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 Autumn's Loon

 

"Be the autumn stalwart, and colorful, amenable to change, 

the grateful breath that greets each day."

~Unknown

We took a day off from all the drama, and went to Bodega Bay! You know how much I love making the long trip to find the birdies that have arrived along the Pacific Flyway. Yesterday gave us four new birds. The Common Loon wasn't one of them, as I photographed one last October, but they are visitors in the bay each year, then they migrate back to the north, in the Aleutian Islands. Their call is absolutely haunting, I will never forget hearing it for the first time! Sometime, I'd like to stay in Bodega Bay for a few days, just to hear their call!

"The loon's call is haunting and wild, an ancient trill that's part honor song, and part warning. I've never met anyone who didn't fall quiet upon hearing it. We are all susceptible to that common magic."

~Richard Wagamese

Oh To Be A Bird In Autumn

 

Oh to be a bird in autumn

Tucked within a rosy tree

While crisp October winds sweep by

To twine about the fallen leaves

To catch a gust and take to soaring

Out above a glistening Fall

And not to miss a single thing

Be see and hear and feel it all

~Laura Jaworski

I know I have been sharing a lot of birds lately, but with the Pacific Flyway open, they are everywhere, old friends and new friends alike. All birds are fascinating, so that makes birding more than just a past time, it is my way of life. For the next few weeks, it's all about the birds and leaves. Oh, and cooking. Thanksgiving is just a couple days away! Yike... wasn't it just Halloween?

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!

Autumn's Pacific Flyway

 

"Autumn is a place where words fall short. It is a magic that must be felt breathed, experienced, and treasured."
~Laura Jaworski

Pintails. Shovelers, and my favorite of all, the Greater White-fronted goose! That's him in the background, photobombing his friends, but of course, he'd call it watching over his pals. Northern Pintail, with their elegant lines, blue bills, and gorgeous tails are a pleasure to photograph. As is my favorite goose. A lot of different birds are starting to come into the valley, from the Pacific Flyway. Pretty soon the Snow geese and the Ross's geese will arrive. I am betting it will be next week, or maybe the first week of December. I can't wait for their return! The more the merrier!

Oh, There You Are!

 

“Thoughts swirled around her head like the leaves in the breeze.”

 
~Diana Jaques,

 The Falling Leaves

 

 I have been looking for a Green Heron this whole year, but as luck, and the rules of birding, would have you, I found one completely by accident, months after I should have. They are usually, dependably, everywhere! You remember me mentioning that birding is Sometimes about being in the right place, at the right time? Well once again, my avian friends proved it's true! I am still on a quest to find the Sandhill Crane, which have arrived in the San Joaquin Valley. The map says they are in Lodi, Mokelumne City, the Cosumnes Reserve, and Staten Island on the delta. They are here, I know they are, because you can track them here. I am just not seeing them. Yikes!

 

 So, a couple days ago, we decided to pick a spot on the map, and see if our luck could change a bit. The spot on the map we chose was Staten Island. We had never been there before, so it would be an adventure. As it ended up, there wasn't much to see yet, but it's only a matter of time until the rice is harvested, and will be replaced with water, to provide grain for the wild birds, but aren't quite there yet, so we left. On our way home, I spotted this lovely Green Heron, sitting on a telephone wire. I saw him just by chance! He moved to this tree, while I photographed him, and engaged in a little fishing in the ditch line. He was very accommodating of me, and made my time very happy, as he moved about into one beautiful pose to another. There's the rule of birding, you see what you didn't even know you wanted or needed, to see! 

 

I love it when that Pacific Flyway opens each Autumn. I have to thank the gorgeous migrating cranes, for helping me finally spot my Green Heron.

 

 

Less Trump, More Cowbell

 

 

 

“That's the thing about depression: A human being can survive almost anything, as long as she sees the end in sight. But depression is so insidious, and it compounds daily, that it's impossible to ever see the end.” 

~Elizabeth Wurtzel

  Prozac Nation

 

Bruceville Road and The Cosumnes Wetlands.

 

Spring Bloom 2024

Okay, it's time for more cowbell! "I gotta have more cowbell!" Just kidding, but I need more humor, because Trump is beginning to live rent free in my head again, and it has to stop! I know how I am voting in the fall and I can't stop the decisions of others or should I say, the cult. Joe Biden has done more for me in the last 6 months, then Donald Trump did in the four years he served! In fact Trump's record just on Covid alone was devastating, but folks have short memories, and his cultists look with glee, on the man who did so much for them. Like causing the deaths of at least 17,000 folks during the pandemic. By contrast, because of Biden's current infrastructure bill, this beautiful spot on Bruceville road will continue to thrive. The adjacent wetlands will continue to attract the birds next autumn when the Pacific Flyway opens again. And I will see my Greater White-fronted Geese, and the Snow Geese. The Black-backed Stilt and the beautiful Sandhill Crane once again. The Earth needs this balance. So do I. So, for the next week, no matter how negative Trump goes, I will not respond to it. Call it political training. I ate a chocolate cake again the other day, I cannot do that again! He lived daily in my mind when he was in office, but right now we have criminal Trump, not President Trump, so I need to enjoy that fact for as long as we have it. Less negativity, more cowbell. I need to focus on the extreme likelihood that he will lose the 2024 election, and he will face jail time in 2025. As it should be, let it be.

 Poppies In Bloom

Snow Goose

Ladies and gentlemen... Blue Oyster Cult.

 

 

Let's Try This Again...

 

“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 someone's 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

 

Last week, will doing some birding close to home, I spotted for the first time, a pair of White-tailed Kite, possibly nesting, in some cedar trees in Louis Park's Pixie Woods. It was really amazing, because I rarely see them south of Lodi, so to be right next door in the park gives me some hope that this year will be full of surprises. We are again planning to visit the Monterey coast later today, barring any unforeseen circumstances. The birds recently seen there makes it impossible for birders like us to not go and check out the possibilities. I can't wait to come home and tell you what I find, and of course, show off the photos of the beautiful birds! So, let's try this again...

 

 

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #91

 

“He'd grown unused to woods like this. He'd become accustomed to the Northwest, evergreen and shaded dark. Here he was surrounded by soft leaves, not needles; leaves that carried their deaths secretly inside them, that already heard the whispers of Autumn.

 Roots and branches that knew things.”

 
~Michael Montoure,

  Slices

 

Here is the final numbered leaf on my Autumn leaf project for 2023! I am still collecting beautiful leaves as I come across them, because for me, in my fantasies, it's always Autumn. Oh my, monster cakelets, pumpkins, days with rain and sunshine at the same time, the color of the sun, the annual migration along the Pacific Flyway, the smells of pies and roast turkey and Autumn Boiled Ham. The Harvest Moon. The holiday shows and movies, while cuddling on the couch. The Macy's parade. When Harry Met Sally and St Elmo's Fire. My warm cozy sweaters. Sweet Potatoes! So many little things like tiny candy bars and the silly Christmas elves I have on my Christmas tree... it's all Autumn, and I will miss it like an old love, because it is, one of the great loves of my life! 

 

Every single leaf I collect, represents a day, no a moment, that Autumn gave me. The leaves I post are very special to me. I hope you enjoy them. This is probably the last year I will be posting them to Twitter X. It has become a depressingly abusive place to be, and sharing my photography on that site just feels wrong. I think that Facebook will be the new home for my photography. We'll see. Anyway, it's was a really pretty year for leaves, lots of red, as if Autumn was singing a power ballad this year! 

 

I am forever grateful!

 

 

Horned Grebe And Autumn Leaf Of The Day #32

 

"What could be more exciting than an October day?

 It's your birthday, Fourth of July and Christmas all rolled into one."

 

~Peggy Toney Horton

 

More and more of the Sandhill crane are coming in now, but so are many of the other birds. I was on Desmond road when I took this photo, Thursday of last week, and not only did I get to see these magnificent birds closer than ever, but just down the road, in the pond closest to the railroad tracks, were a pair of Horned Grebe. Really? On Desmond road? See, I am always learning new things. And that's a great feeling! There is way too much to learn, but I will do my best!

 

 

~Me

Goodbye Summer, And Thanks For The Cheese!

 

"One swallow does not make a summer, neither does one fine day... ."

~Aristotle

What a fantastic day. Autumn is in the air. I am actually feeling better. I am able to eat more foods and, oh yeah, a little bit of American justice took place. History will play things out the way it will, but for right now it seems Donald Trump is finally getting his, and as the end of summers go, that is not a bad way to celebrate. Do worry, no hopes are raised, but I am guardedly optimistic, which is better than I have felt in a long, long, very long time.

With this post I am back to posting regularly. Daily leaf and bird photos as my feathered friends find their way along the Pacific Flyway. Good things are ahead, and it's magical.

~Me