“[…] And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea […] we are going back from whence we came.”
– John F. Kennedy, Remarks at the Dinner for the America’s Cup Crews, September 14 1962
Today Wife and I drove inland to the other side of the hills and took a hike in a park out there. It was a trail we hadn’t done before, but we will probably do a variation on this hike again. There were some lovely wildflowers, excellent trees, and good wildlife, which (aside from a couple dozen cows very close up) included:
many lizards
a coyote
a couple of ground squirrels
some large butterflies in a dark color
a pair of wild turkeys
some scrub jays
at least 3, probably more, red-tailed hawks
turkey vultures
a couple of crows
barn swallows
some kind of sparrow (probably) that I have not definitively identified but hope to get @lies’ help with
Since it was an “exercise” hike (with limited photography stops), I had not brought my binoculars. I may have to go back without Wife with my binoculars so I can actually look at the birds more.
Top row: some wildflowers in dappled sunlight; trees on the hillside; a tree with a bit of a mistletoe-type problem.
Row 2: The mystery sparrows. The 2 individuals were near each other (these two photos are different crops of one picture); each is centered at the bottom of a photo. They seemed to have a distinctive and sort of stripy reddish-brown and grey head, maybe with some white, and looked “fancier” than sparrows I’m familiar with. I don’t think they were song sparrows because I think I would have recognised them if they were.
Row 3: California’s rolling hills are greener than usual in spring!
Rows 4-5: A wise old tree
Row 6: more wildflowers
They look like Lark Sparrows to me. Very cool birbs!
Ooh! That’s what I wanted to guess, but Merlin said it was rare and I wasn’t quite confident enough, so I thought I would see what you thought! :D Thanks! (Should I report this on a checklist on eBird? even though it wasn’t a specific birdwatching walk?)
Sure! “Incidental” lists are for exactly that situation: you have a bird or birds t9 report, but birding wasn’t your primary activity. It means they’ll take your report as evidence that the species you reported were there, but they won’t take birds you didn’t report as evidence those birds weren’t there.
Today Wife and I drove inland to the other side of the hills and took a hike in a park out there. It was a trail we hadn’t done before, but we will probably do a variation on this hike again. There were some lovely wildflowers, excellent trees, and good wildlife, which (aside from a couple dozen cows very close up) included:
many lizards
a coyote
a couple of ground squirrels
some large butterflies in a dark color
a pair of wild turkeys
some scrub jays
at least 3, probably more, red-tailed hawks
turkey vultures
a couple of crows
barn swallows
some kind of sparrow (probably) that I have not definitively identified but hope to get @lies’ help with
Since it was an “exercise” hike (with limited photography stops), I had not brought my binoculars. I may have to go back without Wife with my binoculars so I can actually look at the birds more.
Top row: some wildflowers in dappled sunlight; trees on the hillside; a tree with a bit of a mistletoe-type problem.
Row 2: The mystery sparrows. The 2 individuals were near each other (these two photos are different crops of one picture); each is centered at the bottom of a photo. They seemed to have a distinctive and sort of stripy reddish-brown and grey head, maybe with some white, and looked “fancier” than sparrows I’m familiar with. I don’t think they were song sparrows because I think I would have recognised them if they were.
Row 3: California’s rolling hills are greener than usual in spring!
Rows 4-5: A wise old tree
Row 6: more wildflowers
They look like Lark Sparrows to me. Very cool birbs!
I happened upon the final day of J-Class racing in Newport RI last summer. Hope to get on a media boat this year, it was difficult to drive and click in a 3 foot chop.
