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.

Chipmunks, chipmunks, chipmunks...

We have two species of chipmunk that could realistically be found in San Diego County, Merriam's Chipmunk (Neotamias merriami) and the California (or Chaparral) Chipmunk (Neotamias obscurus). Apparently these two species are very difficult to distinguish in the field, but based on habitat type and behavior, I assume that the chipmunks in my area are Merriam's Chipmunks.

Since the Cedar Fire (in 2003) the chipmunk population has increased quite a bit on our property and the surrounding region. On a typical morning 4-5 chipmunks might be seen foraging on the land near the house. We have a mixture of open "grassland, chaparral and oak/pine forest here, which is ideal for these chipmunks.

They forage most actively in the morning, so that is when I try to photograph them from the blind.

Here are the photos from this morning (this was a single chipmunk, which vocalized loudly before appearing).