Cockatiel Chaos

2011-08-04T10:59:00.000-07:00

Poll: How Do You Feel about Pets?

2010-10-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

New Blog

2009-11-26T17:05:00.000-08:00

Hey all,

I'm moving the blog to my new website: Avian Explorer. Blogspot is a great host, but this new website has more functionality. So, please update your bookmarks.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bushtits

2009-11-22T19:24:00.000-08:00

If you look carefully in the trees in California, you can usually see a tiny blur of feathers in the leaves and needles.

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.

Bushtits are 4 1/2 inches long. But look at that tail! There's probably only two inches of an actual bird.

They move so quickly, it's hard to get a good shot without blurred feathers. Although, hey, I like blurred feathers!

Bushtits eat insects and seeds.

It's hard to tell in many of these pictures, the coastal bushtits have brown caps.

This is the most adorable bird expression ever.

The female bushtits have yellow eyes.

They travel in roving packs. Can you imagine roving packs of bushtits?

Red-Tailed Hawk

2009-11-21T19:02:00.000-08:00

Have you ever been close to getting the perfect picture?

I saw this red tailed hawk and I had about five seconds to get a decent shot.

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.

Etsy

2009-11-18T20:18:00.000-08:00

Have you ever visited Etsy? 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 patterns 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:

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!

Here's a side view.

And a side view of Conner.

Sweees has some skills, huh?

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.

The back is amazing!

This is the toy's permanent position. They look so similar!

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.

Black-Bellied Plover

2009-11-15T19:13:00.000-08:00

The ocean is filled with food for many kinds of birds.

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.

These guys have a very diverse diet. Although they eat the typical crustaceans and mollusks, they also eat insects and berries.

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.

How is this for camouflage?

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.

This was my favorite picture because his posture reminds me of a ballet dancer.

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.

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.

Pescadero State Park

2009-11-14T20:17:00.000-08:00

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.

The seals were lounging about.

They looks exhausted!

They would look up at me with sleepy faces, and then their heads would flop back down.

I like this thoughtful expression. His face reminds me of a cat with those big whiskers and almond-shaped eyes.

I made my way to the marshes, which were full of birds. I saw a little sparrow on a log and approached.

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.

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.

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.

Black Phoebes were everywhere today. I saw the first one on a sign post.

The second one was catching bugs. You can still see it in his mouth!

It was almost as if the phoebes were posing for me. The next one was in branches backed by a blue sky.

Then he flew into the brush.

Then on a bush.

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.

Then he went back into the brush, but positioned himself carefully so that I could see the white tips of his feathers.

Then some more bushes.

In case I wanted a brighter background, he flew over to some driftwood.

And back on a post.

I actually left out several other places where he sat. Such an obliging little bird.

Cockatiel Clipping

2009-11-12T20:27:00.000-08:00

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.

We clip Conner but leave Audrey unclipped.

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.

Some tips for clipping:

start with the primary wing feathers - those are the top feathers
on cockatiels, it's only necessary to cut one or two inches
don't ever get close to the skin! You can permanently damage a bird if you get too close.
give your bird extra attention after the clipping. It's a very demeaning process and their egos get hurt.

Black Turnstone

2009-11-08T18:06:00.001-08:00

You remember how well the Black Oystercatcher can blend into seaweed? Well, that's nothing. There is a bird in the picture below. Can you see him?

Black Turnstones blend really well. They blend with seaweed, they blend with rocks. I barely saw one standing on this rock below.

I was hanging out at Ryder Court Park in San Mateo, CA looking out over the water.

I looked down and saw this!

There were two of them sitting on rocks looking out at the water. They looked so peaceful.

Yes? Is there something you need?

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.

They like to forage in groups.

These pictures were taken at the Marine Fitzgerald Preserve in Moss Beach, CA.

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:

Chestnut-Backed Chickadees

2009-11-07T20:31:00.001-08:00

California has a few signs of fall. Some leaves fall, some leaves change color.

The lighting outside has been beautiful lately. I was really excited about capturing this old wasp nest.

Wherever there are big trees, there are chickadees. We have several types of chickadees. There are Black-Capped Chickadees like this guy:

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:

But eventually I succeeded!

If you stare at a tree long enough, you'll see them. They love to eat.

And hang upside down.

It's hardest to get pictures of their front. If you can, though, it's worth it. They have very fuzzy fronts.

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.

I know I say this practically every week, but these birds are one of my favorites.

Cockatiel Singing

2009-11-03T20:06:00.000-08:00

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.

Audrey can be convinced to sing along.

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.

Audrey will bow back and everyone can sing together.

Black Oystercatcher

2009-11-01T16:52:00.000-08:00

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.

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.

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.

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.

Their beaks are designed for probing and cracking open shells. The oystercatchers walk around poking at the ground for food.

Here, the oystercatcher is telling me to leave. heh

shoo. shoo!

They co-habitate with the seals.

Brown Pelican

2009-10-31T19:43:00.000-07:00

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.

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.

But soon you could see all of it.

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.

they like posts

they especially like sitting on posts

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.

there was also a lot of flying

looking for fish

and diving!

sadly, most of my pictures of the diving looked like this

The pictures above are of a nonbreeding adult.

At one of the piers, there was an immature pelican checking out the view.

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.

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.

He let me take hundreds of pictures.

When pelicans fly they look so graceful. So it was funny to see this one standing. He looks rather squat.

Next time, maybe I should bring a treat.

Bird Book Review: Providence of a Sparrow

2009-10-28T20:17:00.001-07:00

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.

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.

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.

I wish he wrote more than this one book, but sadly Chester died in 2007. There is a very detailed article about him here if you're interested.

Turkey Vultures

2009-10-25T14:00:00.000-07:00

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.

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.

This is usually all that I can photograph.

Their wingspan is 69 inches.

I like the silvery underwing feathers.

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.

I see them as graceful.

Cross-Stitch Macaw

2009-10-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

My mother has a blue-and-gold macaw. Isn't he beautiful?

He is not a fan of me. Below is a picture of him trying to kill me. Look at his colors!

For Christmas last year, Jon gave me this wonderful software program called Stitches. 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!

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.

After eight months of work, I completed a cross-stitch version of my mom's macaw:

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.

I had the picture framed.

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.

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.

I'm trying to get those pictures but so far all I'm capturing is distress.

Poor Audrey!

Cockatiel Flirting

2009-10-21T20:30:00.000-07:00

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.

here we go up!

(all photos taken by Jon)

now we go down

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.

like this, with the wings spread out

At the end of a serious flirting session, Audrey relaxes on my shoulder.

This was captured right in the middle of a puff. You can see the dust coming off of him!

Audrey is so dramatic when he gets puffy. He shakes out every feather.

Such satisfaction!

Overheard at the Beach

2009-10-19T12:22:00.001-07:00

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.

Western Gull

2009-10-18T20:22:00.000-07:00

It's time for another gull post!

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.

I can, however, identify Western Gulls. The first step in narrowing down gulls is to look at the feet. California Gulls have yellow feet. Herring Gulls, Thayer Gulls, and Western Gulls have pink feet.

this is MY log, buddy

Western gulls have a yellow ring of skin surrounding the eye called an orbital ring.

Western 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.

They're not intimidated by humans.

These were taken in Monterey, where the skies are blue, unlike lovely gray Pescadero.

wait for meee

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.

mayhem

Townsend's Warbler

2009-10-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

Northern California have tons of warblers. So far I have seen Wilson's Warblers, Yellow-Rumped Warblers, and Townsend's Warblers. The Townsend's Warblers are distinguishable by their raccoon eyes.

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!

The males have a black throat.

They like to hang out in conifers and use moss to line their nests.

I like their quick and careful movements.

Audrey

2009-10-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I can catch Audrey in the right mood.

He sits on my hand every night for scratches.

But it's rare when he does his fancy preening, which occurs when he puffs up and has exaggerated movements.

On Saturday Audrey was affectionate.

He's not actually kissing me here. He tries to preen my lips; it hurts. But it makes for a cute picture.

American Coot

2009-10-11T18:45:00.000-07:00

American coots are rather strange looking with their red eyes and bumpy heads.

You can find them in lakes and ponds all around San Francisco.

Have you ever seen a baby coot? They are hideously cute. Below is a much older juvenile.

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.

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.

Several people were feeding the birds. Coots may be small, but they're very fast. They competed with the much larger geese for bread.

There were several scuffles. Don't mess with this mallard!

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.

You can do it!

They're very vocal birds too. I could almost hear them say, "I'm huuungry!"

Black Phoebe

2009-10-10T19:31:00.000-07:00

It's rare when a bird is as appropriately positioned as this picture.

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.

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.

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 here. 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!

The phoebes live near water, including the ocean and marshes. In these pictures the phoebe is sitting in some branches built into the bluffs.

They're so adorable!

why do you keep looking at me?

They're typically seen on top of poles.

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.

The best was when I saw the phoebe catch a moth and eat it. He looked very satisfied.

Evolutionary Biology - Stereotyping Birds

2009-10-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

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)

A study recently came out about Zebra finches. You can read about it here and here. 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?!

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.

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.

Perhaps this explains why the low-quality pairs produced eggs faster. Larger eggs would take longer to produce, no?

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.

Cockatiel Toenails

2009-10-07T21:56:00.001-07:00

Many people arrive at this blog by using search terms involving cockatiel toenails, so I thought I'd discuss the topic of trimming your cockatiel's toenails.

Toenail maintenance is very important. If a bird's nails grow too long, they can impair the bird's ability to perch and can even create worn pads on the bird's foot, which left unattended cause sores and infections.

Conner's toenails grow so fast that they need to be clipped every two weeks.

When you clip the toenails, be very conservative in how much you clip. You don't want to clip so much that you hit the blood vessels. Birds don't have very much blood and their blood doesn't clot quickly.

It helps when your bird has toenails like Conner's that are mostly clear. In Conner's toenails you can see the blood vessel and cut accordingly. You only need to cut a few millimeters.

In this picture, I cut his toenails three days ago. Please excuse the mirror; Conner likes to lick it.

Audrey's toenails are a bit harder because some of his toenails are dark. Also, he hates having his toenails clipped so I only do a couple at a time to prevent him from becoming too stressed. When Audrey's back toenails grow too long, he folds the toes when he perches. This makes his grip horrible. Since Audrey's grip is already too weak, I'm very vigilant about monitoring his toenails.

Here you can see that his nails are pretty long, but not so long that they curl inward. If he was doing the toe-folding thing, you'd be able to see from this angle.

Also, when you clip the toenails, make sure to wrap the bird up in a towel; you want to minimize the bird's ability to struggle. Also, use toenail clippers and not some electronic device. Electronic devices will scare the bird. For larger birds, a nail file helps to shape the nail, but isn't necessary for cockatiels. If you're unsure how to do this, ask your vet to show you. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.

Flycatcher at Butano State Park

2009-10-04T16:18:00.000-07:00

Fall has come to the Bay Area as slightly chilly air. We can all feel it; it's very exciting.

Yesterday we headed to Butano State Park in Pescadero, CA. There weren't many birds, but the clear sky allowed for some beautiful photos.

I really like these trees because of all the layers. They look like they're peeling year round.

We headed to the forest in the hopes of finding some chickadees or nuthatches. I heard lots of birds, but didn't get to see them.

There was evidence of spiders.

I learned not to leave my camera unattended because it could be used to take funny pictures of me.

I did see a new flycatcher. I believe that this is a Cordilleran Flycatcher.

There are eight kinds of flycatchers in Northern California, but only half of them have the triangle shaped top. The only two that have both the triangle shaped top and the eye ring are Pacific-sloped Flycatchers and Cordilleran Flycatchers. It appears that the Pacific-sloped Flycatchers have less of a triangle and are smaller, but many sources say the birds are visually identical and only distinguishable by sound.

Below, the triangle part on his head is even more raised!

I think the picture below is a Pacific-sloped Flycatcher from another part of Pescadero, CA, but it could be a Dusky Flycatcher. If anyone has a different opinion, please comment. I'm still learning.

It is so hard to tell the difference. GrrlScientist posted a picture of a flycatcher last week that she identifies as a Willow Flycatcher, but I swear is a Gray Flycatcher or at least some kind of hybrid. The bird has eyerings, which are associated with Gray Flycatchers and not Willow Flycatchers. I'm planning on getting a more detailed field guide soon that I hope will help with these identifications.

American Goldfinches

2009-10-02T20:13:00.001-07:00

The American Goldfinch is a very common bird. You can get them to visit your feeder if you include thistle seeds. Sadly, they don't eat cockatiel food. I'd love to have them at my feeders. Below is a picture of the male.

It's not the best picture but you can almost make out his black cap. A better picture can be found here. I'll get better pictures of their breeding plumage next spring.

The females are a much more muted color. They have a yellow breast, but no black cap, and the other feathers (other than on their wings) are a drab almost olive color.

The American Goldfinch's winter plumage is quite different:

Oh, wait. That's a cockatiel! Conner's picture pops up everywhere. Let's try again.

The bird is almost brown. Lesser Goldfinches are not a bright yellow, but they retain more yellow in their winter plumage.

This beautiful guy was greatly enjoying food in Golden Gate Park.

There was a whole crowd eating from the flowers. Other people are reporting that the goldfinches are happy that the sunflower seeds have finally ripened in their gardens.

You know how you won't see a bird for three or four months and then they appear everywhere? There were also goldfinches eating away in Hayward.

It's funny to see winter plumage for birds when the weather remains the same year round. I suppose the laydeez are impressed in the spring, though, when males grow bright yellow feathers and a fancy black cap.

Kakapo video

2009-09-30T14:48:00.000-07:00

Fortunately, Audrey only uses his giraffe and not humans.

Here is a link about the people making the documentary.

Crows

2009-09-29T21:01:00.000-07:00

At Ano Nuevo State Reserve, I caught some lucky shots of crows sitting in branches built into the bluff. This picture was enhanced by Adobe Lightroom software.

For those purists out there, here's the original image. Looks a little dull, hunh?

I see no issues with manipulating the image as long as it still looks reasonable.

Yellow-Rumped Warbler

2009-09-27T15:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we headed down to Pescadero, CA to visit the Ano Nuevo State Reserve. We passed a marsh where the fog was doing really neat things over the water.

I really love living along the coast because of the frequent fog.

After the detour we reached the reserve. Ano Nueovo State Reserve is very popular. People at work asked me if I had visited and I didn't really understand because I've been up and down the coast from San Francisco to Monterey. So what's the big deal?

Well, there are the sea lions, which swell to a population of 3,000 in the winter months.

And the pond is pretty nice.

Plus there are TONS of lizards.

But for me the jackpot is this!

Because where there is brush, there are birds! I saw three new lifers yesterday: a savannah sparrow, a gold-crowned sparrow, and a yellow-rumped warbler. Below is the yellow-rumped warbler.

Okay, I see some yellow and she has a lovely eye ring.

But what's this about a yellow rump or, as Birdchick likes to call them, butterbuts?

What a great butt! These pictures are of the female. The male is blue-grey on the back and more yellow on the front. This place is such a great find, I'll be sure to go back soon and stay in the brush all day.

Warbling Vireo

2009-09-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

Do you know how many grey birds there are in San Francisco? There are flycatchers.

There are bushtits.

And there are vireos!

This is a Warbling Vireo. You can tell the difference between a Warbling Vireo and other types by the faint line that goes from the right of his eye to the back of his head.

They can be hard to capture because they move around so much. According to my guidebook, their song is "iggly wiggly iggly piggly iggly eek!"

I was lucky to get these three shots.

Audrey's Giraffe

2009-09-23T20:27:00.000-07:00

Audrey has had this giraffe for 20 years. It makes him very happy. You can hear Conner chirping in the background.

Hayward Regional Shoreline

2009-09-20T17:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we visited Hayward, CA. It's the first time I've been to the East Bay except driving through to get somewhere else. Based on my limited viewing, Hayward seems very bright and dry. I coated myself in sunscreen; there was no shade anywhere.

The view along the bay is very nice.

You can see San Francisco in the distance.

This brown pelican made some very dramatic dives while fishing.

The key attraction was the marshes, which both snowy and great egrets enjoy.

Below is a great egret in the marsh. You can see that he has a pretty large area to fish.

I love all the colors in the brush.

This egret is fishing in the shallow end.

Great egrets are so incredibly graceful when they fly.

This snowy egret was sitting on the side, all hunkered down.

Something caught his attention and he fully extended his neck. It's amazing how much of it he can tuck into his chest.

At one point a great egret and a snowy egret were fishing the same marsh. I was really excited to get a picture that shows their size difference.

The great egret is almost twice as tall as the snowy egret.

Behind the marsh was dry grasslands. The grass attracted goldfinches, black phoebes, house finches, and some little guys that were either flycatchers or bushtits. They were too shy to get a clear picture.

I could have listened to the birds chirping all day. I really love the noises of bird communities. The wildlife refuge is a very nice place to spend an afternoon.

Canada Geese - Golden Gate Park

2009-09-19T20:20:00.000-07:00

Visiting Golden Gate Park the other day, we got a real treat: Canada Geese! They were foraging grass in the field. If you expand the picture below, you can see a blade of grass sticking out of his beak and bits of grass on his beak.

I'm not sure if these geese were migrating because this area also has Canada Geese living here throughout the year.

They let me get pretty close, but in between bites, this bird would look at me to make sure I wasn't causing trouble.

do you mind? I'm trying to eat

Some were sleeping.

And the guy below was rubbing his head, completely blissed out in the experience.

first the top

then the side. oh yeah, the side

then the top again

then another side, ahh

There were at least 20 geese hanging out.

They were there the following week, although there was more movement, perhaps in anticipation of a long flight.

Last week I saw several flocks flying across 101. Migration is a fun time of year.

Cross Stitch Project

2009-09-16T20:00:00.001-07:00

Almost two years ago I took up cross stitching as a hobby. My first project came from a kit for a pillow. Below is the cross stitched part.

I really like the pattern because, duh, they're birds and because it's similar to M.C. Esher in that the bird wings mesh together. It didn't take too long for me to finish the stitching, but I waited a year and a half to make the pillow. I was worried I would mess that part up because I have no idea how to sew.

But it wasn't difficult. I put a backing behind the cross-stitch layer so that it would lie flat. Then I sewed green cloth to the cross-stitch layer, making sure that the cross-stitch side was facing the inside.

Next I turned the fabric inside out and stuffed the pillow with fiberfill batting. Voila!

Looks pretty nice on the couch!

Conner and the Camera

2009-09-15T21:02:00.001-07:00

I just got my first camera phone - an iPhone. Conner was very helpful in helping me try out the camera feature.

He became very curious.

Pretty good pictures for such a tiny lens. Dooce and her husband frequently post iPhone pictures, and some of them appear grainier than these pictures. It must be a function of the available light.

European Starlings

2009-09-13T19:28:00.001-07:00

Back in the 1890's, crazy people decided that the United States should be populated with all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare plays. So they let 100 European Starlings loose in Central Park. I'm not kidding.

A lot of people dislike starlings because they're not native and they thrive here. As I've mentioned before, I don't see a reason to dislike a bird because it's common. I certainly don't agree with disliking a bird because it's not native. It's not as if the bird booked passage on a ship and decided to come here. Regardless, they're here and they're everywhere, so I say embrace them. At least some people agree with me.

you don't like me?

I love the picture below because in the middle of all these big pigeons, the starling swoops down and grabs the bread. The starling is at the bottom, with the piece of bread that is almost the size of his head.

A few months ago I saw this brown bird with very red eyes in Pescadero, CA. I thought I found a new bird. I looked in my field guide and I couldn't find the bird anywhere! So I asked on birdforum, where the people are helpful and all knowing in their collective wisdom. Do you know what the answer was?

juvenile starling

Can you believe that this bird is a starling? It's amazing how many brightly colored birds start out their first year in drab garments.

Starlings travel in gangs. Below, you can see a flock of juveniles that are in the beginning stages of growing their adult feathers.

Today, we stopped off at the mall before birding and got to see a real treat. Teenagers! Look how sassy they are.

look at me when I'm talking to you!

you watch where you're stepping!

There were so many of them making such wonderful noises. And such variety! They all have speckled breasts, but some of them have whiter heads than others and some are still shedding the last of their baby feathers.

Oh, if only they let you hug them, but like most teenagers, they want nothing to do with you.

Western Scrub-Jay

2009-09-12T18:31:00.000-07:00

Growing up in New England, my favorite outdoor bird was the blue jay. Sassy and inquisitive, they have such great character. After moving to California, I was disappointed to learn that we don't have blue jays. Instead we have Stellar Jays and Western Scrub-Jays.

Western Scrub-Jays are very similar to Blue Jays: smart, curious, and very loud.

They have a very distinctive call. There are several scrub jays that I hear at work all day. Look at his white bib!

Last week at the Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park, I saw a scrub jay. He was hanging around the cactus section. He let me take 100 pictures of him. I really like how the feathers beneath his wings are fine and wispy.

When I first saw the scrub jay, he was on top of a long thin stalk, about 15 feet in the air. The picture isn't great because of the angle and the clouds, but I like how his head is slightly cocked as if he's asking, "What are you doing with that camera?"

At one point the scrub jay was standing on top of one of the stalks and I got a picture just as he was leaving. I really like how his wings become a blur.

Cockatiel Showers

2009-09-09T20:03:00.001-07:00

Pictures of wet Conner as promised!

He wanted to be on my hand in the shower to sing to me. So I put a few droplets of water onto him, and then a few more, and he puffed to get wet!

Conner made such a spectacle getting wet, that Audrey started getting puffy on top of the shower rod. So Audrey got a shower too!

California has been hot lately, which caused Audrey to undergo a heavy molt and Conner to lose a few feathers. They've both had new feathers come in, which increases the dander, so the shower was very good for both of them.

Anna's Hummingbird

2009-09-07T19:15:00.001-07:00

Fall is a great time of year. The plants are producing berries and flowering, the weather becomes a little cooler. The last couple of days have also been unusually sunny, creating the perfect opportunity for photography. Below is a thistle.

These branches have moss growing on them.

This was taken at the Botanical Garden at Golden Gate Park.

I like the light on this tree.

In the same way that light changes the look of the plants, it has an even more dramatic effect on the hummingbirds. The following pictures are all the same bird.

Anna's hummingbirds are very common in the Bay area and they say it's the only one to stay through winter, although I've seen rufous hummingbirds in San Francisco during the winter-spring breeding season. I like how the white feathers next to their eyes looks like the sclera in a human eye.

So, you know how the feathers looked black in the above picture? It's a trick of the light. Male Anna's hummingbirds have a pink hood. You can see it below, apologies for the blurriness.

Here is an example of the ruby color, taken by an extremely skilled photographer.

In other lighting, the hummingbird looks green/gray. Below is an Anna's hummingbird in a brighter light where you can see the tiniest glimmer of the ruby to the right of his eye.

I really like Anna's hummingbirds because of their call. It sounds like two swords crashing together or an electrical signal gone crazy. Cornell's website has a sample.

Below is another blurry picture of a hummingbird on the left. I like the blur in this one.

Western Tanager - Golden Gate Park

2009-09-06T20:19:00.000-07:00

Golden Gate Park is wonderful in the fall. New birds have moved in, some of the days are clear, the tourists are fewer in number. Yesterday was a great day for birding; I saw my first western tanager.

This is my favorite picture. I love how his eyes are focused on the berry.

This is a female western tanager. The male has a bright orange head; he's supposed to be spectacular in person.

So many of the yellow birds look similar. I was able to identify the tanager by her yellow beak. Most yellow birds have black beaks. She also has two bars on her wings: one white, one black.

Even though this picture is a little dark, I like her curious expression.

We're going back next weekend, I really hope to find the male. We had to leave yesterday when the fog became so thick it was almost rain. It reminded me of dguzman's experience at Point Reyes. The fog makes everything look beautiful, but it softens the pictures of the birds. Hopefully next weekend will be brighter.

Sun Conures

2009-09-04T19:03:00.001-07:00

These pictures are from our trip to the Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake City, Utah last July. The Tracy Aviary has a cage full of sun conures. The staff gives people apples on sticks to feed the conures.

I love conures, but sun conures are so loud. You could hear them from halfway across the aviary. Below, they have seen the apples.

They're wild enough that I couldn't pet them and snuggle them the way some sun conures let you, but they perched on my shoulders and hands.

They're not shy.

They liked Jon too.

They were falling over themselves to get at his apples. They also stayed on his back and chewed holes in his shirt before we realized what was happening.

Cockatiels Playing

2009-09-01T19:36:00.001-07:00

This weekend we spent some serious time with the cockatiels...and the box that is reserved for special occasions. It is only brought out occasionally so that they have some neutral territory for playing. Both birds are extremely territorial of their own boxes.

look at this magnificent box!

Conner, you have to come see.

Audrey was so excited that he serenaded Conner. Conner is on the right, looking up lovingly at Audrey.

Then they had to explore the back entrance to the box, Audrey singing the whole time.

I had to break them up because the picture below was taken in the last second before Conner attempted to mount Audrey. Audrey has no idea, but you can see that Conner was looking at his back and getting ideas.

Double-Crested Cormorant

2009-08-30T18:38:00.002-07:00

Today I was experimenting with a new lens. The lens lets me capture images that are quite far away so I can go from this:

To this!

The double-crested cormorant is quite common where I live, which I now know thanks to my new lens. I've seen brandt's cormorants and pelagic cormorants in Monterey, CA, but I'm partial to the double-crested cormorant because of their green eyes and hooked beak.

Cormorants catch fish by diving up to 30 feet.

Although there is no mention of this in the guidebooks, the cormorants travel with pelicans while fishing. I can prove it:

People in Northern California are frequently despondent when it's gray and rainy like today, but it made for some excellent photography!

Great Blue Heron

2009-08-29T16:49:00.001-07:00

Pescadero is lovely! I visited for the third week in a row. This time we headed straight for the marshes.

The marshes are quite beautiful and you can find all sorts of birds there. Today we saw a song sparrow, an egret, a turkey vulture, several red-tailed hawks, common mergansers, seagulls, swallows, and a great blue heron. I also heard several chickadees and a very disgruntled crow.

We're walking back along the trail to head home, and I see this big blue beast.

A great blue heron! Look at his yellow eye.

He was looking a bit scruffy, which is to be expected at the end of breeding season. Great blue herons breed from March to May.

He wasn't at all scared by us. Instead, he watched us carefully and slowly walked off. Great blue herons are four feet tall and have a six foot wingspan, so he has no reason to be intimidated by mere humans.

Below you can see the thickness of the marsh water.

These marshes also include a breeding ground for the herons, called a rookery. From a distance, it doesn't look like much of anything.

But each of those gray spots is a nesting site. They nest together to protect against predators.

I can't wait to visit a rookery next spring; the noise made by up to 135 great blue herons is supposed to be quite remarkable.

In other news, I set a hummingbird feeder out awhile ago and a few days ago I saw a hummer drinking from it! Success.

Twitter - Feral Pigeon

2009-08-28T12:56:00.000-07:00

Do you use Twitter? I've been trying to keep up on social media technology. ahem.

Did you know that feral pigeons have their own page? The status updates include "coo coo coo" and "looking shifty."

http://twitter.com/feral_pigeon

I hope you enjoy this as much as I have.

Preventing a Cockatiel from Screaming

2009-08-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

I like to treat the search terms that bring people here as questions. If you ever have a question, you can also ask it in the comments and I'll do a post. Some of the more frequent search terms involve screaming cockatiels.

Look at this face, all innocent. You wouldn't guess that he used to scream and scream.

So why do cockatiels scream? Sometimes they need something. Audrey is very good about calling when there is a problem. Unfortunately, the problem can include a bottle being in the wrong place, but as long as there is a legitimate reason, I don't mind too much.

Both Audrey and Conner call when they're scared, such as when a seagull flies too close to the window. Conner also calls when he wants attention and he knows to use the emergency call to get me to come. But if I see that he's faking the emergency call and I tell him to stop it, he won't fake it again.

The cockatiels used to scream all the time because they were unhappy and we did not train each other properly. There are several ways to stop birds from screaming for no reason:

Establish a routine - birds are creatures of habit and they're very uncomfortable when the routine is broken. Now, during the weekdays we get up at predictable times and go to bed at predictable times. The birds come out of their cages right after we get home from work. We play with them for 30 minutes before bedtime.
Provide toys - birds are smart. They need things to keep their attention. Conner likes wicker, popsicle sticks, and boxes. In the picture above, he's next to his favorite toy: a Zyrtec box. Audrey is surrounded by bottles and boxes.
Spend time with them - birds need attention. The amount of attention varies with the bird. Cockatiels are fairly self sufficient, especially compared to the larger parrots. If you have a single bird and cannot give him or her sufficient attention, consider getting the bird another companion.
Ignore the screaming - yelling at a bird that is making noise encourages the bird to continue screaming. Instead, ignore the screaming and wait several minutes after the screaming has stopped to pay attention to the bird. Consider providing a treat during the quiet time to provide positive reinforcement. This step is a lot harder with the larger parrots, but it's essential. Eventually, the bird will stop screaming.

Good luck!

Heermann's Gull

2009-08-23T19:31:00.002-07:00

Birds, like people, frequently wear different clothing in different seasons. Below are three Heermann's Gulls in their adult breeding plumage. The photo was taken July 3, 2009. Note the white heads.

I've spent much of the day trying to distinguish between different types of gulls (Shush! We all have our hobbies). CA Gulls have black feet, Western Gulls have pink feet, and there is a world of difference in the shading of the primary feathers for these gulls and others (Thayer's, Herring, Glaucous-Winged).

In comparison, Heermann's gulls are so easy to identify. They have black feet, white heads, reddish beaks, and below you can make out the red tint of their eyes. Note that the beak barely has some black shading at the tip.

Their winter clothing includes a grey head. These pictures were all taken yesterday. Here you can see that the molt is halfway complete. The bill also has a darker tip during the non-breeding season.

The molt has progressed further in this guy.

These three have mostly completed their molt.

According to my field guide, Heermann's Gulls frequently steal food from other birds. The bird below had other Heermann's Gulls trying to steal his food!

Sadly, all the photos of the chase were blurry. Rest assured, dear readers, he was able to keep the food.

Western Sandpiper

2009-08-22T18:53:00.001-07:00

Pescadero, CA is my new favorite place. They have a beach, marshes, and Butano State Park. Today was an exceptionally good day for birding. I saw several new types of birds and several well-known birds that are experiencing a molt in anticipation of their winter plumage.

The most exciting discovery of today was seeing Western Sandpipers and Semipalmated Plovers. I'll discuss the plovers in a later post.

Western Sandpipers travel in large flocks.

Here is a close-up of two. Aren't they beautiful?

I really like the lighter brown feathers on their wings. They look distinct in the above picture, but against other backgrounds, the brown helps them blend completely.

Below is a comparison of the sandpipers with a Heermann's Gull for size. They're very small birds.

Western Sandpipers eat aquatic insects, worms, small mollusks, and crustaceans from shallow water. The sandpipers to the left of the gull above are searching for food.

I was photographing the sandpipers in some shallow water when I discovered a huge group of them napping and preening. I almost walked into them, they were so well hidden. You see the brown section at the bottom of the photograph? Those are birds!

When you are close to them, you can hear the cheep noises that they constantly make.

Below is an even better picture. You can really see how they blend here.

I saw them in other sections of the beach and when they were not eating, they always chose to be near debris that served as camouflage.

I've been tracking my life list of birds on Birdpost and today's discoveries put me up to 82.

Cranky Older Cockatiels

2009-08-20T22:22:00.000-07:00

Cockatiels get cranky as they get older. Audrey is no exception. He's very territorial, he only accepts affection when he's in the mood, and he dictates our schedule by screaming when he wants the lights off or out of his cage.

For the last several months, he'll get so angry that when he's sitting on your finger, he'll attack the finger violently and spread his wings out. If you don't distract him, he'll start flapping his wings and almost fall over. He gets so caught up in being angry.

When Audrey wants to be scratched, though, he'll still let you kiss him. Who can say no to this face?

Red-Tailed Hawk

2009-08-16T18:34:00.000-07:00

This was an excellent birding weekend. Thanks to my wonderfully patient boyfriend, Jon, I went birding twice! Once in Tiburon, CA and once in Half Moon Bay, CA. The pictures below are from Half Moon Bay.

August is the month when the raptors return. It's amazing; one day they're nowhere to be seen, and the next day they're on every telephone wire. Poplar Beach in Half Moon Bay is known to be a good spot for raptors. The trick for finding raptors is to locate an open field surrounded by tall trees.

Today, we hit the jackpot. Hawks, crows, and kites oh my! Below is a red-tailed hawk.

He has a prominent brow ridge.

These hawks are very common. We always see them on the telephone poles staring intently at the ground.

They are so beautiful in flight. In this picture he's saying: "I'm going to get you."

He circled the field many times. I have at least 50 pictures just like the one below.

Here is a shot from the back.

They're very stealthy. When he flew off the branches, the only sound came from the branch.

Sandhill Cranes

2009-08-15T17:24:00.000-07:00

In Utah, we took one day to explore a series of rivers southwest of Salt Lake City. Jordanelle State Park is located near the Jordanelle dam. It's a very popular spot for fishing.

As we were leaving the area, we spotted some movement in the grasses and stopped the car. I saw my first sandhill crane!

Sandhill cranes are so beautiful and delicate. They move like ballet dancers; very carefully and quietly. They're quite skittish.

The sandhill crane has the oldest fossil records of any existing bird species. Scientists have found a fossils of a sandhill crane that dates back 2.5 million years, which is 1.5 times older than the second oldest fossil of any existing bird species.

And then there were two!

Sandhill cranes mate for life. Their mating ritual involves a series of leaps and deep bows.

They're supposed to migrate through the Bay area starting in September. I'm going to try and find somewhere local that is in their known migration path. Lodi, CA holds a crane festival every year, which is tempting, but located over 100 miles away.

Nest Box

2009-08-12T20:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, Conner hasn't taken a wet enough shower yet to warrant pictures. I haven't forgotten; I promise. In lieu of wet Conner, I have Conner in a box! Now that Conner has chewed down a side of his box, he can hang out in the box without missing any of the action.

He's all about redecorating the box too. Since these pictures were taken, Conner has chewed down the green box and repositioned it on the other side of the nest box in front of the opening. Last night I found him napping inside the nest box next to the green box.

He also does his flirting routine inside the box. Here his head is high.

Here he dips his head down low.

Once he reaches the lowest point, he pops his head back up while making a kissy noise. It's very charming.

Search Terms

2009-08-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, whoever came here using the search term "mixing cockatiel with chickens" needs to know that these species can't breed with each other. The only mixing of cockatiels that I've seen is with a pink cockatoo called a Galah. I tend to think that is a hoax, but there is a video, so maybe it's legitimate. But this type of breeding is dangerous for the cockatiel. The cockatiel could be hurt during the mating process, or become egg-bound. In any case, don't try to breed your cockatiel with a chicken.

On a less alarming note, whoever came here wondering about what it means when a cockatiel dips its head, you've come to the right place! When a cockatiel dips his head and spreads his wings like Audrey is doing below, he's flirting with you.

This position is referred to as a heart-shaped pose (Update: or more commonly known as heart wings, as Cyndi mentioned in the comments). The best way to respond is to play along with him by dipping your head, making kissy noises, etc.

The dipping behavior is also a way to determine if your cockatiel is male or female. The males flirt and sing. The females enjoy being flirted with and sung to.

Pigeon Guillemot

2009-08-08T18:29:00.000-07:00

We're back from the marshes of Pescadero, CA. Alas, I did not find any avocets, but I saw tons of birds. I saw at least five kinds of birds that I've never seen before. Tonight I'll be trying to determine whether I saw different types of terns or one kind with slight variations. The key to these water birds is in the beak, the tips of the primaries, and the shape of the head. If you ever have a question about bird identification, you can post a picture on Birdforum. The members are incredibly nice and very knowledgeable.

Have you ever been to Pescadero? It's lovely.

Growing up in Massachusetts, I was really quite surprised the first time I saw a California coast. It's all high bluffs and crumbling rocks here in California.

Onto the birds!

Pigeon guillemots live along the coast and obtain their food by diving into the water. Their name is derived from their similarity to pigeons. I was really surprised to discover that they are not water pigeons. Just look!

They have awesome bright orange feet.

They are very vocal. We kept hearing an eee-eee-eee and they'd come flying out of the rock crevices.

Pigeon guillemots are quite common, especially this time of year, when they're breeding in crevices, caves, or burrows. This next part is from my field guide and it's so funny that I have to quote directly from the book: "In their summer courtship rituals, these birds flaunt their scarlet mouths and wave their scarlet feet while peering down the throats of potential mates." Don't you wish I captured a picture of that? Instead I can only show you the inside of their mouths.

They were really busy today. They were searching for food, calling to each other, disappearing inside the rocks. I suspect that they're raising babies right now. They feed their babies throughout the day to reduce the time it takes for the babies to fledge.

I wanted to get a really good picture of their feet. We kept yelling "Show us your feet" but they're stubborn.

You see that face? That's the face of a bird with resolve. He will not show you his feet.

Black-necked Stilt

2009-08-06T11:56:00.000-07:00

I never understood the appeal of visiting marshes until I discovered the black-necked stilt.

Aren't they lovely? I found them in a small marsh near Monterey, CA. Black-necked stilts are social birds, so you frequently see them in groups. I couldn't get any pictures of both of them in focus, so the above picture is here to show two together and how they look in their native habitat.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has an indoor aviary with local birds and the black-necked stilt is included. Here you can see his long beak, which is used for eating insects and spearing aquatic invertebrates.

This is the only picture where I captured the red in his eye and his puffy underside. My field guide refers to the underside as "clean white underparts," which makes me giggle.

When you compare the ratio of the black-necked stilt's legs to the rest of his body, these birds have the longest legs of any North American bird. When they walk, their strides are long and their movements delicate.

They carefully eat from the water.

Jon got him to talk by making yip-yip noises. Here, the stilt is answering Jon's call.

This picture goes along with my birds in motion obsession. The birds surrounding the black-necked stilt are greater yellowlegs. It's worth enlarging the picture to see the details. The stilt is thinking, "What's up with these spazzes? I have humans photographing me all the time."

We're going to visit some marshes this weekend, so I hope to see an avocet. They're supposed to be really common, so cross your fingers!

Cockatiel Showers

2009-08-03T19:39:00.007-07:00

In reviewing the blog analytics, I've determined that a lot of people reach this website by researching the Internet for basic cockatiel information. So this is a post on how to give your bird a shower.

Bathing is very healthy for birds. They get dusty and showers are good for maintaining shiny feathers. Plus, once the bird is comfortable showering, he'll really like it. Birds like showing so much, they'll take dust showers in the wild.

The most important thing to remember about giving your bird a shower is that the process should be gradual so the bird doesn't become scared of water. African grays in particular are known to dislike showers, so don't do anything drastic like bringing the bird into the shower and putting him directly into the stream the first time you introduce him to showering.

Start with putting a wide bowl of water on the cage. The next time, try lightly misting the bird with a spray bottle. Then, bring the bird into the shower but put her on a perch the first few times so she becomes used to the shower. Then try putting the bird into a portion of the stream. If at any point during this process the bird gets upset, stop immediately.

Audrey grew up around cockatiels so he knows how to shower. When he sees water running and he's in the mood, he gets puffy, spreads his wings, and dips down with his tail up in the air. Audrey likes to get soaked!

When he's finished showering, he maintains the puffy posture. If he's in the shower with me, I have to put him on the towel rack after he showers because he's so into posturing that sometimes he loses his balance and falls.

Conner didn't understand showering until recently. He would stick his head directly into the stream and breathe in the water...and then choke on the water. That made him dislike the shower. So we started again more slowly: I would put him near the water and let droplets fall from my hand onto him. He progressed from tolerating showers to enjoying them. Now when Conner wants to shower he'll run along the top of the shower door and lean towards me.

We've reached the point where I can put him in the stream if I deflect the water with my hand to avoid shooting water into his nose. The last time he showered, he was so excited that he used my thumb for support so he could get the underside of his wings wet.

After the bird finishes showering, move the bird to a warm room. They're very vulnerable when they're wet both physically and mentally. Audrey insists on being left alone after his shower.

I'll try to get pictures of Conner the next time he showers.

Tracy Aviary, SLC, UT

2009-08-02T15:21:00.001-07:00

Liberty Park in Salt Lake City is home to the Tracy Aviary. I'll have several posts on this aviary because they have a really great setup. Unlike the San Francisco Zoo, all the birds are free to move around. Most of the birds are housed in large cages with fresh branches, ample shading, and a covered back area away from prying eyes.

The birds that are out in the open have large areas with shade. They were brought into the aviary with wing injuries that prevent them from flying. The aviary has a great sign in front of the eagles explaining that most of the birds were hit by cars, so there is a list of helpful suggestions to protect birds from being injured in the future, such as moving roadkill off to the side of the road.

One of the cages in the Tracy Aviary is open to the public. It houses quakers!

I love quakers. They're really smart, enthusiastic birds. One of my friends has a quaker named Sage and I adore him. He'll let you snuggle up next to him and whispers "I love you" in his scratchy quaker voice. He also gets really excited and says, "Scooby Doo" three times fast. My friend tells me that when she puts his food bowl in front of him, he'll climb up onto the rim, look at her, and say "I love you" before eating. So polite!

The Tracy Aviary had three pairs of quakers in this cage. I don't know if it was the heat or the time of day, but they were all very sleepy and cuddly with each other.

Quakers are outlawed in California because of their remarkable ability to live outside in a variety of climates. Although quakers are native to South America, there are wild populations living in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Florida, and even Illinois! I'm amazed that they can adapt to winters in Chicago.

Quakers build huge nests, typically using telephone wires as scaffolding for their nests. One of the best chapters in Of Parrots and People is about the fight to stop electric companies from destroying quakers and their nests in these cities. The electric companies argue that the nests are a fire hazard and that they cause too many power outages, but Tweti provides ample statistics that suggest that the increase in fires and power outages caused by the nests is minimal.

You can see an example of their nest making abilities below:

I love this aviary because they not only provided supplies for creating the nests; they helped the quakers by installing metal grates to form the scaffolding.

Mormon Temple, Salt Lake City, UT

2009-07-31T19:32:00.001-07:00

The Mormons settled in Utah in 1848. Salt Lake City is home to the headquarters for the Church of Latter-day Saints, which is in Temple Square. SLC is on a grid system and the center of the grid is Temple Square. Here's a picture of the Assembly Hall, the congregation area for the church.

During the first spring season that the Mormons were in Utah, a plague of Mormon crickets (katydids) swarmed the crops. The katydids would eat the crops and then eat any katydids left on the plants in an act of cannibalism that horrified the Mormons. The crops were disappearing; 4,000 Mormons were facing starvation.

In June, seagulls came and rescued the crops by eating all the katydids. The crops were saved and the Mormons were spared!

The incident is called "The Miracle of the Gulls" and the California gulls are Utah's state birds. To commemorate the miracle, Temple Square has a Seagull Monument.

The monument has a plaque that states: "Seagull monument erected in grateful remembrance of the mercy of God to the Mormon pioneers."

Temple Square is really beautiful; I recommend visiting. The square is huge and you can see the buildings from other parts of the city because they're so tall.

I was trying to be artistic with the picture above. All the cranes in SLC have an American flag attached, so I captured the flag in between the towers (it's very small in the picture).

Utah and Black-Billed Magpies

2009-07-29T19:57:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry for the lack of posts, but we went to Utah for five days. Utah is wonderful! Before this week, I thought Utah was just one of those square states where people in the middle live. Other than being Dooce's state, I knew almost nothing about Utah.

Here is cold, grey Oakland, CA. While the rest of the country has a heat wave, Oakland stays cold and damp.

Below is Salt Lake City. What a difference! You can see mountains from a parking lot! SLC is surrounded by mountains.

It gets even better once you're in the mountains. Such clarity!

The sunsets are fantastic.

The clouds are dense. They create shadows.

I saw so many birds in Utah! I saw my first non-captive turkey vulture. And an osprey! Plus, Salt Lake City has a wonderful aviary that is a pleasant contrast to the San Francisco Zoo. None of the birds are tethered, they have large cages with shade and fresh branches, and you can even go inside some of the cages.

My favorite Utah bird is the black-billed magpie. When they fly, all you can see is a black bird with white spots on the wings. At first I thought they were some crazy variant of a crow: a white-spotted crow perhaps?

These pictures are deceptive. The blue backs are not so apparent in person.

These magpies are everywhere! They're as common in Utah as crows are around the Bay area. Magpies can be found on the backs of mammals, eating ticks. It is now a lifelong goal of mine to photograph a magpie on a moose.

They're such curious creatures. I would love to live among magpies.

Cockatiel Food

2009-07-22T20:03:00.003-07:00

This morning the cockatiels got some brown rice. Audrey is not impressed by any food except seed, millet, and sweet things like Honey Nut Cheerios.

In this picture, the rice is in the blue container to the right of Audrey. But Audrey only wants the seed.

Conner, on the other hand, loves brown rice. He starts running when he sees it. Conner also loves peas, but he does not like carrots. Even if you try and hide a piece of carrot in the middle of vegetables that he does like, he'll eat around the carrot.

He eats so much rice, it looks like a beard coming off his beak.

The Parrot Who Owns Me

2009-07-20T19:41:00.001-07:00

A few months ago I read "The Parrot Who Owns Me" by Joanna Burger. The author is a good writer; I looked forward to reading the book each night. She does a good job of blending personal anecdotes with science. The best parts are when she describes her research of parrots in South America.

This may be my own bias, though, because there were several aspects of her personal anecdotes that bothered me. First, she seems a bit insecure. She has a PhD. Oh and did you know that her husband is a doctor? She can make many assertions because, duh, she has a PhD. That means she knows things. Second, she gives her bird chocolate. Chocolate! And she doesn't mention that, by the way, it's poisonous to birds. Sure, in small doses, the bird was fine. But this book is read by people who don't know anything about birds. She should have been more cautious.

I've read many books about birds. This one is excellent because it's well organized. So many books are just a collection of people's experiences with no theme and many digressions. Burger is focused and clever. I recommend the book.

Does anyone have any good book recommendations? Right now I'm reading a non-bird related book, Infinite Jest, but I'm already tiring of it. I read "Of Parrots and People" after the first 100 pages of Infinite Jest, because I needed a break. Right now I'm on page 153, so I might need another break pretty soon.

Birds in Motion - Pigeon, Pelican, Heermann's Gull, White Crowned Sparrow

2009-07-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

I love capturing birds in motion. The most common, scrappy bird becomes a piece of art. Below is a pigeon flying after pieces of bread. This may be my favorite bird picture because his head and the pieces of bread are in focus, while the wings become out-of-focus at the edges.

This is a brown pelican. I like how his primary feathers flip upwards. (Photo by Jon)

The heermann's gull curves his wings in the same shape as the waves.

Here you can see three different primaries curving at the tips.

The white-crowned sparrow moves so fast, his wings are almost a blur.

Dark-Eyed Juncos

2009-07-18T09:54:00.001-07:00

When I first started putting out cockatiel seed for the outdoor birds to eat, this little bird would join the sparrows. I could not identify him for the longest time because the vast majority of dark-eyed juncos are grey with white breasts (Slate-colored juncos). But finally, I realized that he was a dark-eyed junco. There are 15 different races of dark-eyed juncos and we have the Oregon variety. They're remarkably abundant during the spring and summer. Other than at feeders, I always see them on the forest floor.

You can see with the junco on the left that they have lovely silver tail feathers.

The picture below is probably a female dark-eyed junco. The females are lighter in color. She was so obliging, just sitting there singing while I snapped pictures.

I tweaked this photo in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. The junco was only a few feet away from us and I was using a long lens, so I needed the software to make the picture clearer and the leaves brighter.

Here is a close up of the junco.

They disappear for the winter. I will really miss them so I'm soaking up the juncos right now.

Conner's Antics

2009-07-15T19:52:00.000-07:00

Conner has a routine that he will only do for my boyfriend. He'll make kissy noises for me, but I can't respond properly so he gets frustrated. He also will not tilt his head upside down for me like he does in this video clip.
He was unsure about going up to the cage because it's Audrey's cage.

Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets

2009-07-12T19:14:00.000-07:00

Driving home from Monterey Bay, we're stuck in traffic driving 20 miles an hour and I see a great egret standing in a field. This is all I could capture before he took off:

I'm guessing that he was thinking something like, "I don't know who this chick with the camera is, but I'm out of here."

Just look at him! The great egret's wingspan is 51 inches. There are three types of egrets in Northern California and the great egret is the only one with black feet.

A few months after moving to California, we were driving home after work and a great egret flew above the car in a blur of white. It happened so fast and only once, until I saw the great egret again, I wondered if I imagined him.

The Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park has a resident snowy egret. He's been there every time I've visited. Here he's hunting minnows.

Every time I see this picture, I start singing in my head, "Walk like an Egyptian." Look at his yellow foot!

In this picture, he's in the process of swallowing a minnow. It was great fun watching him stalk the minnows and stab the water.

If it's possible to hire a bird, this bird is totally on the Golden Gate Park's staff. He appeared in two different ponds, posed for pictures from tourists who failed to respect his space, and took flight several times.

Such a graceful bird. The snowy egret's wingspan is only 41 inches. He's not nearly as imposing as the great egret, but he's quite graceful.

Plus, he has yellow feet.

Chickens

2009-07-11T19:24:00.000-07:00

We spent the day in San Francisco today, so no new bird pictures. This is a view of the city from the Castro.

This rooster was at the San Francisco Zoo. Look at his headdress! He's the George Clinton of chickens. How does he even see through that?

This guy was very goal oriented. He saw a female and approached.

These were very open chickens. He had a whole audience to watch him mount the chicken.

She has a pretty big headdress too. Hers looks more like clown hair than feathers, though.

This isn't bird related, but have you ever seen a meerkat? They're so cool! This guy looks like he owns the world.

Popsicle Sticks as Cockatiel Toys

2009-07-09T06:30:00.001-07:00

Conner has a new toy! Popsicle sticks in between wooden beads. Although the toy is fairly new, he's already overcome his fear of it. He walked over to the toy and tried to crack a wooden ball.
Here you can see in the distance that Conner watches carefully when anyone messes with things on his cage. If you touch his box, he frequently runs at you to attack. Conner is very fierce!

I've been thinking about adding some wicker to Conner's cage. Shannon posted some fantastic pictures that inspired me. Audrey might even like wicker. He would certainly like the one that is shaped like a nest box.

Screaming Cockatiels

2009-07-08T20:03:00.000-07:00

There is no sleeping late at this house...until now!

Oh my Audrey, how you love to demand attention so early in the morning. I cannot simply put you on my shoulder and fall back asleep because if you are outside your cage, you must be scratched.

Conner, most of the time when you sing, I'm happy. You're telling the world how much you enjoy life! Most days, starting to sing at 6:00 AM is not a big deal because I'm already awake. But oh, the weekends!

We have solved the problem of the early risers by providing a downstairs room for them. Conner has to be next to a mirror or he screams, which agitates Audrey, and causes synchronized screaming. Fortunately, the closet of this room doubles as a mirror!

As soon as Conner started chirping on Sunday, I took him and Audrey downstairs. I spent the next few hours sleeping restlessly, though, because I was so concerned that they might get scared. Irrational, I know. Conner had a mirror after all! When I took them out, I projected my guilt onto Audrey. I imagined him saying, "How could you abandon me?" So I put some orange juice bottles on top of the cage.

This morning, I took them downstairs again and went back to bed. A few minutes later I woke up to Conner singing, his sounds muffled by several sets of doors. Finally, I could sleep.

Heermann's Gull

2009-07-05T19:51:00.001-07:00

It's summer, which means that the coastal birds are busy breeding. Heermann's gulls are different from most gulls in that they migrate south to breed and fly back north for the remaining summer months. Here is the Heermann's Gull in his breeding plumage.
On Friday we went to Monterey Bay to visit the aquarium. Driving back home, the traffic was terrible so we stopped at Moss Landing Beach. The Heermann's Gulls were flying in and out of the waves.

This was taken several weeks ago in San Gregorio. I like the guy on the left. It looks like he's telling us to leave his territory. "Get out!"

Today we went to Telegraph Hill in San Francisco. I saw the cherry-headed conures that live outside. They moved too fast to get any pictures, but just being near them was a thrill. For anyone who isn't familiar with the documentary, the Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill is an excellent movie.

Of Parrots and People

2009-07-04T14:45:00.000-07:00

I just finished this book and it's wonderful. I recommend this book to anyone that owns birds. It's not the best for new bird owners because it's very critical of pet owners, breeders, and importers. I had to skip parts of the chapter on parrots being imported from Mexico. It's very sad.

The theme of the book is that people should not own birds that are purchased from breeders or imported. Presumably, the author would find it acceptable for people to own a parrot from a rescue because the rescues are over crowded. In addition, the author herself owns a parrot. Ideally, though, we should only enjoy birds in their natural habitat.

I have struggled with many of the ideas in the book. I try to give Audrey and Conner the best life that they could have by giving them attention, large cages, and toys, but I'd love to have a larger parrot, such as an African grey.

When I was little, we had an African grey parrot named Merlin and he was wonderful. He knew over 200 words. He had a great setup too. He lived in the pantry in branches that were cut regularly from outside. He had no cage. He received constant attention and was very happy. Merlin died of natural causes after over 15 years in our care.

I would love to have another African grey, but I could never give him the requisite attention. My boyfriend and I work pretty long hours. Plus, any attention that I gave to a parrot would be taken away from the cockatiels. Conner would be really hurt by that.

I've thought about getting more cockatiels. Mickaboo is a parrot rescue that, as a result of the recession, has received so many cockatiels that they can no longer accept anymore. That means that people who want to give up their cockatiels may give them to a rescue that euthanizes them or simply put them outside. But again, I don't have the time for more birds. Plus, I worry that if I got one, I'd want to get them all. Sometimes I daydream about having a room dedicated to cockatiels, filled with fresh tree branches and toys for 20 birds. But that's only a daydream.

"Of Parrots and People" provides an excellent argument for why we should not buy birds from breeders. Of course not all breeders are like the ones described in the books, people who keep the birds in cramped cages with one perch that causes their feet to form sores, with no toys, and too many hours in the dark to encourage breeding. But even if the birds were in ideal situations, taking their babies away is cruel.

On a happier note, the book describes a trip with Dr. Munn to Brazil to visit hyacinth macaws that sounds wonderful! Someday when I'm ready to spend money on a vacation, I want to visit Dr. Munn's Wildlife Lodge in Brazil. Mary has some great entries about the Tiskita Jungle Lodge, which is also on my list of places to visit. Does anyone have any experience with an ecotourism lodge? If so, I'd love to hear about your experiences in the comments.

Sunsets

2009-07-01T20:41:00.001-07:00

One of the best things about living on the West Coast, is the sunsets. These were all taken from the same place at different times of the year.

Conner and the Box

2009-07-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

Conner has continued to chew his box. He'll need a replacement pretty soon, and I've been trying to figure out how I'll find the proper one. We have several boxes in the house, but the box must be high enough for the bird to stand upright and wide enough for the bird to turn around. It also helps if the box is made of thick cardboard, preferably in multiple layers.
Here's a side view. He chewed almost to the bottom on this side.
Here's the other side of the box. Look at the destruction! At night he puts his head inside the hole and chews.

I'm glad that he likes the box. He only likes a toy the first time you give it to him to destroy. He ignores replacement toys. But he only likes popsicle sticks and koosh balls, so there are a limited number of toys available. You can see in the second photo that he's not very impressed with the pinata. It's been there for almost a year.

I'd like to mention again for any new bird owners, that you should not give boxes to females. It encourages their nesting behavior. Nesty females frequently lay eggs, which can be very dangerous. Conner is treating the box as a toy. Audrey is nesty with his box, but his hasn't harmed him after all these years.

California Gulls

2009-06-28T19:33:00.001-07:00

California has a variety of different gulls. Identifying them is further complicated by the different feather patterns exhibited by the young seagulls.

California gulls are everywhere. They're at the beach, in the parking lots, they've very adaptable to human environments.

This is an adult California gull. Note the white spots on the tips of his primaries.

They have yellow beaks with a red spot.

This guy was at the Golden Gate Park. He was very aggressive about asking people for food. There was a woman napping on the grass and he walked all around her to see if he could steal some food.

This is a juvenile California gull. He's still wearing a first winter coat. Their bellies get increasingly white as they age.

He looked really nice against the waves.

Here's a bottom view of another juvenile.

San Francisco Zoo - Update

2009-06-27T20:35:00.000-07:00

After presenting our concerns to the San Francisco Zoo about keeping the birds tethered and in the sun all day, they replied with the following:

With regard to tethering, the only birds who are tethered full-time are those who need to be managed in that way due to physical limitations. Our long-eared owl (who is congenitally blind) and Swainson's hawk (who was hit by a car, now missing 90% of a wing), for example, are not ever left untethered since both birds could injure themselves seriously if left unattended. However, the majority of the raptor collection are only tethered to perches for a maximum of 4-6 hours, spent on the lawn at the center of the exhibit. While there is always the possibility for a startled bird to attempt to fly, as is their instinct, soft leather bracelets and bungee cord tethers were selected for the birds, so as to minimize impact on their legs. At night, each bird moves to a designated secure shelter located at the rear of the building, where they are "free lofted," untethered, for approximately 18-20 hours out of each day.

I believe this is the long-eared owl:

One of their volunteers told us that this guy has suffered neurological damage after contracting West Nile Virus:

I'm glad that they're not out for longer than 6 hours. They also noted that volunteers are trained to watch the birds and notify the staff if a bird becomes agitated. Furthermore:

Due to the frequency with which the birds are handled, staff at the facility have the ability to rotate birds regularly on the lawn; on particularly busy days, for example, a bird who is nervous may be rotated into an off-exhibit space at the discretion of animal care staff. You may also have noticed the flight mews at the entry to the Animal Resource Center; a second flight mews is located out of view, at the rear of the building. A number of the birds are rotated into these spaces as well, including both flighted birds and some that are not capable of flight. Our golden eagle, missing her right wing as a result of a car collision, is particularly fond of her time in the larger flight enclosures; even though she's not capable of flight, she still gets the chance to chase wild squirrels (that sneak into the mews) quite often.

They seem to have the birds' best interests in mind. I still think that what I saw was a bad situation for the hawk, but hopefully it was a very rare occurrence. Most of the animals looked very happy.

Keyword Search

2009-06-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

I've been using Google analytics to track the popularity of this blog. One of the features allows you to see keywords that people used to reach the blog.

Whoever reached this blog by using the keywords "cockatiel beak turns black," we need to talk. If you're still reading the blog, please ask questions in the comments section.

Whoever reached this blog by using the keywords "cockatiel obsessed with having his head scratched," you've come to the right place.

Music

2009-06-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

We have been experimenting with playing opera and classical music to placate the birds. And by "we" I mean my boyfriend, because it turns out that cockatiels don't like my kind of music (Nine Inch Nails, Alice in Chains, etc.).

They really like operas by Wagner and French classical music. They will stop screaming for attention if you play a disk for them, but not if you play the same disk for multiple days in a row. The cockatiels have standards, after all. Conner is passionate about Brahms. They both enjoy the Ring and Ravel.

They strongly disapprove of violins and piano music, though, so don't play that type of music for your cockatiels unless you're prepared for a revolt.

Here's Conner trying to sing opera.

(he's not sleepy at all)

This could be a huge discovery for all bird owners. Play opera! See how they like it.

San Francisco Zoo

2009-06-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

For the most part, the San Francisco Zoo is very good about creating environments for the animals that are large and comfortable. The lovebirds, for example, had two large caged areas attached with a tunnel. The birds inside were very happy.

There was one exhibit, however, that was really awful for the birds. The hawks, turkey vultures, and owls were secured to stands by only three feet of rope and positioned in the blinding sun.

The hawks were only a foot away from the turkey vultures and the area was surrounded by people. The birds were clearly uncomfortable. You can see that this isn't their permanent housing, though, because there is only water provided for the birds. Hopefully they're only out for a few hours at a time.

This guy kept straining against the binds. He was so unhappy to be tied to the stand. He kept flapping his wings to take off, but his feet were bound. The restraints must be especially hard for such predatory birds.

Here's another one of him straining.

The turkey vultures felt threatened too and kept posturing for the people. Of course the public was excited to see his gorgeous wingspan, but if only they knew that he was trying to hide his vulnerability.

The section of the zoo with the maguari stork also housed a turkey vulture. It was a large enclosure, so I really hope that they return the other turkey vultures to that area too.

In the section with the owls, who were secured similarly, there were volunteers that explained how they only take in birds that cannot be released into the wild. One of the owls had been raised by humans; another contracted West Nile virus and had some neurological damage as a result. I'm thrilled that they take care of these birds, but I really wish that they would put these birds in a caged structure where they can fly.

Maguari Stork

2009-06-21T15:57:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I went to the San Francisco Zoo. They have some great bird exhibits. My favorite was the maguari stork because he had a fantastic display.

As you can see from the picture below, one of the staff came in to fix the habitat. The stork felt threatened. He started making a loud wheezing noise.

Then he raised his head

and kept tipping it backwards

until his head was resting all the way on his back.

He then snapped his head back into place and stabbed at the ground. These storks are native to South America. Their wingspans can read four feet and they weigh up to eight pounds.

Cockatiel Communication

2009-06-14T19:10:00.001-07:00

Audrey has very particular requirements for the position of boxes on his cages. This is Audrey's downstairs cage.

How spoiled does that sound, readers? His downstairs cage?! When we first moved into this house, we tried to give the birds their own room. But they made it clear that the room got too hot and too bright during the day. So now they're upstairs. That works out better because the upstairs is carpeted, which protects Audrey when he falls.

So this picture shows Audrey's containers in the proper conformation for when Audrey is out of his cage. Audrey is on the left, peeking out from behind the OJ container.

At night, the OJ containers must lay flat on top with the spouts pointing down. The blue container on the right has to be at the bottom of the cage so Audrey can be close to it inside his cage.

Yesterday, when I brought Audrey out of the cage in the morning I forgot to put the blue bottle on top of the cage. Audrey started yelling so I went up to see him. He was on the left side of the cage. As soon as I looked at Audrey he walked to the right side of the cage and cocked his head to look at the blue bottle sitting on the bottom of the cage.

Isn't that amazing communication? He couldn't tell me that I had done something wrong, so he showed me with actions.

In fact, just now Audrey was yelling again. I went upstairs, and some bottles that are supposed to be on the cage were placed on a side table while papers were being changed and not replaced. Conner frequently screams to get attention, but Audrey usually has a reason.

This is Audrey warning me to stay away.

Audrey has very strict rules.

Spotted towhee

2009-06-13T15:16:00.001-07:00

California has these beautiful birds called spotted towhees. They like hanging out in bushes. You may notice that every picture in this post involved some kind of bush. Their eyes are bright orange/brown; the same color as their wings.

The first time that I heard one, I waited for 30 minutes to catch a glimpse. You can hear their call here: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Spotted_Towhee/id.

There is a northeastern towhee that has the same coloring as the spotted towhee, except no white spots on the wings. They must not be as common as the spotted towhee because I've never seen one in all my years growing up in Massachusetts. I see the spotted towhee, on the other hand, about 25% of the time that I'm in an area with underbrush.

You can really see the wing spots in this picture.

They won't stay out in the open for very long, but when they're covered, they'll sing for hours in the same spot.

Star Trek, Pictures, and Feathers

2009-06-09T20:35:00.000-07:00

The cockatiels love Star Trek: The Next Generation. Every night we play an episode of TNG and the cockatiels make happy chirping noises. Conner is especially fond of the ship noises. When the ship beeps, he beeps back.

Here's a picture of Audrey on his favorite perch. He's been hanging out there a lot, which is good because using different perches is better for his grip. Sometimes his grip is weak. I think it's a combination of age and overgrown toenails. I hate clipping his nails because he gets really stressed out when he's wrapped in a towel.

Here's a picture of Conner in ultimate snuggle mode. His favorite thing is for me to put him in front of a mirror and pet his back. I'm so glad that he likes this, because Audrey is cranky and will only let me touch him if I'm also scratching his head.

You can see that Conner is almost completely clipped in this picture. He flies really well, even with his wings being clipped. A lot of bird owners believe that birds should be fully flighted. They think that if birds have to be in captivity, they should at least be able to fly. Someday, I would like for Conner to be fully flighted, but it's not practical in this house.

Conner is afraid of everything. He's terrified of brooms, the vacuum, the elliptical machine, any large inanimate object. The birds outside scare him too. This is a significant problem in the house we're renting because it's on the ocean, where water birds fly all day, and the house is practically all windows. We also have a lot of hawks around here. So someday when we move, we'll be looking for a house with fewer windows. Then maybe Conner will be able to fly.

California Quail

2009-06-07T16:14:00.000-07:00

I went back to Golden Gate Park yesterday. I'm walking back to the place where I spotted the hummingbirds and I look up. Two feet in front of me is this:

He's a California quail. He's so beautiful! You can't tell in this picture, but his breast feathers are really shiny. He looked right at me.
I noticed that he was watching an area behind the cactuses very intently. I looked over, and saw the female.

The best part? Babies!!!

In all the pictures, I can't find more than three babies, but I think there were five. The mom saw me too, and I couldn't get any closer.

They seem pretty close to fledging even though they're so tiny.

As the family left the area, dad stayed at the back to protect them.

I can see why the California quail is the state bird. They're so lovely. They're also quite common. I've seen them in the forest near my house and at my favorite park: Butano State Park. This was my first glimpse of babies, though. Have I mentioned how much I love Spring?

Sparrows

2009-06-04T20:26:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how quickly things change during the Spring. I've been visiting the same forest area every 1-2 weeks and everything has been blossoming in the last few weeks. I've actually had trouble getting into the underbrush to photograph birds.

Last weekend these two white-crowned sparrows were very willing to be photographed. One must have been newly fledged because he was very concerned about the location of the other one and followed her everywhere, chirping constantly. I like this photo even though I couldn't get both birds in focus. The out-of-focus sparrow on the left is the baby.

This bird was so much fun to photograph! He flew up and down, on a variety of plants. I won't bore you with all the variations. I took over 100 pictures of these guys with my new 1 gig memory card. Here, she's very puffy!
This was my favorite picture. Sparrow in profile:

I love this action shot. The sparrow on the left was in the process of landing.

In this one, I photographed both white-crowned sparrows and a song sparrow! Song sparrows are my favorite sparrow because they have the most beautiful songs. I could listen to them all day.

This host of house sparrows likes to hang out near my bird feeder, waiting for me to fill it. They are all female house sparrows. Male sparrows are distinguished by their black bib. I recycle Audrey and Conner's bird seed by giving it to the local birds, who are much less picky about the food. They're happy to eat pellets.

Rufous Hummingbirds

2009-05-31T17:49:00.000-07:00

Look at the picture below. Notice anything? Perhaps close to the center on the right?

Here's a closer look. I found a hummingbird nest!

We have a lot of hummingbirds in the Bay area. They're always whizzing by, making little scritch-screech noises like the clashing of electronics. This was the first time I have seen a nest. I've always known that the nests were small, but you don't get a sense of how incredibly small they are until one is in front of you.

You can tell that these are pictures of rufous hummingbirds because the female on the nest has a white patch beneath her beak. Allen hummingbirds, which are similar looking and local have bright ruby throats. The male rufous hummingbirds are a shiny brown as you can see below.

I'm really excited about these pictures because both the cactus and the bird are in focus. Below is a close-up of the bird.

These pictures were all taken in the cactus section of the Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. It was FULL of hummingbirds. Here is another one in profile. If you go anywhere in San Francisco, I recommend Golden Gate Park.

Pelicans

2009-05-25T16:33:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about living on the coast is the water birds. Pelicans are my favorite. They travel in large flocks, especially when it's cold and windy outside.

Usually, I get nice pictures of their underbellies, but today, I got a really good shot of one.

I love their faces. My goal is to capture one with the pouch full of food. This group was captured during one of our infrequent sunny days.

Nesting

2009-05-24T19:26:00.001-07:00

Audrey has been extremely nesty lately. When Audrey wants to go somewhere, he leans into that directly. These days he leads us into closets and other small spaces, like the laundry room. Once you're in the closet, he wants the doors closed so he start making flirty noises. Conner always wants to go where Audrey is, so yesterday when Audrey led J into the laundry room, I followed with Conner and we all made kissy noises in the dark.

In this picture, he's discovered the benefits of a shelf in the closet that I cleared out for him.

Here he's found that there is a gap between the shelf and the wall. Cockatiels are extremely curious about every little crevice.

Pink mineral block

2009-05-23T17:19:00.001-07:00

Note to self: do not buy pink mineral blocks. Every time Conner chews on them, you initially think that he must be bleeding. (Photo by Jon)

Babies!!!

2009-05-17T15:59:00.001-07:00

I went to the marine preserve this weekend, and the place was filled with babies!!! I found a bush filled with baby flycatchers and sat taking pictures of them for 30 minutes. I finally captured some good pictures.

This is a dusky flycatcher.

Below is a gray flycatcher. This baby was very curious and too young to know that I'm dangerous. He came within three feet of me. After a few minutes, his mother came by and fed him!!! I wasn't sure if he was the same bird as the one above, because they came out of the same bush, and the lighting was different. But if you look at the beak, the bird in the picture on top has a beak that is curved at the tip.
This guy looks to be a baby flycatcher as well. I think he's younger than the others because he's incredibly puffy. But the barbs on the wings and the beak suggest that he's a gray flycatcher. He was in another bush, just preening.

In this picture, the baby chickadee is on the bottom and the parent is on top. It's not a great picture, but I like it because the baby looks so huge with all the puffy feathers and the big warm belly. Baby chickadees make a remarkable amount of noise. The entire tree was filled with baby chickadees. The whole town seems to be covered in baby chickadees. These were taken yesterday and today, I was standing outside in the middle of errands and noticed that all the trees had baby chickadees making racket and flying around.

Spring is the best time of year!

Chickdees

2009-05-10T13:43:00.000-07:00

Things have been very hectic, lately, so I haven't been able to take as many pictures. Last week it also rained the entire weekend, which caused the plants to turn a lovely shade of bright green, but prevented me from going birding.

The cockatiels are doing well. Yesterday I put the nest boxes on the bed and each bird explored them thoroughly. Conner is still confused about the function of the nest box. After Audrey was settled inside his nest box, Conner would peek in at him to see what he was doing. There were several times where Conner became frustrated and starting shrieking, as if to say, "I don't get it!!!" Conner has chewed his nest box to the point where there is only about an inch of material holding the top together. We'll have to watch it carefully to ensure the structural integrity of the box. I'd hate for it to collapse with Conner on top.

One of the things that I love about California, is the variety of birds. I've been visiting the same area every weekend for the past few months and each time I see a different type of bird! Last time I saw quails. I didn't get any pictures, but I know where the quails live, so eventually I'll photograph them.

We have several different kinds of chickadees in this part of California. This guy is a chestnut-backed chickadees; a name that is pretty self explanatory.

We also have black-capped chickadees and mountain chickadees. This guy was very

comfortable around me. At one point, he was only a few feet away from me. I got a picture, but it's pretty blurry because of some branches.

I like this picture because the chickadee has food in his mouth.

And I always like capturing bird butts. They're so fuzzy!!!