Good morning Mrs Owl

I leave for work before the sun is up.  My headlights catch her perched atop my iron gazebo almost every morning.  Her snowy white face is hard to miss against the dark hills. 

What's been in the garage (part 2)?

This laid out for about 6 months in the corner of the garage and we managed to "catch" a lizard, a scorpion, a nice sized spider or two, some crickets and various other small bugs.  YUM!

California Black Oak

I found a group of oak trees nestled together.  There are about 8 or 10 trees in this picture.   These trees are native from southern Oregon down to Baja California.  They can grow from 30 to 80 ft.  They typically live 100 - 200 years but some have been found to be up to 500 years old. This tree is a critical species for wildlife and may be the most important food and cover source in the state for wildlife.  This tree occupies more area in California than any other hardwood species.  Cavities in the trees provide dens/nests for owls, woodpeckers, squirrels and the trees even are known as a preferred shelter for the Black Bear.  The acorns constitue up to 50% of the fall winter diet for squirrels and deer.  Fawns survival rates depend on the success of the acorn crop season.  Many animals cache the acorns and those that have been stored or buried are more likely to sprout than acorns that drop on the surface.  This Acorn was also the choice nut for Native Americans when making corn meal. 

This tree is highly adaptable to fire.  While the tops may burn, the trunk stores water and nutrients that usually allows the tree to live through the fire.  In addition, the fire activates the acorn growth.  Indians were known for burning trees to help the crop flourish. 

The picture below is of a string of trees that stretch about a mile in length.  They cross multiple properties and follow a soil line that the trees find condusive to thriving in. 

One last interesting fact, at one point back in the 1960's the state of California considered it a nusense and worked to eradicate the tree, after conservationists studied and provided data to the state they were able to save the tree from destruction.  The Cal Black Oak thrives in poorer quality soil and conditions that the conifers can't thrive in. 

cactus in the grass

This photo says a lot about the terrain when you look closely.  Note the budding green grass from just a few rains at Thanksgiving.   The same mature grass from last winters rains are the tall white grass you see blowing in the wind.  The picture was taken on a cool, clear and bright December afternoon.

abandoned ranchers shack

The remants of this stone shack are one of the few reminders left that a large cattle ranch was once part of Gavilan Hills.  The shack is only one room about 10' x 20' in size.  On the same uninhabited property is an abandoned well, water tower, cattle loading dock, and some kind of ice or meat locker that is about the same size as this shack.

This house was inhabited by some questionable characters a few dozen years ago but I think they were just squatters.  After the squatters left, the roof fell in and mother nature is working on taking it back over.    The current neighborhood kids call this the "jail" and often play there. 

owl

Yesterday while driving home my car startled a great horned owl sitting in a tree on the side of the road.  The owl took flight in the same direction my car was traveling.  The owl was within arm's length of my passenger window.  He kept pace with me for about 75 or 100 feet before he made a quick turn and was out of sight.  I was in awe of his size and the good fortune of being able to see him so close up.  What a treat!

On the flip side, when I drove into the garage I found a mouse caught on a glue board.  Yuck!

Mountain Bluebird

The Mountain Bluebird is a migratory bird that lives in Western North America.  It travels as far North as Alaska down to Mexico. They mainly eat insects and berries. These birds hover over the ground to catch bugs. They may forage in flocks in winter when they mainly eat grasshoppers. Mountain Bluebirds will come to a platform feeder for live meal worms, berries, or peanuts.  They are usually not disturbed by humans and can be easily banded because of this.  This picture is of a male, the females are grey with touches of blue on the end of their wings.  The bird's bright blue color is sure to brighten a bird watchers day.

Happy Thanksgiving

Fastest member of the Animal Kingdom

I spotted a bird of prey on the telephone pole near my property line.  By using reference books I identified it as the Peregrine Falcon.  I'd never seen this bird before and I'd never heard of the name.


 I found some really shocking facts when I completed my research on this Falcon:




1) The Smithsonian Institue declared it the "fastest member of the Animal Kingdom".  It was clocked in NYC swooping down off building on some prey at more than 202 MPH !   The bird I just looked at out my window is the fastest?  Holy smokes.  Who would think they'd see that from their living room window?

2)  They feast almost exclusively on medium sized birds.  They grab the birds by the wings mid-air then land on the ground and rip their prey to shreds.  They will eat also an occassional insect when hungry enough. 

3)  They mate for life.  The female is 30% bigger than the male.  They live mainly in cliff edges but are increasingly found in the city making a home on tall buildings.  These birds live on the west coast from Alaska to Mexico.  In California they spend spring and summer in the Sierras and move to the desert and foothills during fall and winter. 

4) The Peregrine Falcon was an Endangered Species until 1999.  The ban of DDT in the 70's has helped them recover. Supposedly they are very popular in the sport of Falconry, particularly because of their speed.  In 2004, Professional Falconists were briefly allowed to take a limited numbers of Falcons from the wild for the first time because the population has recovered so well.

All this, just because I casually glanced outside my window. 
The next thing I knew, the bird was gone.

Sara Orangetip

The Sara Orangetip butterfly is also known as the Pacific Orangetip.  It ranges along the Pacific coast of North America from Alaska to Mexico.  They are abundant up and down the West Coast, making their home in fields and deserts. They are one of the first butterflies to appear each spring and their bright colors add a touch of sparkle to their newly emerging green environment.  Butterflies are generally categorized as one of two types, patroller or percher, depending on mating strategies.  Sara Orangetip's fall in the patroller category of butterflies. Males patrol, or fly up and down a particular territory, in search of female butterflies.