Pescadero State Park

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

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

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

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

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

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.