Yeah, well... The plan for Saturday was: meet friends, carpool to Elkhorn Slough, hike around the slough, enjoy the wintering shorebirds, maybe see some otters, consolidate the carpool further, head to Big Sur, hope to see some condors, maybe stop at Andrew Molera or Pt. Pinos or Monterey Harbor if there's still some light, and head home.
The reality of Saturday was: who wants to drive an hour and a half to walk around in the rain (with intermittent hail) when it's 40 degrees out? While carrying (and trying to protect) your optics so you can see the birds in the middle of the slough?
Me neither. Maybe next week.
Birding on a somewhat smaller scale...
So I worked on some drawings I need to get done. Like, soon.
No preview of the drawings to share with you, but the project meant that I spent a lot of time staring at various photos I've taken of the bird in question - Golden-crown Sparrow - over the years. They're wonderful little birds, really. Except for the fact that they love to eat tender young shoots of plants, and they really love baby lettuce. So even though lettuce loves the Bay Area in winter, no fresh salad for me until these guys leave town.
I guess it's not a bad trade.
I know they're rare back east, but they're quite common here in the winter. (Didn't one of them cause a stir by appearing at the feeders of the Eagle Optics store in Wisconsin around Christmas Count time?) If any of you eastern folk want an easy lifer, visit my back yard.
They've been pretty quiet since they arrived, but now that it's getting closer to the time to head back north, I'm starting to hear their simple three note song - often described as "Oh dear me-e-e". It's a good description of the song, actually, but hard to reconcile with the generally bouncy presence of the birds.
They're fattening up now for migration and breeding season. They're slender little things when they arrive in October, having used a lot of energy to get here. They kinda coast for a few months, but really start chowing down about now. By the time they leave in April, they're little round balls of birdfat - it's a wonder they can fly. I like to think that my yard has given them a good headstart on making another generation of birds to eat my lettuce.
When I needed a break from drawing, I just went to the back window and stared out at the feeders for a bit. Or, as I justified it to myself - "research".
So, maybe Elkhorn/Big Sur next Sunday. For now, it's a quiet day at home.
A plug for Senor Unoball, who is taking part in a fundraiser for Santa Clara Valley Audubon. They are doing some great work on trying to save some important places - including Panoche Valley. More info in his comment: http://www.dailykos.com/...