What's For Lunch

As we were leaving the house today, we watched two Red Shouldered Hawks catch and devour their lunch. They were in an open field and one right after the other, they swooped down and scooped up what looked to be good sized gophers.

 

Although they saw us watching them, they were much more interested in filling up on their tasty meal and made no move to fly away. Sorry gophers, this was not your lucky day.

 

That's how nature works... out here in the rural countryside of Arroyo Grande,

The Spotted Towhee

 

This Spotted Towhee comes quite regularly to eat underneath the bird feeders. They hunt for the seeds and cracked corn that the other birds kick out of the feeders and into the grass.

 

They are so much brighter than their cousin the California Towhee, which is a rather drab brown. Doesn't seem quite fair! All the Towhees love to eat on the ground and are quite tame and unafraid.

We love our wild bird friends.

Red Winged Blackbird

The Red Winged Blackbirds hang out in the wet lands. They are usually in flocks and come and go as a group. Occasionally, they fly into our back yard and feast on seeds and just as suddenly they are gone. The red color on their wing is amazingly bright, almost florescent. Come back, Black Birds with the crimson on your wing, we haven't seen you for a while!

Pelicans Over Pismo

It was a beautiful day at Dinosaur Cave Park and the Pelicans were cruising the coast line. They were beautiful.

Bird Condo

I borrowed this picture because it spoke to me! A good spot for a house is hard to come by or maybe they like each other's company. It made me smile.

Special Bird Feeder

I love this new birdfeeder I got for Mother's Day. Love, love, love it... and so do the feathered friends.

Trio of Grosbeaks

The Grosbeaks have been all over the place. They love the same mix of seeds that the Scrub Jays and Acorn Woodpeckers are so fond of, so there has been lots of competition. Today the Grosbeaks were holding their own, and I got a shot of three at once. But, not to worry, the Woodpeckers and Jays got their share too.

Time to buy more bird seed!

Against All Odds

They have stayed... against all odds. Every time the garage door goes up the adults fly out of the nest, land about ten feed away and scold us.

Unlikely Choice

Doesn't this seem like a strange place to make a nest? Well, the California Towhee couple had a different idea. They like it here, even with the garage door going up and down and the chain running right under that nest and the light going on and off. They are quick to scold us when we go into the garage to get in the car and they leave for a while. But when we come back and the door goes up, we see then fly away once more. I will have to get the tall ladder and see if there are eggs in there.

We will try to be respectful until any eggs hatch and babies fly away. Then, we will have to clean up the garage and be more careful to keep the side door closed.

Home On The Range

We took a ride to see the wildflowers early this week. Its a little late in the season and most of the blues were already gone here on Shell Creek Road.

The cattle were grazing the grass and living the good life. It was wonderfully peaceful and quiet.

We joined them and spent a couple hours just relaxing in this beautiful setting.

Pelican Circle

Sunday afternoon we went for a walk out to Oso Flaco Lake with a docent from the California State Parks. It was a nice sunny day with  brisk wind. The White Pelicans were enjoying the lake too. They were swimming in a little group.

Then, they did this little juggling act and arranged themselves in a circle and down they went head first into the water. It was like synchronized swimming. They did it over and over. 

Now unlike the Brown Pelican who dive into the water while in flight, the White Pelicans work as a group to herd fish into shallow water where they are easier to catch. We watched for some time and they proceeded across the lake making their circle every minute or so. Quite interesting. Sure hope they caught a good hearty fish lunch!

The Red Dot

I've been noticing this red dot on the bill of some Sea Gulls. After some research, here is what I've learned. The Western Gulls have the red dot on their bill. The other two are California Gulls and have the dark spot on their bill. There are many other kinds of gulls and to make it even more complicated their feather colors change over several years as they mature. All this makes it a little tricky to identify each kind.

It is interesting to note that the California Gull is the Utah state bird. The California Gull swooped down in1848 and ate hoards of crickets that were destroying the crops of the pioneers. The people of Utah showed their appreciation by naming the California Gull their state bird in 1955. How cool is that?

Please...

Really? Are you sure? Who said so? This brings up nothing but questions.

Moving along now.

I Agree

I agree with this little guy... I'm tired of it. It's been going on a long time. Finish it up already!

This sign is down by the corner of Willow and Pomeroy and although I know the original meaning was that this is where the road works ends, I choose to think of it in a different way.

Spring Is Around the Corner

Look what I found in the Camellia bush in the front yard. I have seen Robins, Scrub Jays and a Towhee flying around that bush. I hope there will be eggs and babies to watch!

Seagulls Fishing

This Sea Gull dropped his lunch. Was it a fish or a clam?

Minus Tide

We caught a low tide of -1.2 the other day. There was so much sand to drive on and the beach was swept clean.

The Seagulls and Sanderlings were having a feast on all those critters in the sand that they had access to because the water was so low.
It was a Sand crab buffet!

Watching Woodys

The Acorn Woodpeckers are now part of our daily routine. They are quite tame and don't fly away when we come out the door. In fact, I think they watch for us to come outside because they know we just might put out some sunflower seeds or peanuts. I'd love to see their grainery stash for winter!

They seem to work together against the Scrub Jays to keep all the seeds for themselves. One will get seeds while another chases away Jays. The lookout perches up high on top of the telephone pole. It's quite entertaining to watch.

No fighting... no biting guys. There's enough for everyone!

The Family

We finally got a picture of the baby Acorn Woodpecker with the adults. He is already quite large and eats on his own but we have seen him being fed several times by the adults too. Black Oil Sunflower seeds are their favorite seeds and they are active morning and evening. They also often show up mid day when we are eating lunch. What a joy to watch!

Spacey

Please respect my personal space.