Even ducks have hissy days. Here are two Blue-Winged Teals, Anas discors, having a hissy (literally). They are discernable by that telltale white crescent on their face. Blue-Winged Teals Summer in Canada through the Southern U.S. and range all the way down to Argentina for the Winter. This one was at the Mission River Preserve.
A posting or two back, I promised a picture of an American Avocet, Recurvirostra americana. Well, here he is showing his lighter Winter colors. I had been pondering why their beaks are upturned so I did a little digging and found my answer. They use the base of their beak to stir up the mud and the little crustaceans which they prey upon. They also have a predilection for Brine Shrimp in the Great Salt Lake although they are more likely feeding on little amphipods in San Diego. Oh, and in case your Latin is a little rusty, Recurvirostra refers to the upturned (recurvi) nose (rostra/rostrum).
This is Clowesia Grace Dunn, a hybrid that strongly resembles its Clowesia rosea parent. Clowesia rosea is a sturdy, drought tolerant, bulbous orchid from Michoacan and Oaxaca, Mexico. It certainly made a stunning display.
I saw these Pelicans in a huge formation flying over Imperial Beach. The California Brown Pelican used to be endangered. DDT was causing their eggs to crack. However, they are now a success story species recovery and for a regulatory change that banned DDT. They are now one of the few species successfully being taken off of the endangered species list!
I saw this Northern Pintail, Anas acuta, at the Mission River preserve today. The ducks were out in force as they typically are during low tide. The seagulls were busy dropping clams on the pavement as well. Also, I finally saw an Avocet. It had me wondering how it helps gather food by having an upturned beak. It's fun being on the migratory route of so many birds.
Imperial beach was empty today. There were some nice waves and only two surfers along the entire beach. It was a tad cold but if you don't like competing for waves, it doesn't get any better.
They have nesting Burrowing Owls, Athene cunicularia, at the Tijuana Estuary Preserve. They are on the inside of the airbase fence so you can only see them from a distance (perhaps 150 feet?). I walked right by the first time. Somebody told me about the tiny little yellow signs the second time and, voila, there they were. It is ironic that the signs are covered with bird poop. I suspect it isn't owl poop either.
They range throughout North and South America and are threatened through most of their range by habitat loss. These owls were far enough away that I could barely see them with the naked eye. Thus, these pictures are the best I could do with my 500mm lens from the fence. I think I'll have to settle for seeing the burrowing owls at the Wild Animal Park if I want to see any up close.
I saw this tiny little female hummingbird at the Tijuana Estuary the other day. After much staring at pictures and gnashing of teeth, I decided that it was probably a female Caliope Hummingbird, Stellula calliope. It was decidedly smaller than the other hummingbirds in the area (Anna's hummingbirds) and quite photogenic.
This charming little bird would perch on the wire fence just about 20 feet. As I walked toward him, he would move a little further down the fence, as if I were playing tag. He was spotted at the Tijuana Estuary Preserve. I looked him up in "Birds of San Diego County," by Philip Unitt (which just showed up in the mail today). He is a Say's Phoebe, Sayornis Saya. It says these little guys are a fairly common Winter visitor on the coastal slope. The rest of the year they are found in open agricultural land, grassland, chaparral and desert scrub. They have been known to breed in the Anza Borrego Desert.
I saw this blooming on the edge of the bog the other day. The flower structure suggests that it is in the Hibiscus family but I'm open to suggestions. Anybody want to take a stab at it? Maybe you have a copy of Hibiscus of the World lying on your bookshelf? Either way, it was pretty so I snapped a quick picture. Besides, it posed better than those tiny burrowing ground owls I was trying to get a picture of.
Much thanks to our anonymous commenter who came to the rescue and provided the name: Lavatera assurgentiflora.
This Spotted Towhee, Pipilo maculatus, was singing up a storm. He responded readily to fake calls and was perched in a large bush on the edge of the wetland area in the Tijuana Estuary Preserve.
Just for fun, here's a closeup of that Variegated Meadowhawk, Sympetrum corruptum.
Here's one for you budding entomologists. I found this Variegated Meadowhawk (dragonfly), Sympetrum corruptum, perched above a bog in the Tijuana estuary. Much thanks to Kathy Biggs for the identification. This was the only dragonfly that I saw all day.
Sophronitis coccinea is in the parentage of many of today's red Cattleya hybrids. It is a diminutive plant of about 3 inches in height and grows in moist, cool cloud forests. It is tough for many people to grow because of the requirement for cool moist conditions while its hybrids are much more vigorous.
They are having an orchid show at the Newport Beach Fairgrounds this weekend. This is a photo of Pleurothallis gargantua. Many of the familiar pleurothallids are tiny, perhaps not more than an inch tall. However, this one, as denoted by the name gargantua, is perhaps two feet tall with these very exotic flowers in the center of the leaves.
A ghost crab peeks up from his burrow. This was taken out on a beach near Chinaman's hat (now renamed to something in Hawaiian last I saw...so much for being PC) on Oahu. You see lots of these little guys running along the sand at night scavenging the beach.
There is a "boardwalk" along Waikiki Beach. Along the boardwalk there is a small shelter with tables for chess and checkers. Sometimes there are people playing the ukelele. Sometimes there are people singing old songs. Sometimes there is a guy playing the violin. He was decent and had a few people listing. Mostly, I think he just enjoyed the company. Company is good. Sometimes a little company is all the doctor calls for.
Many people have seen Diamond Head or at least pictures of Diamond Head, typically as viewed from Waikiki. In those pictures, Diamond head looks like a long, low ridge. Well, it's not. Diamond Head is a cinder cone (as you would expect) and is really quite circular as this picture, taken from the top of Diamond Head, easily shows.
There is nothing quite like the feeling of having a Giant Grouper looking down at you. Glad that people are not normally grouper food. Wow, look at those teeth, too.
Wrasses have the scariest teeth, don't they? I believe they live on shrimp and small crustaceans although I have seen them tear apart a sea urchin.
I was clicking through my pictures and came to the amusing conclusion that these two Marbled Godwits, Limosa fedoa, bore a striking resemblance to a Klingon Bird of Prey. Well, perhaps if that long pointy beak wasn't there anyhow. There must have been a bird person on the Star Trek design staff.
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.
Something that has puzzled me for a little bit. When you have a dozen surfers all waiting for the same wave, how do you decide who gets to catch a particular wave? Here are two surfers cruising along on the same wave. The guy on the right ducked out shortly afterwards.
Are adult California Brown Pelicans really BROWN? Judge for yourself. This one was hanging out on the Mission River hunting for fish.
The sun is back out again. There is a cool breeze but the skies are blue with scattered fluffy white clouds. That's why we live in San Diego!
The seagulls were out in force, taking advantage of the low tide to lounge around on the sandy riverbed. They scrounge up clams and squawk at each other. They socialize and just plain sit around.
I found this very beautiful cat looking back through the rocks, possibly in case one of his bretheren were about to pounce. So I've been having this conversation over whether cats or dogs are better. Here's a little something to get you started. For cats: smell better, good groomers, can be left alone, smarter (???); for dogs: faithful to a fault, always happy to see you, will go running with you. Against cats: can be aloof, can pack a nasty paw, chock full of allergens; Against dogs: more maintenance, smelly when wet, can be hyper. What do you think? Do the cats have it? Or do the dogs?
There were several pairs of American Wigeon, Anas americana, swimming along the edge of the San Diego river grazing on water plants. The male's bright colors make quite a display. Meanwhile, the six inch rain forecast seems to have turned into perhaps 2-3 inches. At least that is what was caught in the garbage cans that I emptied out this morning. Damp and gusty. In a little lull, I saw a large flock of white pelicans drift over the highway, slowly circling lazily over USD and into the distance.
A picture of a flock of sanderlings that were flying up and down the San Diego river bed in unison. They are a sight to see when in flight. They decided to camp out on the mud flat with a gull for a short rest.
This young California Brown Pelican was flapping and jumping along the water in little 10-20 ft. hops trying to catch a meal. He would land head first making a huge splash! I don't know if he succeeded in nabbing a fish but he looked a wet and a little tired. There is a bit of a pelican learning curve involved in catching dinner. At other beaches, I have seen adult pelicans diving from 50+ft. in the air for fish along the surface of the water.
This is a picture of the Makapu Blow Hole on Oahu. When the waves hit the rock, they force the air and water in a lava tube upward and into the air, at times creating plumes that rocket upwards of 30 feet.
It's raining really hard outside. It was tough to see out of the windshield with the wipers going full speed. People were actually driving BELOW the speed limit in San Diego, no less! Luckily, the house is still there and the street has not all washed into a gully as San Diego hillsides occassionally do. I'd bet the birdseed is a bit wet and the birds won't mind a bit.
This guy is clearly a water dog. He was having way too much fun chasing the birds. While he didn't catch any and it is a "dog beach," you'll not find too many birds nesting around there. It does make me miss my old dog a bit as well although she was definitely not a water dog.
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.
I found this Royal Tern, Sterna maxima, diving for fish in the Mission River Preserve in San Diego. I love watching terns for their amazing grace and speed as well as their deadly accuracy.
This is a Percula Clownfish in a carpet anemone. Now why would Nemo ever want to leave a home as spectacular as that?
Manini, or convict tang - so named for their stripes, are the cows of the sea. Large schools of them drift over the reef, cleaning the coral of algae as they browse. These were off of Waikiki beach on Oahu.
The island of Oahu in the Hawaiian island chain has two major mountain ranges, the Waianae range and the Koolau range. The erupting lava from the two volcanic chains created a plateau between, known to the Hawaiians as Wahiawa. It is known for its cool, moist climate. This picture was taken during one of the frequent showers as the sun peaked through.
This is an odd picture. Just as I snapped, the Godwit plunked his head into the water after some sort of food (PLUUNKKK). No head. Normally I'd toss a picture with a missing head but there was something about the play of the light over the water and the ripples from his head ducking into the water that was beautiful in an eerie sort of way. Basically, I liked it. Hope you like it too.
Is this a Samurai? Or is it just some wild painting I found pasted on a window? Either way, I thought it was really cool so I'm sharing it. In reality, the painting was pretty sun faded and pastel but I gave it a little color boost just for fun. Hope you enjoy it.
Another shot from a wonderful sunny day at Sunset beach on the North Shore of Hawaii. That's got to be a total adrenaline high, slicing though those waves.
I've been seeing migratory birds in Mission bay as I drove past on the way to school every day. I finally couldn't resist it any longer and stopped to take a peek and take a picture or two. Unfortunately, my trusty Nikon was at home so that left the not quite as fleet footed but much more portable pocket Cannon. I figured I'd try a video. So, tonight, I bring you the American Coot! A.k.a. cooties and mud. It looked like they were pulling up bog plants and perhaps worms and invertebrates. You decide.
If any of you viewers out in cyber-land have preferences for what you want to see out of the wayward photo libraries (more fish, more birds, more surfers, etc.), feel free to send in your requests and I will, to the extent that I have anything worthwhile stashed away, attempt to please. Please keep it G-rated. ;-P
It's random picture day! I need to get going with the homework so I quasi-randomly chose one of my folders and scanned for the first of my pictures to catch my eye. Voila, I give you "boiling carp!" [That's just a bunch of carp! Ar, Ar...grin]. Actually, these are Koi in the Koi pond at the Dole Plantation in Wahiawa, Hawaii. When you purchase and toss in Koi food, they literally boil out of the water. The kids have a blast and I dare say I had fun too. Happy Monday...
Here is a really short video of a pair of Hawaiian White Spotted Toby, Canthigastor jactator, that I shot off of Waikiki. They were being shy and trying to hide under this really large coral head. The video is short because I was skin diving and, by the time you get down there, start the video and focus on the fish, it's time to go up for another breath. Still, they're kind of cute. Hope you like them.
This gal was body surfing at Sunset Beach, Hawaii. She and her friends were doing really cool 360's at the peak of the wave. After looking at the angle of her legs requires to do that 360, I can understand why I never did one of those. Still looked like fun though!
This used to be the Hawaii State Fish, the Humu Humu Nuku Nuku Apua'a. At least before the legislature de-instated it. They couldn't agree on a new fish (politicians!) so it will have to do for now. This shy humu humu (reef triggerfish, Rhinecanthus rectangulus) is ducking into a hole in the reef off of famous Diamond Head. He would go into the hole and, if I waited, would pop out to see if I was still there trying to take his picture. He would then duck back into the hole. Cute little guy.
This is the Hawaiian Moorhen or 'Alae 'Ula, Gallinula chloropa sandvicensis. The name refers to that bright beak. It is a Hawaiian variety of the Common Moorhen. I found this one posing for pictures in the bog at Waimea Audobon Park on Oahu, Hawaii.
I snapped this picture of Sanderlings at Sunset Beach on Oahu, Hawaii. They were running up and down the beach. For the most part, the surfers and the sanderlings paid no attention to each other. They ran right by me allowing me to get some really nice pictures. Amazing that these little birds can fly all the way to the Arctic where they spend the Summer and breed and then make it all the way back to Hawaii for the Winter. Seems like a long way to fly for such a little bird. I have no idea if they land somewhere along the way.
There are some amazing surfers at Sunset Beach, Hawaii, and some really big waves. I caught this guy right in the middle of the curl! Wow.
