Spring Happenings

Since we've had a dry winter here in San Diego, the spring blooms are not as abundant as usual, but i still have hope, we've received a little rain this past month or so and you know the old saying, 'April showers bring May flowers'.

Flowers or not, the geese at Lindo Lake pay no mind, it is after all that time of year and the geese have paired up and two pairs have actually laid eggs.

Below are the 'confirmed' pairs at Lindo Lake this year (more than any year before)  BUT i will say, just because these little beauties are paired off, doesn't mean they will be nesting.  Some mates are too young to start nesting, but that doesn't stop them from the territorial behaviour.

it's odd to use this photo of Fritz and Fiore while all the others have the males honking and being territorial.  Fritz is the most aggressive of the geese and i have personally witnessed him attack over a dozen people.  the thing is, when he is acting like that it is a wise decision on my part to NOT try to photograph him because if i take my eyes off him for one second, i just might get nipped :)

in this photo Nancy is trying to break the little branch in front of her so she could build up her nest. realizing this would take her a long time (time away from her nest) i chose to take the branch and break it up for her. she politely took the sticks from me and placed them in her nest.

Ruby has chosen a great spot to nest, plenty of coverage and privacy, only problem is, as of yesterday, she still had no eggs.  BUT Fiore was doing the same thing for about 5 days and now the little mama has her own clutch:

It seems each day i arrive at Lindo Lake when Nancy sees me, she honks to Sunshine, stands up, covers her eggs with down and runs over to me for seed.  that just never gets old.

There is however a downside of leaving the nest....down covered feet.

This little Mallard has positioned her nest right near Fritz and Fiore.  I doubt she realized at the time, but that is the safest place to be.  If anyone or anything comes near the area, Fritz chases them off.  She's pretty well hidden, getting a photo of her and her eggs (below) proved to be challenging.

I had to include a photo of these two, whatever Fritz does not eat, they will help themselves to the leftovers.

this photo is not so great, but i had to share it.  this Great Egret was diligently building her nest, all the while displaying her courtship plumage.

These are the first babies of the year.  I think they were born either March 29th or 30th.  I had heard they were around, but i wasn't able to see them until April 2nd.  There is just nothing cuter than a sweet little brood of babies.

Spring Has Officially Arrived

     Have the flowers bloomed?  Is everything green?  No not yet, but Mama Goose Nancy has laid her eggs

there are actually 5 eggs inside those downy feathers and they were a welcome sight today!

Nancy has always been successful with her eggs and goslings (except for the year when her eggs were stolen)  However i was very concerned for her this year. Last May Nancy's mate Sid was killed by two dogs.  He was protecting her and their three babies and for that he lost his life.  It still breaks my heart.  I was worried for her since Canada Geese mate for life.  I was hoping she would find a new mate and reproduce this spring.  and now it has happened.  I  named her mate, Sunshine.  I named him that mainly because when he entered her (and her 3 babies') lives he was their sunshine.  It wasn't just her protecting her offspring, she wasn't alone.  And now that she has laid her eggs, it just warms my heart!

i will be keeping a close eye on her and her progress.  She has chosen a very public place to nest.  i can only hope people will leave her alone and give her the privacy she needs

Since it is spring, the geese have paired off and those that are not mated stay in little groups or wander alone.  I do not like to see a goose alone, they are just not solitary creatures.  But odds are if you see a lone goose, you'll see his friend (or friends) not far away.

This is Ricky.  He saw me and left the lake to greet me.  When the geese come to me of their own free will (meaning i have not taken the seed out yet to coax them) it just makes me smile:

Geese are just not climbers, but watching them navigate the hills, ridges or bumps just makes me smile.

And i will end this post with this Cormorant drying his wings, no more words needed....

I Love Birdhouses

i think i can safely say i have an addiction to birdhouses.  I have them all over my house and often i will recycle one that i already have and maybe just doesn't fit my style anymore.  Case in point, the birdhouse below.  I have had this birdhouse for over ten years, but it used to be dark green.  It just didn't go anymore so painted it several coats of white and let it sit for months.  Then recently i finally found the inspiration and finished it.  And not to sound cocky, but i think i am in love :)

One thing i love about this house is it cost me ZERO dollars to make.  I had everything on hand and just kept adding until i felt it was finished.

I am sorry to say i do not remember where i got those cute little pictures on the house.  I printed them from a website several months ago and rather than guess where they came from, i will just have to say i don't remember :(

i also recently made a little altered art thingy. i would love to say i thought of it all on my own, but i saw a beautiful piece on the blog Stamptramp: 

http://www.bloglovin.com/frame?post=2457352351&group=0&frame_type=a&blog=2412498&link=aHR0cDovL3NoZWxseWhpY2tveC5ibG9nc3BvdC5jb20vMjAxNC8wMy9hcnRpc3QtdHJhZGluZy1ibG9ja3MtZmx5Lmh0bWw&frame=1&click=0&user=0

The moment i saw it, i knew i had to make one of my own (and i just happened to have some wood blocks on hand) this is my first stab at this and i think i will make another one soon. i'm still happy with the end result, but really how can i go wrong with Tim Holtz paper?

One final project i did. I had purchased this wood shadowbox in the 'as is' at Michaels for $1.25.  I decoupaged it with old dictionary pages and there it sat for several weeks.

it still doesn't feel finished, so i may add something, but for now, this is what i have:

i really do wish i could make a living crafting or photographing nature and animals, since i love it so, but for now they will be my most cherished hobbies.

The Gift of Rain

There are several places i need to investigate after the rain we had.  I want to check lake or creek levels and since Lindo Lake was successful, i wanted to check Bernardo Bay today and i was pleased with what mother nature had delivered:
                                     This was just a month ago.

 And here's today!  The photo above was taken in almost the same spot as the picture taken today, but it was taken looking North, while the photo below is taken looking West.  But the area is the same.  And what was near dry and just an inch or so is now full to the shore

  this picture is taken from the rock i always perch on to watch the birds.  The birds were making due with what they had....

But now, it's full!  The shoreline and tree stumps are now submerged.  This was a beautiful sight to see!!

While sitting on my perch today i enjoyed myself watching the Western Grebes.  I love these little birds!  I refer to Bernardo Bay as "the Grebe Factory"  there are hundreds of them there and truth is they are all you can hear when walking around the lake (thankfully, i love their sweet little voices)  I was very fortunate to witness a beautiful scene today.

these two Grebes were engaged in a courting ritual right in from of me.  Prior to this photo (my camera was off and i was so mesmerized, i was afraid to move)  they swam side by side and began to almost peck at one another and then they bowed their heads and did the Rushing Ceremony.  I have witnessed the Rushing Ceremony so many times i lost count.  But they are usually so far away. these two Grebes were right in front of me AND i didn't get a picture, i could kick myself!

After the Rushing Ceremony, they began bowing to one another and then they did this, they were rubbing their beaks together (this is a bad photo, but they had moved further away)

Another bad photo, but the male dove down under water and came back up with what appeared to be weeds/grass, he presented it to his lady and she accepted. I'm pretty sure these two are now mates.  To be a witness to this was a great honor

 these photos were taken several weeks ago, i was able to photograph the Rushing Ceremony, but they were across the lake, hence the bad photos, but I'm glad i got something

this appears to be two males trying to impress that little lady in the water.

i managed to get a decent photo of this Yellow Rumped Warbler.

today was a great birding day.  I also saw two Red Tailed Hawks and a Northern Harrier  try to swoop down and try to grab a duck or coot, but it was a bad day for the raptors, the little waterfowl managed to thwart their attempts. It's amazing all the things you can see and experience....if you just pay attention.

Rain In San Diego....Finally!!

We here in San Diego finally received some much needed rain.  And it was real rain, not the usual "showers" (aka spittle from the sky), but real downpours of rain. It began on Thursday 2/27/14.  I went to Lindo Lake and took the photo below.  I knew the 'real' rain would start on Friday and i wanted a before and after.

So here's the before:

And here's the after. granted the whole lake is not full, but that was not to be expected. but there is quite a bit of water and i must say, when i arrived on Saturday morning most of the waterfowl were here.  You could just tell how happy they were.

  you can see below some of the Canada geese.  to my shock and almost sadness, they did not come to me.  Most looked up and saw me and gave me a honk or two, but did not venture over to me.  I could not begrudge them, you understand. this lake has been bone dry for close to a year, they were enjoying themselves.

 some of the areas were rather shallow, maybe an inch deep, but towards the middle the water was much deeper. Deep enough for all the birds to swim and dive down underneath the water..

 This was such a happy day!  i wish i could attach a soundtrack to these photos.  It was so loud.  The Grackles, the Blackbirds, the Warblers, the Kingbirds, the ducks and the geese all chatting happily

Once i arrived to the other side of the lake my friends came to see me:

i of course thanked them for leaving their 'pool party' to come and see me :)

Mama Goose Nancy

We received more rain on Saturday and a little more on Sunday, so i need to go back to Lindo Lake to check the levels.  The lake is normally full this time of year, but we are in a serious drought right now, so this rainfall was a great thing!  The water level right now is more than little puddles.  Hopefully it will remain until at least the spring.  I saw some little friends on Saturday that i haven't seen for awhile:

the Black Necked Stilts have returned!!

While walking around the lake is started to rain again and when i saw the rain drops on this Canada Goose's back, it just spoke to to me.  There is beauty in all things and if this picture doesn't prove that, i don't know what does....