20161025 juv owls and venus
juvenile great horned owls and venus in background at sunset / contra costa county CA
20161025 juv owl flying
juvenile great horned owl / contra costa county CA
20161021 great horned owl juveniles I
right on queue, these two juvenile great horned owls have been haunting the woods nearby with their haunting cries of dispair (aka annoying hunger begging cries to their parents) … almost Halloween / Samhain / Dia de Muertos!
2016 Oct black vulture in Sonoma Co!!
black vulture (top right), turkey vulture (bottom right, slightly in the distance), and kestrel / Bodega Bay * Sonoma County CA
Black vultures are a rare visitor here on the West Coast, more typically found in the American Southeast and South, and in Mexico. We are in the middle of the migration right now, so you never know what might show up. Though this bird must have taken a wrong turn around Tennessee. We spotted it in a small kettle that had a couple turkey vultures and an American kestrel (small falcon).
Research at this time indicates that this type of vulture finds its food by site (similar to many African vultures), as opposed to the turkey vulture, more common here in CA, which uses its sense of smell to find food. Though they are both considered vultures with dark bodies and bald heads, but you can see that the black vulture has a distinctive wing shape and short tail, combined with a dark head and dark flight feathers that make it easy to differentiate from a turkey vulture. Turkey vultures also have a silvery hue to the underside of their flight feathers, the adults have red heads, and they have slightly different flight styles as well. Very different builds on these birds, and it’s reflected in the way they soar and fly (turkey vulture has a slight “v” when it flies as viewed from head-on, and it tends to rock back and forth more – a less steady looking soar). Often it’s easiest to ID a bird at a distance based on a sillhouette and how it flies.
black vulture and kestrel
black vulture and kestrel
20161013 calm before the storm
juvenile Great-Horned Owl / Wildcat Canyon Regional Park * Richmond, CA
almost-full-Moon and Red-Tailed Hawk hunting late / Wildcat Canyon Regional Park * Richmond, CA
Probably the last of this waxing moon we’ll see this month, due to the coming storm. Beautiful night.
20160926 coyote
coyote / Pt Reyes National Seashore CA
20160926 elk
It’s that time of year again – the elk rut is in full effect. The bulls are gathering their harems and bugling, it’s always an impress sight and amazing to hear!
bull elk / Pt Reyes National Seashore CA
20160922 backyard boyds
crow bros
bushtit (yes, that’s it’s name) – one of my favorites, and not just because of their name; when these tiny little birds come through in their flocks, it always brings a smile to my face
red-breasted nuthatch
anna’s hummingbird
western scrub jay
bewick’s wren singing!
some of these birds are molting, so they are looking a little ragged – but still beautiful
20160916 sunset and full moon rise
Epic evening of no winds and clear skies (rare this summer here!)
The sun set almost directly behind Mt Tamalpais from this vantage, and the full moon rose exactly in between the two peaks of Mt Diablo to the East.
epic
2016 Sept 20 – butters n blues
California Sister * Adelpha californica
Briones Regional Park * Contra Costa County CA
juvenile Western Bluebirds * Sialia mexicana
These four flew into the tree above me and huddled together in the shade, taking refuge from the hot afternoon sun together. It was pretty adorable.
20160624 juvenile peregrine falcon
juvenile Peregrine Falcon / Alameda County CA
20160624 raven
Common Raven / CA
20160729 squirrels of tahoe
Many small ground-dwelling squirrels in Tahoe – California Ground Squirrel, Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel, and a number of species of Chipmunk.
California Ground Squirrel pausing with snack on wrist / Lake Tahoe, CA
The Chipmunk-sized Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel / Lake Tahoe, CA
20160820 harrier on raven
Interesting interaction between a Northern Harrier, Raven and Turkey Vulture (not pictured) – the Harrier seemed to be highly agitated by the other birds. I would expect this perhaps around fledge time, but it seems late in the season – is this play? Competition? Just a pissed off bird?
Raven and Norther Harrier (female) / Point Reyes National Seashore
Raven and Norther Harrier (female) / Point Reyes National Seashore
I’ve never seen a Harrier so aggressive towards other birds.
20160629 osprey
osprey with de-brained striped bass / Richmond, CA
Because it’s just rude to give your mate a fish with it’s brains still intact. Or is that like eating a slice of pizza from the box on the way home from your favortite spot that you just got take-out from? Or perhaps is this a zombie osprey? Inspiration for a new spin-off from the Walking Dead – The Flying Dead (Osprey)?
Time will tell.
20160820 snake
red-sided garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis infernalis) / Pt Reyes National Seashore
2016 June Richmond Osprey Nest
A fellow raptor-lover / naturalist friend of mine lives on a boat by Point Richmond, and this winter she convinced the harbor master to install a platform on the breakwater in hopes that osprey would nest there. They did! Osprey have been continuing to be present in increasing numbers here in the Bay Area, and I was able to get to see the nest last week, just a week after the two babies hatched. It was difficult to see them because they are still so small, but I hope to return to see them in a couple of weeks when they are more visible.
Right when I got there, dad (named Lee) had just caught a nice sized striped bass and was looking for a place to start eating. The fish looks like it is saying “oooooooohhhhhhh shit.” Valid.
My friend said that he typically has been the one hunting, and the female sits on the nest with the young since they hatched. Evidently he seems to always get this size and type of fish, and there were reports about a year ago of a surge in the density of striped bass in the Bay. He usually finds a spot to eat the head, before he delivers it to the nest. Today though, he left a nearby perch possibly due to the high winds and he went right over the nest. But not before the gulls harrassed him for his dinner.
The gulls are always looking for an easy meal, and two great-blue herons that were on the breakwater were not pleased …
A double-crested cormorant popped up right by us on the dock, beautiful creatures.
Pops decided to re-locate after mom (Eileen) had fed herself and the tiny little hatchlings. He went on a perch just to the side of the nest to keep working on dinner, as the sky turned to pink and purple with the setting sun.
Special thanks to Shirley for all the work she does and her love for these birds.
20160612 passing the buck
Black-tailed Mule Deer / Point Reyes National Seashore
Spending moments with this incredible animal was sublime – he is in the prime of his life, overflowing with strength and vitality. His coat glows with a luster of brilliance, his eyes are dark and bright; a wet nose constrasts the softness of the fur around his snout, and those antlers – oh, those antlers. Fuzzy and stout, with many branches, each of which speaks to the stories of his years. He walks with confidence, grace, and strength.
Thank you Deer.
2016 June 07 – peregrine falcons in Oakland
It has been a rough start for a nesting pair of falcons in Oakland. Or rather, one of the brood. This particular nest has two young, and they fledged on Thursday and Friday. Unfortunately, one of them ended up down on a roadway in traffic on Friday evening, right as I arrived to watch them. Of course I took off running, hopped a fence and ran to the road to attempt a rescue.
When I got to it, the fledge was hunkered down in the middle of one of four lanes of traffic. I managed to stop traffic, but not before a woman ran directly over the bird (without any wheels crushing it). In fairness, it is Oakland, and I probably looked like a crazy person because I had already taken off my t-shirt to grab the bird as I tried to stop traffic. Still pretty lame though.
I scooped the little guy (it was originally ID’d as a female, but it seems really small to be female, so I’m calling it a he for now). He had sustained damage on his lowere mandible, but otherwise seemed to be intact. I’m not sure if the damage occured due to a vehicle strike, or if he hit his beak on his way down to the roadway. The damage was severe enough that it warranted an exam by a professional. These new fledges are not great fliers, but they are even worse at landings. After the initial shock wore off, he was very fiesty and not happy about being put into a box – which is a good sign. A friend who is part of the falcon fledge watch took him to a wildlife rehab facility for assessment. His status is still questionable, but we are hoping that he can be released again into the wild. It could go any way at this point, but I am hopeful.
What is interesting are the circumstances of his crash landing. He had taken off on a practice flight, and it appeared that the adults actually were chasing him as if he were an intruder. It happened very fast, but initially we thought we were seeing the adults chase off an intruder, then we quickly realized it was the youngster. Each time he tried to land on a high perch, an adult swooped on him and he took back to the air until he finally tired out and went down on the road.
Maybe his parents were disciplining him like the Japanese parents who left their son in the woods recently. A bit overkill, ya think – tone it down a bit maybe? It was certainly an unusual event, and our assessment is purely conjecture. There is speculation that this pair of falcons is very young, so perhaps they just haven’t figured out the whole parenting thing just yet.
Another friend of mine saw and got a picture at another falcon nest recently of one of the adults actually helping a new fledge land!! The adult flew beside and slightly behind the younster, and actually assisted it up to a perch! Perhaps the parents at this nest were trying to help, but their efforts actually made the situation worse. Hard to say at this point.
Here are a few pics of the remaining family from the past few days.
peregrine falcon fledgling / Alameda County CA
peregrine falcon fledgling / Alameda County CA
peregrine falcon (female)
peregrine falcon tiercel (male) / Alameda County CA
In addition to being a smaller bird, the tiercel (term for a male falcon) happens to have much lighter plumage on his chest and belly, which helps when trying to tell them apart if they aren’t next to each other to know by size (female is bigger). The female has some strong barring on her entire underside and a bit of a buffy tone, whereas the male has a lot of white and the barring only extends partially down under his wings, not across the whole belly and chest.
peregrine falcon tiercel (male) / Alameda County CA
The injured bird is incredibly beautiful, as I was walking back with him in my hands, he was looking up at me with giant, shining, dark, dark brown eyes. Pure Wild looking up at me. I’ll never forget those eyes. Hopefully he gets to take to the sky again soon!
peregrine falcon landing / Alameda County CA
owl
when you see this wild eye, it can’t be anything else but what it is … and it is beautiful
great-horned owl (adult female) / contra costa county CA
last nap before the night
This pair has been around for a number of years – why no young? Theories to come …
red fox kits are back!
The red foxes have returned to the den I found last year, and they have three kits this year!
I have spent some time out photographing them at night, but because of the poor light the photos are rough. But still adorable!! It’s been so fun to watch these kits over the last week. I’m guessing they are about six weeks, maybe seven.
More to come soon …
red fox kit / Contra Costa County CA
red fox kit / Contra Costa County CA
red fox kit / Contra Costa County CA
red fox kit and adult (likely the male) / Contra Costa County CA
red fox kit / Contra Costa County CA
the ravens and the bobcat
After a day of what could be the last rain of the season, I decided to motivate myself for a much needed attitude adjustment. I was grumpy, and pretty unmotivated. I knew if I went out for a wander/hike, things might shift. I figured “future Zach” might really appreciate “past Zach” more if “current Zach” got off the couch.
It was just before sunset, and the clouds were starting to break up, yielding some blue sky and a beautiful setting sun sometimes shining from behind the clouds. The puffy clouds that were left after the rain were now highlighted in beautiful pinks, purples, and oranges. The air was calm and there was a divine serene quality to the light and the moment.
I wasn’t far into my wander when I heard a lot of raven sounds. It’s not unusal to see them in this area, but usually they are moving around, soaring, and don’t typically hang around one particular area for too long. And usually they are in pairs here. As I turned a bend, I started to see them. Some were flying, some were perched or hopping around a grove of eucalyptus trees. There were at least four or five ravens, and I stopped to watch and listen. At first I thought perhaps it was a young family of newly fledged ravens, just playing on the hillside and in the grove of trees. They didn’t necesarily seem focused on anything in particular, but I decided to circle around to the other side of the eucs to get a better look.
Sidebar …
I’ve written before that in the northern part of Wildcat Canyon Regional Park, I have never seen definitive bobcat sign nor a live bobcat in the three years that I have been going there (ironic, given its name!!). My explanation was that due to the open grassland and minimal cover in this area (most of it is grazed by cattle for fire suppression), coyotes are the dominate predator because they can adapt to the terrain better. Between the lack of cover and proliferation of coyotes, it is not ideal bobcat terrain. Not only that, many people walk their dogs in this area, and again, coyotes are better equipped to deal with that scenario. Bobcats like to be near edges of vegetation, so they can easily “disappear” to escape threats. Further south in Wildcat Canyon, there are more chapparal and riparian zones with lots of cover, and sure enough I’ve found (and seen) bobcats and their sign there.
That all changed a few months ago. I was out after dark in the northern part of Wildcat and somehow in the dim light I spotted a single cat track in a patch of mud on a lightly used cow trail in an area under eucalytus trees and close to more dense cover (other trees, poison oak, blackberry, coyote brush, etc).
bobcat track / Wildcat Canyon Regional Park Richmond, CA
Then, in the middle of April, I was on a run passing through the same general area and I spotted fairly fresh bobcat scat. It was classic bobcat scat – sometimes coyote scat can be a similar size and they can be confused, but not this one. It definitely tasted like bobcat scat (joke).
bobcat scat / Wildcat Canyon Regional Park Richmond, CA
bobcat scat / Wildcat Canyon Regional Park Richmond, CA
The evidence was mounting that a bobcat had moved into the area.
Back to tonight …
As I came around the other side of the euc trees I saw two ravens side-by-side on a branch, not very high up (probably 20 feet). They were very vocal and seemed to be focused on something on the ground. I paused, then slowly approached through the tall grass. As I got about 1/4 of the distance to them, what pops out from behind some tall grass? A bobcat!!
I froze. It froze. It thought I hadn’t seen it, so it slowly backed behind the grass, crouched then slowly turned around and started to go the other way. I quickly backtracked to the trail and returned in the direction I had come in hopes that I would see it try to circle back around me. As I did this, I kept track of what the ravens were doing – they had watched the whole encounter happen and now I realized they had absolutely been following this cat. As I paused in the trail after about 20 yards to listen and gauge my next move, the ravens flew over the area directly in front of me and circled a few times. They were tracking the bobcat and giving away its location! Sure enough, in about 10 seconds it appeared at the edge of the trail only 15 feet from me. We gazed at each other, and it slowly crossed the trail, pausing at the other side to study me. Slowly it moved in a circle around me and then passed, stopping to watch me at a number of times. OF COURSE I didn’t have my good camera rig with me, but, I was able to really enjoy a few moments of being close to this amazing animal – and snap a bad pic with my cell phone.
bobcat / Wildcat Canyon Regional Park Richmond, CA
I love when “bird language” gives clues like this about what is happening on a landscape. That is part of the fun of being out there and staying aware – and no matter how many times it happens to me, it always seems like magic. So fun.
Right after that encounter, I saw a California newt on the trail – likely returning from a vernal pond where it bred, to seek refuge in the leaf litter under some trees during the warm and dry months of summer. I’m always thrilled to see these little salamanders.
California newt / Wildcat Canyon Regional Park Richmond, CA
California newt / Wildcat Canyon Regional Park Richmond, CA
feralzach 