Backyard Birding

Categories: TravelTags: · · · · · · 4 Comments

So the monkey has been thinking about birds lately. His home sits in a bit of niche valley near the northern edge of the Santa Monica mountains with open space behind and tall, surrounding ridges that lead south to the ocean about six miles away (as the crow flies). Kongo sees lots of birds. Western gulls fly back and forth to Anacapa Island, a large covey of quail live in a stand of manzanita behind the back fence, an occasional golden eagle will perch in an oak tree behind the manzanita, hawks hunt overhead, finches and oriels visit in the…

Chaos

Categories: Galapagos · TravelTags: · · · · · · 3 Comments

This week’s Photo Challenge at WordPress is Chaos.  Here hundreds of blue-footed boobies and pelicans attack a bait ball in the Galapagos Islands.  There birds were diving constantly, splashing, screeching, and gorging.  Pelicans got so full of fish they were unable to take off again. See more depictions of CHAOS at the WordPress challenge site. Travel safe.  Have fun.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Between

Categories: Galapagos · TravelTags: · · · · · · · · · · · 2 Comments

Wherever there is three, one is always BETWEEN, which is the theme for this week’s photo challenge from WordPress.  Here these three blue-footed boobies (Kongo calls this image Tres Amigos) perch on a rock in the Galapagos Islands.  The two on the ends look at the one between.  See more of Kongo’s Galapagos images here.

Vultures

Categories: San DiegoTags: · · · · · · · · · · · 2 Comments

It was feeding time for the vultures at the San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park yesterday when Kongo passed by.  Vultures are interesting birds and provide valuable services by cleaning up carrion in the wild but these are images you wouldn’t want to see anywhere outside of a zoo, like if you were trekking across the desert and one of them landed next to you.

Zoo Birding

Categories: San DiegoTags: · · · · · · · · · · · 6 Comments

Okay, Kongo gets that serious birders will look down their beak in a scathing fashion about the notion of going birding at the zoo.  And given that Kongo is just back from touring the Galapagos Islands where the birds were everywhere in the wild he admits that it is a bit of a let down to go to the zoo now although the San Diego Zoo happens to be one of Kongo’s favorite places and where else can you get a close up of a Hyacinth Macaw (above) and Metallic Starlings (read on) on the same day?