Bowie's back!

 No, not that guy.

This would be Bowie the very special female California scrub jay (Aphelocoma californica) I became very well acquainted with from mid-September, 2021 until the first week of February, 2022. I saw her on occasion for close to a year before that but... well, that story is here. From February 8th up until  February 15th I had not seen beak nor tail of dear Bowie. On the 15th I only happened to catch her in the front yard relocating an acorn she had stashed on the roof above my garage (I wish she'd stick with other places). I only had a moment to say hello. Then yesterday... It was a little after 10:00 in the morning and I was working on yesterday's blog entry when I heard a bunch of squawking in the backyard, just outside my office windows. I immediately dashed out. I needed to be certain it was her and wanted to make an observation as expeditiously as possible. I wanted to see her. I wanted to see that she was okay. I missed her. Once I saw it was indeed Bowie I stepped back inside and grabbed my camera.

What was she squawking at you might ask? Well, it was this pair of mockingbirds. I'm also very familiar with these two and much like scrub jays (with the exception of the very unique Bowie), male and female northern mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos) are difficult to tell apart, unless you see them together. Males, in both cases, are larger. I believe this is the first time I have seen the mockingbirds together. I'm pretty certain the one on the left is the male. I'm also pretty sure he's the one I've seen and spoken to most frequently. Males have a wider range of vocalization and sing more frequently than females.

Bowie took off, at least I lost track of Bowie while the mockingbirds remained. Egg laying for both of these birds species can begin in March. For the mockingbirds my understanding is it depends on warmer than average temperatures. So far, for March, that's a toss-up. Today's temp went from 41ºf to 81ºf. I think we’re headed into generally warmer climes. The situation could be similar for the scrub jays. The best information I can get on them is they might start early March but nesting averages from late March to mid-June. To start, it takes about 10 days to build the nest, so that's possibly happening now... plus... moments ago, Bowie was back again and this time she hung out with me on the patio and got some peanuts. We probably spent close to 20 minutes together so I doubt she's dealing with a baby bird yet. Also, I haven't seen Mr. B since February 25th and they're supposed to do this stuff together. Yes, I will let you know if I see Mr. B.

Again on the utility pole this afternoon. However, when she heard me tambourine peanuts on a paper plate she came right down to the ficus trees off the patio.

 
Look at me, I'm a BIG girl!

That's your Bowie update for now. I think it would be great if I could spot a nest and follow that development. I'm keeping my eyes and ears open.

Today's walk report: 121421

Rainy day, rain all day
Ain't no use in gettin' uptight, just let it groove its own way
Let it drain your worries away
Lay back and groove on a rainy day*

Okay. it's not true, this isn't really a walk report but to make it qualify just a wee bit I'll mention my last walk, briefly. Yesterday, Monday December 13th I went for my typical early morning walk and I wasn't especially enthusiastic about it. It was the crack of dawn and about 39º F. Despite my Nordic roots I find that to be pretty cold, especially just wearing Levi's, a t-shirt and a light hoodie. I bought a pair of $10 gloves on Amazon awhile back and as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. I prefer to put my fists into the sleeves of the hoodie and after about a mile my hands seem to warm up a bit. So, there was that.

The thing is, I felt I had to walk yesterday because walks were absent this past weekend and today, well today it was a lot warmer, same time as Monday's walk it was 54º but it was also pouring rain. In fact from about 10:40 last night until right now (near 10 AM) we got a charming 1.84" of rain. I'm really thankful for that but I'm not walking in it. Those days are gone forever. 

Young wildflower plants, which were being meticulously cared for over many days since our first rain on October 24th, were having to deal with some nonseasonal temps up into the mid-90ºs. They were looking a little sorry the past few days but I felt I should wait on the rain. They've perked up significantly this morning. I hope they can handle tomorrow morning's near freezing predicted temps. Up until today I had only seen .87" precipitation for the season. Average rainfall for this valley is 17". Last season the total was around 5.5". I water roughly 6,000 square feet by hand. Wildflower seeds to seedlings in 90º+ temps needed to be watered as many as 4 times a day. I do that with a sprayer on a hose, 3 of them actually. I don't mind the activity but I do mind using the water in a drought (read, guilt) and also having to pay for it. I'm gonna see the water bill for the last two months in a day or two. I'm hoping not to flip out. Last wildflower season I did nothing due to Covid. This year I felt like I deserved some flowers. Last year there was some self-seeding and I relied on that little bit of rain. This year I threw down 1/4 lb of Dimorphotheca sinuata seed (it's an African daisy) and... package said, 100,000 Pavaver rhoeas (common poppy, Shirley poppy) seeds. To top it off I get a lot of common storksbill, common mallow and in the backyard, chickweed. They're all invasive but not horrible looking plants.

Anyway, that's more than I was going to say about any of that. What I wanted to do was to post some more pictures of my two scrub jay (Aphelocoma californica) friends, Bowie and Mr. B. They visit me daily. In fact, I believe they both look for me and why not, they get food. I have conversations with them both now, they listen to me. Bowie talks back the most.

These were all taken between November 29th and December 12th, I think... close enough.

Bowie.

Mr. B and I'll point out that one reason I don't have nearly as many pictures of Mr. B as I do of Bowie is because she often chases him away, especially when the food offering includes acorns. All of the acorns get buried and it seems Bowie wants to be in charge of that process. As you'll see, he does manage to get some. Scrub jays have an amazing ability to remember where they hide their food caches. They also have a huge impact on the distribution of oak trees.

Rain has been coming and going during the production of this post, we're up to 1.95" for the current storm.

* Rainy Day, Dream Away
by Jimi Hendrix
Album: Electric Ladyland (1968)

Today's walk report: 112721

A late, about 8:00 AM to 9:15 AM, walk after driving onto the campus. A few laps around the botanical garden and then a schlep up the hill. Right now, after image edits, I seem to be having a carpal tunnel or tendonitis issue, some sort of WTF now thing, with my left hand into my forearm and I don't feel much like typing. So... here are some pictures with limited dialogue.

It's been awhile, away form the garden, but male Calypte anna hummingbird "Dusty" was still hanging in his usual hangs.

Onward and upward. There were two red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) about 68 meters (75 yards) apart. We've probably seen these same birds before. These shots were taken from approximately 45 meters away. 

First shot, from near the bottom of the hill.

Now topside. Look at the eyes. Has this bird been doing poppers or something? 

Oh wait... I might have figured it out. Even though I lost focus it was about to poop here. Note the tail starting to move upward. After this I lost focus. Aren't you fortunate.

All done. Looks a little more normal to me.

B. jamaicensis #2, slightly east. Please remember this bird is really far away. A 300 mm lens doesn't really cut it but that's what I've got.

There's always a mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos).

The famous "finches four".

 And of course this crew...

Outside the "fine arts” buildings...

Not much action. The nice part was talking with Docken on the phone the whole while. Thanks Dockie!

One other thing. Last post, Introducing Bowie, I mentioned at the end of that post that I needed to go find some acorns for Bowie and Mr. B. Well, I found some, what I believe are Quercus lobata, commonly called valley oak acorns today. I put these out with peanuts and wild bird food and the two of them went straight for the acorns. I'll have to go pick up some more tomorrow.

This was the second acorn picked up by Bowie. She struggled a little but she managed.

 And here's Mr. B with the one he also snagged from the patio table.

That's all I've got, allow me to exit this and seek some sort of hand therapy. Thanks for joining in. Peace.