Heron lies the truth!

About what, I'm not sure but I am certain that today was the closest I've ever got to a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) while on foot!
Most of the time I photograph from my work truck but this time I figured why not go on foot and see just how close I can get; besides if I spook him then it's a win as well because I still need to scoot him off the airfield. I probably got within about ten feet before he bugged out. Pretty cool!

A Savannah Bath Party!

 We had rain the night before, which is rare in Southern California -- although they say we're going to see much more as an El Nino cycle hits us this winter. The birds don't know about forecast models, but they do know a good place to take a dip when they see one! These Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis) wasted no time, despite my presence.

Of Ravens and Pipits

 This Common Raven (Corvus corax) was actually my guide the other day. He had been picking at something out in one of the infields, and had his presence not piqued my curiosity I would not have investigated was ended up being a wildlife strike by an aircraft. What was left of the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) after predation were legs, vertebrae with some of the occipital skull, wings from humerus, some primaries, and body feathers all over the place. 

This American Pipit (Anthus rubescens) happened to stay on the fence long enough after I came to a stop in my work truck to get a few pictures. The second shot made me think of "Grumpy Cat" when I was finally to home and editing!

Red-tailed Ramblings

It certainly has been a while since I've posted anything here. I'll be honest, it's been busy with work, family, and school. I've found it easier to quickly throw something up over on the CTWA (Call of The Wild Airport) Facebook page. So I've kind of decided to keep this for more a "quality" versus "quantity" over on the Facebook side, not to say that there's not good stuff over there. Pop by and you be the judge.

Three Amigos

So just what are these three juvenile European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) up to? Are they newest thing in non-destructive airframe inspection? Are they conducting a pre-flight inspection before they take her up, or just simply trying to figure out this mechanical contraption does what they do naturally? Well it actually something a little more basic than any of that. See if you can figure it out. I'll give you a hint these photos were taken in the morning not long after some light fog had burned off.

Focus in on what I just told you about the weather. It had been foggy.
Visible moisture had been present in the air. What happens to metal while sits out overnight in the open air? What does your own vehicle look like on foggy morning?

 Next, I want you to look a little closer at the surface of the stabilator -- that's the horizontal surface upon which the "inquisitive" bird is standing on. (I did tell you that I have pilot's license right?) You will notice that the stabilator is not perfectly smooth, it has grooves which run front to back. And now guess what these grooves have collected? 

Yup, that's right! Condensation has formed and has pooled enough in the grooves of the stabilators to provide a drink for our three thirsty starlings! If you look close enough you can actually see a droplet of water is this bird's beak. 

Stand by to stand by

So my camera has been in the shop since my trip home to Montana, three weeks ago. In the mean time I've returned to school and I've decided to and a Facebook [page] presence to this blog. So now you can also go to the "Call of The Wild Airport" on Facebook and see more. Available here

Oh it's just another one of Bill's birds

William that is, William J. Swainson.
Swainson, a British naturalist and illustrator best known for the quality of his art and being the first of his contemporaries to use lithography. According to Cornell University our friend here, the Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) was originally identified in 1872 by Mr. Swainson as a Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) until five years later when French biologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte classified it as it's own species and named it after Swainson.
I've only seen a Swainson's Hawk one other time and it was so far away from that it was only through close examination of the photos I had taken of it that I was able to deduce an identification. So this was Marty Stouffer, Wild America moment!