Friday psittacine blogging

Forgot to post this earlier.

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Friday featherblogging

Because of their innate foraging capabilities, parrots are fascinated by texture changes, imperfections, holes, knots, bumps, etc.  All such things must be closely examined with the beak and/or tongue.  The seam in this denim shirt could possibly be exploited to yield fruit or a nut, or at the very least, some buttons to destroy.

Friday psittacine blogging: shadows and light

GBBC. Get outside and make a difference

Valentines, shmalentines! Do something that really matters - take part in the upcoming Great Backyard Bird Count, sponsored by Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society.
The count dates are February 15–18, as in this upcoming Friday through Monday.
Anybody can do it. You don’t have to be an expert, you can do [...]

Friday multi-species household blogging

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Cat outside meowing, CHECK
2nd cat, inside, meowing, CHECK
Dog glurping from nearby water bowl, CHECK
Dog snuffling wet nose in my face, CHECK
Parrot loudly riffing, CHECK
More dog glurping, CHECK.   Mmmmm, water
I love how Alfie can see me, but goes [...]

I can’t believe

There was no love for the roadrunner.
I know the photo wasn’t that great but damn, that’s an amazing creature.

Geococcyx californianus, aka Badass!

It’s a difficult, and ultimately pointless, exercise to pick a favorite from the local avian wildlife but I will say I’m awfully fond of the roadrunner. Look at him! Isn’t he a magnificent creature?
As some of you may know, roadrunners are in the cuckoo family. The Peterson’s entry begins thusly:
The cuckoo that [...]

Caracara

Caracara cheriway, just past the Onion Creek low-water crossing on Highway 150 near Driftwood.

My first Summer Tanager

Not a great photo but the best of what I managed after I realized “Whoah. That’s not a cardinal” and before he flew away. These little dandies summer up here and winter in Central and South America.  Interesting: Summer Tanagers are the only entirely red bird in North America. Taken at  Freeman Ranch.

Sunday buzzard blogging

Coragyps atratus, aka Black Vulture. Black vultures, along with the red-headed Turkey Vultures, make up the ”buzzard” collective around these parts. To say they are plentiful is an understatement; they are in fact, legion, and it’s not uncommon to hear people complain about them. Not me: buzzard job #1 is eating dead [...]