This little patch of Coyote brush was a sparrow treasure trove during Christmas Bird Count. I paused for a portrait of one of my favorites, the delightful White-crowned Sparrow, and stayed for the flurry of activity that ensued. Sparrows were flitting around, enjoying the bounty of seeds provided by this late-blooming shrub. A California Towhee performed the towhee two-step under cover of the canopy while a Spotted Towhee popped up to investigate the clicks of my camera, giving me his grumpy old man call (it always reminds me of someone shouting at me to get off their lawn). All of this activity almost distracted me from an unexpected visitor — a dazzlingly colorful Green-tailed Towhee made a brief appearance before disappearing into the dense brush (a bird that John Cassin praised as, “the handsomest bird of the family of Sparrows yet discovered in the United States”). All the while, right behind my back, a large flock of strikingly patterned Lark Sparrows busied themselves in a Sycamore.
#calnatshare #uccalnat #ebird365 #audubonca #christmasbirdcount #sparrowappreciationsociety
Since becoming a birder, the New Year has taken on some new traditions. I can’t help but get a little excited by end-of-the-year totals, last and first birds, and the anticipation of upcoming adventures! Before visiting friends in Ojai, I stopped for my last lifer of the decade - a handsome Tufted Duck hanging out with Lesser Scaups at the UCSB campus lagoon. I caught the final sunset of the year over More Mesa, where a Short-eared Owl was beginning to hunt as Northern Harriers and White-tailed Kites were winding down. The photos shown here are Short-eared Owls from a recent visit to NY... although my Santa Barbara encounter did not involve photos, it was awesome to see this enchanting owl closer to home. The new year began with a pair of Great Horned Owls calling as I made my way to my camper after midnight and the morning brought an unexpected Zone-tailed Hawk flying low over our New Year’s brunch. Here is to a great year ahead of birds, adventures, and actions/choices that ensure the conservation of birds and the habitats they depend on!
#shortearedowl #audubonsociety #ebird365
Today was dreamy. I was awestruck for hours watching four Short-eared Owls, along with Northern Harriers, hunt over expansive grasslands near dusk. Their maneuverability in flight is incredibly beautiful...and impressively effective! They fly low and flop their wings in a distinctly butterfly-like fashion, up until they turn on a dime and drop suddenly to the ground in pursuit of prey. In New York, Short-eared Owls are state-endangered birds and they depend entirely on protected grassland ecosystems.
#shortearedowl #ebird365 #audubon
This little bundle of hope is one of a small number of Burrowing Owls that overwinter in Orange County, relicts of a historically widespread and abundant distribution throughout the county. He will leave before spring in search of better (and safer) breeding grounds. My optimism allows me to hold out hope that what little space remains around here can be conserved and restored to provide suitable habitat to encourage the return of this, and other, displaced species. In the meantime, I am so grateful for the bits of wildness that persist.
#ebird365 #burrowingowl #audubonca #calnat #calnatshare #women_wildlife_photography
