AKA Bird Nerd

1331 Hooded Oriole

Backyard – Corcoran Lagoon
Santa Cruz, California
May 27, 2017

I’m pretty sure these birds have a nest in the Acacia tree behind my cottage – between my cottage and Corcoran Lagoon. I’ve occasionally seen Hooded Orioles in Santa Cruz during spring. I always seen them in Nov and Dec when I’m down in Cabo San Lucas.

This is the female of this species.

1330 Caspian Tern

Corcoran Lagoon
Santa Cruz, California
May 14, 2017
set of 5

1329 Caspian Tern

Corcoran Lagoon
Santa Cruz, California
May 14, 2017
set of 4

I had a really fun time photographing these Terns as they flew back and forth from lagoon to ocean. I got a little carried away, so I am posting 2 sets of these photographs. Did you know this is the largest of the Tern family? The clouds were in the process of burning off, so some photos show blue skies and others gray.

1328 Bushtit

Pleasure Point
Santa Cruz, California
May 14, 2017
set of 4

This is the same young bird as presented in the last set. The bird on the left is the parent. The bird on the right had already fledged, but stayed in one place for a while because his parents were bringing him food. If you have ever tried to photograph a Bushtit, you know it can be a real challenge. I feel very fortunate that I witnessed this exchange.

1327 Bushtit

Pleasure Point
Santa Cruz, California
May 14, 2017
set of 3

This cute little Bushtit had already fledged, but he wasn’t flitting all over the place like adults because he was waiting for parents to bring him a morsel. I have a second set of this little guy that shows him begging for food.

1326 Wild Turkey

Quail Hollow Ranch County Park
Felton, California
April 27, 2017
set of 4

This was the first time hiking the trails at Quail Hollow. I heard a lot of birds, but didn’t see that many. It was around noon and I think the birds were hunkered down in the shade. I saw a lot of poison oak and a lot of Rattlesnake warnings, but no snake encounters. Yeh!