January 5, 2024. Quincy, CA.
This is what the morning looked like, even though this photo was taken back on December 3 of, oh my gosh is it last year already? Photographing fog just deepens the depression, so I avoid doing it.
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I watched out my front window as the morning transitioned into the afternoon, and around 1:00 p.m. the weather-forecast-promised “partly cloudy” came out wrong again; it was mostly sunny.
I sez to myself, Self, stretch them ol’ legs of yours, get on the bike, make the ride out Quincy Junction Road, as is per your usual afternoon jaunt. Make something of the sunshine, for goodness sake.
*****
As regards today’s composite title photo, by golly I did manage one decent cropped photo. American Kestrel, male.
American Kestrels are pale when seen from below and warm, rusty brown spotted with black above, with a black band near the tip of the tail. Males have slate-blue wings; females’ wings are reddish brown. Both sexes have pairs of black vertical slashes on the sides of their pale faces—sometimes called a “mustache” and a “sideburn."
All About Birds
It wasn’t much farther along and I spied this Red-tailed Hawk down in the field grasses. I suspected it would fly off, and it did, but even anticipating the event I sure didn’t manage much of a decent photo of the launch. Ah well.
Not more than a few yards down the road from the preceding Red-tailed, here was what I take to be a very young Red-tailed. At first it was down in a small stream that crosses the road; it was taking a bit of a bath. I stopped the bicycle, got out the camera, but it flew up out of the water before I could get a shot. It stopped in the grass just a few feet away from the water.
It was very close to me, not much more than about twenty feet away. I was able to zoom in nice and tight and get very sharp focus photos.
Right next to the stream is a gate down into the field. The Red-tailed hopped up on the gate to get a better look at me, I think. I reckon sometimes I must not always look that scary, because this gorgeous raptor just went about its business of drying off with total nonchalance.
Ah, nothing like a good shake to get the excess flying. Heh heh, this could now take pride-of-place as my new “Money Shot”. Whaddya think?
Damp but neither drenched nor drowned. Time to settle one’s composure after a fine bath.
“Oh, hello, human. Marvelous day for a dip, wouldn’t you say?” Yes, if I was a Red-tailed Hawk I suppose it would have been. Me, I was double-bundled up with two stocking caps on; it was but 40o Fahrenheit after all.
As this splendid specimen was amenable, I just kept clicking away with the shutter button.
Reluctantly, I gave the Red-tailed bather her/his dignity. Amazingly, as I pedaled past, not much more than eight feet away, the bird didn’t even flinch. “You’re beautiful”, I spoke out loud to it, and headed on down the road. I now had some great photos on the chip, so any more would be icing on the cake. Lots of icing, as it turned out.
Just three minutes further down the lane, a third Red-tailed for the afternoon. This one was very regal acting.
And looking all about its surroundings, surveying well its domain. I had the feeling it was about to take off.
Looking in the “rear view mirror”, as it might be thought. Does it want to launch in that direction? Am I ready?
When they go, they go fast. But I got this one pretty good.
A diversion out a side road to some wetland area. A Northern Shoveler was to be seen. There were also several Mallard on this little patch of water.
This small pond, known locally as Hansen’s Pond, can often offer up an unexpected sight or two. This day it was Greater White-fronted Goose.
After Hansen’s, I turn on to Chandler Road and have about ¾ mile left until I reach the bridge over Spanish Creek at the confluence with Greenhorn Creek, which is my turnaround point. I was just about to round a corner when I heard a Bald Eagle calling. I had heard from a fellow I know who has a house right at this spot that he has frequently seen Bald Eagle out in the fields behind his house. I stopped and scanned, and spotted these two juvenile Bald Eagle. The one on the power pole (at upper right) is a good hundred yards beyond the one on the one on the tree stump crag at lower left, which is itself about two hundred yards from where I was standing. And, shooting into the sun no less.
Here’s a callout, in case you need the help. I really have to think these are siblings. I never did see the adult that I heard calling; I know it wasn’t either of these because I was watching them at the same time as I could hear the calling and they weren’t the ones doing it. I checked by moving my spot and looking in another direction; I saw a real large bird but couldn’t see it well enough (looking into the sun, again) to be certain it was the adult. However, I am certain there was at least one adult very close by.
With some post-processing, here’s a boxed image of the difference between original and what I’ll finish with.
Same treatment, but this juvenile was the closer of the two, and so had sufficient resolution to crop further.
Going by this chart, I’d put this youngster between 1 ½ and 2 ½.
So that is what I call a 100% satisfactory ride out. And it’s a good thing I took advantage of the good weather because here’s what happened the very next day:
Hmmp. It is winter, after all, in Quincy, CA.
Now it’s your turn. What’s been transpiring in your savannah, veldt, marsh, or desert? Or even where you live, for that matter?
Please share in the comments, and include any photos if you have them. Let us know your location, please.