One In A Million And Autumn Leaf Of The Day #36

 

"You return, like autumn, and I fall every time."

 

~L.S.

 

We visited Santa Cruz yesterday, and as you might imagine, it was beautiful but it wasn't the only stop we made, we also stopped in Half Moon Bay as well, and in addition to it's beauty, it held quite a surprise! I was hoping to see some Black Oystercatchers, but I didn't see even one, however I did see about a million (not really a million) pelicans. I saw mostly Grey Pelicans, but I am sure there was a few white ones mixed it, however the big surprise was a single Blue Heron sitting right in the middle of one of the larger groups present. It was one in a million moment, or moment a where's waldo? If you look very close you can see him. The pelicans were making a wonderful sound, so were the gulls. I am still doing some research because one of them was making a laughing sound, and then I began to chuckle a bit, and laughter is the best medicine, right?

 

~Me

 

Blue Heron, Gone Fishing

 

"Creativity is the Blue Heron inside us waiting to fly;

 through her imagination all things become possible."

 

~Nadia Janice Brown

 

 Meet the second bird in my series of posts about the gorgeous birds of 2022, the Great Blue Heron. I have seen a lot of them so far this year, which is in contrast to last year when I only saw perhaps 4 or 5. It's nice to see that their numbers have increased here in the valley. Great Egrets seemed to be increasing in numbers as well. I have no idea what that means for the upcoming Pacific Flyway for this year, but it will be fascinating to watch!

 

 

~Me

September 3rd 2022

 

The Birds Of Autumn 2019

"How can you understand something is really beautiful?

 Very simple: When that thing comes out of your life,

 you start desperately waiting for it to come back! 

And autumn's beauty is such a beauty."

~Mehmet Murat ildan 

I love doing some bird hunting while on vacation, and one thing about the vacation that went right this year, was my adventure spotting birds.  In fact, I spotted more birds this year, than in past years! I was particularly lucky to spot a Great Blue Heron, out here in the valley, in Tracy, California. That was definitely a high point, and one more thing that made the vacation a little more redeemable. It wasn't a complete disaster, thanks to so beautiful, if not always cooperative, birds.

 Wild Turkey

September 21st 2019

Skyway park

Livermore, California

Nikon

Black Finch

October 23rd 2019

San Francisco, California

Nikon

 

Robin

Tilden Park

Berkeley, California

October 8th 2019

Nikon

 

Great Blue Heron

Tracy, California

October 23rd 2019

Nikon

Song Sparrow

San Francisco, California

October 23rd 2019

Nikon

Absolutely beautiful. Every one of them! I am going to continue to seek them out through the rest of autumn and then into November. I am hoping to add at least either more birds.Wish me luck!

 #51 Leaf Of The Day

November 12th 2019

Photographed October 20th 2019

Stockton, California

LG Stylo 5

~Mood: Happy

~Me  :)

 

Blue Heron At Crissy Field

"Birds know themselves not to be at the center of anything, but at the margins of everything. The end of the map. We only live where someones horizon sweeps someone else's. We are only noticed on the edge of things; but on the edge of things, we notice much."


~Gregory Maguire, Out of Oz

I wish I could have done better with this photo, but I was just so in awe of this Blue Heron that I wasn't ask focused as I should have been with the camera. Pun intended. Sometimes you have to miss really good moments, in order to capture the scene in front of you. Sometimes it's better to just enjoy the moment as and accept the memory rather than trying to make the moment immortal. It's always a split second decision. Good. Bad. Or otherwise. Over all I am happy with the photo as is. But the moment... it was a moment of unbelievable beauty.

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Steller's Jay and Blue Heron

Elk Glen Lake, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco 3/27/2013

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul."

~John Muir

 
Blue Heron

Yesterday, my travels about Golden Gate Park saw me enjoying all the bright shades of yellow that were dotting the park, but there was another color that kept showing up as well, which gave they day a nice balance. Blue. Lovely, calming, quiet... Blue. Just after finishing my time with the camera photographing the pretty yellow tulips at Queen Wilhelmina garden, I was fortunate enough to spot a gorgeous Blue Heron, sitting a little back from the road near Mallard Lake. While taking his photo, we were visited by a gorgeous Steller's Jay who wanted some attention as well! He made a racket! He photo bombed the perfect pictures that would have been, and generally stalked me until I gave him the proper respect and time he deserved. I happily obliged and it payed off with his showing up again, a short time later, and soon along came about 20 of his friends and family, this time a short walk from where we first met, in a small grove adjacent to Elk Glen Lake, inside the park.

Here, Have A Look...

Steller's Jay


To my delight, I actually found quite a few different species of birds yesterday, which means I can fill in some entries for my birdwatching journal. I am anxious to get out and do more birding. For now though I have to track down a couple birds I spotted yesterday, but couldn't identify. I like that part of birding... learning all about a new one. It's a mystery, but soon you find the information and it's like finding a new friend. I hope that makes sense! When the Steller's Jay came along yesterday, I hadn't seen one since the autumn of 2005. They are such beautiful birds! And really fascinating as well!

As soon as I I.D. the other birds I saw yesterday, I will post them to Ellipsis. :) But until then, tell me, do you do any birdwatching? If so, do you live, sleep and eat... well... not eat... but obsess maybe... on birds? If so, how often do you go birdwatching, and is it a hobby or just an occasional activity? How many different birds can be spotted in your neighborhood on any given day? And what bird would you say is your absolute favorite? Tell me everything!

Elk Glen Lake, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, Ca

Map of Golden Gate Park (PDF)

Mood: Happy

~Carly :)

Martha's A to Z Photo Challenge: "H " is for Hibiscus and Blue Heron

"Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made, and forgot to put a soul into."

-Henry Beecher, Life Thoughts, 1858

We are up to the letter "H" in Martha's A to Z Photo Challenge. For the letter "E" I showed you some Egrets, but for this time I had to show off the beautiful Blue HERON I found in Tilden Park. The HIBISCUS was photographed at the Conservatory Of Flowers, in Golden Gate Park, in San Francisco.

Pink and Yellow is my favorite color combination. :)

I found this beautiful Blue Heron in Tilden Park. He was walking along the small hill in front of the Brazil Building, which overlooks the Botanic Garden. I love it there. The whole area is so peaceful. I am planning to do lots and lots of photography there this autumn. I am looking for lots and lots of color!

-OndineMonet

Orange and Yellow Hibiscus
Conservatory of Flowers
San Francisco, California
2008

Autumn Most Fowl :)

"Did you ever see an unhappy horse? Did you ever see a bird that had the blues? One reason horses and birds are not unhappy is because they are not trying to impress other birds and horses."

-Dale Carnegie

It was another good day with the camera yesterday. Lots, and lots of cloud cover, as the first big storm of the season was just off shore. I kind of like photographing birds, and flowers, when the sky is milky and overcast. The natural filtering tends to take the glare off of some types of birds, like this Blue Heron. I have been trying to photograph one just like it at the Palace of Fine Arts, for the last month or so. Each time under lots of sun, and a pretty blue, clear sky. And each time there was a tremendous amount of glare, which left the bird mostly washed out.

It was extremely frustrating. I tried multiple settings, no no avail. So I was thankful to find this one while I was in Golden Gate Park yesterday. I spent about 30 minutes, taking note of the differences in the small pond this one was in, as opposed to the larger one at the palace. Maybe in a week or so, I will go back to the palace, and give it another chance. Lots of terrain to work with over there, so maybe I just need to practice a little more patience, or perhaps study things a little deeper. We'll see. Either way, it's always good to have a goal to look forward to in my photography.

It was definitely a birding day yesterday. I spent a little time yesterday, down in Half Moon Bay, at Lemos Pumpkin farm, and there was a lot of critters following me around, especially the chickens and ducks. Neither one was particularly shy, which made it very enjoyable. I will revisit there again soon, hopefully before the end of the month. I love the little farms during this time of year, everything is so fresh and inviting. It just has a vibe that only comes along at Halloween. It's good for the soul, especially the weary soul. :)



-OndineMonet
Half Moon Bay, California
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, California
October 9th, 2007
Afternoon