UrsulaV (ursulav) wrote,
UrsulaV
ursulav

Huntington Gardens was awesome!

Leaving aside that they're amazingly gorgeous gardens, the birds were cool! I didn't see the parakeets, but I saw something equally cool--a Red Whiskered Bulbul. They're an import from Asia that's established a breeding population in a very few places in Southern CA, one of which is Huntington. (They're a neat bird, sort of like a blue jay wearing harlequin paint.) This is actually the first bird that I got to ID that was so local that it didn't have the little "range" map in the Sibley guide.  (Sibley guides contain a little map of the US, with colors marking the distribution of birds. Some birds, however, have no range map--birds that get blow over occasionally from Siberia, for example, or feral parakeets that only live in Miami, or whatever. My first obscure bird! I am proud.)

Okay, I'm pretty sure we can't exceed Wikipedia's bandwidth...

Also saw a lot of black pheobes, what I think was a Nutall's woodpecker, (like a downy woodpecker with a busier back--held itself different from a downy, but don't ask me to articulate how...*grin*) and more hummingbirds of all descriptions than you could shake a stick at.

I am sunburnt and have a blister the size of a fifty cent piece, but I regret nothing!
Subscribe

  • (no subject)

    New novel, coming November 27th! Woohoo! It's called SWORDHEART. It's an epic fantasy romancey thing with an enchanted sword. Yes, as one of the…

  • (no subject)

    The problem with not posting constantly is that then I feel the urge to start every post with an apology for not posting, which makes me not post…

  • Wonder Engine Pre-Order open!

    Psssst. Wanna buy a book? *opens coat* Pre-Order The Wonder Engine now! Other formats are also becoming available but take longer to…

  • Post a new comment

    Error

    default userpic

    Your reply will be screened

    When you submit the form an invisible reCAPTCHA check will be performed.
    You must follow the Privacy Policy and Google Terms of use.
  • 15 comments

  • (no subject)

    New novel, coming November 27th! Woohoo! It's called SWORDHEART. It's an epic fantasy romancey thing with an enchanted sword. Yes, as one of the…

  • (no subject)

    The problem with not posting constantly is that then I feel the urge to start every post with an apology for not posting, which makes me not post…

  • Wonder Engine Pre-Order open!

    Psssst. Wanna buy a book? *opens coat* Pre-Order The Wonder Engine now! Other formats are also becoming available but take longer to…