2. Nature

2015 Wintery Times

December 2015 through March 2016
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1/20 It's greening up! We went paddling and biking under early spring-like conditions and it's so nice to see fields turn green again. While paddling I enjoyed watching about 16 cedar waxwings in a sycamore on the lake. They've been flying around in groups, their high-pitched 'scritch' announces their presence. We passed a perched raven on Cornell loudly 'knocking,' so now I know it's a female.
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1/20 It's greening up! We went paddling and biking under early spring-like conditions and it's so nice to see fields turn green again. While paddling I enjoyed watching about 16 cedar waxwings in a sycamore on the lake. They've been flying around in groups, their high-pitched 'scritch' announces their presence. We passed a perched raven on Cornell loudly 'knocking,' so now I know it's a female.

WL1

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  • 1/13 a lunchtime hike up to the reservoir. The water is up from all the rain. I saw a male kestrel perched in a scrub oak on our way up. Scrub jays, a say's phoebe, a few acorn woodpeckers and a big flock of white crowned sparrows, and juncos.
  • 1/13 temps in the high 50s, not as warm as yesterday when we went biking, so we hiked up to the reservoir and then paddled. A great day for birding:<br /> 3 RT hawks, including one juvie and a mated pair<br /> 1 red shouldered hawk, with cries, and a show of a slight territorial posturing with the 2 RT hawks <br /> 2 belted kingfishers<br /> 3 GBH<br /> 1 great egret<br /> flicker - male<br /> buffleheads, lesser scaups, ring necked, eared grebes, pied bill grebes and of course, coots, 2 mute swans, a lot of Canada geese, a few mallards kicking back on the docks. Back east this would have been like a spring day. At the park this afternoon we fed peanuts to a large group of crows and I saw a bluebird and a nuttall's woodpecker, and the acorn woodpeckers were in the big old oaks.
  • 1/16/16 John took this photo of a male nuttall's in our backyard while I was in Honduras watching hummingbirds at Rio Santiago (I stayed at the Lodge at Pico Bonito)
  • 1/21 Whitty loves the low-voltage electric heating pad
  • 1/20 It's greening up! We went paddling and biking under early spring-like conditions and it's so nice to see fields turn green again. While paddling I enjoyed watching about 16 cedar waxwings in a sycamore on the lake. They've been flying around in groups, their high-pitched 'scritch' announces their presence. We passed a perched raven on Cornell loudly 'knocking,' so now I know it's a female.
  • 1/21 lunchtime ride, Cornell and the fields of green. This is the area last spring that flaunted so many gorgeous wildflowers.
  • 1/22 This afternoon we went for a 1.8 mile hike in Sycamore and Whitty probably walked 1.5 (I carried him a little bit). Temps were like spring and I'm wondering where this 'godzilla El Nino' is. No birds except a handful of white-crowned sparrows, juncos. But TWO ravens showed up and that made me happy. On the way out we saw about 30 western meadowlarks in the field
  • 1/22 afternoon slow walk with the boys. Whitty turned 16 in early January
  • 1/22 treats and water, nothing else matters
  • 1/23 I've kept 2 hummingbird feeders active this winter and allen's and anna's come to them, sparring over them, and it will be interesting to see if any of them nest in the yard this spring. this is an Allen's
  • 1/23 It was fairly warm (52 degrees), and a slight mist. The birds seemed in a feeding frenzy. I saw 2 RBnuthatches come to the suet cake this morning. Male and female nuttall's came as well. Aout 9:15am I saw a Cooper's Hawk swoop into the yard, a frequent visitor now.
  • 1/23 Red breasted nuthatch, note the black mask through its eyes.
  • 1/23 the bark on this coastal oak is very thick
  • 1/23 this old oak has a cavity!
  • 1/23 a little drizzle and dampness in the morning, but by the afternoon the sun came out and it was like a spring day. Hiked almost 4 miles in the Los Robles open space, things are greening up. No bird activity except usual: white crowned sparrows, black phoebes, CA towhees. Walking the boys after the hike after 3pm I heard and saw a small flock (maybe 10) cedar waxwings fly over.
  • 1/24 malibu lagoon marbled godwit
  • 1/24 royal terns malibu lagoon
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