Today's walk report: 031217, these are not the ducks you're looking for

I was completely out for a few weeks with a sciatica issue and the flu. The two complemented each other in an excruciating way. I am so glad to have been back out with my wonderful girl taking pictures today.
These are not the ducks you're looking for...

One of the pleasures my Docken and I have missed most on the outside during our bouts with the flu were "our ducks" (look back a few posts and you'll see) who we named after us because they remind us of ourselves. Well, I think we'll see them again but on our last few trips out we've been greeted by another pair of mallards. We believe we saw our ducks fly overhead just as we were arriving last week only to find these two in their place.

Not Docken Duck.

Not Eric Duck.

Nevertheless, they got duck food but we miss our ducks.

Here's another changing of the guard. My last post,  Today's walk report: 012217, featuring Rusty, was erroneous. That wasn't Rusty at all. It was an imposter. I knew a week or two earlier that there was another male Allen's hummingbird about but I followed this ones patterns and thought it had to be Rusty. As it turned out this little fellow was chasing Rusty.

Imitation Rusty, male Selaphorus sasin.

And here's Rusty taken on Feb. 10th...

I'm pretty sure I can tell the difference now. I did not see Rusty today but then I only saw 3 hummingbirds. The other two were a male and a female Calypte Anna that were rather evasive. Three hummingbirds in a one acre garden on a beautiful warm day is rather odd but we also didn't stay long.

Whilst looking for hummingbirds, this guy almost hit me in the nose flying by...

Gray bird grasshopper (Schistocerca nitens).

Alyogyne huegelii.

We have an Alyogyne huegelii bush in our front yard too. It's done quite well with the recent SoCal rains. It's taken almost 4 years to really get going but it's not in the most hospitable location. The daisies in the background are Dimorphotheca sinuata.

Back to the walk and also in full bloom and quite majestic, Acacia boormanii, aka, snowy river wattle.

We decided to take our stroll a little past the garden to make it more of a walk and passed the campus sundial. Today is the first day of daylight saving time. The shadow was pretty much spot on, this photo was taken at 11:25 DST. I'll also note it says, Daylight Savings Time, with a "s". I learned last night that Daylight Savings Time is a misspelling, but its use is more common than the correct term.

Back home. The first scarlet flax (Linum grandiflorum) are blooming in the front yard. This is one of my favorite flowers to photograph here in the spring. By the way, the Spring Equinox is still 8 days away and right now it feels more like summer with the current afternoon temp being 91º F.

 Thanks again for coming along. It was great to be able to go out and do this!

Today's walk report: 012916

First report for 2016!

New Year's Day... No parades, no football just a wonderful late morning walk with my girl.

A house finch devouring Toyon berries (Heteromeles arbutifolia).

A male Calypte anna enjoying a spot in the sun.

The spines almost look soft and cushy--not so!

Eucalyptus.

Flowering Eucalyptus and a bee finding its nectar.

010216...

The most hummingbird activity I've seen in awhile with at least male two Calypte annas vying for  the attention of a single female. Also a familiar male Selasphorus sasin (Allen's hummingbird) gets a personal name from me.

Male Calypte anna.

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3, puffed up for the cold A.M.

4, showing color.

5, quizzical over the camera beeps.

 This male Allen's hummingbird has been around for at least two years now. I'd need to engage in a rather daunting back tracking process to find my 1st shot appearance. He also appears here in my last post. He's much more approachable now than he was in the past. I decided to name him Rusty.

Here Rusty looks like a sleepy old man.

Much more handsome in this shot.

Sambucus mexicana.

Sambucus mexicana up close.

The one female Calypte anna watching the boys, rather ho-hum.

Rusty up high.

The same male Anna's hummingbird as above.

010716...

Another fine walk into Corbin Canyon.

This was an unusual site, at least for this location. My former elementary school playground. I guess with the kids still out for winter vacation they felt it was a safe stop.

Canada geese.

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 Into the canyon. I didn't look for much in the way of photo ops. This walk was mostly about the walk and the company.

Two red-tailed hawks soaring high plus a glimpse of the wonderful weather we had.

Yellow-rumped warbler.

Later that day we trekked a short way west to watch the sunset.

 010916...

Allocasuarina torulosa (rose she-oak or forest oak).

Another fine looking yellow-rumped warbler.

Some sort of aloe.

Male Calypte anna, again puffed up for the colder climes.

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 Northern mockingbird  (Mimus polyglottos).

No ID.

Not sure, could be Acacia covenyi. Once the flowers open we should know.

Male Calypte anna.

That's Rusty way up there!

Rusty again in the coral gum tree.

And our lone female Anna's.

Unknown eucalyptus flower...

and once the flower's gone, here are the seed pods.

Scrub jays... having a spat?

 Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans).

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012416...

We had to take a break for the "cold and flu" season. There were some modest walks, sans cameras.

Rusty the Selasphorus sasin looking dapper!

Rusty's favorite tree, a coral gum about to refresh on some flowers.

Acacia stenophylla, the shoestring acacia.

Eremophila glabra, a favorite of the Calypte anna hummingbirds.

Our familiar female Anna's in her typical hang, a braided honey mrytle.

Here's a couple interesting shots. Look carefully at this male Calypte anna, that's an ant crawling around the end of its beak. Don't forget, you can click images for a better view!

A bushtit enjoying itself on the shoestring acacia.

More bushtits. They typically hop from bush to bush in groups like this. How many can you find?

A white-crowned sparrow, very camouflaged.

Bye-bye, for now!