Mt. Diablo: Spring

It's been 6 months since I last went to Castle Rock/Mt Diablo. It's rained quite a bit since then, which makes a big difference in the landscape, both birdy and flowery (as symbolized by this shot of poppies and a bluebird nest box).

Not a single acorn woodpecker showed itself, but I did spot a Nuttall's woodpecker fighting a bluebird for a nest cavity:

(FIERCE!)

And speaking of fierce, here's a terrible and blurry picture of a Cooper's Hawk lurking in the undergrowth.

Also going strong: lizards.

Darkling beetle in its tiny world:

Dragonfly
I think this is a tent caterpillar.

And the highlight of the season, all the flow'rs:

Blue dicks:
Owl's clover:

Monkey Flower (and a cool holey rock)

Sunset, Flowers, prettiness.

Caution: walking around looking for birds can also lead to seeing other pretty things.


Wild onion. The taste is similar to a green onion, but the texture is much gummier.

I know this one is out of focus but it made the lights look extra cool that way.

Redbud is still blooming strong, not like those wimpy flowering cherry trees.

Someone's garden plot is going to have a lot of artichokes soon.


I think this is a flower fly, but it might be a bee of some kind?

All the little beesies all the little bearsies never walk in threesies always walk in pairsies...

It's that time again:


Squirrel humping time! (Lydia took this picture--isn't it great?). I recently read in Hannah Holmes' book Suburban Safari that the reason you will often see stumpy tailed squirrels is that during the spring mating frenzy, several males will chase the same female and bite off each others' tails in their eagerness to get to the front of the line.

And squirrels aren't the only ones. Canada geese are getting mighty feisty as they defend potential nest sites (including one pair I saw on top of a chain link fence enclosing the water main. Pretty sure that's not gonna work, guys.) Last year, I saw a goose which was almost certainly a hybrid domestic goose/Canada goose. And this year I think I found its parents:


Other animals have made a bit more progress on the romance front, and are already building nests. Double crested cormorants are back at the lake with a vengeance, and some of them are sporting some very Doubleicious crests! They're shy though, so they only let me take pictures of them carrying their damp sticks when they're safe in their nest tree on Bird Island. Can you find Waldo--the cormorant with a stick?

And SOOOME birdies have already MADE their babies. Hummingbirds nest early, apparently so that their nestlings can fly long before hungry jays come looking for a snack for their own babies.
This isn't a great shot, but the baby is on the left looking straight up. Mom is on the right. And if these hummingbirds are going to continue being super fast while hiding in the dark canopy of a tree, that's probably the best I'm likely to get!


And of course there's mallards. They've been acting super crazy, with males chasing females through air and water while quacking up a storm. Mallards have some very disturbing reproductive biology which you can read about here. Once your jaw is back in place, enjoy these... DUCKLINGS!


(not pictured here are the FIVE drakes which were STILL chasing this lady about.)

Spring!

January showers bring February flowers, I guess. It's spring at Lake Merrit and everybody knows it. Hummingbirds know it because they are busy defending clumps of sage flowers from anyone who comes near. Of course they'll try to stab other hummers, but I also saw this one attack a seed-eating goldfinch ("If I can't eat these seeds NO ONE WILL!") and an unsuspecting human ("Git away from mah nectar!") There's a reason the Aztec god of war is a hummingbird.






Buckeyes and daffodils also got the memo: