We have a flock – or more likely several flocks – of feral parakeets in town. I saw these two going after the sunflowers in someone’s front yard.

Mostly green - two green birds perched on the back of a mature sunflower stalk with broad leaves, leaning over to get at the seeds.

A bright green bird seen from below against a blue sky, perched on a cable, grooming its wing.

We have a flock – or more likely several flocks – of feral parakeets in town. I saw these two going after the sunflowers in someone's front yard. #birds

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On iNaturalist (1)

On iNaturalist (2)

Some florespondence from last weekend’s walk at the botanic gardens.

Some #florespondence from last weekend’s walk at the botanic gardens.

I didn’t write down what the yellow flower is, but iNat suggests it’s Senna didymobotrya, a cassia native to Africa.

The magnolia was a popular nectar spot: every single flower that I could see had multiple bees crawling around in it.

#flowers #plants #nature #photo

Stalk with bright yellow flowers against a blurry background of green shrubs with red flowers, trees and sky.

Closeup of a large white bowl-like flower with at least three bees in it, and broad green leaves.

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Some birds spotted on a hike yesterday morning: a California Towhee and…

Some birds spotted on a hike yesterday morning: a California Towhee (the mature one perched on top of a bush) and a bushtit (looking very birb-like). A whole lot of the latter were flying back and forth between the trees on either side of the path, barely stopping long enough for me to point the camera in the right direction.

#photo #birds #nature #birb

A smallish brown bird, sparrow-like, with a short narrow sharp beak, perched on top of some plant with very small leaves, against a mottled green background.

A small round gray and white bird with a very short, narrow beak, perched on a twig with oblong leaves and clusters of some sort of small red fruit.

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Towhee on iNaturalist (alt)
Bushtit on iNaturalist (crop)

Pelican Cove, just past the point with the lighthouse

Pelican Cove, just past the point with the lighthouse. Unlike other parts of the preserve, there’s a trail here that lets you hike down to the (rocky) beach. Of course then you have to hike back up again.

I don’t know what kind of rock this is or why it looks like layers of thin pastry (or maybe a sponge), but it certainly looked interesting!

#cove #ocean #nature #california #rocks #photo #gloomy

Jagged rocks out in the smooth ocean, not far from a rocky cliff, on a gloomy day.

A cove on a gloomy day with rocky shore, high bluffs, and a few rocks out in the sea.

A large rock at the top of a cliff, looking down to the ocean, that looks like a stack of really thin layers that have been scrunched and folded and eroded differently.

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I saw this squirrel a few lots down the street while I was out walking.

I saw this #squirrel a few lots down the street while I was out walking. It paused. I paused. I got my camera out. It stood up to look around. I kept my camera out. Then it slowly ran down the street almost but not quite in my direction until it passed about 4 feet away, then paused in the shade before continuing on its way. I think it started trying to determine whether I was a threat or not, and then whether I was likely to give it food or leave it alone. #nature

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On iNaturalist

Scenes from a seasonal marsh.

Scenes from a seasonal marsh. Low areas collect water and form ponds during winter and spring, then it dries out over the summer. All the ground in these photos except on the near side of the logs in the last picture usually spends part of the year underwater.

The lowest part of the preseve is also where the most trees are (presumably because water has more time to soak into the ground there).

#nature #photo #trees #marsh

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