Hump Day Haiku For Bird Lovers

Chi-ca-go

A top knot convoy
bobbing through the backyard grass
California quail

 

 

 

I am an absolute bird lover. It’s one of the reasons I’m so happy to be back in California. Our yard in Marin is home to golden- and white-crowned sparrows, dark-eyed juncos, Bewick’s wrens, and California towhees with daily visits from scrub jays, Anna’s hummingbirds, crows, and a breeding pair of mourning doves. Occasionally, we are graced by American robins, goldfinches, and redheaded house finches. A rare treat. Red-winged blackbirds and mockingbirds can be heard singing in the wetlands across the street while turkey vultures glide overhead. Just down the street, dried pellets from a Great Horned Owl can be found littering the sidewalk under a large palm tree. Once, we even had a Cooper’s Hawk dive bomb into the yard as it gave chase to a smaller bird. The hawk was unsuccessful and perched empty clawed on the fence for several minutes before flying off.

It’s truly a bird lover’s paradise. So you can imagine my glee this morning when I spotted a convoy of California quails prancing cautiously through the yard. I love these little birds with their bouncing plumage and round bodies. By far, one of my favorite birds. Naturally, I wanted to document the event with photos. Being surrounded by large windows, I tip-toed over to where I keep my camera and began snapping images through the glass. I usually like to have nothing between me and my photo prey, but I couldn’t risk spooking them by going outside. As a result, most of my images were a little on the soft side, but a few came out all right. Either way, my day was made all the same.

Here are some images of other birds captured in the backyard. Please let me know if I have identified something wrong. I’m still new to this whole birding thing, and some species look very similar.