Category: Wild Life

Holler Creatures~

On 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~

Predating Raptor~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Wild Life218 Comments

Panics the snow geese (Click/tap to enlarge),

driving them high in the sky,

into protective formation,

over The Salton Sea in Southern California.

When the threat passes,

the geese return,

to feast and float.

Smart Snow Birds,

head south for the winter,

to loaf in the sun,

and play in the sea.

They only fly north when the sun comes out!

Cheers to you from the sun loving snow geese at The Salton Sea~

Note: I am guessing the predating raptor is a Harrier Hawk, but welcome correction if wrong.

Avocets~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Wild Life247 Comments

in flight over The Salton Sea in Southern California. (Click/tap to enlarge)

A pair in breeding plumage,

reflecting fragile,

flying beauty.

We continue to be deluged,

by blessed rain and snow,

with still more forecasted.

Salton Sea is cleaner and fuller than I have ever seen,

making the wintering birds happy.

They are ready now,

for the arduous flight north to breed.

Cheers to you from The Salton Sea~

Flight~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Uncategorized, Wild Life264 Comments

Harris Hawks lift off from my glove,

soar straight up in the sky to fly,

and land precisely back with Jim.

Flying hawks is incredible.

Lethal precision hunters,

they are woe to birdies in the sky,

and critters fleeing on the ground.

They are savage beauties,

and magnificent creatures.

Cheers to you from the Harris Hawks~

Holler Feeder~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Wild Life250 Comments

The Holler after the rains.

The birdies are happy,

healthy and fat!

For the first time we have goldfinch in large numbers, (tap or click to enlarge to see flying bird detail)

feasting on a bowl of seeds,

along with all the other finches and sparrows. The little black seeds you see scattered all over are thistle seeds. It is the first time I put thistle out and the goldfinch love it!

The tiny gold beauties,

manage to hold their own,

with the much larger,

finches.

It’s no brag,

just fact,

The Holler has the very best neighbors!

Cheers to you from The Happy Holler Heavies~

Hollerites~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Wild Life211 Comments

We’ve gotten lots of rain and more is coming this weekend! The lakes and creeks are filling up, making the critters (and me) happy.

I am going to be disappointed in myself if I get these identifications wrong,

but I think this handsome guy is a Ring Necked Duck.

Duck identification is difficult. (You can actually see the ring around his neck in this photo which is unusual).

We have thirty or so duck species in California, and that doesn’t include all the ones that aren’t supposed to be here! (Birds don’t read the manuals).

I think this similar,

but the not the same beauty,

is a lesser scaup male,

and here is the female.

Here they are together. Of course, I could be wrong. But irregardless of ID, a duck by any other name would quack the same!

Cheers to you from The Happy Holler Quackers~

One Can~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Wild Life218 Comments

make friends,

easily,

with onecan.

But toucans?

Toucan’t!

Cheers to you from one friendly can~

Note: This is a Toco Toucan. They are highly intelligent birds and are the largest and longest living toucans. They can live up to thirty years. Many types of toucans are endangered in the wild due to habitat destruction and hunting, but Toco populations are currently stable.