Sometimes it takes me really looking into something several times before I get it. It never ceases to amaze me how many different kinds of plants there are. I've already mentioned (eh-hem, I do repeat myself regularly) there are at least 41 sp./ssp. of Artemisia found in California. I like the feathery soft leaves of this particular sagewort, sagebrush, sage, wormwood... whatever you choose to call it. The flowers did surprise me.
Monday, October 10, 2011
osprey ~ 10/10/11 ~ Point Lobos
osprey with a fishPandion haliaetus with a fish
This was a fun find. An osprey has a fish in a tree (sounds like it should be a Dr. Seuss book, but it doesn't rhyme). I'm by no means a birder by any stretch of the imagination, partly because all my pictures of birds are from so far away that it's often difficult to get an ID. And, you know, I rarely ever carry binoculars on hikes with me. I wasn't sure what this was when we viewed it from all sides of the trail. On our way out of the park we described what we saw to the ranger in the toll booth. He gave us a printed Point Lobos observation checklist and noted we wouldn't find the osprey on the list. He said, "We think it lives in the Carmel Lagoon, but it likes to come over here for lunch." The way he said it made us laugh.
ps 10/26/11 - For a much better osprey blog post, check out Ecobirder.
ps 10/26/11 - For a much better osprey blog post, check out Ecobirder.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
brown pelican ~ 10/08/11 ~ Wharf No. 2
juvenile California brown pelicanPelecanus occidentalis californicus
I'm always trying for better pictures. Their white bellies make me sure these are juveniles. I'm just really glad they didn't poop on me as they were flying overhead. One poor tourist nearby got hammered by the machine-gun-like poop droppings. She and her partner had no idea what had happened. I think they heard it before she felt it. Her hair and the back of her jacket were covered in goop. For some reason I apologized as I watched their befuddlement and explained to them what happened. Fortunately she had extra clothes in the car. Sometimes I think pelicans and gulls like to play drop-on-the-target with their poop. I've seen it too many times to believe it's mere coincidence.
Monday, October 3, 2011
tree year project 2011, #11
monarch butterfly resting on coast Douglas-firDanaus plexippus on Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii
Pinaceae
In the past week, I've seen more monarchs flying around town on the sunnier days. One was kind enough to rest on the Douglas-fir tree that I'm featuring for The Tree Year project. And, no, those orange-brown blobs in the second picture aren't monarchs; they're cones. I wanted to also show how brown the cones have gotten. Actually they started turning from green to brown back in August, but I'm just now getting a picture of it.