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.
Images
Possibly a goldfinch
And another bird, possibly a goldfinch, that took off as soon as I snapped the shutter.
Lesser Goldfinch (major motion blur)
I saw a pair of what I think were goldfinches on this cable. Unfortunately they took off as soon as I snapped the shutter trying to photograph this one. You can at least tell that it’s got a very yellow body and less yellow wings.
vaguely covid-adjacent
American Crow
A birb caught in the act of NOPE!
Fleabanes and Horseweeds
I can hear these sparrows all day.
I can hear these sparrows all day. There are a few nests around in bushes and possibly in roofs. But this year’s generation is also really good at hiding and dodging cameras, so I don’t often get them on camera.
Brewer’s Blackbird (on roof)
There were two of these birds. I couldn’t tell what they were from a distance except they didn’t look like crows.
House Finch
Healthy Savings on Corona
To be fair, the shelf also features Modelo and Dos Equis, so it’s clearly a sale for May 5, but I’m not so sure about those “healthy” savings
European Starling
Somewhere between five and ten starlings were flitting up to a wall and back down to the open part of a greenbelt that’s been closed to foot traffic for pandemic distancing, walking around through the grass. From a distance, they were often completely hidden by the grass and I had to take a lot of pictures just to be sure I could see them on *some* of them!
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
Indian Hawthorn flowers in bloom
Indian Hawthorn flowers in bloom. The empty lot is the greenbelt under a set of transmission wires. Hawthorns will grow as bushes, and make up a *lot* of hedges around here, but they can also be trained to grow upward and pruned into trees. There are several spaced along this block at the same stage of growth.
Buttons
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.
Bushtit
West Coast Lady
Still not used to the idea that restaurants can sell beer to go now.
Spotted a Monarch butterfly today, and it actually landed and held still long enough for me to get a clear photo.
Spotted a #Monarch #butterfly today, and it actually landed and held still long enough for me to get a clear photo.