Birdy birdy

My old photography pal Ken called me up and asked if I wanted to go shooting today? What the hell, why not? It certainly beats working.

We met in Temecula at 7:30 sharp and drove up to our spot. Such a beautiful day. It gets a bit crowded with two people with big cameras in the car so I left my better giant lens at home. We would focus on having a good time instead.

What a lovely day! Could not have been nicer, weather wise anyway. 

Smelled great too, although my allergies did kick up. Birds were not too prolific but we made do. 

Lots of coots and shovelers, ton of red winged blackbirds, sort of the usual, of late. Ken got a shot of a merlin.

Wasn't too long before we spotted a long eared owl hiding out in a tree. 

Perhaps if I had brought the prime I would have been able to do it justice but it certainly was a beauty.

Maybe I have a better picture? I will keep looking...

We managed to get our usual hike in, great to stretch the legs. Looked for the vermilion flycatcher but no dice today.

Lots of lupine, mustard and poppies. And the snow capped peaks of San Gorgonio.

Do you know how hard it is to photograph a tree swallow? These babies are fast.

I will let the pictures speak for themselves.