San Diego impressions

Last week, I drove down to San Diego to meet a friend, who flew there from Canada. The detailed impressions are on my other blog, here are just some nature photos.



Cliffs at Point Loma. Not surprisingly, the place is called Sunset Cliffs Park.


A cormorant colony on a large rock by the cliffs. The white color of the rock is mainly due to their, ahem, by-products.




A view at the same rock with wide lens.


A fox squirrel in Balboa park feasting on a piece of apple I gave him.


Once my friend got busy with her conference, I took off and drove South to where the map said was a wildlife preserve called Chula Vista. Spent the whole day there, wandered around, almost got locked up inside the premises... it was fun! They have some really amazing representatives of the disappearing local wildlife. Of course, I would be much happier if these animals were actually roaming free in large numbers, but with coastal wetlands being developed, their habitat is shrinking and one by one the species end up on the endangered list.

Here is the oystercatcher doing a hokey-pokey. You put your left foot in, you put your left foot out...



Cooper's hawk eyeing me suspiciously...


This mockingbird just didn't know what to do with his huge trophy. He was running around this little roof, trying to find a place to eat his meal in peace.



Cottontails abounded on the grounds of the preserve. There were so many of them! I just hoped there were also enough hawks and foxes to keep the population in check.


These are not a mom and a baby - bugs don't have that. Just two stages of the same species, one immature and the other fully grown.


Argiope spider. These abound in Mexico, but I didn't expect to find one so far north.

But wait, there is more!

After Roxy and I left the Zoo (see the previous post) we didn't go straight home, as one would expect from two very tired people. Instead we decided to catch the nice evening light and do some wildlife exploring at the nearby creek. The place is teeming with life, especially birds - it's a birdwatcher's paradise.

There are at least 6 different kind of birds in this photo - can you name them all?


Well, how many did you get? The black skimmers seem to be the largest group, but there are also gulls, Brant geese and snowy egrets mixed with them, and there is a brown pelican and a few mallards swimming in the background.

Here are the skimmers up close. I still can't get over the strange appearance of these birds.


They may look awkward on the ground, especially those weird beaks, but in flight it all starts making sense and all features appear to be perfectly functional.


This anxious little bird is a killdeer. It spotted us coming from the bush where it was hiding, and jumped out of it, chirping, as if it was trying to get our attention.



The bird seemed unafraid of us; at least it was not running away - just standing there chirping, but as we came closer to the bush, it started doing some strange things on the ground. This was, in fact, quite a textbook behavior - the bird was feigning injury to draw us away from the bush, where it had its nest. "Look at me, I am an easy prey with a broken wing and all"...


We did find the nest with four pretty little eggs in it, after which we quietly went away, pretending we fell for the trick.


Here is a black-crowned night heron giving a speech.

Santa Barbara Zoo

Santa Barbara Zoo was one of those places I always wanted to go and never got around to. Driving along the Cabrillo road, I often saw the giraffes from behind the hedge and wondered about the Zoo, but somehow we always seemed to have other agenda. This May they had a new California Condor exhibit opened, and that decided it: we had to go. So, last Saturday Roxy and I hit the road early in the morning and got to the Zoo just as it opened. Spent the whole day there, couldn't walk very well the next day, but boy, was it fun! Though SB Zoo is smaller than the LA one, it has got some animals we don't have here, and it is very nice, clean and fun. Here are just a few photos to give you an idea.

Amur Leopards were snoozing when we first passed by their cage.



We went back after a while, and they were up and pacing, so I was able to get a few mug shots through the glass.



A serene little pond right in the middle of the Zoo...



Toucan... the oversized plastic-looking beak seems like an overkill for the small pieces he was eating.


Titi monkeys - mama and the baby. It was fun watching them - a typical curious toddler and an anxious mom trying to keep him close.


Humboldt penguins... There was a whole lot of them and they were having fun chasing each other through water, doing some spectacular jumps out of the water, grooming each other, waddling around, trumpeting... I think we spent 1/2 hour just watching them.



Scarlet macaws in the aviary.



Blue-and-gold macaw - the Zoo's welcoming committee. His enclosure is near the entrance and he is all smiles, talking, bowing, even doing a little dance for the guests.

There are a lot more interesting and rare animals at SB Zoo - well worth the visit and the drive. Plus, it's not as hot as the LA Zoo - an added benefit.

The bugs that are not

This is NOT a butterfly, it's a threadwing, and it's related to ant lions and lacewings. Most of you will probably never see one: it's endemic to Southern Caucasis region.


This is NOT a stretched-out ladybug, but a totally different beetle, called blister beetle.


NOT a bear. A very large (size of your palm) moth.



NOT you garden variety tiger swallowtail, but the endangered European counterpart.



NOT a ritual mask from a Japanese kabuki theater. Just a juvenile assassin bug.

Portraits

Another photoshoot, this time at LA Zoo. Mainly portraits.

This is done with Canon S3IS compact. Once my new dSLR arrives, I will try to shoot similar photos again and compare the quality.


For now, let's see how well you know zoology. How many of these can you identify before looking at the tags?

Red crowned mangabey female deep in thought over some food.


Crowned crane looks exhaused by the incessant noise made by flamingo chicks nearby.


Indian rhino enjoying some tree bark.


Ring-tail lemur meditating at a sunny spot.


Um... unknown species, gotta look this one up!


Gerenuk: "I am all ears".


Young male tiger, making noise like young males are wont to do.


Cape vulture giving me a distrustful look.

A face only a mother can love - cape vulture chick.


A non-resident house finch at a bird feeder.


White-faced whistling duck standing watch over the nest.

Gorilla - pretty much laughing at us...

Chimpansees engaged in a girly chat.

The buzzing fluff

Hummingbirds are amazing creatures. Heard that one before, right? Well, so have I, but I just can't get over it. The smallest of all birds, some smaller than the eye (or the brain) of an ostrich, they are nothing but a bunch of fluff with a needle-like beak - but with what an attitude! What amazing agility! And how beautiful they are - all colorful, with gorgeous iridescent feathers that change colors as they fly. I have been fascinated by them ever since I came to California and discovered the abundance of those little buzzers here.

Did you know a hummingbird can flap its wings 200 times per second, can hover in one place and - the only one of all birds - can fly backwards?!

Here are some of the recent hummingbird pictures I took. Only a week ago they were happily feeding and chirping in the trees. Today they were already flying in pairs and buzzing angrily if any strangers came close to their territory. Must be spring - nest-building time.

On this picture of Allen's hummingbird, you can't really see the colorful neck. Then the bird moves an inch, the sun hits the feathers differently, and...

voila! the red necktie!


This little guy was trying to intimidate me by flying straight overhead or hovering in the air right in front of my face! After which, with a victorious air he would return to his perch on the cactus branch. I wonder if his missus was building a nest somewhere nearby...



Here are some older pictures; I took them years ago and they have been posted on a photo website.

This guy literally flew into my picture - I was actually trying to shoot a bee...


This silly couple of Anna's hummingbirds built their nest in a tree inside a parking lot. I watched them for a few days and took some photos, hoping to see the young ones soon, but sadly the nest got blown off by a strong wind one day...


This not-so-quality picture is Costa's hummingbird, a different species I found in San Diego.

That's all, and happy Valentine's Day to everyone who cares.