like this</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2KOfxc-e6Kp7tnxYMfX9FhX8lT9RoO3t45vH7SlxgngBL7onzmnRSiqAiCSiDpffYdo1-_1t7vAqTRCxl7vmAjB1ReG-DpJ6oS6aK1PNizqbxpyZ0dZDYg56_Cdq_vXD3CnUS_D918yOU/s1600-h/crissy8.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2KOfxc-e6Kp7tnxYMfX9FhX8lT9RoO3t45vH7SlxgngBL7onzmnRSiqAiCSiDpffYdo1-_1t7vAqTRCxl7vmAjB1ReG-DpJ6oS6aK1PNizqbxpyZ0dZDYg56_Cdq_vXD3CnUS_D918yOU/s320/crissy8.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398966949065997906" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>The pictures above are of a nonbreeding adult.</div><div><br /></div><div>At one of the piers, there was an immature pelican checking out the view.</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXmOMdEKPZl02hsJmIxMMSZq_bcoopEd6EReRiKyBIlZ9qOy5PwZt6L7B_wpxEQCNTImvIgWrn3-urqb4bbw_bzbGLLGCou2GpQr8FZ70S3U4AishJGOV3VXIg_qQr4_Mgt9WxB0NffVGu/s1600-h/crissy9.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 151px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXmOMdEKPZl02hsJmIxMMSZq_bcoopEd6EReRiKyBIlZ9qOy5PwZt6L7B_wpxEQCNTImvIgWrn3-urqb4bbw_bzbGLLGCou2GpQr8FZ70S3U4AishJGOV3VXIg_qQr4_Mgt9WxB0NffVGu/s320/crissy9.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398966705315726386" /></a><br /></div><div>He is so beautiful. I'm transfixed by pelicans because they look so different depending upon their position and age. I love the immature pelicans because of their blue beak.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5j7rn-tyBgtj5wH0SiNJRi4VIKqqy8QctKFvNN85dqllM9cojmoC3MJfNBEYirDwKUJFPrdy2s3M0B5_mZTBd6huLyPBHwqH0n6rA_7K27VTnQeh4DrELPMNYMUiXkfCv6ZAqSQrP2RoG/s1600-h/crissy10.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5j7rn-tyBgtj5wH0SiNJRi4VIKqqy8QctKFvNN85dqllM9cojmoC3MJfNBEYirDwKUJFPrdy2s3M0B5_mZTBd6huLyPBHwqH0n6rA_7K27VTnQeh4DrELPMNYMUiXkfCv6ZAqSQrP2RoG/s320/crissy10.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398966699958642786" /></a><br /></div><div>He was completely comfortable being near people. You can see here how the guy on the left was less than a foot away from the pelican.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvOA8S1jYhkY8IoJ6FCsiKr3R912b78v-jXQUxIXMy2GNYKTCeo5MmYKN2o7sAA7A9Np4Ppt5RwCeH04EDXiEProLGUlJbWjligcQ-IxJ3TQO4PFxUQSL1b7dPN5VnOsTWjIqyMU3tk7mX/s1600-h/crissy11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvOA8S1jYhkY8IoJ6FCsiKr3R912b78v-jXQUxIXMy2GNYKTCeo5MmYKN2o7sAA7A9Np4Ppt5RwCeH04EDXiEProLGUlJbWjligcQ-IxJ3TQO4PFxUQSL1b7dPN5VnOsTWjIqyMU3tk7mX/s320/crissy11.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398966694161247330" /></a><br /></div><div>He let me take hundreds of pictures.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1hcoVryXPy8z_mWER_F9FAzZvXT6obAM7H6RhU0okcW7sXRcH_LdAw0g5SykApopYNqayPx_CugpetEHmskGeulY6dgMcb-pNtK20r91jYz4EFptJm5heuhMrCmHxyv1jqg_qHrH4Hr8s/s1600-h/crissy12.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 294px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1hcoVryXPy8z_mWER_F9FAzZvXT6obAM7H6RhU0okcW7sXRcH_LdAw0g5SykApopYNqayPx_CugpetEHmskGeulY6dgMcb-pNtK20r91jYz4EFptJm5heuhMrCmHxyv1jqg_qHrH4Hr8s/s320/crissy12.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398966684839991826" /></a><br /></div><div>When pelicans fly they look so graceful. So it was funny to see this one standing. He looks rather squat.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdQ033gwBBTBS0ReAojPimoP3n7NkvMGYd7xlCGwJKZoKBkhAIO49BuMlYBLYSE_TN6vhkH8u-ySvVFbM8kKVj_4XqVTxxf1jWJMzRATY1kyr8RfxgfmzsGODo8rTyAiY4wcscl1wD9hXT/s1600-h/crissy13.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 282px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdQ033gwBBTBS0ReAojPimoP3n7NkvMGYd7xlCGwJKZoKBkhAIO49BuMlYBLYSE_TN6vhkH8u-ySvVFbM8kKVj_4XqVTxxf1jWJMzRATY1kyr8RfxgfmzsGODo8rTyAiY4wcscl1wD9hXT/s320/crissy13.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398966681595628034" /></a><br /></div><div>Next time, maybe I should bring a treat.</div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-9930166064984684132009-10-28T20:17:00.001-07:002009-10-28T20:51:15.357-07:00Bird Book Review: Providence of a Sparrow<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Gm5LB9Gx760a2ONlWNXJik42twnB7x3Oh2JBsOsyLDU7HciHBxUfVCguebZel63krt_Lel0umH8dCMlmVnVwj_Ftz0Q9DkyQcBxw00UPOPh-grrjTY-gNBTj5AS8C5E5GsCiyWxstUoE/s1600-h/415HXZ0XE9L._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Gm5LB9Gx760a2ONlWNXJik42twnB7x3Oh2JBsOsyLDU7HciHBxUfVCguebZel63krt_Lel0umH8dCMlmVnVwj_Ftz0Q9DkyQcBxw00UPOPh-grrjTY-gNBTj5AS8C5E5GsCiyWxstUoE/s320/415HXZ0XE9L._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397855959944781810" /></a>I really enjoy reading books that feature birds. Providence of a Sparrow is great because it starts with a sparrow named B and goes through Chester's life with B and his wife and later additions to their flock. The stories are linear and the writing style flows smoothly. <div><br /></div><div>Unlike many books that focus solely on the birds, Chester talks a lot about his relationship with B and his personal struggles. Specifically, Chester struggles with depression. You really sympathize with Chester and suffer along with him. In the world of bird books, it's a refreshing change from the typical saccharine books about pets.<div><br /></div><div>Some people may dislike his writing style, so it's important to be prepared before investing time in the book. Chester is a bit of a philosopher and the biggest complaint on Amazon is that he uses "big words" when shorter words would suffice. He's not pretentious, though, so I think that once readers dislike the style, they'll look for any way to criticize the book.</div><div><br /></div><div>I wish he wrote more than this one book, but sadly Chester died in 2007. There is a very detailed article about him <a href="http://blog.oregonlive.com/oregonianextra/2007/05/sparrow_man.html">here</a> if you're interested.</div></div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-44525167176457275022009-10-25T14:00:00.000-07:002009-10-25T14:00:00.060-07:00Turkey Vultures<div>Turkey vultures are very common in California. I usually seem them hovering above open fields. Here is a picture of one up close from the San Francisco Zoo.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTgWCH0_k7HWmmSc3a-8tdBTqNNuqq7h_XBIoyzwCwxdu06olMfPZQ_sww5KLYGYGm7N9T_iRqzsa6m-ofaii2h-uKW6WLxkOK1ED_slzgo6QPtfMLFJ_l4guY66tZ2xQpRDmPWR5ajfY6/s1600-h/vulture1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 191px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTgWCH0_k7HWmmSc3a-8tdBTqNNuqq7h_XBIoyzwCwxdu06olMfPZQ_sww5KLYGYGm7N9T_iRqzsa6m-ofaii2h-uKW6WLxkOK1ED_slzgo6QPtfMLFJ_l4guY66tZ2xQpRDmPWR5ajfY6/s320/vulture1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394896493341289138" /></a>Below is the best picture that I've taken so far. You can see that his beak is white and you can almost make out the black ring around his eye.<br /><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_aJtUbk-3lgBqUcoQYRrepnOmttnpyHXCwuqyaiSNisA_lEiI7Ok8B3Or-6neDthoNs1Zk_Edb6wogJegOhKzub6UEffIqAN53HyZPmhBIM9rOaW-_ZGUC8NE4OopTpIwv0VJ7PDh_jbU/s1600-h/vulture2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_aJtUbk-3lgBqUcoQYRrepnOmttnpyHXCwuqyaiSNisA_lEiI7Ok8B3Or-6neDthoNs1Zk_Edb6wogJegOhKzub6UEffIqAN53HyZPmhBIM9rOaW-_ZGUC8NE4OopTpIwv0VJ7PDh_jbU/s320/vulture2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394896452100568466" /></a>This is usually all that I can photograph.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOEJ4DsjtKtDNlLDqS4HQeN1HK_w8GgKk2tstH40LGgoNa3rs__0_3eCdM4_W9fRIKA2Wet_fF22wOJnLUjoO_aqv3wPOuqXYBgxrMUVsIqtRBb48_HuM6scA_NhhDwngw6fQ71VZ7ayLh/s1600-h/vulture3.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOEJ4DsjtKtDNlLDqS4HQeN1HK_w8GgKk2tstH40LGgoNa3rs__0_3eCdM4_W9fRIKA2Wet_fF22wOJnLUjoO_aqv3wPOuqXYBgxrMUVsIqtRBb48_HuM6scA_NhhDwngw6fQ71VZ7ayLh/s320/vulture3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394893016493631554" /></a></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></span></div>Their wingspan is 69 inches.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6erc5AC60Pa5grDjb4HTIuP5JpnuaXX3Qkp_X7iHTbDLn66OSJIiCoR9Q5diaJaVknrg9WdaBVNSTBensKMeacglXWDavWkvGDwGdu17tkvfWvfkWNqe_yrYQesNq3HdTU8UMpweHKcF/s1600-h/vulture4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6erc5AC60Pa5grDjb4HTIuP5JpnuaXX3Qkp_X7iHTbDLn66OSJIiCoR9Q5diaJaVknrg9WdaBVNSTBensKMeacglXWDavWkvGDwGdu17tkvfWvfkWNqe_yrYQesNq3HdTU8UMpweHKcF/s320/vulture4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394893011175764546" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I like the silvery underwing feathers.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCgVuozxb4ZDGwLT90qa-E8V2gpBqNX4UXFzxZteV4DZg3DKadcGFct98czk-O5uL1ic7WzFe-khrMaE4aRJcHetl5MXfoLfmYpEW3T2ZG-A1smuCm2cfU1i-Q-AI0YcErkRfombabZSC/s1600-h/vulture6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 116px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCgVuozxb4ZDGwLT90qa-E8V2gpBqNX4UXFzxZteV4DZg3DKadcGFct98czk-O5uL1ic7WzFe-khrMaE4aRJcHetl5MXfoLfmYpEW3T2ZG-A1smuCm2cfU1i-Q-AI0YcErkRfombabZSC/s320/vulture6.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394892997656116770" /></a><br /></div><div>Some people find them creepy looking because of the lack of feathers on their head. Vultures don't have feathers on their head because they stick their heads inside carcasses and the feathers would harbor bacteria.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN6awDTy-lYY6upwj6mEVmE7ZMMihUrzuGrPWfYhnsllv5jKBNAQ5toWq9V-o6laHRWpt7PVqA5mNoB5gaM2y2MYucVm8d5IA9TGaMd7kxDGHVIRrL4AXP_ZKkgYStLLggpQKT7PPLrYeP/s1600-h/vulture7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN6awDTy-lYY6upwj6mEVmE7ZMMihUrzuGrPWfYhnsllv5jKBNAQ5toWq9V-o6laHRWpt7PVqA5mNoB5gaM2y2MYucVm8d5IA9TGaMd7kxDGHVIRrL4AXP_ZKkgYStLLggpQKT7PPLrYeP/s320/vulture7.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394892994191592818" /></a><br /></div><div>I see them as graceful.</div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-64542922282433308682009-10-23T19:59:00.000-07:002009-10-23T19:59:00.534-07:00Cross-Stitch Macaw<div>My mother has a blue-and-gold macaw. Isn't he beautiful?</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitPNolLcDp9_ekDxZaX7yBKWFob7iXXd60lbSFqNNB8_Ifaau5mN1oVcv8Hau3tNuJiXGGd1R7WYLMS77dchZdp4i8QKD7rARJCJ_bikf_ApMgCTmp3arNhEp4SxFs2LkqY3eyyZmWsk-L/s1600-h/suess_closeup_090103-s.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitPNolLcDp9_ekDxZaX7yBKWFob7iXXd60lbSFqNNB8_Ifaau5mN1oVcv8Hau3tNuJiXGGd1R7WYLMS77dchZdp4i8QKD7rARJCJ_bikf_ApMgCTmp3arNhEp4SxFs2LkqY3eyyZmWsk-L/s320/suess_closeup_090103-s.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391914838556238946" /></a>He is not a fan of me. Below is a picture of him trying to kill me. Look at his colors!<br /><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXcNQ3li29X0bhgkFFMbGEKpx5IXSgSw2ukYl_331BIhg3PBTvs1JS1ohVD1BEZq0IR8DHWpMF-ynfH2u4Fp97Y6WHGw3ZEK2oPyIsr3BgMJVvGEXPoEKEIcxWkiChdxcw2LdRN4yZIAox/s1600-h/suess_elise01+(2).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXcNQ3li29X0bhgkFFMbGEKpx5IXSgSw2ukYl_331BIhg3PBTvs1JS1ohVD1BEZq0IR8DHWpMF-ynfH2u4Fp97Y6WHGw3ZEK2oPyIsr3BgMJVvGEXPoEKEIcxWkiChdxcw2LdRN4yZIAox/s320/suess_elise01+(2).jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391914829642946674" /></a>For Christmas last year, Jon gave me this wonderful software program called <a href="ttp://www.stitchesapp.com/">Stitches</a>. Stitches takes a photo and generates a cross stitch pattern. It's very configurable. You can specify the size of the pattern, the number of colors, it does everything! </div><div><br /></div><div>It's easy to use on your computer too because it creates a giant pdf. I love working with a single pdf. Before I was using patterns printed on paper and you have to line up the different papers. I wasted so much time on matching up the papers. </div><div><br /></div><div>After eight months of work, I completed a cross-stitch version of my mom's macaw:</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSyjk7NCZGWrSicIQ-Wbxs0ow21stQ-qeI2deM-Ckyc_nMXhI8yL-2znqlQwxjQyYCEr2bQBdGhdycyEnQBuct6dEpfMitvmv72k6fLzW-GwZJRrRv3WHvBLGKky62WwNGHVME4cayCOwd/s1600-h/macaw2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSyjk7NCZGWrSicIQ-Wbxs0ow21stQ-qeI2deM-Ckyc_nMXhI8yL-2znqlQwxjQyYCEr2bQBdGhdycyEnQBuct6dEpfMitvmv72k6fLzW-GwZJRrRv3WHvBLGKky62WwNGHVME4cayCOwd/s320/macaw2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391914821719674802" /></a>I used 150 different colors. It was so much fun to create each section and then step back and see how it forms a shape. The best transformations came from the tongue and the claws.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had the picture framed.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85MsR9hlzy7OTqvNTGtudtMPki_U3sfPOcRQA9mi9CCPlX6hAz-1gRGzg3r6QLCcEdXurbYEOA3GhlSGAAVjPlxndMhtTvKrB5l3EdGHqijf5b1gXofFLGzMk38d6bxP4YmKoP5yupDI4/s1600-h/macaw3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 283px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85MsR9hlzy7OTqvNTGtudtMPki_U3sfPOcRQA9mi9CCPlX6hAz-1gRGzg3r6QLCcEdXurbYEOA3GhlSGAAVjPlxndMhtTvKrB5l3EdGHqijf5b1gXofFLGzMk38d6bxP4YmKoP5yupDI4/s320/macaw3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391914812371892866" /></a>Mom reports that her bird is very suspicious of the picture because it's bigger than him. He'll look at it and bob his head.</div><div><br /></div><div>For my next project I want to do the cockatiels. I want to capture them in their signature poses. When I think of Conner, I picture him bowing down and cocking his head slightly to look at me. When I think of Audrey, I think of him standing straight up with his huge crest or bowing down, wings quivering in a flirty pose. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm trying to get those pictures but so far all I'm capturing is distress.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicJLtT_C2RylNjilvEX63poz51UP4aPr-3jyWio2vSphLmRGXU9JNbKtUdzQ0xSd9ij7e9aXd0nHd9w1rMMMxolEAchax7br7_qZlFAMbdTAatyas_S7h1Vk37pCdcj6_-HiYD1EOvE8XS/s1600-h/macaw4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicJLtT_C2RylNjilvEX63poz51UP4aPr-3jyWio2vSphLmRGXU9JNbKtUdzQ0xSd9ij7e9aXd0nHd9w1rMMMxolEAchax7br7_qZlFAMbdTAatyas_S7h1Vk37pCdcj6_-HiYD1EOvE8XS/s320/macaw4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391914803238280562" /></a>Poor Audrey! </div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-38129547805978261992009-10-21T20:30:00.000-07:002009-10-28T11:56:32.695-07:00Cockatiel Flirting<div>The cockatiels enjoy playing together. If you bring Conner up to Audrey's cage, they'll start making kissing noises at each other. If you put the cockatiels on the bed, they go into flirting mode. Below, Audrey is on the left.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">here we go up!</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigqIh305i-puGP1r1GiI5LhSRvBxOnL0cX9q9rzJLgrUkQD5yH4phJlefkKFLhlO9lgH_QyuJvh5oIm6JPJhp-1nU0WxlxwpK7Xy72oRrj4qY-t33LzgP3u6iJmiR1i17naT1t-blRbY0d/s1600-h/tiel1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigqIh305i-puGP1r1GiI5LhSRvBxOnL0cX9q9rzJLgrUkQD5yH4phJlefkKFLhlO9lgH_QyuJvh5oIm6JPJhp-1nU0WxlxwpK7Xy72oRrj4qY-t33LzgP3u6iJmiR1i17naT1t-blRbY0d/s320/tiel1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395262107712590114" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">(all photos taken by Jon)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">now we go down</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhynOuCSQzoryALUJNljpkdxYs05rsd4QgL9VXqSMZEre1v4jhSkKm1mPwwIpx9AACP_ulF9glPjkB0Bs6pjLEnZBKCnkCdlChZV4rQRD1Npa8HsDFinl_yzypi28-vsWi4ucsgdtiMUnTm/s1600-h/tiel2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhynOuCSQzoryALUJNljpkdxYs05rsd4QgL9VXqSMZEre1v4jhSkKm1mPwwIpx9AACP_ulF9glPjkB0Bs6pjLEnZBKCnkCdlChZV4rQRD1Npa8HsDFinl_yzypi28-vsWi4ucsgdtiMUnTm/s320/tiel2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395262022243057906" /></a><br /></div><div>I recommend that if you are ever depressed and you don't have a cockatiel, you should visit one. They make me so happy with their enthusiasm. Below, Conner missed the instruction to bend down and quiver his wings. Audrey is showing Conner the proper move.</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">like this, with the wings spread out</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzM0x4WgdB1WKP3I-J-8JUqVJkcB0MYjKRW14uZLXpaQzBSeKrlsl6k-ZGPvqeypsELf7LQ5icQGqaxwBk18LMJjNn5sxJ3umHuAM2UVIo2dk99ggz_QEiyb9H5t6WJtBMz1bS_gCZGOUE/s1600-h/tiel3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 219px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzM0x4WgdB1WKP3I-J-8JUqVJkcB0MYjKRW14uZLXpaQzBSeKrlsl6k-ZGPvqeypsELf7LQ5icQGqaxwBk18LMJjNn5sxJ3umHuAM2UVIo2dk99ggz_QEiyb9H5t6WJtBMz1bS_gCZGOUE/s320/tiel3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395262018435127938" /></a><br /></div><div>At the end of a serious flirting session, Audrey relaxes on my shoulder. </div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj30vOGzhXRx7towMp4bUb3OZmS6qKTZVM4RiE2dTvvSP8DbyXpNRZfiOXcfi1jAeYxGJdEriIUvW5Qagmrl1s1OkRdIZOZr9sj20qHLVzg35SYL7UrZpKwQ8qn_WwBi_rKAjcV_dpjVCZA/s1600-h/tiel4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj30vOGzhXRx7towMp4bUb3OZmS6qKTZVM4RiE2dTvvSP8DbyXpNRZfiOXcfi1jAeYxGJdEriIUvW5Qagmrl1s1OkRdIZOZr9sj20qHLVzg35SYL7UrZpKwQ8qn_WwBi_rKAjcV_dpjVCZA/s320/tiel4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395262012230022978" /></a><br /></div><div>This was captured right in the middle of a puff. You can see the dust coming off of him!</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbdRW-2ZwxFUWDzlPPEuhtxFK53JTamUFVAX39hWp5KIyHJ-zVu_1hhqcO_EqITsqBuk7U57-0MzKIwNrEPpcgI7_woYlZFQqM9bGKLyeqm49ZOL8x7R4HqXGwSv4syy6dhlhXIWBFg6jK/s1600-h/tiel5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 310px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbdRW-2ZwxFUWDzlPPEuhtxFK53JTamUFVAX39hWp5KIyHJ-zVu_1hhqcO_EqITsqBuk7U57-0MzKIwNrEPpcgI7_woYlZFQqM9bGKLyeqm49ZOL8x7R4HqXGwSv4syy6dhlhXIWBFg6jK/s320/tiel5.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395261997443097330" /></a><br /></div><div>Audrey is so dramatic when he gets puffy. He shakes out every feather.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKIJUWyZopvRcySB_dqeuKLr784t_0UUIVi2FNqeWd76mtQb6MHA5ixsrkM213HLcM9IPJAw_1JyrvXeOi2MKY2J7ElprhcWlbeN1oe0syl35vPLCNt_oCGLFk6ZMXvk0GoLBHj_R353s/s1600-h/tiel6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 278px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKIJUWyZopvRcySB_dqeuKLr784t_0UUIVi2FNqeWd76mtQb6MHA5ixsrkM213HLcM9IPJAw_1JyrvXeOi2MKY2J7ElprhcWlbeN1oe0syl35vPLCNt_oCGLFk6ZMXvk0GoLBHj_R353s/s320/tiel6.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395261991439408146" /></a><br /></div><div>Such satisfaction!</div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-86755749686919573262009-10-19T12:22:00.001-07:002009-10-19T20:16:55.514-07:00Overheard at the Beach<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNkU58fvNthwjpq9hWjhoOrBNWJZJ_ATq6vAlhgvSmhOT8_8CfB-S8i5pf9bNgECVm_vm_AW6BgFOkg6FcdyKRCyLq2hhxnEF6_0pQ-RubH477Zp0g4aQ87wPmyREDBMQsjUp72MvdYLPk/s1600-h/marine+preserve.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 126px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNkU58fvNthwjpq9hWjhoOrBNWJZJ_ATq6vAlhgvSmhOT8_8CfB-S8i5pf9bNgECVm_vm_AW6BgFOkg6FcdyKRCyLq2hhxnEF6_0pQ-RubH477Zp0g4aQ87wPmyREDBMQsjUp72MvdYLPk/s320/marine+preserve.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394515830124612754" /></a><div><br /></div>Yesterday I was taking pictures at the Marine Fitzgerald preserve. I was standing in the ocean on top of some rocks, trying to move as slowly as possible to photograph some Black Turnstones. Behind me people were walking around picking up snails and things from the rocks. I could hear a little girl speaking: "Look, a starfish! Look, a sea anomie! Look, a photographer!" I was very happy to be included in her list of exciting things.Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-26858489482878180582009-10-18T20:22:00.000-07:002009-10-19T12:22:10.132-07:00Western Gull<div>It's time for another gull post!</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OBVEOUPO1w_QPxE5OA6QW_ems7jWwjuZNg6ZwNIqxCmVXGqSuDaMX7nEuzFVZsQXoIawE_tSa6Y4CmBTfxJxOvN4cWV8ncjodtDWEYnblAz1cW4yld0KUWe7Pmlnsh7fvOBDihkv28X1/s1600-h/gull1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 130px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OBVEOUPO1w_QPxE5OA6QW_ems7jWwjuZNg6ZwNIqxCmVXGqSuDaMX7nEuzFVZsQXoIawE_tSa6Y4CmBTfxJxOvN4cWV8ncjodtDWEYnblAz1cW4yld0KUWe7Pmlnsh7fvOBDihkv28X1/s320/gull1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394147154184798114" /></a>Gulls are so hard to identify. I mean, I don't even know where to begin with the picture below. What's with the grey feet? That's not in my field guides.<br /><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeFD-3StMALGSz9SA1YPW2C5PB2oRls4aKbZC6oBEjP0sk_4isJSJRpfWdK0-5rh1MzLMTHejvdqfLAisk2uQvxagUa14QGLBgBRlfwyeNaoiw2k_bp1n_fx5eCTnA0dMKjIF5UsAOSSO/s1600-h/gull2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 243px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeFD-3StMALGSz9SA1YPW2C5PB2oRls4aKbZC6oBEjP0sk_4isJSJRpfWdK0-5rh1MzLMTHejvdqfLAisk2uQvxagUa14QGLBgBRlfwyeNaoiw2k_bp1n_fx5eCTnA0dMKjIF5UsAOSSO/s320/gull2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394147145609106466" /></a>I can, however, identify Western Gulls. The first step in narrowing down gulls is to look at the feet. <a href="http://cockatielchaos.blogspot.com/2009/06/california-gulls.html">California Gulls</a> have yellow feet. Herring Gulls, Thayer Gulls, and Western Gulls have pink feet.</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">this is MY log, buddy</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhep1ezusNwf4CVxDS0J1izNli8vHEHYR6jVjhN4NSh-BZWnBuPxofadKtcS7bX86bVVCz0HiQ6AlHmebKakakR3aS5R911T_KokUwPH4YVMqnZblY6g1102a6ZZbEb-4YL9SqEaOT3dGD9/s320/gull4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394147127615367394" />Western gulls have a yellow ring of skin surrounding the eye called an orbital ring.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgxoqkNxgXaaJ8fifDVzpLvg0j8JM1LCoY-PxcJNLxCjJQoVWoQVEORkLuc-FKyVoymsj8rgz18waSeJ_017kktOAtRn9XRbsDmhEJuA2p7Vyo8aUmV_KLHqEc_iY23Qrl1SQlzP4WhTT/s1600-h/gull3.jpg"></a></div><div><br /></div><div><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgxoqkNxgXaaJ8fifDVzpLvg0j8JM1LCoY-PxcJNLxCjJQoVWoQVEORkLuc-FKyVoymsj8rgz18waSeJ_017kktOAtRn9XRbsDmhEJuA2p7Vyo8aUmV_KLHqEc_iY23Qrl1SQlzP4WhTT/s320/gull3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394147133939690770" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgxoqkNxgXaaJ8fifDVzpLvg0j8JM1LCoY-PxcJNLxCjJQoVWoQVEORkLuc-FKyVoymsj8rgz18waSeJ_017kktOAtRn9XRbsDmhEJuA2p7Vyo8aUmV_KLHqEc_iY23Qrl1SQlzP4WhTT/s1600-h/gull3.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgxoqkNxgXaaJ8fifDVzpLvg0j8JM1LCoY-PxcJNLxCjJQoVWoQVEORkLuc-FKyVoymsj8rgz18waSeJ_017kktOAtRn9XRbsDmhEJuA2p7Vyo8aUmV_KLHqEc_iY23Qrl1SQlzP4WhTT/s1600-h/gull3.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;">W</a>estern gulls are extremely common. They're perfectly happy hanging out with other types of gulls. The mottled gray birds below are only a few years old. Adult plumage doesn't come in for a few years. </span></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJhXNy5PPAacNLU8Hkjd_FdxIFC5q0tkPFwBpFSmKsONy3HY0xT6YthnJQEC8IzX_DkvYailGSvBv5ra8adYUfGzA9AKgWEMKGI-v7APtaybLtuQJGPDuPlJ2Lpcm8JC3E4djtapfDavu/s1600-h/gull5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJhXNy5PPAacNLU8Hkjd_FdxIFC5q0tkPFwBpFSmKsONy3HY0xT6YthnJQEC8IzX_DkvYailGSvBv5ra8adYUfGzA9AKgWEMKGI-v7APtaybLtuQJGPDuPlJ2Lpcm8JC3E4djtapfDavu/s320/gull5.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394146965545549986" /></a>They're not intimidated by humans.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF3ydWMtrsjEHk0OviT3aBiuBXCGF0C41tkG8yFN-fhhwrV-NZ_EejBJshLWywU_WcKMiyfU6ghUES22cD99CvEtlUan1Giis8j-e3MYOcTGsr4K4cDKipX4OA1FyDFCWnISiOOp_UCjQq/s1600-h/gull6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF3ydWMtrsjEHk0OviT3aBiuBXCGF0C41tkG8yFN-fhhwrV-NZ_EejBJshLWywU_WcKMiyfU6ghUES22cD99CvEtlUan1Giis8j-e3MYOcTGsr4K4cDKipX4OA1FyDFCWnISiOOp_UCjQq/s320/gull6.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394146951675868674" /></a>These were taken in Monterey, where the skies are blue, unlike lovely gray Pescadero.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJGwNn7WnS5KeM9Cc5WOK1z1mO_EbjXMuTIMhZAYRAlrL_ztkm9t9muCtx3jTAQpiOaPEm8-tJARHLd71uHI7Ae96LVqtFjW9RkpbZiMocvObdzEN5CKnfBNJhmglP0AqnSiL6yK9mNdK/s1600-h/gull7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJGwNn7WnS5KeM9Cc5WOK1z1mO_EbjXMuTIMhZAYRAlrL_ztkm9t9muCtx3jTAQpiOaPEm8-tJARHLd71uHI7Ae96LVqtFjW9RkpbZiMocvObdzEN5CKnfBNJhmglP0AqnSiL6yK9mNdK/s320/gull7.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394146862338144514" /></a><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">wait for meee</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegHKpPtu9TXVVgtjCEQ5tKk_EF0Fdn9NrMU0glomrvVSYblqGdSftxlxlAmTndLzyRO1bz9K2XbPL88npFyOvvYR6ZEWkUCNYkMf73NSV71QmAIPV7WQLGi9CvTqcbtH5RED8_2bO3l6L/s1600-h/gull8.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegHKpPtu9TXVVgtjCEQ5tKk_EF0Fdn9NrMU0glomrvVSYblqGdSftxlxlAmTndLzyRO1bz9K2XbPL88npFyOvvYR6ZEWkUCNYkMf73NSV71QmAIPV7WQLGi9CvTqcbtH5RED8_2bO3l6L/s320/gull8.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394146852892790178" /></a><br /></div><div>Below is my favorite Western Gull picture. This guy on a bench was offering food, and the gulls all rushed to get the food first. I love the gull in the lower right. I'm particularly fond of open beak pictures.</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">mayhem</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs23s3lXsVKQ5niW3tEENZ71-NBk1lD4RQEBifha12xH1qiE4_j8drr10NxIBQEkB48iYpqoZZgmI0dPtwyGnyejHUOhAG1kF2lMOG0Dz_Rp7Q_M7RtD0xsp1vTZ5GiHHRPwdp_pNIKHV4/s1600-h/gull9.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs23s3lXsVKQ5niW3tEENZ71-NBk1lD4RQEBifha12xH1qiE4_j8drr10NxIBQEkB48iYpqoZZgmI0dPtwyGnyejHUOhAG1kF2lMOG0Dz_Rp7Q_M7RtD0xsp1vTZ5GiHHRPwdp_pNIKHV4/s320/gull9.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394146759748232258" /></a><br /></div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-86552586993773173972009-10-17T14:23:00.000-07:002009-10-17T18:34:10.169-07:00Townsend's Warbler<div>Northern California have tons of warblers. So far I have seen Wilson's Warblers, <a href="http://cockatielchaos.blogspot.com/2009/09/yellow-rumped-warbler.html">Yellow-Rumped Warblers</a>, and Townsend's Warblers. The Townsend's Warblers are distinguishable by their raccoon eyes.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqkxl3uQInh5M0em0X-BaJPd-JGe6cegYELldMTx7cUFz5I6cCCNxPMRUuHGu5s4TSrtUkdcq9ix5O8FxKjy6g9N4ohTy_G2M3m1DCWxge5SEZ1_qCMz7VaLVS1j5qzSfWgNxZqGiOXamf/s1600-h/warbler1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 198px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqkxl3uQInh5M0em0X-BaJPd-JGe6cegYELldMTx7cUFz5I6cCCNxPMRUuHGu5s4TSrtUkdcq9ix5O8FxKjy6g9N4ohTy_G2M3m1DCWxge5SEZ1_qCMz7VaLVS1j5qzSfWgNxZqGiOXamf/s320/warbler1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393682968670878354" /></a>These guys are very shy. I saw them several times before I could ever capture a picture. The picture above was the only picture that I captured for six months. Last week, one stayed still long enough for me to capture more than one picture!<br /><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFZu61mcINyD_sFqcudZvADTKt6q9wpJKV5R7Qv07ZYKIhWw0jpWW20wgE-cBKScBlp5S-gUMA0_1MqGOR3GMwGj-3Z-n_Q8DvOiE3ZjDo3tQjZfZqRd9Feo_sdxbjw6WBzJsumVdKjal/s1600-h/warbler2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFZu61mcINyD_sFqcudZvADTKt6q9wpJKV5R7Qv07ZYKIhWw0jpWW20wgE-cBKScBlp5S-gUMA0_1MqGOR3GMwGj-3Z-n_Q8DvOiE3ZjDo3tQjZfZqRd9Feo_sdxbjw6WBzJsumVdKjal/s320/warbler2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393682961020220658" /></a>The males have a black throat.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2aBJ1v3tGgElzuoYTf88XMagL98UZfoySb39yR-v1-8vM24lKGQURqslBxXHazPADF1qlCjvPbvAa3HqR8tJcDYvX3DwrDY3LssyhcFOG4_6O9fF7IdmiaZaXEWrMoeqHLtegkp_Y6Oro/s1600-h/warbler3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2aBJ1v3tGgElzuoYTf88XMagL98UZfoySb39yR-v1-8vM24lKGQURqslBxXHazPADF1qlCjvPbvAa3HqR8tJcDYvX3DwrDY3LssyhcFOG4_6O9fF7IdmiaZaXEWrMoeqHLtegkp_Y6Oro/s320/warbler3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393682952082361858" /></a>They like to hang out in conifers and use moss to line their nests.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicxDkYlq0m65lKZdqADorRk_DC8SwI8L4tqlspzurDV5lOR1J4q2db4Lg_aoEJN7FrvROWeSG52S4K1M8nBz3UvoZSeF3OaErIQ62SUFa8A8L86Aof9XdgmjkrOxXB8pAfTLUiaIYPoh5l/s1600-h/warbler4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 245px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicxDkYlq0m65lKZdqADorRk_DC8SwI8L4tqlspzurDV5lOR1J4q2db4Lg_aoEJN7FrvROWeSG52S4K1M8nBz3UvoZSeF3OaErIQ62SUFa8A8L86Aof9XdgmjkrOxXB8pAfTLUiaIYPoh5l/s320/warbler4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393682945018477906" /></a>I like their quick and careful movements.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-RJLyo0dv7uJk36c0LpcGRDkqwIXuRVpSJNiGAujvl4jihU9PwRhRGrRtu9_iRiDl4M07uZymEUO7qJK0E2u7WjHwn59jlHyrfm8aq8ufJ_8JN3Q4Ghr2sPvatjhM1nhyuRjybyIXld-y/s1600-h/warbler5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 290px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-RJLyo0dv7uJk36c0LpcGRDkqwIXuRVpSJNiGAujvl4jihU9PwRhRGrRtu9_iRiDl4M07uZymEUO7qJK0E2u7WjHwn59jlHyrfm8aq8ufJ_8JN3Q4Ghr2sPvatjhM1nhyuRjybyIXld-y/s320/warbler5.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393682935682172802" /></a><br /></div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-41455594026050767612009-10-14T20:39:00.000-07:002009-10-14T20:48:44.725-07:00Audrey<div>Sometimes I can catch Audrey in the right mood.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6UHeyBeHbZQsgsfvJJ2B6jlrJACqi_fBoHipm_j3oR5-ChHKebNp_UN4hL7olZK_1p5P_SC0ldCWHx0lufVyIahIVlxC_SEH3yhjO68MQcqnqj_APWzgiwJAp2vpiqP8ro_qlj_IyiX3I/s1600-h/Audrey.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6UHeyBeHbZQsgsfvJJ2B6jlrJACqi_fBoHipm_j3oR5-ChHKebNp_UN4hL7olZK_1p5P_SC0ldCWHx0lufVyIahIVlxC_SEH3yhjO68MQcqnqj_APWzgiwJAp2vpiqP8ro_qlj_IyiX3I/s320/Audrey.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392666694549593586" /></a>He sits on my hand every night for scratches.<br /><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjflwLQubebEqgI_zGrNU172iPYarblbKBGp9HNfKw6yP2ygW-4DwPU9S19YSXdnoi0gLvnDiVkulW82VvYQBAae1qEAjPbxwSGLr5P8zbW96hp3sYfyLRSyYpCxnuAudBWiRAlyzUesC_4/s1600-h/audrey1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjflwLQubebEqgI_zGrNU172iPYarblbKBGp9HNfKw6yP2ygW-4DwPU9S19YSXdnoi0gLvnDiVkulW82VvYQBAae1qEAjPbxwSGLr5P8zbW96hp3sYfyLRSyYpCxnuAudBWiRAlyzUesC_4/s320/audrey1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392666690978551986" /></a>But it's rare when he does his fancy preening, which occurs when he puffs up and has exaggerated movements.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX8DR6UQzz4f3ZVkcb_PaC8LiQH_wMDCqWz6ACOn7OkptEcQdGQ8C1URDCCV9DtZoRlWNDG2UuHSarUivtAmdzn1VH4XylCZEUOM18JgTxc95y7O4uvUCo8lwFROnkZ03tAN74pMl_1IIZ/s1600-h/audrey2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 238px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX8DR6UQzz4f3ZVkcb_PaC8LiQH_wMDCqWz6ACOn7OkptEcQdGQ8C1URDCCV9DtZoRlWNDG2UuHSarUivtAmdzn1VH4XylCZEUOM18JgTxc95y7O4uvUCo8lwFROnkZ03tAN74pMl_1IIZ/s320/audrey2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392666680852527074" /></a>On Saturday Audrey was <i>affectionate</i>.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyNUsRdpv92lhVWa9cZutjXHaDVqzTax4zjNOhVHcZU2drCaF65piZsD_08vFsGjEfoZOSgaosGljnTrn8I2vNooEpKXKT2b3_hvOZ8vqOiH7Omxich8IExTF88jCoJO3HY10VCr5jaa7w/s1600-h/audrey3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyNUsRdpv92lhVWa9cZutjXHaDVqzTax4zjNOhVHcZU2drCaF65piZsD_08vFsGjEfoZOSgaosGljnTrn8I2vNooEpKXKT2b3_hvOZ8vqOiH7Omxich8IExTF88jCoJO3HY10VCr5jaa7w/s320/audrey3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392666677726981298" /></a>He's not actually kissing me here. He tries to preen my lips; it hurts. But it makes for a cute picture.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJ13D-CyMjfp_sG1WyWcQFO6YZft7m1u_TfoGTKrF66h3UtWTqp8KIbbxJwfziYGn2RZaNmN49ksj-14V8WJiVZWkrnxcoOrL-xQLURk1KKgF1bAB9UOsmmoSyhe0twSgQw2Yooq9JJaO/s1600-h/audrey4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJ13D-CyMjfp_sG1WyWcQFO6YZft7m1u_TfoGTKrF66h3UtWTqp8KIbbxJwfziYGn2RZaNmN49ksj-14V8WJiVZWkrnxcoOrL-xQLURk1KKgF1bAB9UOsmmoSyhe0twSgQw2Yooq9JJaO/s320/audrey4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392666669563435138" /></a><br /></div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-79601909250505753262009-10-11T18:45:00.000-07:002009-10-17T18:34:28.209-07:00American Coot<div>American coots are rather strange looking with their red eyes and bumpy heads. </div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyiWzBd_EE6zjKGzpYjqUuE955ITBzVa0VJZbmfprKdHEv5lYHdnVICFljabmg8RKGqSX6iaiL5woHlmwC14oYjBfDh7QXmqEPU9iE7MX502z9mE_v02DbXZ4C9l5yJc260-C2iftvXj0U/s1600-h/coot1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 182px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyiWzBd_EE6zjKGzpYjqUuE955ITBzVa0VJZbmfprKdHEv5lYHdnVICFljabmg8RKGqSX6iaiL5woHlmwC14oYjBfDh7QXmqEPU9iE7MX502z9mE_v02DbXZ4C9l5yJc260-C2iftvXj0U/s320/coot1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391524482886937650" /></a>You can find them in lakes and ponds all around San Francisco.<br /><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRBAoIJWQVfWwR5aTJ44UcPXmRm0qfNayEs69kYPkOrr8C_FOwX2GPI-Y4aG5a1nbK5rnDnyc-QyIG6u37GImirAIkB9ZDtTvlphXO0EwVooupbukt3AqTDXeYode6NQbGP7heTaZO8XYo/s1600-h/coot2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 197px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRBAoIJWQVfWwR5aTJ44UcPXmRm0qfNayEs69kYPkOrr8C_FOwX2GPI-Y4aG5a1nbK5rnDnyc-QyIG6u37GImirAIkB9ZDtTvlphXO0EwVooupbukt3AqTDXeYode6NQbGP7heTaZO8XYo/s320/coot2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391524472636279554" /></a>Have you ever seen a baby coot? They are hideously <a href="http://www.treknature.com/gallery/North_America/United_States/photo11028.htm">cute</a>. Below is a much older juvenile.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0RD4laSmhTmlQlQkwq6leZP-Y2G6EQzWFmVWPR-2ne5owSWkaooilfDbb0fMsw_jKyuKIapedut_4S0lvL6bIx6HP4WvkB5sZjQJRo7LVhinMSyr_dBsYisUwAz_GoGvislVUHfasD0hH/s1600-h/coot3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 111px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0RD4laSmhTmlQlQkwq6leZP-Y2G6EQzWFmVWPR-2ne5owSWkaooilfDbb0fMsw_jKyuKIapedut_4S0lvL6bIx6HP4WvkB5sZjQJRo7LVhinMSyr_dBsYisUwAz_GoGvislVUHfasD0hH/s320/coot3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391524467774104130" /></a>Coots are pretty small at 13-16 inches. Below is a size comparison of a coot with a gull. Also, I like how the red leaf behind the gull makes it look like he has a fiery red tongue.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOg8CiSDNxyDA23UUZKRwzeeky89gZRBnhPpHHCdz6zz5dk8sUrYSWy0Or2fT3Gpkb8ml8R37bgmfoHF1rqP46OKfX5rSfftP8mO4oGfLfwph9ANElcfLRNqg0sTa_SUloAFOgWogNWe86/s1600-h/coot4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 172px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOg8CiSDNxyDA23UUZKRwzeeky89gZRBnhPpHHCdz6zz5dk8sUrYSWy0Or2fT3Gpkb8ml8R37bgmfoHF1rqP46OKfX5rSfftP8mO4oGfLfwph9ANElcfLRNqg0sTa_SUloAFOgWogNWe86/s320/coot4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391524460758339058" /></a><br /></div><div>Yesterday, I visited Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park. They had quite a variety of birds in the water. Here you can see the coot next to some mallard ducks and another bird that I have yet to identify.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7P0qwPwM4eEtp-1vVysuEsASze9vcvqNWMP61FQjpiNK8zPa4oOWh3pXqbLSly_RliojxW94OPIuKCdpQu8xNYFylLx0qPTku79y0TV-nYXZeSdZ04IPr4qEntgWfNlfqTl9ye-TGgyB9/s1600-h/coot45.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7P0qwPwM4eEtp-1vVysuEsASze9vcvqNWMP61FQjpiNK8zPa4oOWh3pXqbLSly_RliojxW94OPIuKCdpQu8xNYFylLx0qPTku79y0TV-nYXZeSdZ04IPr4qEntgWfNlfqTl9ye-TGgyB9/s320/coot45.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391524294744906498" /></a><br /></div><div>Several people were feeding the birds. Coots may be small, but they're very fast. They competed with the much larger geese for bread.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgigd0U_6fIiL_H5i3EoP_BFDfxtctuVjmrySAemRckZ2ajz-bG9DKDHVeewxNYWo5cSxBsHDV6D-r_PaUAOoj6KXXuE24gOBeVt7vHgm04kuUChJj5Oc4Lxeu8YjKXYnqPPwctYeJjJVxs/s1600-h/coot5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 294px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgigd0U_6fIiL_H5i3EoP_BFDfxtctuVjmrySAemRckZ2ajz-bG9DKDHVeewxNYWo5cSxBsHDV6D-r_PaUAOoj6KXXuE24gOBeVt7vHgm04kuUChJj5Oc4Lxeu8YjKXYnqPPwctYeJjJVxs/s320/coot5.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391524283617351890" /></a>There were several scuffles. Don't mess with this mallard!</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTsZjWxEDUmEsucyRWj4fKUsTk8oLprVrs39wwim_OLi6xMl8cqN85oI7DReL9kEUJAaud9_dzf0PJnyC6GcFX1ONhG9uQVydhuu9rL5XW8YOFqwjij-sQoGL3SsPhiEgdwV4GgVFoCRLW/s1600-h/coot6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 196px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTsZjWxEDUmEsucyRWj4fKUsTk8oLprVrs39wwim_OLi6xMl8cqN85oI7DReL9kEUJAaud9_dzf0PJnyC6GcFX1ONhG9uQVydhuu9rL5XW8YOFqwjij-sQoGL3SsPhiEgdwV4GgVFoCRLW/s320/coot6.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391524276976315682" /></a>The other birds would move fast if they were within a foot of the bread. The coots, on the other hand, would go for any bread that they coot see.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLAvexswF6Su_Ls8ZAzEjoeoDu8OiE61MhIJbcA7KHXhD3qizLyyAtxAlSRYH14PAKIWPG6ySRSML9fVuARMGWGKUB1d4R9J5ibHkpCkn3FGh_odv9IypCxkl7cwKVEjyQQik7waN5iYt/s1600-h/coot7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 123px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLAvexswF6Su_Ls8ZAzEjoeoDu8OiE61MhIJbcA7KHXhD3qizLyyAtxAlSRYH14PAKIWPG6ySRSML9fVuARMGWGKUB1d4R9J5ibHkpCkn3FGh_odv9IypCxkl7cwKVEjyQQik7waN5iYt/s320/coot7.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391524264795382578" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">You can do it!</div></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvyjygHq3hw6AaVjjztND9QrN7FiVxJwBsVp6U5407_CKv-2OOKcGHLgAKAWY4jBg1mLlG_3Gas4QTiHwuIQvqTT-fUBZPUuklG7XzMwa7sTBwrN91ZiuSzjujtUEp_frRHB_yMK5Ik0td/s1600-h/coot8.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 77px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvyjygHq3hw6AaVjjztND9QrN7FiVxJwBsVp6U5407_CKv-2OOKcGHLgAKAWY4jBg1mLlG_3Gas4QTiHwuIQvqTT-fUBZPUuklG7XzMwa7sTBwrN91ZiuSzjujtUEp_frRHB_yMK5Ik0td/s320/coot8.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391524258184554162" /></a><br /></div><div>They're very vocal birds too. I could almost hear them say, "I'm huuungry!"</div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-5443297363191307382009-10-10T19:31:00.000-07:002009-10-10T20:30:37.883-07:00Black Phoebe<div>It's rare when a bird is as appropriately positioned as this picture.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOU3DaoFiT9F3M7x_L465MSXOtrQDbn7ZQHo-5T8TSskGAX46kYYn8KDE2JMW8j6VZgNDIEdAW-r5SnDFHXRJ6qdvbk9o4saZK8KIAtCwMFSLEVaHlh4lfE5EF9mh_WfKvcRWV0EqsdgRb/s1600-h/phoebe1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOU3DaoFiT9F3M7x_L465MSXOtrQDbn7ZQHo-5T8TSskGAX46kYYn8KDE2JMW8j6VZgNDIEdAW-r5SnDFHXRJ6qdvbk9o4saZK8KIAtCwMFSLEVaHlh4lfE5EF9mh_WfKvcRWV0EqsdgRb/s320/phoebe1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391164996519979682" /></a>Before last August I had never seen a black phoebe. Now I see them everywhere: Pescadero, Moss Beach, Hayward, and San Francisco. I can't decide if I'm better at spotting them or we're in phoebe season. My field guide is rather unhelpful as it states that they're locally uncommon to very common year round. Um, yeah, thanks.<br /><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyYmXHF8qvhLfEqPdhkquBESErbCJysb_RuEQ2-8tBPDhWfwGpmFSDhg6i66uDZHmN2SQuPrGL7kt55HEjS1aIQoYjmCehIQOydK2szYzCIAERiDF001zOZRHGW9b_DMoW38cbCMBMOiT/s1600-h/phoebe2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 237px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyYmXHF8qvhLfEqPdhkquBESErbCJysb_RuEQ2-8tBPDhWfwGpmFSDhg6i66uDZHmN2SQuPrGL7kt55HEjS1aIQoYjmCehIQOydK2szYzCIAERiDF001zOZRHGW9b_DMoW38cbCMBMOiT/s320/phoebe2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391164989776477298" /></a>They're very hard to photograph because they move around so frequently and they don't like you to get too close. This post is the culmination of months of photographs. </div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTowBXFdcS2cuZCSGA8rMCrgc6Uv4mkDmYpKMwMI3ElfUcf639ndQ41DeYvpZ6FAiSYRhhoEVGAhpRD2QQfVR2ktbm_RSB_siPR76n-wq9GtBNqNMLRSeOpqYae5LiWglocMWsrICiNge3/s1600-h/phoebe3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 291px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTowBXFdcS2cuZCSGA8rMCrgc6Uv4mkDmYpKMwMI3ElfUcf639ndQ41DeYvpZ6FAiSYRhhoEVGAhpRD2QQfVR2ktbm_RSB_siPR76n-wq9GtBNqNMLRSeOpqYae5LiWglocMWsrICiNge3/s320/phoebe3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391164981636814338" /></a>Black phoebes eat all types of insects. Julie Zickefoose has a touching series of posts about raising baby phoebes and teaching them to eat that starts <a href="http://juliezickefoose.blogspot.com/2006/06/divine-intervention.html">here</a>. I recommend Zickefoose's blog, if you're not familiar with her work. She writes about birding, travel, and her dog and she's in the process of writing a new book!</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivruDBGiJlLzfv7_x0TZ2X9uD1J_zU5drfFTymjJiQmCsPHtYwcZGbDkM3u9hCtcmRWs8jTnYK0vHwQvt21VGTEqKqE0AsG3J8__HZMRKVf2RvbDxIcStcVuBHyAFyDNusus2jRvDTNuAP/s1600-h/phoebe4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivruDBGiJlLzfv7_x0TZ2X9uD1J_zU5drfFTymjJiQmCsPHtYwcZGbDkM3u9hCtcmRWs8jTnYK0vHwQvt21VGTEqKqE0AsG3J8__HZMRKVf2RvbDxIcStcVuBHyAFyDNusus2jRvDTNuAP/s320/phoebe4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391164797489717362" /></a>The phoebes live near water, including the ocean and marshes. In these pictures the phoebe is sitting in some branches built into the bluffs.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0DFo95PuF_rZgZnZIFtdjpXH14w_ghnEcca0qQzpYXg4VEGpVYyBh-qBs4EwnZKjgX6eRcdF1qstQF2TNw8i_JEZZa0lBG-uUmWJIhg3CguLO5vx75A7c4GSZjFE_oqsiqdiZNCQ4rDe9/s1600-h/phoebe5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0DFo95PuF_rZgZnZIFtdjpXH14w_ghnEcca0qQzpYXg4VEGpVYyBh-qBs4EwnZKjgX6eRcdF1qstQF2TNw8i_JEZZa0lBG-uUmWJIhg3CguLO5vx75A7c4GSZjFE_oqsiqdiZNCQ4rDe9/s320/phoebe5.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391164785490656594" /></a><div style="text-align: left;">They're so adorable!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">why do you keep looking at me?</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlEMXY3fd30B7ptbMsGUholy_AkjVg7sYN4GrwV7Sf9d00-hqUmWHfPDS-uIHCnAj0c7Dh48DQbqpzav3e6UycbhbGadUMWuRQAT-POPU3exIA6LzVFU1H2-WVWKhc2shBKQMDXDaME_G8/s1600-h/phoebe6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlEMXY3fd30B7ptbMsGUholy_AkjVg7sYN4GrwV7Sf9d00-hqUmWHfPDS-uIHCnAj0c7Dh48DQbqpzav3e6UycbhbGadUMWuRQAT-POPU3exIA6LzVFU1H2-WVWKhc2shBKQMDXDaME_G8/s320/phoebe6.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391164779361733074" /></a>They're typically seen on top of poles.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcLSrKTMzVyZI62hS7_jhqRukR-8dqDLsY9fKVa4BDfjtWyO8KcRgO21yoEN5BW-ZIihm_opdqWBH8z_YoNJbYi2x2NhBgDjBxyBWxeY0w49r8mmyyQIpT5ooZ2XgjLWoMKkL9rKxT-3qF/s1600-h/phoebe7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcLSrKTMzVyZI62hS7_jhqRukR-8dqDLsY9fKVa4BDfjtWyO8KcRgO21yoEN5BW-ZIihm_opdqWBH8z_YoNJbYi2x2NhBgDjBxyBWxeY0w49r8mmyyQIpT5ooZ2XgjLWoMKkL9rKxT-3qF/s320/phoebe7.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391164765984761826" /></a><br /></div><div>This picture was taken today in Golden Gate Park. The phoebe was very conflicted. Every 30 seconds he would take flight, chirp, and land back in the same position. I watched the cycle for several minutes before moving on to find some more birds.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPmQcsbt6LyP_Ax4Ow_pFDt0lvTgtGDcwS3_tP0elWYxc3CEiF2lj9pp0miHzie49k5FLRBzYslOEp9dkwXp1SBrbjcsWlaoSBQt3j3aFe27jicdDqTtSDItiStCIBn2FiaYEumc96v7qI/s1600-h/phoebe8.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 246px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPmQcsbt6LyP_Ax4Ow_pFDt0lvTgtGDcwS3_tP0elWYxc3CEiF2lj9pp0miHzie49k5FLRBzYslOEp9dkwXp1SBrbjcsWlaoSBQt3j3aFe27jicdDqTtSDItiStCIBn2FiaYEumc96v7qI/s320/phoebe8.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391164756561661554" /></a>The best was when I saw the phoebe catch a moth and eat it. He looked very satisfied.</div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1036593475685541537.post-70127332584965058452009-10-08T07:49:00.000-07:002009-10-08T20:36:12.535-07:00Evolutionary Biology - Stereotyping Birds<div>Scientists are using birds to create a new stereotype - loser female birds prefer loser male birds. How interesting! They're like ugly people who know that they shouldn't try to date the popular kids. (That's sarcasm, if it's not obvious)</div><div><br /></div><div>A study recently came out about Zebra finches. You can read about it <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8293628.stm">here</a> and <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17932-inferior-males-get-lucky-with-the-birds.html">here</a>. First assumption: chicks raised in a large brood are low quality because they have to compete for limited resources. Chicks raised in a small brood are high quality. So get this, they claim that the low-quality chicks differ from the high-quality chicks in metabolism, longevity, and attractiveness. In addition, low-quality male zebra finches have a low-quality song. What?!</div><div><br /></div><div>They trained the female zebra finches to press a button to activate a male zebra finch song. They could hear either a high-quality song or a low-quality song. The low-quality females preferred the low-quality song. In addition, when a low-quality female was paired with a low-quality male, they produced eggs faster than mixing high-quality and low-quality birds. So you see? Loser females know to stick to their own kind.</div><div><br /></div><div>The New Scientist article has the most ridiculous statement. "When a low-quality female did mate with a high-quality partner, her eggs were larger. The authors reckon this is because the female knows she is doing better than she deserves and will invest more nutrients into the eggs she lays." WHAT?! So these loser females are usually smart enough to stay with their own kind, but IF she's lucky enough to mate with the captain of the football team, she will take care of herself for the sake of her high-quality offspring? That is absurd. </div><div><br /></div><div>Perhaps this explains why the low-quality pairs produced eggs faster. Larger eggs would take longer to produce, no?</div><div><br /></div><div>The leaps required to reach these conclusions are enormous. The scientists were way too eager to come up with a conclusion that could be applied to humans. To be fair, it's possible that the journalists warped the findings to make a more interesting story. Either way, I'm very annoyed that this story is receiving so much attention.</div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625315968391918427noreply@blogger.com2