After a slow motion morning I finally got out for a walk. Docken joined on over the phone and for this I am grateful.
There wasn't much going on at the local botanical garden until I spotted this monarch butterfly. He took off, sort of disappeared actually, before I was able to move in close.
But wait, as I moved in I looked below about knee high and observed not one, not two or three but rather four cabbage white butterflies (Pieris rapae). Ultimately there were six of them all hovering around one large Westringia fruticosa, aka, the coastal rosemary, shrub.
Off for a walk and on my way back to the car I saw someone had decided to decorate the mid-campus statue of the school mascot, the Brahma bull, named after the school founder, Clarence.
The walk was short and pleasant, only about 1.34 miles but it was kind of hard to measure since I did several laps in the garden and zig-zagged around a bit. I was joined by Docken on the phone. Thank you, Docky.
This is the same male Calypte anna hummingbird I was questioning being our friend Dusty yesterday. It is indeed Dusty. I was able to zoom in and crank up the tonal values well enough to see his little head and also the white dot under his right eye. This too is one of his typical hangs, atop the dead California Bay tree. I'm kind of surprised it hasn't been cut down yet. Nevertheless, Dusty enjoys perching on it.
When I started taking pictures it was only 55ยบ and that seemed to be cold enough to limit both hummingbird and butterfly activity. Plus, flowers are getting rather scarce. I finally gave up on the garden and did a short loop around the lower campus.
Both European starlings and Brewer's blackbirds were abundant in one location. Actually, a little too abundant. On a few occasions they got a little excited, perhaps by my approach and would take off in flocks, flying low and circling over my head. The two species seem mostly comfortable in traveling together.
Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus).
Female Brewer's Blackbirds.
European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris).
I was able to drive onto the campus today and decided to take the car up the hill. Lo and behold, I'm pretty sure this is the same red-tailed hawk that I took pictures of on the 19th. It's the same spot on the same lamppost. The big difference is on the 19th it was looking at me with its back to me and today it was facing me. There's enough going on with markings on its head to give me relative confidence it's the same bird. Plus I checked some other pictures from the 19th when it was in a pine tree where I could see at least some breast feathers.
I think it was wondering about the fuzzy seed flying overhead.
Looks like a flying saucer or some sort of stealth aircraft disguised as a hawk.
Here's a side by side mock-up of a shot from today on the left and a shot from the 19th on the right. There's about a two hour difference in sun placement, I was not in exactly the same spot nor did I have the camera at the same focal length. This is as accurate as I cared to fuss with. I find stuff like this easy-peasy in Photoshop. Using Affinity Photo it was a bit challenging. The two images do not have the bird properly scaled.
And that was it. I had a couple of errands to run so I made a U-turn and headed out. Thanks again to Docken for also joining me on the errands.
Get ready to kiss another year goodbye and if you've never wondered why someone would not want you to be woke, it's best you start thinking about it. It is important to remember that being woke is not about being perfect or having all the answers. It is an ongoing process of learning, unlearning, and growing. It is about being open to new ideas and perspectives, and about being willing to challenge our own biases and assumptions. It is about striving to create a more just and equitable world for all.
Happy Thanksgiving for all those who celebrate and remember, everyone alive today has something to be thankful for, may you have the strength to find it and the fortitude to hold on. Peace and love.
Here are some photos from my walk today. Special thanks to Docken (whom I'm thankful for) for coming along via full-duplex data transmission.
Yellow-rumped warbler (Setophaga coronata). Imagine being named after the color of your butt.
This is probably our dear friend, male Calypte anna hummingbird, Dusty. I didn't get to observe him long enough nor get a good enough shot in to be absolutely sure it's Dusty but I'm close.
This is probably the other male I've photographed recently. He appears to be finally moving into his adult plumage. Today he was hanging out just outside of Dusty's main headquarters. He seems to have been eating well since my last visit.
Gates were locked today so I had to park off campus. Not a huge walk, .40 miles, each way, to and from the garden but it had me deciding to spend most of my time meandering around inside the garden as opposed to venturing out onto the campus. On the way back to the car I spotted this red-tailed hawk. A little rough shooting with the glare of the sun smacking me in the head.
Walks for Saturday, November 18th and Sunday, November 19th. However, there wasn't really any worthwhile picture taking on Saturday. Despite my checking on events at the local college campus where I do my weekend walking I neglected to probe deep enough so I didn't see that the California Interscholastic Federation, City Section, Cross Country run finals were taking place. The hillside was jammed with cars, school buses and, of course, people. That was just part of the deal though, I simply wasn't seeing anything I cared to take pictures of. Even though it was a beautiful day after receiving a reasonable amount of rain over the past few days. Total for the month of November so far, .68". Right now, as I type on a late Sunday afternoon, winds are back and relative humidity is dropping.
This is the only picture I saved from Saturday's walk and don't ask me why.
Later in the afternoon, I took this picture for Docken from my front yard with my phone. Docken joined me over the phone for both walks. Thank you, Docky.
Sunday, November 19th.
Yay! Birds of prey!
First, right out of the car in the parking lot I heard a raven making all sorts of noisy fuss about something. I only had to take a few steps and then I spotted this Corvus corax shouting.
It was pretty upset by the presence of this immature prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus).
Down below and right in front of me this mockingbird wasn't the least bit camera shy.
After that it was pretty much walking and talking. I went to the garden but the garden was especially quiet so I kept moving. However, after looping around and heading back to the parking lot I decided to stretch the lower level walk out a little more before driving up the hillside and detoured back into the botanical garden. I only saw one hummingbird. I think this may have again been the young male Calypte anna that's been hanging out in Dusty's territory.
Almost up the hill, I pulled over for this red-tailed hawk.
It flew...
and I followed.
After the red-tailed I decided to walk a lap around the hilltop. Thank you Docken for encouraging me. She said there's gonna be another hawk and sure enough. About 100 meters in I saw this cooper's hawk.
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This day will pass This world moves on In its solitary way Day after day
