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Yosemite morning

Saturday, March 28, 2020

Latest shots

I'm really not quite sure why I am attracted to birds? I have been drawing and photographing them since I was a young child.

Never particularly liked owning them, honestly find them a bit smelly in the house and have never forged warm reciprocal emotive relations with them, although we had a parrot and a macaw as a kid.

I believe it is honestly the artist in me, their beautiful feather symmetry and gorgeous neck set itches some compositional lobe in my brain that obviously needs scratching. And I love how their feathers diffuse sunlight, if viewed at the proper angle.

I found a greater egret rookery in Del Mar yesterday. It is nesting time and all hands were on deck.

I sat on a bench and watched the huge beauties do their work.

Such elegance of form!


Earlier I had been scouting around the Del Mar Public Works building for the yellow crowned night herons that I heard were there but I unfortunately couldn't find one. Flew the coop.

I did find one black crowned night heron but he was sleeping high in a tree and didn't look particularly thrilled that I had woke him up from his nap. Sorry!

As I said yesterday, it wasn't a particularly noteworthy day, photographically speaking, didn't ever put on the better lens, which I had in the boot. Was content to enjoy myself and take it all in.


Liked watching the long billed curlew strut and fly around, another pretty bird that I don't see all the time, not being much of an ocean shorebird guy.



A nice full display.

I watched the nest building for a while longer. My god this is so much better than being cooped up inside with the news or an electronic instrument.


Not much more to report. Saw a red tailed on a wire on the way home in a mondrian like composition. Have a lot on my mind that will have to wait, principally the similarity between climate deniers and covid 19 deniers. Have this image of the latter confronting the reaper with the scythe and trying to tell him with last breath that it is really no worse than the flu. Which I might add, we currently have a vaccine for.


On my way in this morning I noticed a coyote digging for something off the roadside in the wet dew and the high grass. He was largely unconcerned with me. I rolled down the passenger side window and took a couple shots through the car. The iso was very high, 5000. Noisy, not perfect. But he was certainly a pretty guy. We'll take it.

Neighbor Todd came face to face with a beautiful grayish colored bobcat the other day. He said the beautiful spotted cat arched his back and hissed at him, then took off. Tail like a deer, he said. Rumour has it there is a mom and two kittens around his neck of our woods. Hope I get to see another one soon. But I do have an idea for a photograph I am going to take tomorrow, weather permitting. Need to bring one more piece of equipment home,

3 comments:

Liz said...

Mom also had a cockatiel that I hated. I was living with her while recovering from some operation or other. Goddess,that bird annoyed me.

Blue Heron said...

I like when the people bring big birds in on their shoulder to the antique shows I do and by the end of the day, there is crap all over their back.

Ken Seals said...

Very nice, thanks!