Little Blue Heron

A Little Blue Heron, Egretta caerulea, feeding on fish and crustaceans in the Mission River.

One of My Favorite (Local) Ducks

Cinnamon Teal, Anas Cyanoptera, Mission River, San Diego, California. Not a big duck but makes up in color what it lacks in size! Truly a little charmer. In San Diego, I typically see them in pairs as opposed to Ruddy Ducks (for instance) which are quite social.

One for the Bird Lovers

Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Dendroica coronata, Mission River, San Diego, California. These breed way up in Alaska and Canada but Winter in the Western U.S. and down to Guatemala. We're lucky enough to get a lot of the migratory birds spendng their Winters here in San Diego. As you might expect, these are the Winter colors on this little Warbler, having a bit more yellow (on the head and above the tail) in the Spring.

IDing these little guys takes a while. It kind of started off like this --> Brown, is it a Sparrow? Little pointy beak, is it a vireo? No, too small and spots on the chest. Is it a fly catcher? No, body's a little too robust. Bit of yellow...could it be a Warbler? No yellow patch on head/rump (aka, didn't quite match the picture but real close) but has the white halo around the eye; could it be a juvenile? Awk, wrong time of year... Oh, Winter, duh. Dull colors in the Winter and, okay, Yellow-rumped Warbler with Winter colors.

On the photo... I have a lot of trouble getting pictures of these little guys. They tend to not let you get as close as say a duck would. They also tend to hide in the middle of the bush rather than perching where you can snap a picture. Typically, I hear them and see little flashes of brown and that's the end of it. Even if you can see them in the middle of the bush, getting an autofocus camera to focus on the middle of a bush is like pulling teeth! So, while not the flashiest little bird, I was pretty happy to get his picture. Now, if only I could get a picture of a vireo...

Belted Kingfisher

Belted Kingfisher, Ceryle alcyon, Mission River, San Diego, California. I saw this guy sitting on a tree overlooking the Mission River. He promptly took flight and hovered in mid-air as he eyed the water below for fish!

Hope your Thanksgiving was a good one!

All in the Details

Sometimes the effect you get when you take a picture is not the one the "artist" (aka photographer) intended. In this case, a picture of a jogger and his dog captured a fellow looking on (see enlargement), apparently at the dog. He had the oddest expression, perhaps of disgust? Interest perhaps? Either way, the dog is looking the other way.

This fellow, while dressed fairly nicely and with bottle of coke in hand, was walking along the trail digging through the trash (Perhaps where the coke came from). That leads to all sorts of odd sundry questions such as: Is he homeless? Is he mentally insane (schizophrenic perhaps?)? Is he just one of the new unlucky jobless who ended up on the street? Is he safe to be around? Would you have the guts to befriend this guy and buy him a burger or find him a shelter? Or...would you stay far away for fear of getting mugged? So many questions. So many that fall through the cracks in our society or that don't fit neatly into the mesh we call civilization. Some say, "but for the grace of God." Others, that we are all just one unlucky incident away from that same existence. Still others prefer to bury their heads in the sand and ignore the whole thing altogether. Thoughts?

Ironically, the abandoned cats that are living on the far end of the jogging path are getting food and water daily. Occasionally, they are trapped and put up for adoption. Do we care more for our cats than for our homeless?

Little Blue Heron

I found this Little Blue Heron, Egretta caerulea, hunting in the shallows of the Mission River, It was keeping a sharp eye on the water for passing fish. They are not exceedingly common in the US Southwest but they there are several the frequent the Mission River.

Cat Nap

There are over a dozen feral cats that live in the rocks along the mission river breakwater. There is a lady that comes by and feeds them and brings them water. They are beautiful cats that look fairly domestic. However, they don't come up to rub on people so it is hard to tell if they are cast aways from people that moved out of town or if they are actually breeding out there. This one was taking a nap in the sun among the rocks.