There was a bit of a break from the late September heat midweek, so I grabbed my camera and binoculars and roamed the neighborhood to see what I could see. There were a few early migrant sparrows (Lark Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow), and a bunch of Lesser Goldfinch (year-round residents here, but much greater numbers than over the summer). I found only a few Yellow-billed Magpies, our resident endemic attraction, but abundant crows, and the omnipresent (but more abundant now than in the summer) Turkey Vultures circling overhead. The number of Loggerhead Shrikes in the hood is holding steady at one, but it was much closer to my route than normal. (It’s usually on a snag way out in the vernal pond, but today it was on the power pole right overhead.)
The highlights, though, had to be the raptors: I found a pair of Red-tailed Hawks out along the power poles on Powerline Road, and I was able to get close enough before the second bird finally decided he’d had enough that I got a couple of OK flight shots. By that point, the morning was warming up and I was heating up, so I checked in with my mechanic (the Suburban has clogged evap lines that I’ve been unable to sort out) and then began the trudge home into the rising sun.
At this point, there are usually fewer birds around, so I pretty much stop birding hard and start just seeing what else I can find. In fact, I started shooting butterflies, including a reasonably cooperative Acmon Blue. But then, as I was heading down the hill right before home, I spotted a falcon soaring overhead. And it turned out to be a Peregrine, only the second time I’ve found one in the neighborhood! They’re relatively common over on the coast, but here in the inland valley they’re quite the rare bird.
Here’s a little gallery.
