California: 2-20

Coyote

Drake Mallard in breeding finery (The Mallard is the ancestor of all domestic breeds, except the Muscovy Duck)

Northern Harrier (one of the 25 or so birds on my Top 10 Favorite Bird List): Unusual among hawks, these birds use their sense of hearing to help locate prey.  They have an owl-like facial disc to help with directional hearing and soft feathers for a quieter flight.

Mute Swan

Young Red-shouldered Hawk

 

Southeast Alaska

 

Bubble-net feeding Humpback Whales

                                                  Resting Humpback Whales

Our home away from home, the beautiful Delphinus

Salmon migrating upstream

American Bald Eagles on Merlin Road, Anchorage

 

Our aquarium fish

 

Bariene Tang

                                                Long-spined Sea Urchin

Sandwich Terns at Ft Desoto: 10-15-20

 

                                                                           

• The two subspecies of Sandwich Tern breeding in North America and Eurasia have black bills with yellow tips. A third subspecies known at the "Cayenne Tern" is found in the southern Caribbean and the Atlantic Coast of South America. It has an all yellow bill.

                       

                                          

Deck shots

 

                Pair of Northern Cardinals (Female on the right)

Male Downy Woodpecker (North America's smallest woodpecker)

                              Gaillardia aka Blanket Flower

                                     Red and Blue Water Lilies

Cosumnes River Preserve: 2-20

 

Snow Geese

                                Male Brewer's Blackbird

                           Your trivia for the day: A group of Brewer's Blackbirds is collectively known as a "keg" of blackbirds.

                    Cinnamon Teal (Two males and a single female)

Snake in our driveway

 

Juvenile Southern Black Racer

Met me on my way to get the paper

They wear a beautiful pattern

Shed skin

The juvenile pattern is so different from the black pattern of the adults

The white chin is a helpful field mark

Our state bird is not happy with having a snake in it's territory, perhaps near its nest.