Buena Vista Lagoon June

It was very foggy at the Buena Vista Lagoon this morning.  It cleared up, but then it was really hot and humid.  There was also a blackout in the area, so all of the buildings were dark inside.  There weren't many birds around today, but there usually aren't during the summer.

There were a bunch of bullfrogs croaking all over.  They can be really loud and make a grunting noise.  They sound something like a bull or other large animal.

Bullfrog

There were many great blue herons flying around.  There were at least eight, but I wasn't able to get a good photo of one.  It was very unusual, since great blue herons are normally solitary.  Perhaps they were families.  There were not many egrets around, but I did take a photo of one great egret that flew over.  Below is the egret.

Great Egret

There were a few mallards swimming around.  Below are two photos of three different mallards.  They are either females or young ones.  Young male mallards don't have their full green heads until late in the year, near winter.

Mallards

Mallard

The American crows were very active today.  They had a lot of food to eat.  Below are two photos of them.  The first is of two crows eating some food that someone had probably left out for the birds.  The second is of a crow picking out the ripe cherries from a tree (or at least berries similar to cherries).

American Crows

American Crow

There was also an osprey at the lagoon.  It was pretty far away, so it was a bit hard to photograph.  Ospreys are found throughout the United States.  They winter in the south and summer in the north.  They are also found throughout the world.  They are found near any water where there is fish, where they dive head and feet first to catch them.  Below is the osprey.

Osprey

Catfood, Little Birds, and Doves

There have been a few birds eluding my camera recently.  There is a young towhee that's been traveling around the yard with a parent, but it always flies away before I can get my camera out.  There are also a couple of Nuttall's woodpeckers, but they always go behind branches so I can't see them.  Two northern rough-winged swallows fly around over my house every day, but they are far too fast for my camera.

If you haven't viewed my Insects and Arachnids page yet, there is tab at the top of the page.

The catfood in my yard is attracting a lot of birds.  It is mostly hogged by the three scrub-jays, who still hang around together.  The other birds wait until the jays have gone before going to the food bowl.  Often there is a jay at each bowl and the third waiting in the tree.  Then they hang around and hop around on the grass and in the tree.  Below is one of the jays with a mouth full of catfood.

Western Scrub-Jay

House sparrows and California towhees are the other two birds that visit the bowl.  House sparrows always get the bowl last, since they are the smallest.  Towhees are still nervous of the jays, though.  Sometimes, when the jays are playing around and chasing each other, they will try to get the towhees to join in.  The towhees just hold still and wait until the jays calm down.  One towhee, the one in the photo below, hid under a bench until the jays left.

California Towhee

I think the house finches have had their second brood of eggs, because there are many more young finches around.  Below are three house finches on a telephone wire.

House Finches

The hummingbirds, as always, are constantly racing after each other.  Below is an Allen's hummingbird waiting for other hummingbirds.

Allen's Hummingbird

There have been more Eurasian collared-doves than usual.  They are loud and big and often in pairs or small groups.  Below are two of them on a telephone pole.

Eurasian Collared-Doves

The mourning doves are still here though, despite the other larger doves.  They are never near the collared-doves, though, because they get chased away.  Below are two mourning doves on a telephone wire.

Mourning Doves

Busy Birds, Heat, and a Band of Jays

At the same flood-control ditch downtown where the northern rough-winged swallows were, there are often other water birds.  Most often there are song sparrows flitting around through the grass and near the water.  Below is one of the song sparrows looking up at me.

Song Sparrows

There were also two female mallards looking through the shallow water for food.  Below are the two ducks.

Mallards

In my backyard, all the birds are busy.  All of the hummingbirds are competing, as usual.  Below is a female Allen's hummingbird that was taking a rest.  It was just watching the other hummingbirds race around.

Allen's Hummingbird

The mockingbirds seem to be building new nests.  The nest in the bush in middle of my yard was not successful, but it seems that the pair is trying again, because they are bringing new nesting material into the bush.  Below is one of the mockingbirds with a bit of fluff in its beak.

Northern Mockingbird

The weather has been getting warmer and the birds have been taking plenty of baths to keep cool.  The mourning doves are different.  After they take a bath, they occasionally settle down in the water and just lie there for a while.  I've only seen doves lie down in the water before.  Below is a photo of a dove in the water.

Mourning Dove

The young scrub-jay trio have been traveling around in a little band together.  Their parents are avoiding them, but the siblings still hang around together.  I never see one without seeing the other two.  They like to chase each other, eat cat food together, and explore the yard.  Below is a photo of two of them looking at each other.

Western Scrub-Jays

 

Below are three photos of the same scrub-jay experimenting with a sprinkler head.  The first is of it inspecting it.  The second is of it after it jumped back.  It had tried to pick it up and had startled itself (notice that the sprinkler has moved in the second photo).  The third is when it gave up.  In all three photos, you might notice that its left wing is kind of just hanging there.  It's not damaged.  For some reason the young scrub-jays sometimes just let one or both of their wings hang down.

Western Scrub-Jay

Western Scrub-Jay

Western Scrub-Jay

Rabbits, Vultures, and Many Young Birds

Just today I finished a video about the Buena Vista Lagoon.  You can find it on my channel on Youtube by searching "Morgane Shoemaker," click on the "Video" tab of this blog, or follow the link to the video below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eawNWhGdBg

This week I've been seeing many young birds.  Most of the small birds have already raised their chicks.  Rabbits are also raising their young and there are now many, many rabbits.  Below is a desert cottontail.  They are the only rabbit in my neighborhood.

Desert Cottontail

I'm not sure when turkey vultures breed, as I've never seen a vulture nest, but last week at school (school ended yesterday) there were about seven of them flying together above the school.  Vultures often fly in flocks, but it could be a family.  Below are five of the vultures.

Turkey Vultures

There is a western scrub-jay nest in the bottom of the yard.  It caused a lot of trouble with the mockingbirds, because neither wanted the other near their nest.  One time, the two mockingbird parents came and attacked the scrub-jay chicks, which made the scrub-jay parents very mad.  I have not seen the scrub-jays attack the young mockingbirds, though.
Altogether there are three young scrub-jays.  They can fly pretty well, and move around with their parents.  They don't have the adult markings on their heads.  Right now their heads are grayish-brown.  Below are three photos of the young scrub-jays.

Western Scrub-Jays

Western Scrub-Jay

Western Scrub-Jay

There are a lot of young mockingbirds.  There are two out front and two out back.  Early on, they would stay in their nest bushes and screech, but now they are moving around.  The ones in the backyard have been much more active.  They hop around on the ground and copy other birds.  I saw one chick following a California towhee and doing everything it did.  They are not sure how to get food.  they just hop around with their wings open and pull very hard on plant stems.  They are small and cute.  Below are three photos of the chicks in the backyard and a video of one of them calling for food.

Northern Mockingbird

Northern Mockingbird

Northern Mockingbird

Six Birds and a Snake

My backyard has been fairly active with wildlife recently.  Last Sunday, I discovered the first snake that my family has ever seen in our yard.  I had noticed a California towhee and western scrub-jay acting oddly.  They were both hopping up into the air over and over.  Then I saw a large thing like a rope suddenly whip up in the grass.  I immediately knew it was a snake and hurried over to see it up close.  It was a California kingsnake, which are harmless to humans and very pretty.  It was black and white and about three feet long.  Below is a photo of part of it.  It was trying to hide alongside a shed.

California Kingsnake

The mockingbirds are very active.  Their chicks can now fly, but not very well.  The chicks are fuzzy with shorter tails and yellow mouths.  I haven't been able to take a photo of one, but I hope that I can before they grow up.  Below is an adult northern mockingbird.

Northern Mockingbird

My mom has put up a bunch of colorful solar-powered lights everywhere in the yard.  They light up at night and are shaped like dragonflies and flowers.  One time a hummingbird mistook one of the flower lights for a real flower and stuck its beak into it.  A lot of birds like to perch on the lights.  Below is a mockingbird standing on one of them.

Northern Mockingbird

Last week, I saw a mourning dove with a small piece of a plant in its beak, probably for a nest.  All of the birds around my yard seem to nest at different times.  Below is the mourning dove.

Mourning Dove

I don't know whether the red-tailed hawks in my neighborhood have nested or not.  I still see they flying around.  Below is one of them.

Red-tailed Hawk

Below is an Allen's hummingbird that was looking down at me.

Allen's Hummingbird

Another bird that often stands on the lights in my yard is the hooded oriole.  They don't often stand on the light, but sideways on the pole.  They usually stand there and look around before landing on the ground to take a bath.  Below are two photos.  The first is a female hooded oriole that is perched on the pole, and the second photo is of the same oriole in the water.

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Recently we moved one of the catfood bowls out from under the eves into the middle of the grass.  The cats, scrub-jays, and towhees all like that, because they can see the yard better.  Below is a western scrub-jay taking some catfood.

Western Scrub-Jay