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Feelin' Blue - Judith Sparhawk

This image is another from the camera club exercise of In Camera Motion shooting. This began as a vase of flowers shot at one-half second, with movement. I changed the colors into the blues, just for a different look. 6/7/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Just For Fun - Judith Spahawk

I just got back from a local camera club meeting, where the presentation was about photographing abstracts. One small part of the talk was about in-camera motion photography, after which we had a few minutes to practice the technique, with a few options for what to photograph. This was one of mine, which started out as a vase of flowers, and afterwards reminded me of a watercolor painting. I'm not sure I would use this a lot, but it was fun, and I did like some of the end results. 6/6/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Dancing Black-necked Stilt - Judith Sparhawk

While birding down at Salon Sea, I saw plenty of these Black-necked Stilts. This one, however, was acting very differently from most of them--he was flapping his wings, calling out quite loudly, and putting on quite a show. This display went on and on--I'm not sure if it was a mating display of some kind, or if it was the stilt version of the "broken wing" action that kildeers do to distract predators from their nests and eggs. Whatever it was, it was interesting to watch and wonder... 6/5/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Mission Accomplished - Judith Sparhawk

This is the last Burrowing Owl shots, at least for now. Although not my favorite, I wanted to show the exact moment when Momma fed the yummy insect directly to baby. The transfer of food was very quick--I tried several times to capture it. I was lucky to have found a very hungry baby and a very skilled hunter mom, to get the chance to see and capture it. 6/4/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Fast Food Breakfast - Judith Sparhawk

Another in the Burrowing Owl series. In this one Momma owl had just flown in from foraging for food, with a large insect for baby owl. Don't worry only one more shot in this series. Photographed near Salton Sea, California. 6/3/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Breakfast Time! - Judith Sparhawk

This is the Momma Owl from yesterday's post, having gone out foraging for food for the young owl, returning with this yummy morsel. I saw this behavior at least 10 times as I watched. I love Burrowing Owls--they are so much fun to watch. 6/2/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Breakfast for Baby - Judith Sparhawk

I missed posting yesterday because I had a 3 am alarm for an early start for a birding trip down to Salton Sea. I managed to add 4 birds to my year list. My favorite part of the trip was the many Burrowing Owls I saw, some of which I was able to photograph. This one is of a mother and "kid" owl at the nest burrow. I used my car as a blind, and watched these two for quite a long time. (I was parked across an irrigation ditch, far enough away that they didn't seem to be bothered by my presence.) While I watched, the mother flew off many times, returning soon with large insects--grasshoppers or some type of cricket, which she fed to the almost-grown owlet. In this shot she has one of the crickets in her beak, about to feed it to her young. I took quite a lot of shots, and I'll try not to bore you with them, but you may be seeing more of these very cute owls. 6/1/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

The Real Thing - Judith Sparhawk

Dipping back into the Texas trip photos, this is a Muscovy Duck, photographed at Bravo Park in Zapata, Texas. This is an example of the actual wild Muscovy, unlike the domestic varieties found in our usual parks. I was very happy to see this one, as they are not usually easy to find--note the all-dark plumage, striped bill, and only minimal red skin patches on the face. Only when it flies are its large white wing patches visible. 5/30/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Song Sparrow

While hiking in San Timoteo Canyon the other day, I swear there were about a zillion Song Sparrows, all singing along the trail. Many of them I couldn't see in the dense foliate, but this one perched right up there to say hello. 5/29/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Spider on Duty - Judith Sparhawk

One of the spider webs I photographed at Estero Llano Grande State Park, Texas. Despite the blue sky, there was a low fog coming off the wetlands, creating the fine droplets on the web. 5/28/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Nuttall's Woodpecker - Judith Sparhawk

This woodpecker was photographed at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve, Morongo Valley, California. This one is a young male, based on his red forehead patch. As he matures, the red will move to the crown and back of the head, an interesting change over time. A female would have no red patch at all. 5/27/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Ladybug Comes to Call - Judith Sparhawk

While hiking in San Timoteo Canyon the other day, I found a cactus plant with a few last-of-season flowers, being visited by several ladybugs. This one crawled up to say "Hi there". 5/26/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Hooded Oriole - Judith Sparhawk

I went out birding yesterday at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve. I saw several Hooded Orioles there, including about 4 young males. This adult male was perched high up in a tree so I got several shots of him. 5/25/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

California Gold - Judith Sparhawk

I was hiking in San Timoteo Canyon recently. The green hillsides all the extra winter rains are now gone, replaced by an amazing array of yellow wildflowers. Birds were singing everywhere and I spotted ladybugs and butterflies. Ah, spring! 5/24/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

The Baby Bunny - Judith Sparhawk

When I was hiking in San Timoteo Canyon the other day, I saw this little baby bunny, quite young, only about 6 or 7 inches high. I grabbed a few quick shots of this little cutie, and put them together, just for fun. 5/23/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

The Stagecoach Ride - Judith Sparhawk

I just realized I'd been showing Texas birds and such for over 3 weeks, so here's one more locally. I went out to Gilman Ranch in Banning, CA, for their Wild West Festival this last weekend. It's the first one they have had since Covid. Among other things they had stagecoach rides and a western art show. I had entered three pieces in the show, and was happy to learn I received 3rd prize and an Honorable Mention. It made a nice ending to the day. Oh, and one of my photos sold! 5/22/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Great Southern White Butterfly - Judith Sparhawk

Of all the butterflies I saw in Texas last month, this is the only one I managed to get a shot of. I know white butterflies aren't the most exciting, but I liked the look of this one with the pattern of white and black on the edges of the upper wings. 5/21/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Great Kiskadee - Judith Sparhawk

This large flycatcher is very distinctive with its yellow breast, rusty back and wings, and the black and white head. It is usually found near water sources, catching insects and diving for fish. He is named after his song, a distinctive kis-ka-dee. This one was photographed near the wetlands area at the convention center at South Padre Island, Texas. 5/20/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Northern Parula - Judith Sparhawk

This very pretty little warbler is a Northern Parula, which I was very happy to see during my Texas trip. This was one of several hopping around in a wooded area on South Padre Island, Texas. 5/19/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Got One! - Judith Sparhawk

This Scissortailed Flycatcher was using this fence as his launching pad to fly out to catch some yummy treat, and then return to his perch. This one didn't have the longest tail of those I watched, but I liked seeing him with his prey. Photographed somewhere in open country in south Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley. 5/18/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Clapper Rail - Judith Sparhawk

This was one of the three life birds I got on the Texas birding trip. Generally rails are secretive birds, hiding out in reeds or grasses. This one was walking out in the open, which I really appreciated. This one was photographed at the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center on Padre Island, Texas. 5/17/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Summer Tanager - Judith Sparhawk

This beautiful bird in a male Summer Tanager, which was photographed last month at a woodlot preserve on South Padre Island, Texas. 5/16/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Sandwich Terns Making Baby Terns - Judith Sparhawk

Just to help out Judy's doves, here's a hint to them just how it's supposed to be done! These Sandwich Terns (notice the yellow tips on their black bills) were mating in the middle of the parking lot at the Visitor's Center on North Padre Island, Texas. There were plenty of onlookers, including Royal Terns, Forster's terns, a few Laughing Gulls, and this photographer. I hope this shot helps out Judy's doves! I will be away from my computer for a couple of days. 5/13/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Sandwich Tern - Judith Sparhawk

I was really looking forward to a stop at the Visitors Center on North Padre Island, as in 2005 I had seen Sandwich Terns loafing in the parking lot there. And, amazingly, sure enough, 18 years later, that's where I found them this time too! There were other species of terns there as well, but I was mostly hoping for these. The way I first learned to recognize the Sandwich Tern was to remember the black bill with a yellow tip (as if he had dipped his bill in the mustard in the sandwich!--silly, I know, but it worked, I've never forgotten!) 5/12/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com