Am I a Birder?

I would like to think so!  I love birds and i spend many hours a week watching, observing and loving every minute of it.  But i will say, i don' like labels, so am i a birder?  Not sure, i just know i LOVE birds!  Today i was enchanted by two types of birds that are NOT what birders strive for or hope to see, but i was enthralled none the less!

  yes, my friends, these are Turkey Vultures.  A great birding day?  ABSOLUTELY!!!  it's not often i see a Vulture on the ground right by the shore of a lake, but today this is what i saw.  I went to Lake Murray today in the hope of seeing some winter visitors and i was greeted by this fellow and i couldn't be more pleased!

the Vultures were in abundance today.  this was just one group, but there were many more.  Some were very shy and didn't allow me to get too close, while others didn't seem to mind my presence.  There was one moment when there was about twenty of them flying above, several hundred feet in the air, right over the water.  I thought to myself maybe they're all up there having a meeting of sorts.  Moments after i thought that, they all broke into groups and flew to different trees surrounding the lake.  Yes, i think they were having a strategy meeting....

i encountered some other avian friends that wouldn't win any popularity contests, but i care not....

Bath Time in Pigeonville

i do believe this fellow was looking at me.  I named him Cosmo

i fell in love with this little beauty, she was sociable and sweet and i couldn't help, but name her.  This is Chloe

Nap Time

i did encounter many other birds and waterfowl today. Some ALLOWED their photos take, others not so much.

Cormorants hanging out

Buffleheads (hanging out with a Coot)

These male Lesser Scaup's were NOT interested in giving me their profile (unlike their cooperative female companion)

That is until this Coot came swimming through their group and interrupted them :)

A very good birding day!

If it ain't broke....

in this case "it" was broke, so i had to fix it....right? I had this little birdhouse outside my door for about 10 years. But lately certain mail carriers were under the impression that it was a mail box. Over the course of the last few months, several mail carriers have attempted to shove my mail in this little box (the front flap USED to flip up). Needless to say, the poor little weather worn box could only take so much.  So when the last person, ripped the lid off and shoved my mail inside....i had to take it down.  Since i had had it so long, i couldn't just throw it away.  the roof was ruined and all the little roof tiles were broken.  So, i nailed the top back on and covered up all the damage. i painted the whole thing white and then added a couple coats of slate green.  I then took some sand paper and distressed it a bit. Originally i was going to add twigs and pine cones in the the attempt to make it look like a bird's nest.  In the end , i had to add some Spanish moss, which meant this little house was now going to reside inside.  I'm OK with that.  I am happy with the end results.  But just because something is 'broken" doesn't mean it can't be remade....

I also decided to "re-make" another item.  Below is a little chest of drawers that were once large matchsticks boxes.  This idea is NOT new and has been around for years, in fact i made one before about 15 years ago, but i must say, i like this one much better.  How could i go wrong with a bird theme? And adding the Tim Holtz drawer pulls, just makes it extra special.  And this little thing, DOES have a purpose, it now houses all my small rubber band/hair tie thingies...

Christmas Eve In San Diego

 

 

 

 

No surprise!  The temp today ranges from 68-78 degrees.  It just doesn't feel Christmas-y, but I can't complain!    I woke up this morning  wanting to see shorebirds.  there are many options here in San Diego, but I chose to go to Crown Point which is on the North end of Mission Bay.  As I arrived I was greeted by this beautiful fellow:

 

Sharp Shinned Hawk

 

With a greeting like this, things could only get better!  And they did.  I saw a beautiful creature that I had never seen before.  And there wasn't just one, but there was about a dozen of them.  They are a winter visitor and I consider myself lucky to have seen them (even if they wouldn't get too close, hence the not so great photos)

 

Brant Goose

 

there is also a common resident here.  Many people don't like Seagulls, but I love them. Any bird that talks as much as they do, are all right in my book!

 

 

I also was able to encounter many a shore bird.  they too are rather skittish and don't allow you to get too close

 

 

 

After my tour of the shore and all the lovely birds, (many of which I saw but could not photograph because they were either too far away or too fast)  I decided to go to Sunset Cliffs in Ocean Beach.

 

 Only in San Diego does Christmas Eve look like this:

 

 

As noted below, the cliffs are not stable and me being me (a class A klutz), I decided to stay a safe distance back.  these little fellows were obviously risk takers!

 

 

as you can see below, this is the area where the poor folk live (yes, that comment is dripping with sarcasm)

 

 

I only live about 10-15 minutes from the beach, but when I go hiking or for a nature walk I always head East towards the mountains. The mountains speak to me, they bring me peace. But I will say after today, I realized there is much more to offer than I thought at the beach.  It's not just lots of people, traffic and nowhere to park (it's those things too) but is also an enormous habit where thousands of creatures live and are meant to be observed and enjoyed.

 

Happy Holidays 2013!