Why Did the Turkey Cross the Street?

Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo variety intermieda (Rio Grande Subspecies), Santa Ysabel, California. As we were driving back from Santa Ysabel where we had partaken in some warm slices of apple pie and hot cocoa, we saw a huge flock of wild turkeys just to the right of the road. We pulled over and I walked back to try to get a shot of the flock. However, they were rather camera shy, choosing to fly across the street instead. I was a little worried that one would fly up just as a car was going by but they seemed to be keeping an eye on both me and the cars at the same time! Multi-tasking turkeys indeed!

New Bird: Black-Chinned Hummingbird

Black-chinned Hummingbird, Archilochus alexandri, William Heise County Park, Santa Ysabel, California. It's always fun to see a new bird. This little hummer was perched high up on a dead tree (a victim of the Cedar Creek fire). You can ID him by his conspicuous white collar. While the lower part of the collar is vivid purple in the right light, this little guy would simply not look directly into the sun for me! These little birds are found in the Western U.S. and Northern Mexico in semi-arid river groves, canyons and chaparral (which accurately describes the oak scrub/chapparal this little guy was perched in).