Evening all. Wonderful rainbow over Santa Barbara this afternoon; more like April with heavy showers then sunshine. Don't forget to check last week's chat for Tiger's link to the Roy Dennis site about a French osprey that's already completed its migration, and Patriciat's recommendations for places to eat in Grantown (for when we all go to visit OG's son!). :-)
Morning All. Wall to wall rain and wind here. Can't wait for tomorrow when they say it will be dry.
Annette and Diane, I had noticed the bad news about Pete's Pond. It is one of my favourite sites. I hope somebody is able to donate some money and maybe sponsor them.
Diane, you always seem to be so busy, with endless stamina and very little sleep. I always need my sleep, even though I try to keep fit.
Caerann, I echo OG's hopes and thoughts for you.
Tiger, Thank you for the superb Pale Male photographs. The colours are magnificent.
OG, Do enjoy your Jazz lunch and the sunshine. Sounds great. All our garden birds could be described as 'waders' this morning, There is so much standing water. Poor things look so wet and bedraggled.
Thanks for all the news, links and chat and do enjoy today.
Sunday all. There is now two eaglets in Blackwater
my photos in flickr
Thanks auntie. I keep watching but Mum eagle is not moving so that I can see her chicks.
Afternoon all from TI,
Auntie : Thanks for the Blackwater eagles update. Chicks are looking good.
Diane: Red bellied woodpeckers seem to be very colourful birds.
Weather is atrocious today. It has been raining all morning and cold with it. Lady P and I went out for an hour or so this morning but what can you do on a day like this? There is one severe flood warning and 7 flood warnings in our area at the moment. I am so glad we dont live near a river.
Here are a couple of owl webcams in Holland:
http://www.beleefdelente.nl/steenuil
http://www.beleefdelente.nl/oehoe
There are also other webcams on the same site.
Weather
Temp 5.4c Sunrise 06:49 , Sunset 17 :37
Bonellis eagle webcam is back up now in Parc del Garraf in Spain:
http://translate.google.es/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.diba.cat%2Fparcsn%2Fwebcam&sl=ca&tl=en&hl=es&ie=UTF-8
Morning all: The Chile-generated tsumani resulted in a two-foot swell in Ventura harbor (half an hour south of us), so no biggie, but it still made it onto our evening news. Went to community meeting yesterday and pleased to see urban agriculture, bike paths, pocket parks, and "complete" roads (which seem to include sidewalks, more clearly delineated bike paths, and more trees) are on the agenda. Sunny here today with more rain Wednesday and Friday. Weeds are thrilled!
OG: Love your "what I should be doing" list - Jazz lunch and down to the shore for waders! I think I"ll make a "to do" list like that.
Caerann: Good luck with the job hunt - they say looking for employment is a full-time job in itself.
Diane: I see the temptation to call the Red-bellied Woodpecker a Red-headed Woodpecker is acknowledged in that link. Yesterday I went to Chaucer's to get abirding book that shows our various Southern California birds, male and female in their seasonal plumage, but couldn't find it. We have a cheat sheet, but it's too limited and now we have some new birds at the feeder. I have a birding friend so will get the name of the book from her.
Brenda: re Pete's Pond, if the Nat Geo can't sponsor them, I don't know who can :-( I know when NASA planned to abandon the Hubble Telescope a few years ago there was such a public outcry that they repaired it and we got even more wonderful shots. Too bad Pete's Pond isn't quite so "spectacular."
Auntie/Alan: Thanks for eagle shot and links.
Off to get organized...
Pleasant drive to Dumfries for lunch including Buzzard sightings – snow visible in the sunshine on Criffel and on Galloway Hills. Lunch and Jazz (Swing) were great but then weather turned grey and damp so Waders were disappointing. Stayed in car, but tide was out so out birds were on sandbanks – just a few Curlews, Oyster Catchers and Lapwings near shore – no photos. Could just see far shore through mist, so waved to Terry in Cumbria!
Diane – your Red-Bellied Woodpeckers look good – so lucky to have them outside your kitchen window.
Auntie – thanks for posting lovely Eaglets picture.
Alan – thanks for more camlinks! Just need more hours in the day!
Annette – pleased the Tsunami was small – only 1 metre in Japan I believe. Community plans sound good – just hope they really happen. Here we get loads of talk but never enough action! Weeds love alternate sun and rain – good growing weather! My to do list was before going out – such simple things as shower and get dressed – with a wee bit of tidying thrown in.
Now (evening) off to church.
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
Good Morning/Day to all!
Alan: Many thanks for the Owl links. John is a big fan of owls so he'll enjoy the cams.
Annette: Glad there were no troubles with tsunamis or earthquakes in your area.
Diane: How wonderful to have Woodpeckers in your backyard! Are the parents year-round residents then?
Thanks to all for the job search pep talks, cause I sure need it! I was reading there can be up to 75 people applying for the same job but I try not to think about that, otherwise it's just too depressing.
Looking at Lincoln's series today on Pale Male reminded me that John and I had a Red-tailed Hawk close encounter while out for a neigborhood walk recently. We had just crossed a busy street and I was sure I'd seen a very large bird soaring past and behind some buildings. As we waited to see if the bird would show itself again, a gorgeous Eastern Red-tailed Hawk soared overhead several times looking for prey and then as quickly flew off again.
We also see a lot of the Red-tails sitting on light poles over the interstate highway during the winter, just as in Lincoln's photos today, though they don't do that as much in the warmer weather; not sure why though.
Alright then, I'm off for now. Take care all and Happy Sunday!
Hallo all. Weather in Europe sounds terrible, with ghastly winds and flooding and many deaths in France. Awful. What is going on? So please forgive me for saying I'm just back from wonderful long walk. Creeks are running fast but low; orange groves are groaning under the fruit, sun is shining, wildflowers are blooming. Walked out to Lake Los Carneros (bird preserve/historic site) where a film crew was setting up a phoney garden inside a net enclosure. Turns out they're filming an IMAX 3D film called, at least at this point, "Fly the Butterfly." All the locals out walking their dogs, spouses, etc., told them there was a fabulous Monarch butterfly preserve just across the freeway and why weren't they there. The crew patiently explained (they were probably sick of hearing about it) that they couldn't just take over an area like that. Apparently, they had to "import" butterflies for this sequence, let them loose on the plants, then film them. Guess you do what you have to do.....
Caerann: Those other 74 people can't hold a candle to you! Seriously, keep plugging away. Don't most companies get their new budgets in January? I know at my former employers they'd hold off hiring until the new budget was a "go."
Have to call sister in Lincolnshire - it's her b'day tomorrow. Take care all.
Yes the weather does sound awful in France. Here's hoping the migrating Osprey's aren't caught up in it all.
I haven't been around for a while, but have started the countdown to my volunteering stint at the end of June at LG. Cannae wait.
Take care folks