Bird Observations

Female Western Bluebird

Last week, I was walking near Tourmaline St in La Jolla, CA, a coastal community north of San Diego, and spotted the following bird on the lawn.  At first glance, I thought it was a Robin, a bird that can be found throughout the United States, but one that I've never seen on the West Coast.  Then, I saw a blue glint on it's head.  As I came closer to get a better picture, it flew away. When I researched my photo later and verified with a bird expert, it turned out to be a Female Western Bluebird.  A few years ago in Balboa Park in San Diego, I spotted a beautiful, bright blue bird (probably a Male Bluebird), but as I pulled out my camera, it flew away.  I've become more alert and almost always have my camera out and ready, although I'm convinced that as soon as the bird is aware of my silver camera they take off.

House finch

 

 Yesterday, I spotted a house finch at the Slough.

 Today, I walked the hills of Ocean Beach.  The weather was overcast and the birds must have been hunkering down since it was also cold.    On the way back, I stopped in at the Slough.  There I saw a man and a small child feeding two Mallards some bread on the Famosa Boulevard side.   As I walked toward them, they left.  The man and child then went around to the front entrance to the Slough.  Believe it or not, the ducks swam across the water to where these people were and followed them on the path.  That was amazing to me.  The ducks didn't come to me. as I had come around to the front and was just several feet from these people.  Did the Mallards recognize their feeders?                                                                                

                                                 

Mallard

Along came another man with a school bag.  He put his hand in the bag, dropped something for the ducks,and proceeded on.  The birds ate some of it and there was a piece between them.  Just then a small gull with black wings just swooped down and picked up the whole piece of bread.   One of the Mallards quacked and turned his head towards the airborne gull with the bread.  It sounded just like he voiced, "Wa-a-." (Like "what just happened here?")  That gull certainly was very deft in his actions.

White-crowned Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Then, four White-crowned Sparrows hopped out of the bushes and pecked around for breadcrumbs.  This gave me an opportunity to get a close-up of them, since they usually hide within the brush.

Clapper Rail

While all this was going on, a Clapper Rail was intent on his own fishing in the water.

While I certainly don't know much about birds, I'm sometimes taken aback to view their almost human-like actions.

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La Gran Terraza Restaurant

Wednesday evening my daughter took me to La Gran Terraza, a fine dining restaurant at the University of San Diego, where my son-in-law is the evening chef. We entered the building and proceeded down the hall, past O’Tooles Tavern and entered a large dining room with large floor to ceiling windows. Our view included Tecolote Canyon and Mission Bay. The Front Manager, Amanda, told us that usually the view includes a beautiful sunset. That evening, we had a complete cloud cover.

The Prime Rib buffet was certainly tempting. Since I had a late lunch, I had no intention of eating very much. However, I had a little of this and a little of that. Before I knew it I had filled my plate. Beside the Prime Rib (delicious!!) with onions and mushrooms for topping with au jus gravy, there were roasted vegetables and garlic mashed potatoes. As I rounded the buffet table in the center of the room, I found a fresh fruit compote with black beans, a plate with fresh fruit and cheese, and salmon in pastry.

Then, our waiter reminded us of the soup table and the various breads offered. I had to pass up the soup, but not the cranberry bread. It tasted so good. I barely managed to try the desserts which are created in-house. The whole meal was excellent, as was the service.

Now, having enjoyed this wonderful meal, desserts and all, coupled with my late lunch at Red Lobster, I am definitely returning to my diet.

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San Diego Night Zoo

This afternoon I went with my daughter and family, as they took two of my East Coast grandchildren to the San Diego Night Zoo. Our East Coast visitors are 14 years old.

We arrived around 3pm and headed for the "Urban Jungle." On the way, we visited the tropical birds including the Laughing Kookaburra, which my four-year old grandson can imitate perfectly and the peaceful koalas. This time there were nine koalas sitting, sleeping or eating on branches. The spectators are usually very quiet. It's almost like they are taking on the aura of this exhibit.

Finally, we reached the giraffes and crossed the street to see two rhinos cavorting. We were just in time to watch an employee named Heidi feeding Murphy (a red river hog). As we circled around past the rhinos, we found them playing roughly with each other. It was quite a spectacle to see these large, heavy animals actually pushing each other back and forth over a length of 30 or 40 feet. After that we stopped to see one of the Night Zoo acts, Jasmine and Jade Jumpers, performing there. After enjoying their acrobatic antics, we left to find a place to eat supper.

My daughter suggested the Sabertooth Grill at Elephant Odyssey. Everyone enjoyed their choice of dishes....macaroni and cheese for the four year old, a chili bowl, a hamburger with onion rings for the teens, chicken wrap and chicken rice plates for the adults while watching the elephants. As we were eating, my daughter told us she spotted Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna on a VIP tour as we were watching Heidi feed Murphy, the red river hog in the Urban Jungle. Not that I'm a celebrity hound, but it would have been nice if she told us at the time. I remember standing outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles with my Cardiff daughter to see the Wiggles. My daughter said, "Don't look now but there is an actor standing over there, but I can't remember his name." I immediately looked in that direction. She said, "You looked. I told you not to look." It was just a natural response. I guess that at the zoo today, my San Diego daughter decided that Harry, Lisa and the children deserved their privacy. Last year, I took my San Diego granddaughter to the zoo on the day the new Polar Bear Exhibit opened. That night the TV Newscaster related that Tori Spelling was at the exact same place that afternoon. I didn't see her, but most likely wouldn't have recognized her anyway. I'm sure many famous people visit the zoo without being noticed. Well, on another subject, with full stomachs, we ventured over to the elephants.

Then, back to the entrance to take the much anticipated tour bus, the last one of the day. We all sat on the upper level and had a great forty-minute ride. In some instances, being on the upper level prevents you from seeing some animals. However, I consider it fun anyway.

At 8pm, we saw the Front Street Finale. There is a short parade which includes the spectators. We returned to an act the grandchildren had seen last week. The young performers from China were very talented. We tried to congratulate and speak with them until we realized, as they nodded and smiled, that they most likely didn't speak English. Then, on to the Skyfari aerial tram, so that our guests could see the whole park.

Just as we were ready to go home, my teenage granddaughter asked where the iguanas were. As we were near the reptile house, in our entourage went. That is, except me. I don't go into reptile houses. They came out a short while later, satisfied with what they saw. They all spoke about a large ancient turtle.

Our six hours at the zoo seemed to fly by. My teenage East Coast grandchildren have been to the Bronx Zoo in New York a number of times. I think they really enjoyed their day at the San Diego Zoo.

To my Southern California friends, you would really enjoy having a zoo membership. It enables you to visit for two or three hours anytime you want. The zoo map details which trails are easy and which are steep. You can choose to see a part of the park at your leisure so you don't miss anything. That's how our family does it.


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Sunday at Balboa Park

My shy, reserved granddaughter will be attending the San Diego Junior Theatre camp in Balboa Park tomorrow, so my daughter took her there to see the layout. I and my not so shy or reserved grandson went along.

There were many visitors, so we had to pray for a parking spot. We circled the parking lot not finding a spot and decided to just drive to the front of the building where the theatre camp would be held. There, right in front of the building was a "15 minute" spot. We had just enough time to familiarize my granddaughter with the layout of the area. Then, we got back into the car and drove to the area where she would be picked up every day. That accomplished, my daughter circled through that parking lot. As she stopped because of someone waiting for a parking spot, a couple walked up to the car and said, "We are leaving if you want our spot." That gave us the opportunity to wander through the park. If you had seen the line of cars waiting to park, you'd probably agree that our prayer was answered.

The Park was crowded but not over-crowded. We walked to the Bea Evenson Water Fountain. To the left, is a picture taken when there were less visitors. On the way up to the fountain, a lone street dancer got my grandson to join him in a dance routine.


We just missed a large group dance performance near the fountain. As we walked down the main street we saw the San Diego Bird Rescue group with some beautiful birds. The volunteers walked amidst the spectators allowing them to have a close-up view that they would not ordinarily enjoy.



My granddaughter wanted to see the tall tower near the western entrance to the Park. Actually, it is the California Tower housing the Ona May Lowe Carillon (picture at the top of blog). To the left is a picture of the entrance to the Museum of Man.



Then, with her curiosity satisfied, we walked back towards the Botanical Building. On the way, a small crowd surrounded a street magician. We stopped to watch his magic tricks. Then, on to the Botanical Building where we had the opportunity to rub and sniff some herbs. Interesting. There were many, many plants, but it was too crowded today.

I led our little group to a tree behind this building, which I've found very interesting because so many of it's roots were above the ground (picture below on the left). The children enjoyed climbing the roots. I think the this tree might be a Moreton Bay Fig Tree as its roots are similar to the large famous one near the Park Avenue entrance (picture below on the right).








As we passed the Village Grill, we decided to have, what was by now, a late lunch. It provided a good reprieve from all our walking. As time was marching on, we regrettably had to skip the Art Show at the Spanish Village Art Center.

There is just so much to see at Balboa Park, whether it be roadside entertainment, museums, plants or beautiful architecture. Actually, we probably only covered one-third of the park. And, a good time was had by all.

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