Say hi to the neighbors!
All I have to do is dump a bag of whole peanuts under the trees in my yard, and customers start coming out of the woodwork.
Black phoebe
The Black Phoebe is a dapper flycatcher of the western U.S. with a sooty black body and crisp white belly. They sit in the open on low perches to scan for insects, often keeping up a running series of shrill chirps. Black Phoebes use mud to build cup-shaped nests against walls, overhangs, culverts, and bridges. Look for them near any […]
The Back of Things
Here’s my entry for Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge this week. Looking at the back of things can lead to interesting photos. Let’s see how creative you can get with this topic.
Early bird
A pair of red-eyes
Black-crested night heron
Scenes from Justin Herman Plaza
On two legs and four
While in San Francisco last week I didn’t have time to visit the zoo or the natural history museum — and yet I seemed to notice animals almost everywhere I looked. Marina gull Justin Herman Plaza: I could be wrong, but when I looked at this building across the street from my hostel I saw three crabs: I didn’t even […]
Pretend they’re eagles
If you do much hiking in this area, as I do, you’re bound to see turkey vultures wheeling around in the sky, riding the air currents and keeping an eye out for a bite to eat. These homely birds are ubiquitous at Lake Natoma, unlike the more secretive family of bald eagles who recently moved into the area. It’s a […]
Red-shouldered hawk
I’ve been lucky enough to capture a few hawks with my camera in the past few months, but this one really surprised me. I was climbing the last big hill at the end of my hike when I noticed him sitting on a low-hanging branch above the trail. He was content to sit and pose for me until a small […]