A Western Kingbird In Late Summer

"The list total isn't important. The birds themselves are important. So the list is just a frivolous incentive for birding, but the birding itself is worthwhile."

~Kenny Kaufman

Kingbird Highway: The Biggest Year In The Life Of An Extreme Birder

This pic is from my last outing with the camera. I took it on August 29th. I am still not finding that many birds, it's been a difficult year, with the car and the overwhelming heat of the summer, but the Pacific Flyway is about to open, and I have a lot of hope that next year will be different. Although, I am a little concerned about finding my Sandhill Cranes over Woodbridge. They usually show up around the middle of September, but it looks like their numbers in California are quite low, at least among the banded ones. I am really looking forward to seeing them, I sure hope this won't be another disappointing year. I really need the connection to nature.

The Colors Of Summer

 

"Keep your face to the sun and you cannot see the shadows. That's what sunflowers do."

~Helen Keller

Summer is almost gone, but there are still some sunflowers lining Woodbridge road. Funny thing, it's sights like this that have made me come to mourn summer parting, maybe just a little bit.

The seasons all have their own unique gifts.

Common Buckeye Butterflies

 

Common Buckeye Butterfly 

(Junonia coenia)

"Nature's message was always there for us to see.

 It was written on the wings of butterflies."

~Kjell B. Sandved

The beauty you see is the wonderful, Common Buckeye, butterfly! I haven't seen one in years, and not at all since moving to the, San Joaquin Valley! The last time I saw them, was when I visited the butterfly exhibits at the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco! Needless to say, I was very happy to be in it's presence the other day! It was like being back in 2012 all over again! I checked some facts, and it seems they are common in the Bay Area, mostly along the coast, and it's not out of the ordinary to see one here, I just haven't noticed one! Hopefully it's an amazing turn of events, and I will be seeing a lot more of them here in the Northwestern San Joaquin Valley!

The Painted Lady Butterfly

 

"Be like a butterfly and a flower... beautiful and sought after, yet unassuming and gentle."

~Jarod Kintz

Despite all the depressing stuff going on, it's not like there isn't beauty in the world. While on Woodbridge road the other day, I spotted the first of two unique types of butterflies for 2026, floating along the wildflowers along the road! This particular one is the Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) which is one of my favorites, and seeing it reminds me that there is a lot to focus on, beyond politics. Why do I and should I, let the stupid stuff steal my joy? I wish I could answer that question! Today, for example, my body hurts head to toe, all because I tensed up yesterday, in anticipation of nuclear annihilation of Iran, and the very real possibility of World War III. I should have known Trump would Taco at the last minute, but I wasn't sure he would! Oh well, that was Tuesday, and today is today, and we all got here one moment at a time, so going forward I am trying that! One moment at a time.

Wish me luck!

I will have more new photos this week, so come back for that!

Thursday Afternoons

 

And now a little moment away from all the drama fires happening.

A little respite.

"Geese; Because you also wanted a pet that can also hold you hostage."

~Unknown

Woodbridge Road In The Fog

 "Lots of people go mad in January. Not as many as in May, of Course. Or June. But January is your third most common month for madness."

~Karen Joy Fowler

Sarah Canary

Yesterday, in a fit of I can't take Trump's stupidity anymore, I asked hubby if he wanted to take a ride in the fog, to look for birds. We thought it over a bit, and decided to head to Staten Island, but as we went farther and farther down the freeway, the thicker the fog got, so we changed our minds, and settled for Woodbridge road. It was a good plan.

The fog was beautiful.

Gourdgeous!

 

"When life gives you pumpkins, make pumpkin pies!"

~Unknown

Recently, while on Woodbridge road, in Lodi, I spotted these gourds, partially submerged under water. The colors caught my eye. Things are mostly gray right now, as one would expect in January, in the San Joaquin Valley, so colors catch my eye. This is a pretty easy time of year to spot a birds color, and shape from far away. but I knew instantly, from far down the road, that this wasn't a group of birds, it was the last of the farmland's harvest, giving back to the earth, and all the little creatures passing through. I never knew how damn beautiful autumn could be in winter. See how little it takes to make me truly happy? Squeeeeee!

The Red-shouldered Hawk

 

The hawk was everything I wanted to be in life:

 solitary, self possessed, free from grief and numb to the hurts of human life."

~Helen MacDonald

H is For Hawk

I spotted this absolutely gorgeous, Red-shouldered Hawk, the other day, while we were on Woodbridge road. There aren't as many birds, in our usual places, as there should be, another sign that 2026 will be another difficult year for birding. It's okay. I know there are some hawks like this one, and a particularly chatting Belted Kingfisher along Woodbridge, and some Greater White-fronted Geese on Desmond, so we will start out okay, then it just might mean trips along the coastline for the seabirds and shore birds. Spring will bring the perching birds, and certain hawks in the summer. Pretty soon, I will sitting here again, just before the calendar turns to 2027 and I will be thinking about another year to come. For birds, health and life. But that's a long way off... and five minutes away.

The Beauty Of The Snowy Egret In Autumn

 

"When you have seen one ant, one bird, one tree, you have not seem them all."

~E.O. Wilson

"I love Snowy egrets... they are smaller than most in their family they are dainty and unlike the Great Blue Heron and Great Egrets, they feed in flocks... in community."

~Unknown

The Snowy egret population have been particularly beautiful this autumn. Every single one of them take my breath away...

Woodbridge Road In Autumn

 

Isenberg Sandhill Crane Preserve

Lodi, California

No sun... no moon!

No morn... no noon

No dawn...

No sky... no  earthy view...

No distance looking blue...

No road... no street... no "t"other side the way...

No end to any row...

No indications of familiar people...

No courtesies of familiar people... for showing 'em...

No knowing 'em...

No traveling at all... no notion...

"No go"... by land or ocean...

No mail... no post...

No news from any foreign coast...

No park... no ring... no afternoon gentility...

No comfortable feel in any member...

No shade... no shine... no butterflies... no bees

No fruits, no flowers no leaves, no birds, 

November!

~Thomas Hood

You can't really say Woodbridge road is nothing special, especially this time of year, in fact it can be downright charming. We have Sandhill Crane, and Belted Kingfishers, assorted ducks, burrowing owls, and hawks of all kinds! On clear days there is a striking view of the Sierras, especially in autumn and summer. In fact, you can feel, and see, the snow on the mountains! It can be magical watching the crane come in to rest for the evening at the, Isenberg Sandhill Carne Reserve. It's usually quite peaceful there, if you don't count the sound of cows mooing and farm work being done, but it's all good, those are pleasant in their own way. It's life on Woodbridge road, and I really wouldn't want it any other way!

The beautiful I have seen on Woodbridge in the last few years!

I love that road, and I am going to miss it very much after we move.

Autumn Birds, On Woodbridge Road

"There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy."

~Ralph H. Baum

I was having so much fun photographing this gorgeous Great Egret the other day! I was on Woodbridge road, to see if any new birds had migrated in. And yes, some had indeed come home for the season, and while I have some fairly nice new photos, it was the birds that are here all year, that I had the most fun with. The Egrets, the Kingfishers, and the Blue Herons were being very accommodating to my photography! They are all such gorgeous birds, it made my day to be able to see beauty everywhere! As great fun as they were, the arrival of the snow geese made me warm inside. I guess you could say, it was a very good day!

Birds In Autumn

 

"A bird in autumn

sits outside

and quietly enjoys the rain

Dear bird

you and I

 are the same"

~Laura Jaworski

All the birds have their gorgeous winter plumage on right now. I look forward to that. I love how fluffy they become. Even the ones that don't really migrate, and who aren't so fluffy, adds to that autumn feeling of inner joy for me. The clear warm light in the middle of the day make them look bright and brings out all their colors, but by the late afternoon, the sunset turns their feathers a muted tone. I never realized how beautiful birds were, until I took up birding!