Some of Our Neighbors Here in the Woods...

Non-human neighbors, that is.

Over the past two weekends I spent a bit of time on my photography platform (without the blind), photographing the comings of goings in the morning rush.

Here are some of the locals from last weekend:

A special visitor: A male California Quail. We have had very few quail coming around over the years, although we hear them in the underbrush nearby periodically. This guy just appeared out of nowhere (seemingly) and wandered around in camera-shot for a while before retiring into the thick manzanita.

The California Scrub Jays are VERY common, and are easy to photograph on the perches I set out.

The Desert Cottontails are also very common, but they rarely wander past in the morning when I am outside. This one looks rather stern here!

The morning light is a wonderful thing!

The Oak Titmice are close neighbors, and seem to be on the lookout for me as long as the sun is up (I do put a little seed out on the ground in the morning, which they have become very fond of). If I wander anywhere near the platform area, they are right there in the small oaks talking to me. They fledged young (again) this year.

The Merriam's Chipmunks are not always in evidence, but seem to have re-emerged from hiding recently. This may be the "beat up" looking individual that I photographed last spring (missing the tip of its tail). Or just a look-alike. They appear to lead hard lives. Note the notches in the ears of this one.

Here are some of the animals that revealed themselves when I was on the platform this morning. In addition, Dark-eyed Juncos were around, and I heard a White-crowned Sparrow last week. Fall is here and Winter is coming...

Immature male Anna's Hummingbird, hatched this year. Earlier in the year I saw a female hummer collect some cat hair that I had placed out in a suet cage for the birds to use for their nest-linings.

The hummingbird feeders are beset by Honey Bees and yellowjackets, and this young male is eyeing the feeder carefully before attempting a sip.

The Oak Titmice are ALWAYS here.

The Steller's Jay made an appearance. I rarely see more than one at a time of this species here.

Too bad the tail is hidden...

Merriam's Chipmunk

The pair of White-winged Doves that I described in the previous post.

A Year of California Scrub Jays

What formerly was known as the Western Scrub Jay has since been split into two species, the California Scrub Jay and Woodhouse's Scrub Jay. The California Scrub Jay resides here in the western portion of the former range of the Western Scrub Jay, so it is the jay I see on my property here in the Cuyamaca Mountains. It has a darker, richer blue color than the interior western Woodhouse's Jay.

I've been photographing the jays from the blind I set up periodically. Their patterns seem fairly consistent throughout the year, with the appearance of juveniles in the summertime.

Here are some photographs with comments of various jays seen between February, 2018 and January 2019.

One of the first images from the blind, facing east on a cloudy day.

Portrait, April 2018

A juvenile, August 2018. Mostly gray where blue will appear later in the adult plumage. Some pink at the corner of the mouth indicates its youthfulness also. This one looks a little disheveled overall, too! 

Portrait of a youngster, August 2018

I kept seeing what looked like a jay with a skull for a head in the trail cam images from the property! Eventually this bird appeared when I was in the blind and I could get detailed images of it. The scabbiness suggests disease rather than a simultaneous head-feather-molt, which jays sometimes experience.

A grainy crop from the trail cam, August 2018. This bird hung around the area for a couple weeks and then seemed to disappear. It was typically on its own when a group of jays was present.

Portrait, late August 2018

I wonder if this bird is older? It's bill seems more rounded than the bird in the previous portrait, and than most of the birds photographed. Wear and tear with age? August 2018.

The blunt-billed bird, ready for take-off, with nictitating membrane deployed. August 2018.

Young bird, September 2018

November 2018

November 2018

January 1st, 2019, after the New Year's Eve snow (only about an inch). 

New Year's Day, 2019 (note the drop of water on the bill from the damp post-snow conditions).

On one of the small re-sprouted oaks, late January 2019.

One of my favorite shots to date, on what will hopefully become a "hummingbird perch". Late January 2019.