Tropical Kingbird & Great Kisskadee~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS211 Comments

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Two new birds for me! The first five photos are Tropical King Birds.

The Tropical Kingbird identification is a late edition correction provided for me by Teresa Robeson, a brilliant blogging friend @ teresarobeson.wordpress.com

Thank you Teresa! Thrilled you, and your family member, helped identify another new species for me.

She clairified this bird was either a Couch or Tropical Kingbird.

It’s location points to it being a Tropical Kingbird,

a member of the tyrant flycatcher family.

The final three photos are Great Kissdadees also in the tyrant flycatcher family.

Kisskadees are not only beautiful, but bold and will chase away monkeys, raptors and snakes.

Tropical Kingbirds and Kiskadees can be found in Southern Texas, Mexico and Central/South America. Tropical Kingbirds have a similar range but can also be seen in Southern Arizona.

Like most birdies, both species are avid people watchers.

Cheers to you from Mexico and her beauteous birdies~

(Hopefully the identifications are now correct!)

Magdalena Bay~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS, Wild Life243 Comments

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Meet Mr. Red Rock Crab. He is quite large! We have been traveling out of wifi and satellite range on the Pacific side of the Baja California Penninsula in Mexico and into The Sea of Cortez through the narrows where the two oceans meet.

This view between the rocks is where The Pacific Ocean meets The Sea of Cortez.

This is a pristine, unpopulated desert ecosystem extending for hundreds of miles, surrounded by oceans that are teeming with wildlife.

This bull sea lion is suspicious and watches me with one eye,

before he relaxes and resumes his nap.

Rare, rarely seen, huge, up to 5000 pounds, and endangered, this Sunfish basks on the surface of the ocean sideways to absorb heat from the sun before he dives deep into the cold ocean to forage. For more click on following link:

https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/ocean-sunfish#:~:text=The%20ocean%20sunfish%20(Mola%20mola)%20looks%20like%20the%20invention%20of,the%20world’s%20heaviest%20bony%20fish.

Dolphin abound and can be seen alone,

or hunting in huge superpods,

that can consist,

of thousands.

This pod surrounded our boat and swam around it for close to an hour.

They were noisy,

slamming their bodies and tails on the surface of the ocean,

to stun the fish,

whom they herd into,

balls and consume.

This spotted box fish is left at peace because he is poisonous.

Even the always ravenous Snowy Egret won’t touch him!

Cheers to you from The Sea of Cortez~

BOO!

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Wild Life267 Comments

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To you,

from The Holler,

silent Slytherins,

of the night,

& Happy Halloween!

My best guess creepy crawly identification in order are: Rustic Sphinx Moth, Green Darner Dragonfly, and the rarely seen, mildly venomous, nocturnal California Lyre snake. I welcome any corrections~

Tattered~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Wild Life240 Comments

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and torn by hungry birds,

but persevering.

A tattered beauty,

fluttering by.

I love both the bird and the butterfly,

but this round goes to the bird.

Cheers to you from The Holler creatures~

Unleash the Beast~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, Tech Marvels, Uncategorized, Wild Life244 Comments

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Meep Meep’s secret speed source revealed!

(Let’s keep his secret just between us.)

Cheers to you from The Holler’s Monster Energy drinking always running Roadrunner~

Heat Wave!

On By cindy knokeIn MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Sunsets257 Comments

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It’s September in SoCal,

so we’re having a heat wave.

We grabbed the family and headed to coastal Carlsbad for the week.

Life’s a beach,

and the fun doesn’t stop,

when the sun sets.

It just slows down,

and becomes more soulful.

Cheers to you from Carlsbad in September~

‘This is the Land the Sunset Washes’~

On By cindy knokeIn MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Sunsets342 Comments

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At The Holler,

the surreal,

is sometimes,

real.

I photographed these unusual cloud formations last night when it was extremely hot and humid and the clouds seemed to dip from holding the weight of water.

Cheers to you from ‘the banks of the yellow sea’~

(poem attribution Emily Dickinson)

Late addition: Two brilliant bloggers identified these clouds for me as Asperitas Clouds only formally classified in 2017. Here is a reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperitas_(cloud)

I want to recognize both of these clever bloggers and thank them sincerely for their fascinating information.

The bloggers are :

https://40thousandkm.com/ and https://lynettedartycross.com/author/lynettedartycross/

Bloggers Rock!

Mocked~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Wild Life229 Comments

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It’s good,

to be mocked,

by a mockingbird.

They are valiant creatures who keep poisonous snakes from the garden.

Here are just a few examples of their mimicry. They even imitate weed whackers at The Holler!

Cheers to you from The Holler Mockers~

Bird Watchers~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Wild Life290 Comments

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You just need,

to be alone,

silent,

and still.

If you do this,

you will find,

that birds are avid people watchers!

Cheers to you from the always observant birdies~

Note: Featured birds are a Stellar Jay and American Robin.