XeriSarah.com - Flora & Fauna

Vultures Lurking

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:51:00-0700

I was driving home today and was passing a cul de sac in a rural area near us when I saw these huge birds circling around a house. At first I thought they were ravens, but as I got closer I realized they were way too big. Then I saw the bright red heads and I guessed these guys to be turkey vultures. I would confirm with Joe, but he is at school, so I will have to check with him later. I then became concerned for the house they were circling because any scavengers lurking around means something is dead nearby, and they were definitely hovering over one specific house. I turned around and pulled over. Of course by then they had all landed, and were surprisingly obscured from view in the yard's pine trees. I got these photos and then quickly jumped back in the car when they all launched and started toward me. I will drive by there in the morning and see if they are all still around or if they were just making a pit stop on their way to somewhere else. If they are lingering, should I call someone to come check out the house for dead things?

Backyard Buddies

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:10:00-0700

Here are some photos of the fauna we get in the backyard. I love the ground squirrels. They are so comical and happy. They're way better than the stupid doves -glorified pidgeons. One day Joe looked out and saw we had a strange visitor. This red-winged black bird does live in this territory, but you never see them.

Life List

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 21:20:00-0700

We have been enjoying our backyard flora and fauna, mostly fauna. We get some interesting birds. Here are a few images. This guy is a young Verdin. He likes to hang out in the honeysuckle. We noticed all the flowers falling off way before they were old and wilted. We didn't know what was happening. It turnd out it was this guy. He breaks the flower off at the base and eats the tiny seeds inside. Little bastard leaves flower carnage all over the yard. Ok Ok, so we have 4 bushes in the back, but still. Thief. This guy is a Phoebe. He is noisy! Joe works at home and is not only constantly interupted by clients calling him, but he also gets to deal with the incessant chirp of this guy. He's got an attitude too. Hey, whatchu lookin' at? You loookin' at me? That's RIGHT you are, baby! Um, I am just going to look over here now. OK. I go now. Buh-bye. These are just a few photos. We are starting to keep track of the variety we see and are now half-assedly keeping a life list. I'll let you know if we see anything really cool like a blue-footed booby.