Hot Chicks!

As part of our bird care today, Deborah and I had these two little chicks in an incubator to care for.


The one in front is a killdeer, and the other one is an avocet. The killdeer weighs 14 grams, and its body is about the size of a ping-pong ball. The feather duster is a surrogate mommy. In the dishes are live tubifex worms, and meal worms. The photo looks blue because of the ultra violet light in the incubator. So cute!

Peli Release

Today, I got to take two pelicans for release at Fort Baker, below the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge. There were just two other people in the immediate area. They seemed to be tourists from Eastern Europe. They thought the pelis were my pets, and that I would be taking them back home after I let them splash around. As the pelicans finally flew off under the Golden Gate, I said, "Goodbye, have a nice life." The tourists thought I was talking to them, and they wished me a goodbye, also.

A little stretch and look around after the long ride from IBRRC in Cordelia.

"You go first." "No, you go."

The pelican on the left had a broken lower mandible, and had to wear a hideous fixator for days that looked like the outrigger of a canoe. The pelican on the right, Nick and I brought up from NAR in Santa Cruz around two months ago. She was very sick, and had a foul smelling cheesy infection in her pouch. They faced certain death - now look at them!

"Well, shall we do it?"

"This is a nice view, but let's get the flock out of here."

Let's Float

They paused for a little floating - salt water at last!

Heading Out

The two floated for a couple minutes...

then headed out to sea under the Golden Gate (lower right corner).

I'm a Hoodoo Man

I had been planning to get my school work all caught up this week so I could do a long hike today, which turned out to be about 11 miles. I'm glad I did, because even though it felt like summer, it still looks like spring - and that's a good thing. I had just my pocket camera today, and binoculars. All but the first two pictures will enlarge - eehaw!


I know, another lupine shot, but I can't help myself.


I hiked up Oat Hill Mine Trail to the crest, and took my new "hidden trail" south in the direction of Angwin. This is remote land that has recently been donated to the Land Trust. It is still off limits until it is decided how to provide public access.

I spied some distant hoodoos that looked fetching.

On the way over I passed interesting basalt cliffs.

The hoodoo looks bigger up close, me thinks. Notice the little needle eye on the side. Why, you might ask.

Beautiful, wild country stretching southward.

Why it's dat hoodoo man again!

Looking across to the other side of the Napa Valley.

Uh oh! You don't want to mess with this guy!

This Northern Pacific Rattlesnake was a beauty, at least 4 feet long, with 10 buttons.

Nice rattle, eh? I made sure he got off the trail and down the hill - for his safety.

Below, is a short video of a large group of ravens that were making a ruckus and doing their springtime aerobatics. This whole area is a wonderful wildlife refuge. Let's hope it stays that way.

Saturday Bird Care

Here are a few pictures from today at IBRRC. Below, is a Green Heron chick that apparently fell out of a nest way too soon. He is in an incubator, and is being given fluids every 30 minutes.

Jeanine gladly took charge - you can see how small "she" is. Often, we don't know the sex of a bird. In morning rounds, today, Marie explained to us that birds are called "she" if they are beautiful, cute, or well mannered. "He" is for birds that are not so beautiful, or have poor dispositions. Being the only male, I had a moment of introspection.

Here, Marie is flushing out a deep fish hook wound in a Pelagic Cormorant. "He" is a feisty bird - one has to wear eye protection and have a good supply of bandaids when handling cormorants.

Hopefully, he will survive his run-in with the careless fisherman. Marie, where are your safety glasses?

Falcon Hatching Alert!

Peregrine Falcon couples Clara and Esteban, and Diamond Lil and Dapper Dan, are expecting their eggs to hatch at any moment. The web cams are to the right under "links". It becomes very fascinating to watch the parents bring in caught birds, and feed the shreds to the chicks. These cams provide good quality viewing, too.

A Quail Tale

My Mom's birdfeeder is host to a variety of birds, including a pair of quail who arrive during the last couple hours of sunlight. I was ready for them last Friday. The male arrives first, then calls to the female, who appears soon after.

The male quail.
The female.

Together...

The male getting ready to jump to the feeder.

La Cumbre Peak

Last Thursday, I climbed to the top of La Cumbre Peak in Santa Barbara. The trailhead is not far from my Mom's house, and the elevation gain of about 3,500 feet makes it a good training hike. I have been vowing to do this for a long time, as I haven't hiked to the top since I was about 15.

Looking out through a burned oak to Santa Cruz Island in the distance.

Above, you can see the faint line of the trail.

Atop the peak, on the tilted ocean floor, you can barely see the old abandoned lookout tower.

It was a cold night, and it actually snowed up here - amazing for Santa Barbara on April 1!

The old lookout tower is now buddies with various antennae. Elevation 3,985 feet.

A nice view across town to the harbor.

Looking east towards Ventura.

Erosion is everywhere, caused by fire, then heavy rain.

Despite last year's fire, or maybe because of it, wildflowers are doing well.

Rattlesnake Creek is still running pretty strong.

Fossil shells, maybe mussel shells, at about the 3,000 foot altitude level, made me wonder about the upheaval California is going through.

Mom looking pretty cute for 90 years old! Nora and I took her to the Natural History Museum on Wednesday, as it was too cold and windy for her usual beach walk.

Full Moon at Hendry's Beach

I returned yesterday from a one week stay at my mom's house in Santa Barbara. On Sunday night, after Mom was tucked in, I headed down to Hendry's beach, excited by the full moon, clear sky, and warm air. All these shots are long exposures, varying from one to five minutes. I stayed until midnight, but wanted to stay much longer. It was just too pleasant!

What appears to be foggy mist is actually the long exposure blurring of whitewater from breaking waves.

This is what you get when an airplane flies through your shot during a long exposure.