Just the regular pigeons. Regularly-spaced, that is.
Tag: Photo Only on Social
Pin-Tailed Whydahs
I spotted the bird with the long tail flying around and thought at first that it was carrying something. Eventually it settled on this cable and I saw the other one which was clearly the same species, despite the shorter tail. Male/female pair? Older male/younger male?
They appear to be pin-tailed wydahs, which have been introduced to southern California. There’s a cluster of observations on iNaturalist in the LA area.
On PixelFed.Social
Female on iNaturalist
Male on iNaturalist
Giant Kelp (clump at Dockweiler)
Sweet Fennel
Wild plant at the top of the hill, ocean at the bottom. The fence marks the edge of Del Cerro Park and the start of a steep, unstable slope down to the Portuguese Bend area of the coast near Los Angeles. On a clear day, Catalina would be visible off to the left, but on this day, the ocean blended seamlessly into an obscuring haze.
– Instagram (2014)
Stealth Sparrows. I almost deleted the thumbnail because the birds didn’t actually register at that size. Fortunately, I opened the image and looked.
Stealth Sparrows. I almost deleted the thumbnail because the birds didn’t actually register at that size. Fortunately, I opened the image and looked.
I walked along a bike path today and could not believe how many puncture vine plants I saw.
I walked along a bike path today and could not believe how many puncture vine plants I saw. No wonder I've had to patch so many flat tires!
If it's possible for a plant to evolve into the natural enemy of the bicycle, this plant is it. It's literally in the caltrop family. I swear it's lining the bike path, waiting to ambush its prey.
Found this shot looking through photos from my old phone. It’s from the outdoor part of a mall.
Found this shot looking through photos from my old phone. It's from the outdoor part of a mall.
Was explaining the basics of lossy compression to the 8YO…
Was explaining the basics of lossy compression to the 8YO & demonstrating how different JPEG compression levels impact an image. He decided to set it to 0 and then add his own commentary on top of it.
The squawking of the feral parakeets
Sometimes I’ll hear the squawking of the feral parakeets that live in town as they fly past. Usually I don’t have a camera with me, but one time I managed to catch four of them flying (not very detailed, as you can see), and once I managed to catch one that had stopped in a palm tree long enough for me to use the zoom lens.
#birds #parakeets #FeralParakeets #parrots #nature #FeralParrots
I heard the squawking and went for my camera, but this is the best I could get. Still, you can at least see the green color and a bit of the red on one of their heads.
After they flew on, I saw a few others diving out of palm trees and wheeling back up in the direction they’d come from.
I’ve seen and heard the feral parakeets before, and managed to get some decent pictures a few weeks ago. I can’t be certain these are the same parakeet species as that one, but it seems likely since they’re introduced.
Previous observation of mitred parakeet: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/26590485
TODO: Combine with this post and others.
American Wigeon
Finding animals I didn’t know about in my old photos: This duck might be a wigeon, which is a type of bird I’d never heard of before, but appears to be relatively common.
#ducks #birds #iNaturalist #wigeon
Two of about a dozen sparrows I saw out in front of the office building on a short walk this afternoon.
Two of about a dozen #sparrows I saw out in front of the office building on a short walk this afternoon. At least six were flitting about in or below a jacaranda tree, some better camouflaged than others, plus a few others scattered around the lot.
I’ve got to admit I still get a kick out of editing bird photos in Aviary.
On PixelFed.Social
Astroturf sparrow on iNaturalist
Wood chips sparrow on iNaturalist
Don’t Die Wondering
I was looking for a particular photo and found an old folder of unsorted pics from my phone , 2010-2013. So I’ve been looking through them and sorting them, and there are a few odd ones like this message on a bike path that I never got around to posting.
Buckeye Butterfly
Buckeye #butterfly spotted in a field near LAX airport. There were a lot of butterflies of at least three types flitting about in the mustard, but this is the only one that stayed still long enough for me to catch a photo.
Finally got a picture of one of the sparrows nesting in the parking structure! Oh. Well…
Finally got a picture of one of the sparrows nesting in the parking structure!
Oh. Well. So much for that idea.
One of these days….
#Fotofails
House Sparrows on a parking sign
These two sparrows were on the ground as I walked across the driveway, flew up to the sign as I approached, and stayed put just long enough for me to pull out my phone. I swear they took off the moment I clicked the virtual shutter. (Time restricted parking, indeed.)
House Sparrow: Super-Blurry on a Wire
Perfect example: I posted this super-blurry photo of a bird on a wire across the street, zoomed optically as far as I could and then just cropped. Within 15 minutes, 4 people had identified it as not just a sparrow, but specifically a house sparrow!
Meanwhile the entry for the horseweed from last week still hasn’t had anyone stop in to confirm or correct the ID.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/26366528
Apparently this bird is called a dark-eyed junco.
Looks like it’s already wildfire season again.
Looks like it’s already #wildfire season again. Maybe somewhere out near Silverado Canyon or Lake Elsinore? That smoke plume is roughtin the direction of Saddleback when it’s visible from here. #socal
[A few days later:] Or maybe not. I haven’t found anything else, so maybe it was closer than it looked and/or put out quickly.
I took a break from errands and went to the bluffs above the beach to …
I took a break from errands and went to the bluffs above the beach to watch boats and seagulls. It was super windy, and the seagulls were hovering in the updraft…and riding the wind *sideways*!
That, and the usual wheeling around, made them difficult to catch on camera.
