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.
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