I’ll see these guys flying about the yard every now and then. There are some wetlands down at the bottom of the hill near where Bell Canyon Creek starts, as well as the Chatsworth Reservoir area about three miles north of us.
But I don’t recall ever having one land or sit still so that I could take pictures of it.
Growing up in Vermont, Illinois, and Kansas I had seen dragonflies plenty of times, but out here in the desert they’re a bit more scarce. So a good luck sighting!
Filed under Critters, Photography
As August ends, I found this little stump-tailed cutie sitting out where the trash bins go.
I’m amazed that I got pictures – it was acting extremely oddly. Specifically, it never moved or made any attempt to run away. I came around the corner behind me, dragging two trash barrels and opening the gate, so normally it would have been halfway across the yard or at least into the vines in a heartbeat. They’re skittish! (It keeps them from being eaten.)
But this dude apparently sat there through all of that, then sat there while I grabbed the first barrel and took three or four steps toward it. When I saw it finally I froze, carefully pulling out my phone. Through all of this it never moved.
I set down the first barrel, then walked behind it another couple of steps so that I was behind it. From the front I could see the beautiful markings on its back and those long toes typical of California fence lizards.
From the back, it was obvious that it was missing a big chunk of its tail. You can see where the stump is starting to grow the rest of the tail back. But even with me walking around, taking pictures, dropping off trash barrels, and so on, it never twitched. I was starting to wonder if it might be hurt, or even dead.
I went back out to the front yard to grab the second trash barrel and it was gone when I got back, so not dead. I also saw it later in the day (the tail makes the ID easy) running along the base of the fence in the dirt and debris from the vines, so it didn’t look very hurt either.
I hope if it needs some of that Neosporin for its tail it will ask. I’ve got plenty!
Filed under Critters, Photography
I was out in the back yard this afternoon with my camera, mid 90’s, sunny, and I knew there HAD to be a lizard hiding somewhere.
Sure enough, there it was.
There were a couple of teeny, tiny “popcorn” lizards also, and one good sized one who was missing its tail, but this was the big one for the afternoon.
Frozen in place while I took a handful of pictures, and then the second I turned away it was GONE! Good thing they’re friendly, it really moves fast when it wants to, off into the bushes. I see folks catching these guys, but I don’t see how.
Filed under Critters, Photography
And a good thing, too.
Yesterday I demonstrated that when walking face first into a full body orb weaver web across the sidewalk in the dark, I can generate enough G-forces while flailing hysterically to set off the “You’ve Fallen Again ™” alarm on my Apple Watch. I said that I would try to remember to grab a flashlight on the way out the door in the future.
Same place as last time.
Beautiful craftsmanship, and not the biggest orb weaver I’ve ever seen, but not the smallest either.
I think I’ll name it Gandalf.
IYKYK.
Filed under Critters, Photography
No, I did NOT fall again. Never left my feet, no damage done, no gym equipment revenge needing to be plotted.
However, while doing one of my quick laps around the sidewalk in the back yard, in the dark, I found that one of the local orb weavers had unexpectedly built a large web straight across the path at face heighth. The subsequent “spider web dance” and convulsions were apparently generating enough centrifugal energy and G-forces on my wrist as I swung my arms around to set off the alarm. So, again, I got to stop mid-crisis and tell my watch to chill, I was not in need of a 9-1-1 call. I was dealing with a garden spider, not Shelob. (I was busy re-inventing break dancing perhaps, but I’m no Samwise Gamgee.)
I’m going to have to start carrying a flashlight. Or I will break something. With my luck I would break something badly, die, end up at the Pearly Gates, tell St. Peter what happened, and while laughing riotously they would send me to Hell “just because!”
Yesterday I stumbled across this smallish dude plotzed out on the backyard patio.
It didn’t seem particularly in any sort of distress or injured, nor did it seem too concerned about my presence.
Obviously a mourning dove fledgeling, which isn’t surprising since we have probably a dozen nests within a couple hundred yards of our back yard. Feeding time in the morning looks like a Hitchcock film between the house finches, scrub jays, juncos, mourning doves, towhees, and all of the other miscellanous freeloaders who have figured out that we’re a soft touch.
Even when I got right down on my knees (more fun than usual!) and just a foot or so away, it never tried to flutter or walk or run or fly, and it barely moved its head. It wasn’t near any of the windows or sliding glass doors, so I didn’t figure that it had run into one of them.
I finally ended up with my iPhone maybe an inch away, and all I got for my efforts was a scowl. They definitely had an attitude!
I had no idea what to do that might help, so I did the absolute minimum and otherwise left it alone. I went to get some bird seed and a cup of water, but by the time I got back the fledgeling had vanished. I left the food and water out there anyway – if he doesn’t need it, one of the other birds will finish it off, it won’t go to waste.
We don’t see any feral cats in our yard, so the hawks during the day and the owls at night are probably the biggest threat. “Circle of life” and all of that – I checked a couple times today and I don’t see any signs of an attack, so no news is good news.
Good luck, my attitudinal fledgling friend! Your species is hardly endangered around here (or anywhere else) but I hope you make it!
Filed under Birds, Critters, Photography
House finch – male.
The colorful red head gives him away – the females don’t have any of that coloration, just muted browns & greys.
I got a couple of decent pictures of him through the kitchen window before he saw me and screamed, “NO PAPARAZZI!!” before taking off for a more private perch.
Filed under Birds, Critters, Photography
I’ve been hearing something flying around at night that had me stumped for a while. I’ll hear the great horned owls hooting fairly often, and I’ll occasionally see them. (They’re spectacular!)
But this isn’t hooting, it’s more of a screech, and a couple of different types of screeches. I finally got the Cornell Merlin app to hear enough of one sort of sound and identify it as a barn owl instead of a great horned owl. Fair, good to know, it would be great to see one, but so far I’m just hearing it.
But the other screeching sound? Not so much.
Until tonight. Our bird was right across the street on top of the power pole there, then later in our pine trees in the back yard. I was finally able to get a good recording for the Merlin app to chew on.
You can hear calls about every eighteen or nineteen seconds before it flys away and fades out on the fourth call. I got a glimpse of it as it flew off – it’s a large animal, must be fantastic to see.
Merlin ID’s it as a great horned owl, but instead of the normal hooting call, this is referred to as a “begging call.” You hear it from a juvenile that’s left the nest and is learning to hunt, but still used to screeching when it’s hungry so that mom or dad can bring food for it.
It’s the owl version of “Adulting sucks!”
The Long-Suffering Wife wants to help it out since she’s used to throwing out bird seed for the songbirds and having me fill the feeders for the hummingbirds. I explained that owls are carnivores – her solution was to give it some shredded chicken. I’m thinking that the owl is looking for something more alive and warm – obviously I’m not thinking outside the box properly, since it’s been explained to me that I could microwave some chicken and then go stand out in the back yard and wiggle and wave it around so that it looks alive.
The hungry, screaming, pissed off juvenile owl probably needs to just find one of the neighborhood rabbits and learn to catch its own dinner. Sorry!
I know that all y’all have been wondering how the yard lizards have been doing. It’s a good thing, nothing to be ashamed of.
Just an hour or so before sunset. I went out to catch a final bit of daylight, my little lizard friend in all of his ectothermic glory, was doing the same.
Not so little. We’ve had quite the crop of tiny (maybe two inch long?) “popcorn” lizards this summer, but this one’s pretty good sized for a fence lizard.
The instant I got too close, our friend was off like a shot to someplace where they blended into the background a little bit more.
Being in the shade wasn’t ideal, and there was also a goal of staying opposite of me on the tree trunk, so when I moved, they moved.
Once they got up into a higher, sunnier spot, I backed off and went back the way I had come in, leaving them to catch those final rays for the evening. They needed it more than I did. I’ve got a billion years of evolutionary advancements working for me.
Of all of the things we’re looking for in the Forever Home that we love about our current and previous homes, our lizard friends will be the easiest to guarantee finding in the Victor Valley area.
Filed under Critters, Forever Home, Photography
I showed pictures a while back of all of the tiny, horizontal spider webs climbing up the Italian cypress trees.
Today I noticed that in the spaces outside of those webs there are different webs. I’m no spider expert by any definition of the term, but I’m guessing that different designs and types of spider webs mean different breeds of spiders.
Assuming that’s true, our “spider high rise” has turned into a diverse neighborhood of arachnids.
And up above (fortunately still above head height) we still have the much bigger webs of the much bigger spiders, the orb weavers.
Filed under Critters, Photography
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