Inspired by last week’s Gizmodo Shooting Challenge, I decided to try and capture some bug photos from around the farm. So I grabbed my 100mm macro lens and outside I went in search of crawling critters.
I am happy to report that I found some.
See more images in my gallery.
I stumbled across a family of Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) birds while walking at Lindo Lake in Lakeside, California. As I approached, the first thing that I noticed were a handful of adult birds making a noisy fuss. The Killdeer would loudly screech at me from a distance of 30–50 feet and fly away quite agitated at me and then, after a short time, fly back. This continued for some time as I worked my along the shore. And then their behavior changed abruptly as I neared a thicket of reeds.
One of the adults suddenly flew past me and landed about 20 feet or so from and then began to flutter on the ground for a few seconds. The poor bird would part its wings and list back and forth while huddled close to the ground. It would then get up, fly past me again, land, and then repeat the fluttering and twitching on the ground. I definitely got the impression that this poor bird could be injured or at least a bit touched in the head.
Just then I noticed two small inconspicuous balls of fluffy down feathers walking across the mud flats no more than 15 feet from where I stood. There were two juvenile Killdeer chicks standing in front of me. Can we say cute!
I realized that the adult Killdeer was just putting on an elaborate act in order to divert my attention from the two baby birds. The display for a few minutes continued until I finally put some distance between myself and the babies. The frustrated parents could rest at last.
You can see more images at the Lindo Lake 2010 Gallery.
This weekend I finally got around to picking up the debris that had been strewn about my yard from the last big storm that blew through. I was working on a pile of palm fronds that were stacked on the lawn when I spied something curious. A tiny face was staring up at me.
The little creature couldn’t have been more than 2 inches long and maybe a quarter of an inch across.
Was it a earthworm? No, it had eyes. Perhaps it was lizard. I don’t think so. It seems a bit moist to be a lizard. It sure looks like a salamander, but I know we don’t have salamanders in inland San Diego County.
While I was puzzling over this fellow’s identity, he just contentedly stared up at me, blinking occasionally. What could it be? I gently picked him up and placed him in a pot of chamomile so he wouldn’t wander too far off, and went inside to see if I could ID him.
After a few minutes on Google Images, low and behold, I had a Garden slender salamander (Batrachoseps major major) on my hands. Apparently these salamanders are fairly common in these parts but I had never seen one around here. I thought I might grab a few photos of him while I as at it. He was a very cooperative model and immensely patient while I toiled away taking pictures of him.
A salamander, indeed! What a pleasant discovery while working in the garden.
I would like to introduce you all Mr. Squirt McBird. “Squirtie” is a 13 year old Meyers parrot (Poicephalus meyeri) and is an all around goof ball and a good natured feathered ham.
You know you want one!
Continue reading “Kittens!”