A couple of months ago, during a hike near Julian (CA) I saw a committee. I was quite amused when I learned this meaning of the word “committee”, which, in this context, means a group of vultures sitting together. If they are eating, then, it is a wake, and if flying together, then it becomes …
I think this is a western fence lizard. Walking back from a hike I saw him on a concrete slab used as a bridge over a small stream, on the way out of a trail near my house. I noticed he was holding an insect in its mouth. So I took a few pictures. What is …
I have seen a lot of things at Lake Hodges, but last month was marked by a strange event. Well, it might not be so strange for people who know the wildlife better than I do. But I have never seen it and was quite surprised by what I saw. Originally, I thought of going …
Today we have only 4 pictures of 2 animals but they have some common features: they were both photographed at night right on my street. And, although the encounters didn’t happen on the same night, they were only one week apart. First we have a bobcat. This beautiful feline climbed up the dead tree in …
Today our feature pic is a group of birds. Due to the poor angle of the light and the distance (800mm lens), it is not a very good picture. But what surprised me greatly while I was taking it, was the odd large bird you see in the middle. I had never seen its kind. …
I took these pictures 2 weeks ago, the very same day I saw the killdeer chicks. On the trail that day, I met my friend Bill, a retired meteorologist, who told me: “did you see the northern harrier?”I hadn’t, so he pointed it out to me, as we were not far from the branches where …
Today we have a petite Johnson jumping spider, scientific named “Phidippus johnsoni“, this spider is also known as “red-backed jumping spider”. The reason for the alternate name is obvious in the specimen I caught in my camera in September of last year. I have been wanting to show you this little creature for a long …
A couple of weeks ago, I saw a bird do something strange. She was rubbing her belly in the sand, swaying her spread wide tail showing a beautiful rufous color. So, naturally, I took a bunch of pictures. I had no idea why she was doing that.Then, last Tuesday, I decided I should check out …
Last weekend I asked my daughter about her making some icons based on my birds pictures. She remarked that they are most often brown, or dull colors. Well, I was lucky enough to catch a bunch of colorful birds this week. So the next 4 posts will be all about colorful birds. The first one …
Today is Mother’s Day, and last week I read this excellent article on the subject:https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/03/opinion/mothers-day-loss-nature.html In her article, Margaret Renkl, who often writes about our connection with nature in The New York Times, starts by highlighting some dark aspects of that particular holiday. Something which most people, myself included, don’t think about. And then, she …