Back by Popular Demand...PHOTOS

I've received so many half-serious complaints about my recent photo-free posts that I'm relenting and posting a few bird photos. The one above shows an Eared Grebe (at an awkward stage between basic and alternate plumage) at Mason Regional Park.



This is the main reason I biked to Mason Regional Park last week. Yeah, I know I just wrote a post awhile back bashing twitching, but the opportunity to add Eastern Phoebe to my Bigby list was just too alluring. At least I got to spend an hour with this delightful bird (it's been far too long since I've seen one!) and see some other neat birds at the park.



Ruddy Ducks definitely qualify as neat birds. I never tire of seeing the spunky males with their chestnut bodies and sky-blue bills. I don't mean to put the females down, either--I smile whenever I see one of those badger-faced female Ruddies.



Ruddy Duck--going down.



Hiking--I adore it, yet don't do it nearly often enough. On Wednesday, I set off up into the hills above Santiago Oaks Regional Park with my binoculars, camera, and walking stick. I ended up hiking eight miles that morning. One bird that usually requires a decent hike to see is the Rufous-crowned Sparrow. I heard at least a dozen of them, though only one cooperated for photography.



Another seldom-seen sparrow is the secretive Grasshopper Sparrow. In addition to being very shy, these beautiful sparrows are very local in Orange County. They require extensive grasslands--and extensive grasslands are very local in Orange County! I saw this individual in the fields above Irvine Regional Park. It was a treat to get such good looks (and even photograph it!) Usually, I just hear them off in the distance--and their song, a weak little buzz, is not impressive at all. Up close, however, it is a truly beautiful bird.



If you've spent any amount of time birding, you should recognize this snappy-looking bird--it's a Common Yellowthroat. Yes, they're abundant just about everywhere, but they rank among some of my very favorite birds. I love that bright yellow throat, that black mask, that perky song, that skulky yet curious attitude...

Random Recent Photos

I've managed to get behind with blogging recently. I've got a lot of stuff going on, my school load is crazy, and I'm also trying to go birding as often as possible. That doesn't leave a lot of room for blogging, so I apologize for my lack of good posts the last couple months. I thought I should at least post up some photos from some of my unposted birding jaunts this month.


Wrentit at Peters Canyon Regional Park, 10/15/08. This little guy was obliging enough to hop out into the open, which is a very rare thing for Wrentits to do; they really like to stay berried under cover.


Townsend's Warbler in my neighborhood, 10/17/08. Yes, this photo is right side-up, and no, it is not cropped at all.


Osprey at Peters Canyon Regional Park, 10/15/08.


Western Fence Lizard at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, 10/20/08. Almost scary!


Cooper's Hawk at Mason Regional Park. It blasted in right over my head when I began "squeaking", and landed for several seconds just about a dozen feet away.


Lesser Goldfinch at Peters Canyon Regional Park, 10/19/08.


Ah, the worst photo of the lot. Eastern Phoebe in my neighborhood, 10/20/08. This species is quite rare in Orange County (only one or two per year), so I was really surprised to come across it. Thirty seconds after I found it, it flew off never to be seen again.

Well, that's it folks. October has been an interesting month, though the migration has been really weird. There seemed to be very, very low numbers of all migrants except Yellow-rumped and Orange-crowned Warblers. In the entire month, I saw only a handful each of Black-throated Gray and Townsend's Warblers, two Western Tanagers, and zero Western Wood-Pewees around my local patches, but certainly not for lack of trying. I'll be out looking the rest of the month to see what else I can turn up!