1. Routine
Every time I've gone running in Fairview Park in Costa Mesa over the past three weeks, this albino Rock Pigeon has been perched within the same 15-foot radius. He/she is not at all afraid of people—perhaps an escapee?
2. A good meal
This Snowy Egret was chowing on the banks of the lower Santa Ana River, just inland of the Huntington State Beach Least Tern Reserve last weekend. I like how so many parks and nature preserves use herons and egrets in their promotional literature to show how tranquil and gentle the natural world is—ignoring the fact that these birds are, in fact, gluttonous killers!
3. Their kids
This juvenile Least Tern was wandering around one of the front ponds at San Joaquin marsh yesterday, along with a couple of other fledglings and several adults. It is mature enough to fly ( Least Terns don't nest at San Joaquin), so must have been strong enough to make its way from its nesting grounds—I'm guessing Huntington State Beach or Bolsa Chica—to the marsh. But he or she is still not up to hunting independently. Here, he or she is waiting for a parental handout.
4. Friends of color
This leucistic California Towhee was foraging at Huntington Central Park today with a couple of normal California Towhees. They seemed to get along just fine—unlike the squabbling groups of Common Yellowthroats and House Wrens chasing each other through the bushes in the same area.
There's probably a lesson in there, somewhere!
2 comments:
that towhee is wild! I'll have to go check it out when I get back to the OC - thanks for sharing.
Belated thanks for dropping by--I hope you found the towhee by now; it was a very cool (and strange) bird. I saw it foraging on the ground by the north end of the island--if it's still around, it should be hard to miss.
Best of luck to you!
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