Look Who Showed Up at The Holler~

On June 28, 2023June 30, 2023 By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Wild Life287 Comments

Tiny Scaly Breasted Munias are native to India and Southeast Asia (click/tap to enlarge).

I told you birds,

don’t pay attention,

to where they are ‘supposed’ to be!

They looked as surprised to see me as I was to see them, but we are getting used to each other.

There is a whole flock of them.

It turns out these birds were sold in US pet stores as Nutmeg Mannikins.

Some escaped and have been breeding in Southern California.

I had a dickens of a time identifying them because they are not native.

Cheers to you from the new Holler locals who are fitting in quite nicely with the neighbors~

Bullocks Orioles~

On May 31, 2023May 31, 2023 By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, Wild Life213 Comments

This Bullocks Oriole is not sticking his tongue out at you, or me (click to enlarge).

He is eating grape jelly. Orioles are grape jelly fiends. At The Holler, strawberry, or other fruit jellies won’t do. Only ants and wasps will eat it.

We have two types of orioles at The Holler. Hooded Orioles and Bullocks Orioles.

These are all Bullocks Oriole males.

This is a Hooded Oriole male. He is more elongated, has a larger beak, and is a brighter yellow color.

A mated male and female Bullocks Oriole pair. Bullocks Orioles males have the dramatic black eyeliner at the outside corners of their eyes and are more orange in color.

All orioles are extremely argumentative! This male Bullocks Oriole holds his own in a fierce debate against a more formidable Mocking Bird.

Cheers to you from all the quarrelsome Holler Orioles~

Bickering Birdies~

On May 20, 2023 By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Wild Life210 Comments

Love to argue.

Orioles and mockingbirds are definitely the culprits,

while scrubjays and woodpeckers,

just stand back stunned,

and watch the show!

Cheers to you from The Holler’s bickering birdies~

Do These Potheads~

On April 30, 2023April 30, 2023 By cindy knokeIn Conservation, Flowers, GARDENING AT THE HOLLER, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES181 Comments

Seem high to you?

The Holler is a bloomin’ glory!

The fruits are flowering,

the narcissus are self centering,

the daisies are dancing,

the iris are iridescent,

and the coco locos are yet to turn lavender!

Cheers to you from The Bloomin’ Holler~

Note: Those potheads are not in my garden! 🤣

Bloomin’ David’s~

On April 30, 2023April 30, 2023 By cindy knokeIn Flowers, GARDENING AT THE HOLLER, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS125 Comments

David Austin Roses,

at The Holler,

are blooming beauties.

The scent indoors,

is intoxicating.

Cheers to you from The Bloomin’ Holler~

Reys of Feathered Sun~

On April 24, 2023April 25, 2023 By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, GARDENING AT THE HOLLER, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Wild Life158 Comments

In black tuxedos (click/tap to enlarge)

are sunbursts,

in the garden.

Hooded Oriole males,

are always dressed,

to impress.

Cheers to you from the flying sunbursts~

Holler Creatures~

On April 21, 2023April 23, 2023 By cindy knokeIn Conservation, Coyotes, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Wild Life221 Comments

Look at those ears! This watcher caught me unaware through the window at dawn. I shot him through double paned glass in the rain. Holler coyotes are quite bold now, coming through our fences before dawn and hanging out. This is a sub-adult, so I suspect he dug under the fences.

You can see he is bold, made and held eye contact, even while I grabbed my camera case, pulled out my camera, removed the lens cap, and got a few shots.

Since he didn’t back off, I opened the door, and walked after him. He sashayed off after I yelled.

This guy in Death Valley also stood his ground, but he was not challenging, more interested.

He sashayed off too.

These are more Holler sub-adult coyote siblings. The one who stared at me also has a sibling. All four are about the same age, sub-adult.

This is an adult. Coyotes and Grey Wolves may be the only ‘pure’ wild canine species still surviving in North America. Most other wolf species have at least some coyote DNA.

Red Wolves, for example, share 75% of their DNA with coyotes. For more on this read: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/distinctions-blur-between-wolf-species#:~:text=Red%20wolves%20contain%20about%2075,to%2050%20percent%20coyote%20ancestry.

There are also a lot of Ceonothus Silk Moths at The Holler right now. Ceonothus is lilac. We live in Lilac California, named after the wild lilacs that grow profusely here. Ceonothus Moths lay their eggs on wild lilac. They have a wing span of up to five inches, have no mouth, live only a matter of days and only live to reproduce.

They are calm and beautiful creatures who are not afraid of humans.

Cheers to you from The Holler Creatures~