Killdeer
I was charmed to see a scrub jay in Walnut Creek the other day. I never see them in the East Bay, and it was lovely. Almost worth crossing those mountains to get into Orinda. Heh.
Now in an even more radically different climate, we still have lots of sparrows and doves, but a meadow lark flew past yesterday. There were songs they made when I was a kid ranging around the farm; it brings back so many memories.
The really charming bird was the killdeer, though. I sat outside underneath a display of a fighter jet from the fifties, in the shade, waiting for my sister to get out of a long and stressful day at work. The gawky bird was fluffing itself about 50 meters away, and I watched it for forty-five minutes. It must have some eggs nearby, but a casual sweep of the grass and ornamental rock gardens turned up nothing. It could be that the chicks already hatched and are stumbling around trying to grow up.
My sister came out of the secure area after about an hour and a half. We picked up some hamburgers and about half an hour after we got home, around 7:30 she fell asleep. Well-deserved rest.
Now in an even more radically different climate, we still have lots of sparrows and doves, but a meadow lark flew past yesterday. There were songs they made when I was a kid ranging around the farm; it brings back so many memories.
The really charming bird was the killdeer, though. I sat outside underneath a display of a fighter jet from the fifties, in the shade, waiting for my sister to get out of a long and stressful day at work. The gawky bird was fluffing itself about 50 meters away, and I watched it for forty-five minutes. It must have some eggs nearby, but a casual sweep of the grass and ornamental rock gardens turned up nothing. It could be that the chicks already hatched and are stumbling around trying to grow up.
My sister came out of the secure area after about an hour and a half. We picked up some hamburgers and about half an hour after we got home, around 7:30 she fell asleep. Well-deserved rest.