Thanks to readers who sent in photos, but we always need more!
Today’s batch comes from UC Davis ecologist Susan Harrison, and were taken near her school. Susan’s captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
Early spring meanderings
In late February I took a visiting college friend hiking in the hills northwest of Davis, California. Starting up the trail, we had the good luck to see a tiny Northern Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma) high in an oak. Thinking I’d captured at least a low-resolution facial photo, it turned out I’d been fooled by the false eyes on the back of the bird’s head. Pygmy-Owls prey upon and therefore are often mobbed by small songbirds. The eyespots are believed to protect the owl’s true eyes when it’s under attack.
Northern Pygmy-Owl:
We later enjoyed watching an Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna) doing yoga in the sun; just like humans, they stretch to stay flexible and prepared for action:
The setting was Valley Vista Regional Park, looking south to the organic farms of the Capay Valley and east to the remarkable Sutter Buttes and Sierra Nevada.
Capay Valley:
Sutter Buttes:
Here are a few other sightings from near Davis:
Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana):
Merlin (Falco columbarius):
White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus):
In early March, invigorated by recent owl experiences, I set off to the Sonoma coast in search of Northern Saw-Whet Owls (Aegolius acadicus). They are found in lushly forested canyons, and one such location near Jenner, California, sounded promising.
Waiting for nightfall, I hiked among the redwoods enjoying the startlingly loud and lovely song of tiny Pacific Wrens (Troglodytes pacificus):
Calypso Orchids (Calypso bulbosa) lit up the understory here and there:
After dark a Saw-Whet Owl began singing. After I followed it and played a few of its low toots on my phone, a small ghostly presence flapped past my head into a willow. Using a headlamp for illumination, I managed a few grainy photos.
Saw-Whet Owl:
Stopping by the coast the next morning, I saw a possible — and if so, unusual — Yellow-Billed Loon (Gavia adamsii) in front of a smaller and darker Common Loon (Gavia immer):
The mouth of the Russian River at Jenner, California:
Fabulous pics, thank you. I love that hummingbird!
Perfection
Hummingbird yoga FTW!
Always, fine photos & commentary. I love those little wrens. Many years ago we had a Northern Pygmy Owl that had got into a shed with a window & seemed confused about the exit. I donned a pair of leather gloves and had the privilege of holding it briefly as I took it outside. Released unharmed, it was an occasional presence. I saw it take something small (mouse?) from the lawn early on a soggy morning in the Oregon Coast Range.
Wonderful photos! I was fooled by the fake eye spots on the back of the Northern Pygmy-Owl. He really looks like he is just squinting in slumber.
The blue in that Western Bluebird looks like the color patented by artist Yves Klein.
God didn’t get the message on that.
What a gorgeous blue!
Thanks!
As always, thank you Susan. Your local adventures near Davis always show me how incredibly beautiful and varied this area is. After a week or so in Napa and Sonoma a few years ago, we drove down River Rd alongside the Russian River, avoiding Redwoods that had grown from the shoulders into the roadway and, if I recall correctly, came out of the woods at Jenner…what a sight as the river meets the ocean. We then turned north for a scary drive along the coast to Timber Cove. Cannot imagine these sights ever get old for people living there.
Beautiful photos. I love Calypso orchids which appear at the end of May in Oregon on Mt Hood. When we see them we know to look for morels!
Sutter Buttes, I like what the camera did there.
Thanks for the post. Nice.
I enjoyed your photos, grainy or not.