We have only the best sort of critters at The Holler, like this Western Scrub Jay,
and this always ready for his close up,
California thrasher.
Hummers are always humming at The Holler,
but for Bullocks orioles,
The Holler is just one of their many vacation homes.
The female,
and male grosbeaks, are also only seasonal visitors,
but baby house finches call Holler home.
Cheers to you from The Holler folk~
Butterflies thrive in our warm climate.
Swallowtails,
Cloudless Sulfurs,
and Gulf Fritillaries are locals.
Swallowtails mating.
Queen.
But the Monarchs are the show stoppers now.
They are a threatened species, so seeing them is a special treat.
Cheers to you from from the Southern California Flutterbyes~
These gorgeous creatures,
are Grey Buckeye Butterflies,
a newly identified sub-species, found in south western North America. The species was first identified in 2016.
Grey Buckeyes are genetically and morphologically distinct and from Eastern Buckeye Butterflies.
All I know is they are beautiful and I love having them here!
Cheers to you from the beautiful Grey Buckeyes~
For More Information on the identification of this new species see:
https://phys.org/news/2018-11-butterfly-species.html
Great Tailed Grackles are fun birds to watch.
You find them easily by following their loud and distinctive vocalizations.
They chatter, sing, whistle and shriek. (I included a link at the end of this post if you are interested in listening to the diversity of their songs and calls.)
But mostly they sing like this happy guy.
Grackles are always at least as interested in you as you are in them!
They are devoted people watchers.
Cheers to you from the cheerful grackles~
Here is a sampling of their vocalizations:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great-tailed_Grackle/sounds
Don’t you feel like this bird looks?
I do.
Cheers to you and those odd bird days~
What a beauty.
I couldn’t figure why he was here in his breeding plumage hanging out with the snowy egrets.
Maybe he was lost.
Cheers to you from the lonely cattle egret ~
Hummingbirds are the smallest birds in the world. Anna’s weigh about .14 ounce, but they can fly at speeds of up to 60 mph.
Unlike other birds they can fly backwards and upside down, and they are among the 1% of birds who can hover.
Hummers fly upright, not flat like other birds.
Their wings rotate 180 degrees, on their shoulder ball and socket joints,
and can beat up to 200 times per minute!
Despite their petite size, hummingbirds have mega-brains. Their brains constitute 4.2% of their body weight, greater than any other bird, and greater than human beings whose brains are about 2% of their body mass. Hummers remember how to fly thousands of miles, they know and remember which humans can be counted on to feed them, and they remember which flowers have the best nectar.
Cheers to you from the small but mighty hummer~
The most,
hummers get,
to rest,
all day.
Their daylight hours are spent packing on calories,
to survive their torporous nights.
Cheers to you from the resting hummers~
(Click the photos to enlarge if you would like to see more detail.)
Hummingbirds in flight are difficult photos for me.
You can see his tongue here,
and here.
The world has been so depressing for such a long time now,
that I am sharing some of what keeps me going.
And risk boring you with too many photos.
I am going to post a series of hummingbirds, macros are next.
Hummingbirds help me realize how hopeful the world still is.
I hope they help you too. Cheers to you from The Holler Hummers~
I’ve respected mockingbirds since I was a kid when I watched one pick up a snake that was threatening it’s nest and repeatedly dash it on the pavement from high in the sky.
My childhood friend rescued a baby mockingbird and it became her pet. It flew freely about the house and held it’s own with her family’s five cats.
They are feisty and assertive birds and they are talented musicians.
They don’t just mimic the sounds they hear, they also compose, morphing the timber,
and tune, to make their songs more melodic.
Mockingbirds are night singers in the spring and summertime at The Holler.
Juvenile and adult males without mates sing at night to attract females.
I love falling to sleep at night listening to their vocal repertoires.
Cheers to you from The Holler musicians~
