7 December 2014 - Skulking for Yard Birds

Hard to believe it is December. Today showed up with a deep blue sky, temps in the lower 50s and many trees still have some leaves, enough to provide camouflage for birds.

Not quite what I would expect for December.  And speaking of not what you would expect, yesterday the yard was full of birds. Today hardly anything was flying. Feeders were still. Baths unused. What was up with that? I have feeders on three sides of my house and they are often so busy that I'm wearing a path going from window to window.

When I went out to get the paper this morning, I could hear lots of very soft bird murmuring, but nothing was in sight. I had a challenge on my hands. I got my camera and found a place to sit and started looking. I was amazed at how many birds there were in the yard, but they were quiet and high in the trees. The pictures I took were not great bird photos, but they showed how stealthy the birds are and how well they can blend. Often the tell was a slight shaking of a branch. While I could then find the bird in my viewer, they would move further in the tree or behind branches before I could focus.
 
Birders often describe a bird as being skulky, which means it flits around or hides in the  underbrush, making it hard to see or recognize. 

So today I skulked about the  yard.  This involved sitting behind the wisteria hoping to just blend in, or trying to be as motionless as the the stones on the rock wall. I sat quietly scanning the trees for movement. Sometimes I would see a tree limb and then realize it wasn't a stub but a bird.

Closer up, I discovered a robin in this mess of limbs. 

Robin

This Robin was motionless and stayed in this position for over 30 minutes before it quietly disappeared. 

Later I was admiring the monster crop of cones around the very top of a blue atlas cedar.

 A second look showed a little lesser goldfinch was nestled up in the top. 

Female Lesser Goldfinch

It was astounding how many birds I found tucked away in the trees.

Black-capped chicadee

Junco

Western Scrub Jay

Female Lesser Goldfinch

Red-shafted Flicker

Steller's Jay

 

Downy woodpecker

Oregon Junco

House Finch

Magpie

Female House Finch

California Quail

Spotted Towhee

I particularly like how this jay hides in plain sight, dissolving into the sky. 

 And sometimes, just being perky, in this case flipping the tail up and down can attract the eye.

While hiding out looking for birds, I spotted some mating red squirrels in the crotch of a tree. Just what we need. More squirrels.

And my biggest rodent. She was a little put out to find me on her route over the fence to the next yard.

3 December 2014 - Night Postcard from San Francisco

Last month I was in San Francisco. I have always said I would never want to live there, but the more I visit, the more I want to see and while I have always seen the charm, I am beginning to be charmed by the city itself. 

This time of year it gets dark before five making it hard to walk the city streets looking for urban oddities. However, the city lights up nicely.  I had been out for a walk and darkness descended on my way back. Nothing quite like lights on the water. 

In addition to the Bay itself at night, the city puts on a show as well.