I spotted a bunch of starlings darting around through the wild barley in the open space near an odd street intersection.
Problem: The barley is taller than the starlings. Most of my photos look kind of like this.
#fotofails #birds #nature #barley
Tag: Photos
A monarch butterfly in flight
A #monarch butterfly in flight. I’ve been seeing one or two each time I go for a walk in the neighborhood, but mostly they’re flying around too much for me to get a decent photo. This one decided to stick around this one bush for a while.
On Photog.Social
On iNaturalist
About a week later…
Someone on Flickr invited this photo to a UFO/paranormal/unexplained phenomena group. 😕
Maybe they meant to invite it to something else they manage?
Or are there butterfly UFO stories out there that I’m missing?
Dinnertime for a crow
I don’t remember where this stone wall is
I don’t remember where this stone wall is, but it’s apparently near enough I could walk to it, because I took the photo in the last two months and I’m pretty sure it’s not next to the grocery store.
Ducks at a city park
Ducks at a city park that’s recently re-opened the walkways and open space, though facilities and playgrounds remain closed.
1. Join me for a drink?
2. OK, ducks can’t read.
3. Three ducks ignoring a pigeon.
Some photos of the park facilities and warning signs:
Sorta Open. Maaaybe. If You’re Careful.
covid closures & beaches
The beach is closed now, along with the bike path and the sidewalk I was standing on. ALL of Los Angeles County’s beaches are closed.
Neighboring Ventura County just re-opened some of theirs with distancing rules in place, and while Orange County has resisted closing their beaches, they had so many people show up at the coast this weekend that some cities are thinking about closing them after all. (Well, maybe only on weekends when non-locals might show up. 🙄 )
Two finches spotted in the empty greenbelt below a line of transmission towers.
Two finches spotted in the empty greenbelt below a line of transmission towers. They’re several meters apart, though I took the photos from the same spot on the sidewalk, and the female chased a sparrow away when she landed.
Also you can really see the difference between the “look at me!” coloring on the male finch and the camouflage coloring on the female.
On Photog.Social
Male finch on iNaturalist
Female finch on iNaturalist
A couple of black phoebes spotted in the neighborhood the last few days.
A couple of black phoebes spotted in the neighborhood the last few days. They have this distinctive crest shape to their heads, at least compared to the other birds that live in this area.
Possibly a goldfinch
And another bird, possibly a goldfinch, that took off as soon as I snapped the shutter.
A birb caught in the act of NOPE!
covid-adjacent/masks
I’ve seen several discarded face #masks by the side of the road while walking around the neighborhood.
I don’t understand: They’re not easy enough to find that you can just toss one and replace it on a whim. What’s the story? Did someone rip another person’s mask off and throw it in the dirt as a form of bullying? Throw their own mask away in frustration?
More observations on mask trends in my neighborhood (including banks!) at Where Everyone Wears a Mask
Seeing a lot of these signs in front of restaurants
Seeing a lot of these signs in front of restaurants when I go walking in the neighborhood.
Most people have been really good at maintaining social distancing while out. The group in the distance seemed to all be one family.
Except for runners. Runners passing me from behind (where I can’t see them to move out of the way myself) have a 50/50 track record of dodging around vs. just zooming past at a distance of a foot.
Lily in the spotlight
A common House Sparrow
A common House #Sparrow perched on what looks like bougainvillea. It sounded like there were a lot of them in there, but I could only see one.
Some more house finches and a hummingbird.
Some more house finches and a hummingbird. Hummingbirds always look weird to me when they’re perched.
#photo #birds #finch #HouseFinch #hummingbird #nature
On Photog.Social
Finch (in grass) on Flickr
I must have seen over a dozen house finches on a very short walk today. I assume there’s a nest or several in the area.
Hummingbird on iNaturalist
Finch (on wire) on iNaturalist
Finch (in grass) on iNaturalist
Some parts of the marsh are colorful this time of year. Others…not so much.
Some parts of the marsh are colorful this time of year. Grass has grown, wildflowers are starting to peek out. Others…not so much. But at least the wooded parts look less bleak than the open ponds.
I decided to see what I could do with my phone camera, which mostly meant landscapes and plants.
When I parked for a hike at the marsh preserve, I discovered that I hadn’t actually put my camera in my backpack as I’d intended. So I decided to see what I could do with my phone camera, which mostly meant landscapes and plants.
Wow! Photo of Seals ‘Living’ in an Iceberg Wins Underwater Photographer of the Year 2020
Repeating curve pattern on a hotel wall. Not the first time I’ve tried to take …
Repeating curve pattern on a hotel wall. Not the first time I’ve tried to take a photo of it, but I think I like the soft lighting on this one, taken while this section was in the shade, but still very well lit by indirect sunlight.
On Pokemon Go, it’s a gym known as “Recursive Walls.”
#photo #wall #pattern #tessellation
