Yellow-rumped Warbler

AKA, Audubon's Warbler.

My first sighting.  A flock of 10 were feeding in the grass roadside.

Buckeye Fruit

This year California Buckeye gained their leaves in May, bloomed in June, shed in August, and were bare by late September as the fruit began to form.

For the very first time, I see squirrels taking the fruit.

I was under the impression that nothing ate buckeyes -- not deer, not squirrel, not Indians, not nothing...

Here's a squirrel-nibbled buckeye... 

The kids and I were standing in the woods last week when buckeye pieces began raining down on our heads;  a squirrel had taken one to the top of a pine.

But the point of this story is that they're sprouting in December!

dropping the husk...

millions underfoot, all sprouting in synchrony this last week of December.

The fruits are the size of golf balls and they litter the ground at the foot of each buckeye tree.  If the terrain isn't sharply sloped they remain in place, germinate, and then in the Spring -- when mother buckeye regains her dense foliage -- they wither and die from lack of direct sun.

I'm speaking generally, but.. only buckeye fruit that roll away, downhill, from the mother tree have a chance of survival.  Weighty and shaped like a ball, they are perfectly suited for rolling long distances on the bare ground of the California foothills in winter.

So, what of that buckeye tree that stand perched on the top of a hill?
How did the hard, round, heavy fruit ever get up there?

:-)))

Toyon, Robins, & Waxwings

It's a Robin Invasion!
On every branch of every tree, a robin.  Roadside and field are crawling with the buggers.  The least puddle finds a robin bathing.  Aimless flocks crisscross the sky, looking down on millions of other robins below.  The sound of robins drowns out all other bird song.

This happens three or four times a year -- robins suddenly sweeping in and dominating the landscape -- but this is unprecedented.

Worms are their preferred fare, but they also dine on toyon berries.  The bushes shimmer and shake when they're infested by the birds.

Yesterday I stepped from the car and a toyon was a riot of robins.  Yet something was amiss...  there were lookalikes mixed in!

Embiggened this photo to spot 4 robins and 4 fellow-travelling imposters.

A couple of the bandits...

Which explains much:
* the "subtle coloring"  Mary & I remarked on distant robins...
* the strange bird we'd seen from the rear on the sidewalk...

Now that my eyes are open, Cedar Waxwings are everywhere.

Oak-Loving Fungi

After the first rains of November,  outlandish growths suddenly appeared on this old oak.

Tentative identification: Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus gilbertsonii)

I pass this tree every day and the yellow fungus sprouted overnight.

After several weeks it browned and withered.

==============================================

Fast forward to late December, at the base of the same tree...

Tentative identification: some kind of Chanterelle

Chanterelle favors soil around (or in the nooks and crannies of) oak.

People actually collect and sell this beauty.

Red-Breasted Sapsucker

A new bird, a Christmas gift.

Across the field, high in a tree, a dim silhouette at dusk with a unrecognized call: "Cheer"

Forget the binoculars!
A pocket digital camera with mega-zoom is a birder's best friend.

If I'd had presence of mind, I would have switched to video and captured its song.

December Clouds

Killdeer