Lesser Goldfinch

Each time I go outside, there are new things to hear and see. My raucous friends are the hummingbirds, whose behavior is almost like a game. My alpha male Rufous is back from his winter migration to Mexico. With his rich bronze plumage, iridescent scarlet throat, and the determination of a football linebacker, this guy thinks he owns the hummingbird feeder and quickly chases away all rivals. The large feisty Crows caw incessantly (beginning at the crack of dawn) and perch in the tall trees as well as use my bird bath as a means to soften food that he has probably acquired from the neighbors trash. Always one can hear the calm and soothing cooing of the Mourning dove. The Goldfinches have a most beautiful song and I guess that after so much singing, a drink of water from my fountain is in order.

These are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. Their talons and beaks to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh and in most cases, the females are considerably larger than the males.

In the attached photos is a Harris hawk, a Peregrine falcon and an eleven week old Saker falcon, sometimes known as a desert falcon. The Saker falcon winters in desert areas and is popular with Arab falconers.

These beautiful raptors for are part of a pest-bird abatement program at the Montage Resort in Laguna Beach and are handled by professional Falconer Jorge Herrera. Pesky seagulls really do seem to keep their distance.

Cow

Yesterday I found this cute cow in Temecula. Being the California guy that I am, I was trying to figure out how you milk it. I concluded that it must be by using those two things hanging between her rear legs.