The Cal-look Lounge

It's always fun to watch nature unfold.  A few weeks ago, while sitting on the patio, Sharon and I noticed a hummingbird that kept coming around... not really a big deal considering all the flowers in the yard.  Then we noticed that there was a tiny nest made of the softest of building materials perched on the Christmas lights we have strung in the rafters!  It is built on the UL tag that is on every electric cord sold here in the US... amazing (well, to me anyway ::)).  I got a mirror out and had a look while Mom was out and about and sure enough, two tiny little eggs :o.  She has been sitting for about 10 days now.... we'll see what happens next. :)

Pretty cool stuff, Mark!  We have a "seed cake" hung in the Crepe Myrtle out back and it's a hoot to watch all the pushin' and shovin' that goes on.  We have no pets as we both work, so the birds are our escape.  There are loads of common sparrows and finches of varying colors all vying for position.  We have Mourning Doves (they're usually in pairs for some reason  ::)) that push the little birds around under the cake... Sharon calls them Stupid Birds because you can almost get close enough to touch them.  I think I'm turning into the Bird Man of Chino.... ::) ;D

I gotta BB gun you can borrow Sarge. :o ;D

  >:( Your not a nice man, Master Bates  ;) ;D

That's pretty cool Sarge. My office over looks a golf course where we have a couple of hawks nesting. About three years ago a hawk and its offspring would come land about five feet outside my window at work and walk around. It was really cool to be able to see them that close. I still see one of them every now and then sitting n the big tree outside my office window.

--louis

Up until we had the White Alders trimmed a couple of years back, there was a large nest up top that was inhabited by a Red Tailed Hawk.  With all the fighting and commotion at the seed cake, the little birds were oblivious to "Big Birdie".... that is until it would swoop down and haul one of them away for it's lunch :o :o. 

I guess that's one good reason to keep your Christmas lights up year 'round ::) ;)

Leaving the Christmas lights up year round is a perk of 909'erland.... sort of like the talking bass on the living room wall ;)

'round our place we have big black crows. they remind me of punk kids, even down to the shiny black... like leather jackets. They have the punk teenager attitude too... come and go as they please, makes tons of racket, wreak havoc, and get into scruffs amongst themsleves. Pretty funny when they're acting "tough" ripping open a Del Taco bag or something skating around the street... then here comes an unleashed lab.... crows aren't so tough anymore.
The squirrels are pretty funny to watch around our place too. Seems they can't just exist... everything is cause for a chittering and squeaking fight... too funny. They must be married.

COOL STORIES !!! I'm checking a Woodpecker nest every time i walk. There 3 or 4 Makita's in there. Mom and Dad are hammering their rear end off.

Meanwhile....  Out on the patio tonight enjoying a Montecristo and I notice Momma Peeps up on the edge of the nest feeding somebody inside.  Got my mirror when she flew off and sure enough, there's a very tiny baby bird inside along with the other unhatched egg! 8) 8) 8)

Cool Sarge enjoy the evening..

I'm quite fond of my Robin that hangs around our garden....

(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/1967vw/Temp%20file/Robin1.jpg)

(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/1967vw/Temp%20file/Robin2.jpg)

We were suprised one afternoon to find these eating the scraps from the feeder....

(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/1967vw/Temp%20file/Ducks.jpg)

We did have Blue Tits nesting in the garage when we moved in, but I think we scared them away whilst carrying out work on the house. They haven't been back since.

Have had a bit of a Robin breeding frenzy in my garage this spring , I blame the Mrs feeding the varmints  ::)
(http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff84/49-rag/IMG_3203.jpg)
Took a snap of this liitle fella busy fledging with the DAS boyz  8)

Cool thread!  8)

Cool pics, guys! 8) 8)  A few years ago, we were out on the patio and it was almost dark when something flew in and landed with a loud thud close by... sounded almost like someone had thrown a football over the fence.  Well, it turned out to be a duck and it spent the night with it's head buried between two large flower pots and the rest of it's body in full view ::).  The next morning we looked out just in time to see it fly off; strange!  Here's a pic of the little guy... his beak is getting longer every day and Momma spends less time at the nest it seems.  He's got one hell of an appetite! :)

A couple of shots, mostly from our last place but a couple from where we are now.  :)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/SanchoPancho/Garden/Garden01.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/SanchoPancho/Garden/Garden02.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/SanchoPancho/Garden/Garden03.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/SanchoPancho/Garden/Garden04.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/SanchoPancho/Garden/Garden05.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/SanchoPancho/Garden/Garden06.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/SanchoPancho/Garden/Garden07.jpg)

That little guy is cool  :)

I've got a family of foxes (fuchs ;)) that play around in my garden, They make LOADS of noise  :)

Here's a couple of shots my brother-in-law sent over after seeing the hummingbird pics.  He and the wife just got back from vacationing in Vancouver... this eagle wouldn't leave him alone. ::) ::) ::)

There have been a lot of less successful attempts! I have since learnt that the art is getting a really good taxidermist!   :D

I've been after a good shot of a red kite for over three years and we have some Stoats near by which I think are going to be a tough one to get. Funnily enough getting a hummingbird was something I failed at a few times whilst over in California and then there are the bears. What (f******) bears?

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/SanchoPancho/Garden/NotInTheGarden01.jpg)




 ;D

Mat, your pics are the best 8) 8) (meant to say that last night, but I was laughing too hard fooling with those eagle shots my brother in law sent over... what a nut!).

Taking inspiration from Sarge's eagle pictures I finally bagged that red kite shot, they're bigger than I thought! ;D

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/SanchoPancho/General/BugKite.jpg)

I never realized that the red kites had an outlining of blue around them.  ;D

Here a shot of my favorite birds in the wild. I think they're waiting for an audience with Obama.

(http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/PEEPSforBLOG-thumb-500x311.jpg)

Only the male's have that, helps them blend into the sky. Probably.  :P  :D


The look, unusual.  ;D

Beautiful plumage the Norwegian Blue Red Kite

Looks like Junior could take flight soon! ;D 8)

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_j5YMO-ms6rk/Si36QC6_w-I/AAAAAAAAFAI/nwbCdqKRTVw/s800/IMG_2046sml.jpg)

how about jogging along with a moose..

I just love those animals :D too bad that I haven't seen it whille I was in Sweeden (only Polish Mooses :D )

 :o :o :o Now THAT would be something! :)

Got home to find an empty nest tonight :(.  The little guy is on the loose! 8)

got a couple of PEEPS type stories from late....

while on vacation, Mary Ann and I were storming down Hwy 101 up around Crescent City, CA.... just south of there. We were tripping on all the ferns and gargantuan redwoods EVERYWHERE up there (it's been about 10 yr since I've been through there). So we're cruising along...I look at this handsome cabin off to my left, and there stood a pack of big ELK, just off the road. These guys were big boys too... with the full antler racks.... just grazing about 100' from hwy 101. Very cool. We stopped and took some quick pics of them. I got out of the car to get some clearer pics..... fired off a few but chickened out when 3 simultaneously looked up and gave me the "staredown" (like "yo you takin' pictchas of us? Huh?") and got back in car.

Last night Lucas and I were out doing our nightly walk around the neighborhood. We got to the street and around the corner speeds this oblivious moron in a white Camry... I hear this loud "THUD"....look over and the guy tagged one of the (many) squirrels that hang out around our place. I rushed Lucas back inside and jammed back to squirrel, laying there upside down on the sidewalk. Poor guy took it hard. he was still breathing but not moving. I scooped him up in a cat carrier, and ran him out to emergency vet/wildlife place in Moorpark and dropped him off... with high hopes. By the time I got him there he was moving around and seemed ok, but sadly, I called today @ lunch and they had to put him to sleep. Oh well... better than suffering in the street I guess.  :-\

ive got a pretty cool story, i was leaving my house in la habra hieghts at about 3:45 am to be at work in santa monica at 5, i come around this corner and this this big fruit rat(there are a lot of avacado trees up here) right in the middle of the street, about 200' ahead of me and hes blinded by my headlights. deadmeat as far as im concerned. all of a sudden i cant see anything but white in the windshield and im a little confused, then it gets alittle further ahead of me, it was a huge owl that swooped down in front of me and  snatched the rat up, coolest thing ive ever seen. :o

Get that photo and I'll mail over a Cuban!   8)

(Cigar)!

Your ON!  I haven't seen Mom since Junior took to the air so you probably don't have much to worry about.  My wife works with a woman who has a hummingbird nest up on the back porch light.  The same nest has been used for a number of years, so I'll be leaving ours in place in hopes of future families. 8)

I'll keep one at the ready just in case!   8)

 8)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7xBLvMIBZU

For you Sarge.  We found a humming bird nest in our courtyard, directly outside my husband's office window.  It's a perfect view to the nest and we've been watching for the eggs to hatch for the past several weeks.  Well this morning I was lucky enough to find the mom returning to the nest and feeding her TWINS : )  We are just enjoying the heck out of this  ;D
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... a few more pics from this morning  8)
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WOW!!!  Great job on the camera work, Lisa 8) 8) 8)  Your right in mentioning the fun of watching all the "show."  We were disappointed not to have any returnee's this season, but we did get a couple of new Mourning Doves...

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Cp63yJ2O0w8/S8u_BGKTHCI/AAAAAAAAA0k/qnijJVoPVvw/s800/IMG_8214.JPG)

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