At work the other day I was walking through the mud, it was a cloudy day but it wasn't raining. I looked at my scratched up smart-phone and noticed I had missed a call from my girlfriend. I pressed the button to call her back, and put the phone to my ear. As I was looking up, a flash of movement caught my eye, a huge bird was in the sky above me. It was maybe fifty meters away from me, a Bald Eagle. I don't know if a species name is a proper noun, but I'm alright with having it capitalized.
I don't know if you've seen a Bald Eagle at a close distance before or recently, but that is a big bird. I think of the American Crow as a pretty big bird when compared to birds like the House Finch, or the Barn Swallow; but the Bald Eagle is a really really big bird! It is huge!
So there I was, standing talking to Amber, I quickly told her that I would call her back and hung up. This was too great of an experience for me to miss. It landed out in the middle of the driving range. It actually set its feet down on the ground! This is the very first time that I've ever witnessed a Bald Eagle land on the ground! Aside from that, it was also pretty close to me. I could see it pretty well even without binoculars, which I wished that I would have had. It did a little hop-ish run over to the water, which I found pretty fascinating because I've never seen an eagle run before.
I've seen Red-Tailed Hawks run like that, but a Bald Eagle on the jog had until then eluded my sight. There was a man in a red wind-breaker jacket standing near the concrete path in the grass hitting golf balls out into the field. He stopped when the bird landed. Daniel, a tall guy in a blue sweater stopped his golf-ball-collecting-machine, climbed out of his machine and stood in the field and watched.
The Bald Eagle is a relatively rare bird to me. I don't see them frequently or in great numbers. I have seen videos and heard talk of places where such birds congregate in numbers; but I've never been there. This experience was wonderful one. I was so happy after I saw that bird. Unfortunately my camera-phone didn't save the one pretty-bad photo that I did take, I'm pretty sure it wasn't user malfunction.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The swan
During my second excursion into the city with my rag-tag band of adventurers, we found ourselves somewhere known as "The Exploratorium". Leah, Margret, Long-Jimmy and I. It was this huge megalithic structure built in the style of ancient Greece with massive pillars standing dozens of feet tall. Perhaps five stories? I don't know. They were huge though, and quite imposing.
To some people this may not sound so thrilling, but to me it was great. Chilling out in the shade of these huge stone slabs, was an immense white swan. I think it was a Mute Swan, because it made no sounds but it could have just been a 'pretty quiet trumpeter swan', regardless, that was the hugest bird I've seen in a long time. Not counting ostriches (I may have seen them at the zoo) or Emus (same as ostriches) that was probably the largest bird I'll lay eyes on for a while.
Aside from swangantua, there were also some turtles living in the same water. I've lived 25 years, and never before had I ever seen a wild turtle. It was very awesome to me, I was totally okay with seeing living turtles, and I was even more okay with seeing a tiny baby turtle chilling on a rock only a few moments later. Within a 10 minute span, I saw turtles and a freakin' huge swan. It was excellent.
I didn't mention it in the entry about the parrots, but I also for the first time saw what I believe was a Clark's Grebe. I saw another one or two of them that day. It all made me very giddy and happy. Another bird to add to my list was a mysterious white crane, which was too far away to identify. I saw three different instances of a white crane, all within 5 miles of each other, so it is entirely possible that I saw the same bird three times. I could have seen one twice, and one once, or even simply three separate birds. I don't know if they have a population of white cranes in San Fran, but I do know they have at least one, though to be more geographically correct I saw the white crane in Burlingame.
To some people this may not sound so thrilling, but to me it was great. Chilling out in the shade of these huge stone slabs, was an immense white swan. I think it was a Mute Swan, because it made no sounds but it could have just been a 'pretty quiet trumpeter swan', regardless, that was the hugest bird I've seen in a long time. Not counting ostriches (I may have seen them at the zoo) or Emus (same as ostriches) that was probably the largest bird I'll lay eyes on for a while.
Aside from swangantua, there were also some turtles living in the same water. I've lived 25 years, and never before had I ever seen a wild turtle. It was very awesome to me, I was totally okay with seeing living turtles, and I was even more okay with seeing a tiny baby turtle chilling on a rock only a few moments later. Within a 10 minute span, I saw turtles and a freakin' huge swan. It was excellent.
I didn't mention it in the entry about the parrots, but I also for the first time saw what I believe was a Clark's Grebe. I saw another one or two of them that day. It all made me very giddy and happy. Another bird to add to my list was a mysterious white crane, which was too far away to identify. I saw three different instances of a white crane, all within 5 miles of each other, so it is entirely possible that I saw the same bird three times. I could have seen one twice, and one once, or even simply three separate birds. I don't know if they have a population of white cranes in San Fran, but I do know they have at least one, though to be more geographically correct I saw the white crane in Burlingame.
The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
With the Psych/Soc club at SPSCC, I went to San Francisco, Ca, from Apr 25-29. During that time I went on some amazing walks through a beautiful city and got completely smashed as well as very entirely hung-over. Aside from all of that there were a couple of instances which I will share. One of which is an experience which has a documentary about it.
There is a population of wild parrots living on Telegraph Hill, somewhere in that huge city, near Coit tower. I had no idea that I'd actually be seing living real life wild parrots, but there they were. Too far away for us to view easily, it took a good deal of staring at trees before we spotted them. A small flock of them flew over-head, and to my giddy joy, they weren't squawking parrots, they were chattering and laughing parrots. Perhaps other people may not describe their sound as laughter, but this guy does. Me.
Thinking back on that day, it was pretty amazing to see those birds flying around together. I remember wishing that I could just fly up and join with their party. They must have been having a good time up there, riding those breezes. I was and still am totally jealous. In fact, the 'me' that is writing this is jealous of the 'me' that is back in the past seeing those birds with wild-parrot-virgin-eyes. He is a lucky 'me', that bastard.
There is a population of wild parrots living on Telegraph Hill, somewhere in that huge city, near Coit tower. I had no idea that I'd actually be seing living real life wild parrots, but there they were. Too far away for us to view easily, it took a good deal of staring at trees before we spotted them. A small flock of them flew over-head, and to my giddy joy, they weren't squawking parrots, they were chattering and laughing parrots. Perhaps other people may not describe their sound as laughter, but this guy does. Me.
Thinking back on that day, it was pretty amazing to see those birds flying around together. I remember wishing that I could just fly up and join with their party. They must have been having a good time up there, riding those breezes. I was and still am totally jealous. In fact, the 'me' that is writing this is jealous of the 'me' that is back in the past seeing those birds with wild-parrot-virgin-eyes. He is a lucky 'me', that bastard.
Eagle vs Hawk
I was at work not so long ago driving around in one of the many
cool machines which we have in our fleet in the shop. I was on the
thirteenth hole on the golf course, near the sand bunker. I stopped to
pee in the bushes and was getting back into the driver's position when
my bird-sense went off and I looked up. Perhaps 45 feet up in the air,
at most 60 feet away from me, there was a rather large Bald Eagle flying
by.
I grabbed out my binoculars, and leapt out of the cart. I zeroed in on it. It was flying away from me, but it was still close enough to still be huge in the lenses. Out of the right side of my vision a red-tailed hawk swooped in on the offensive. I was in disbelief, I never imagined I'd see such a sight in person but here it was. The two of them were in a dog fight and I had the only eyes on the action.
It ended rather abruptly as they went behind some trees. My vehicle was not nearly fast enough for me to have jumped in and followed them but I wasn't upset. Bird watching seems to be made up of random instances great activity with huge lengths of bland birding. I must say though, that at my job there are so many birds around that I always have something to watch, and I am also very easily amused so even seeing an American robin running around with a worm in its beak gives me a smile and a chuckle.
I grabbed out my binoculars, and leapt out of the cart. I zeroed in on it. It was flying away from me, but it was still close enough to still be huge in the lenses. Out of the right side of my vision a red-tailed hawk swooped in on the offensive. I was in disbelief, I never imagined I'd see such a sight in person but here it was. The two of them were in a dog fight and I had the only eyes on the action.
It ended rather abruptly as they went behind some trees. My vehicle was not nearly fast enough for me to have jumped in and followed them but I wasn't upset. Bird watching seems to be made up of random instances great activity with huge lengths of bland birding. I must say though, that at my job there are so many birds around that I always have something to watch, and I am also very easily amused so even seeing an American robin running around with a worm in its beak gives me a smile and a chuckle.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Ka-Kawww!
So its been some time since I reported to all of you (my target audience) about my observations in the world of birds. For a while things were slow, what with winter, and unemployment, sitting inside on my ass and/or going to school. For a while all i would see were crows and ducks. Mallards, Mergansers and not much more, but now I'm back at the golf course, and in the few weeks I've been there, I've already seen quite a bit. I'll need to update later with some stories. I've got some good ones. I'll keep you posted.
Friday, January 13, 2012
The Birds
I watched Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds". I liked it. I'll never look at sea gulls the same way ever again after watching it, though I still love them. I think their caws sound so happy and carefree. They have all the garbage they could ever want, what great lives they must have.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Caw Caw Caw
I see crows a lot. They really are everywhere you go. Anywhere you look there's a crow, and usually when there is one crow there is a second crow. I'd think a crow would be a big enough bird to survive on its own, but I guess they are social. I wonder if they always stay with the same crow, like they have one best crow buddy, or if they have several different crow pals they pal around with.
What about when they fly together with a huge number of other crows. Do you think they often lose sight of a cherished best crow friend, or fall out of touch with a trusted crow colleague? It's kind of a sad thought. Or maybe they simply don't care, and will party up with any crow of similar level. Perhaps they have some way of measuring their own rank compared to that of another crow, and that's how they decide who to join forces with.
I wonder if the crow duos are often mated pairs. Or always mated pairs. If so I think its cute that they go out together so often. They go everywhere together I bet.
Hmmm... Crows.
What about when they fly together with a huge number of other crows. Do you think they often lose sight of a cherished best crow friend, or fall out of touch with a trusted crow colleague? It's kind of a sad thought. Or maybe they simply don't care, and will party up with any crow of similar level. Perhaps they have some way of measuring their own rank compared to that of another crow, and that's how they decide who to join forces with.
I wonder if the crow duos are often mated pairs. Or always mated pairs. If so I think its cute that they go out together so often. They go everywhere together I bet.
Hmmm... Crows.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Pink Friday
An old friend of mine, Allison Borngesser came into town for Thanks Giving Day. She got in touch with me on ye olde internet, and said that we should hang out. The day of the hang out, was today. Black Friday. She sent me a text message saying her arrival would be within the next ten minutes. So I prepare, and am standing on my porch waiting for her for a few.
I went back inside, and got a text from her saying that she had arrived, and so I walked back outside. I looked over the edge of the balcony to see if that was her car below me, and suddenly right in front of my face, a green humming bird with a pink head appears. It just floats there, in the air, looking right at me. Now I dyed my hair red for the first time ever about a week ago, and its already starting to fade and it looks more pink than red. (at least it does to me)
So this little pink headed dude flaps right up to me, maybe 3 feet away and just checks me out, then flits away at sub-sonic speeds. I don't think I've ever been that close to a humming bird, let alone one that had the same hair colour as me. It was awesome.
Cute little dudes.
I went back inside, and got a text from her saying that she had arrived, and so I walked back outside. I looked over the edge of the balcony to see if that was her car below me, and suddenly right in front of my face, a green humming bird with a pink head appears. It just floats there, in the air, looking right at me. Now I dyed my hair red for the first time ever about a week ago, and its already starting to fade and it looks more pink than red. (at least it does to me)
So this little pink headed dude flaps right up to me, maybe 3 feet away and just checks me out, then flits away at sub-sonic speeds. I don't think I've ever been that close to a humming bird, let alone one that had the same hair colour as me. It was awesome.
Cute little dudes.
Monday, November 21, 2011
That Pond
The next day, I went back to that pond, completely forgetting my binoculars. I'm good at that. And I took a peak at the ducks which have taken up residence. After my bit of research from the day before, I had no problem at all Identifying them as the Hooded Merganser.
Today, I walked by the pond again and stopped to take a peak at them. There are 4, two male and two female. There is one who looks bigger than the other, and he swam in the front of the other three who followed behind him closely. Perhaps he is the best at finding food? Perhaps he is just their leader and there is safety in numbers. I for one do not know.
I like their narrow beaks, and their cool mohawk head shapes. It seems this may be the winter of taking what I can get in regards to birding activity.
Today, I walked by the pond again and stopped to take a peak at them. There are 4, two male and two female. There is one who looks bigger than the other, and he swam in the front of the other three who followed behind him closely. Perhaps he is the best at finding food? Perhaps he is just their leader and there is safety in numbers. I for one do not know.
I like their narrow beaks, and their cool mohawk head shapes. It seems this may be the winter of taking what I can get in regards to birding activity.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Ducks, and so much more.
My summer is over, but my birding must continue. I no longer work at the golf-course, and so my exposure to the bird life in the area is drastically diminished. I'm now a full time college student. Between classes I walk by a pond, and there are white faced ducks in it. I haven't taken the time as of yet to look them up, I seem to be bored by ducks; but I'll take that time right now to pick up my wonderful Stokes Field Guide to Birds $17.99 well spent at your local bookstore and learn about the white faced ducks which live in the pond at my college.
After about fifteen minutes of looking at info in my field manuals I can safely say the d-d-ducks i'm d-d-dealing with are either Buffleheads, or Hooded Mergansers. I don't have class today otherwise I'd find out today, but tomorrow I'll take my binoculars with me when I go to math so that I can look. Perhaps having access to only ducks will give me an appreciation of them that I currently lack. To me they've always been, "Just ducks." or "Just geese" but they're pretty interesting if I stop to think about them. Each bird is a meal, and they fly en masse and land on frozen ponds, eventually finding warmer climate. I'd say that's a pretty flimsy description of ducks and geese at best, but I'll work with it.
One thing I miss most other than the Red-Tailed hawks, is the King-Fishers. On a doorway in the hall where my math class resides, is a poster of a king fisher, and an owl. I look at it every day and it makes me think back to the days when I observed the king fishers at the golf course.
They were always the hardest to see, because of their dark colors and my poor eyesight. Even if I could see one through my binoculars, they would still be hard to see clearly. And I could never get very close because they're skittish. Any time I'd get within 100 meters of one it would just fly away, beat wing like mad and am-scray.
I'm sad that I never got to see one of them dive for food. Never once. I did get to see one of the great blue herons on many occasion scooping eating fish, or bugs, or frogs. Every day toward the end of my summer the heron was everywhere. He was at every water trap before we could get there, and he'd be at the next one the next thing you knew.
One thing I realize I never got to exerience was 'the Beaver'. According to Jeff, the Beaver was the size of a bear, and it looked like 'a huge walking mole mound'. I never once got to see it, and I know little about beavers so I don't know when they're usually most active. Perhaps if I work there again next year I'll get to see the mammoth beaver.
After about fifteen minutes of looking at info in my field manuals I can safely say the d-d-ducks i'm d-d-dealing with are either Buffleheads, or Hooded Mergansers. I don't have class today otherwise I'd find out today, but tomorrow I'll take my binoculars with me when I go to math so that I can look. Perhaps having access to only ducks will give me an appreciation of them that I currently lack. To me they've always been, "Just ducks." or "Just geese" but they're pretty interesting if I stop to think about them. Each bird is a meal, and they fly en masse and land on frozen ponds, eventually finding warmer climate. I'd say that's a pretty flimsy description of ducks and geese at best, but I'll work with it.
One thing I miss most other than the Red-Tailed hawks, is the King-Fishers. On a doorway in the hall where my math class resides, is a poster of a king fisher, and an owl. I look at it every day and it makes me think back to the days when I observed the king fishers at the golf course.
They were always the hardest to see, because of their dark colors and my poor eyesight. Even if I could see one through my binoculars, they would still be hard to see clearly. And I could never get very close because they're skittish. Any time I'd get within 100 meters of one it would just fly away, beat wing like mad and am-scray.
I'm sad that I never got to see one of them dive for food. Never once. I did get to see one of the great blue herons on many occasion scooping eating fish, or bugs, or frogs. Every day toward the end of my summer the heron was everywhere. He was at every water trap before we could get there, and he'd be at the next one the next thing you knew.
One thing I realize I never got to exerience was 'the Beaver'. According to Jeff, the Beaver was the size of a bear, and it looked like 'a huge walking mole mound'. I never once got to see it, and I know little about beavers so I don't know when they're usually most active. Perhaps if I work there again next year I'll get to see the mammoth beaver.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
The Stellar's Jay
Today I was in the park with amber and I saw a Stellar's Jay eating an acorn. He snagged it up and flew up to a higher branch to eat it. He held the acorn down with his foot, then pecked at it and gobbled it up. It was pretty awesome to see it. I don't see them around where I live or work very often, so it was a good treat for me.
Friday, October 14, 2011
I'm falling way behind here. I saw a king fisher by my house the other day. I absolutely did not expect to see one and there it was. We have a couple of new birds at the golf course, but they fly off before I ever get the opportunity to see them clearly.
Unrelated to birds, (well, directly) the caterpillars are out in full force now adays. I notice they like to come out with the sun, but I'll see them all morning. Fuzzy orange and black ones. It makes me sad when I see them squished on the cart path.
Unrelated to birds, (well, directly) the caterpillars are out in full force now adays. I notice they like to come out with the sun, but I'll see them all morning. Fuzzy orange and black ones. It makes me sad when I see them squished on the cart path.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Woops
So it has been a while since I've updated my page. I'll share some of the things which have happened to me since my last updage.
Amber and I were walking to the park, to play ukulele and spend time together, and an owl flew directly overhead. I've lived in the west Olympia area for years, and I've never had an owl fly over me. It was a great moment for me, Amber laughed at how excited I got over that. Sadly it was too dark for me to be able to see what kind it was. Those tricky owls.
A different day, at work I saw these little red-faced birds. I think they were House-finches. They were pretty adorable. I saw them and then they flew away immediately, so I was unable to ovserve its behavior.
The Osprey are gone. This makes me sad. I look every day at their nest to see if I spot one standing there on the branch, but they're gone. Hopefully I'll see them again some day, but I doubt it. They are on to bigger and better things. I'm sad to see them go, but I'm happy that I got to observe them this summer. They are really cool birds and I loved watching them.
The Red-tailed hawks are still around, but they have been off doing their own thing, and not following me around as much as they used too. There was a couple of times where they followed me around on my mower from area to area. Maybe it was just coincidence, but I'd like to think they are my pals. I'm sure I'll see more of them before the end of the summer.
Today I was riding my bike to Jon's house and I saw a pair of Stellar's Jays hanging out by The Peace Tree. (The Peace Tree is a neat creation located on a bike trail on the west side of Olympia. People put poems there, and art and other random things.) It was cool. One of them had Three spikes in its crest. The other was smaller, and had a less pronounced crest.
There have been a whole lot of Killdeer on the golf course lately. There are less American Robins, but the Killdeer are out in full force. It is almost as if they recruited reinforcements. They are adorable birds with snow white bellies. And they peep. I call them Peepers.
We also have been over run by Canada geese. There was one with a broken leg, I was going to catch him, but my boss told me that we should just let nature take its course. Whether it is still alive and shambling (like me), or dead in the gut of the coyote pack I don't know. I do know that at the end of the year if we don't get the geese to move on, someone from the city will kill them, and so we are trying to scare them away. I take every chance I see to drive a golf cart through their gatherings and scare them away. It's cool to watch them all take off and fly away as a unit.
Amber and I were walking to the park, to play ukulele and spend time together, and an owl flew directly overhead. I've lived in the west Olympia area for years, and I've never had an owl fly over me. It was a great moment for me, Amber laughed at how excited I got over that. Sadly it was too dark for me to be able to see what kind it was. Those tricky owls.
A different day, at work I saw these little red-faced birds. I think they were House-finches. They were pretty adorable. I saw them and then they flew away immediately, so I was unable to ovserve its behavior.
The Osprey are gone. This makes me sad. I look every day at their nest to see if I spot one standing there on the branch, but they're gone. Hopefully I'll see them again some day, but I doubt it. They are on to bigger and better things. I'm sad to see them go, but I'm happy that I got to observe them this summer. They are really cool birds and I loved watching them.
The Red-tailed hawks are still around, but they have been off doing their own thing, and not following me around as much as they used too. There was a couple of times where they followed me around on my mower from area to area. Maybe it was just coincidence, but I'd like to think they are my pals. I'm sure I'll see more of them before the end of the summer.
Today I was riding my bike to Jon's house and I saw a pair of Stellar's Jays hanging out by The Peace Tree. (The Peace Tree is a neat creation located on a bike trail on the west side of Olympia. People put poems there, and art and other random things.) It was cool. One of them had Three spikes in its crest. The other was smaller, and had a less pronounced crest.
There have been a whole lot of Killdeer on the golf course lately. There are less American Robins, but the Killdeer are out in full force. It is almost as if they recruited reinforcements. They are adorable birds with snow white bellies. And they peep. I call them Peepers.
We also have been over run by Canada geese. There was one with a broken leg, I was going to catch him, but my boss told me that we should just let nature take its course. Whether it is still alive and shambling (like me), or dead in the gut of the coyote pack I don't know. I do know that at the end of the year if we don't get the geese to move on, someone from the city will kill them, and so we are trying to scare them away. I take every chance I see to drive a golf cart through their gatherings and scare them away. It's cool to watch them all take off and fly away as a unit.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Bay Center
So one of my oldest and most trusted friends Steven was married last weekend, and I was his best man. I wasn't the best best man in history, but I did what I could to help him out, and show him a good night. Secretly I called it his sending off party. When we got to the site of the wedding, I was checking out the scenery. I forgot my good ol' binoculars back in Olympia, so I unfortunately didn't get to thoroughly investigate what I saw, but I did see something cool. I saw perhaps a dozen, maybe even more Great Blue Herons. They were everywhere. As I walked out to the back of the yard in which the wedding was being held, I saw three big herons looking for food down in the marsh below. They all three flew away as soon as I got to the edge of the embankment. It was a sight.
I spent the rest of the day pointing out the herons to the little kid Aiden who became my friend over the weekend. I hope I taught him something. He taught me something, I have more stamina than a 5 year old, if nothing else that makes me feel young.
I spent the rest of the day pointing out the herons to the little kid Aiden who became my friend over the weekend. I hope I taught him something. He taught me something, I have more stamina than a 5 year old, if nothing else that makes me feel young.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Crows!
I was sitting on Jon's back porch with Amber and Josh, and we saw a huge group of crows flying into the setting sun. It must have been a murder of crows. I'm honestly not sure how many crows constitutes a murder, but there were at least fifty crows. It was really cool to see that many. Unfortunately I did not have my binoculars to get a closer look, but I didn't really need it. They were all just hauling ass to the west.
Friday, July 29, 2011
The Beginning
About a month ago, I started a new job at the golf course near my house. I'm out working on the course by 5:15 typically, and off work by 1:30, except for weekends, when I'm off by 9. In the mornings there is lots of bird activity, and being around it I began noticing how cool and fun it was to see what they are doing. We have two, maybe three Red-Tailed Hawks, and a similar number of Osprey, though I can only confirm two. They are truly magnificent birds.
My mom gave me a pair of old binoculars through which to observe the birds, but they were a cheap pair, not worth the metal and lens they were made of. With that in mind I shambled over to Big 5 and picked up a pair of their old display binoculars, which I though were better than any of the other ones, they just don't have any accessories, and I'm totally ok with that.
In the week since I got those binoculars I have seen some really awesome activity. Yesterday I watched a Red-Tail scratch his face on a branch, and then jump to a branch which he thought was sturdy, but was actually just a dead branch which fell and got caught, so when he landed on it, he and it fell out of the tree. He opened his wings after falling maybe five or six fight, and passed directly over my head, perhaps seven feet above. I had a good laugh.
My mom gave me a pair of old binoculars through which to observe the birds, but they were a cheap pair, not worth the metal and lens they were made of. With that in mind I shambled over to Big 5 and picked up a pair of their old display binoculars, which I though were better than any of the other ones, they just don't have any accessories, and I'm totally ok with that.
In the week since I got those binoculars I have seen some really awesome activity. Yesterday I watched a Red-Tail scratch his face on a branch, and then jump to a branch which he thought was sturdy, but was actually just a dead branch which fell and got caught, so when he landed on it, he and it fell out of the tree. He opened his wings after falling maybe five or six fight, and passed directly over my head, perhaps seven feet above. I had a good laugh.
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