A Mad Jay and a Mad River

Tuesday morning the male Steller's jay was ticked off again, squawking mercilessly at a neighbor's orange tabby cat that insists on coming around in my parents' front yard, clearly too close to the jays' nest...he is very brave, coming very close to the cat...I almost got a shot of the two of them in one photo but the jay moved...(this morning, the jay was in a tree out front, silent, watching for that darn cat...)

The amber-eyed culprit....at the front edge of the house by the side fence...we think the nest is behind him in the neighbor's tree about 30 feet away... 

The jay on top of the fence, right above the cat, within 2-3 feet...

Later, my sis and I took a drive out to Blue Lake, first to the fish hatchery hoping to see a kingfisher or any other interesting bird...what I thought was something 'new' turned out to be a chickadee...I think this bird above is a house finch, nothing new there either...

We then ended up walking a short way out on a levee above Mad River, only seeing goldfinches, none that cooperated for photos...

There are many types of legume wildflowers growing in N Calif. by the coast, including this pretty pink one...

On the other side of the road, we took a path along the river...could hear many types of birds among the large variety of trees and shrubs, but all I got a photo of was this band-tailed pigeon...which is a lifer...

Next, we drove back NW toward the coast to Azalea Reserve, which consists of a short loop trail through a wooded area where many Western azaleas grow wild...I've missed seeing the wild rhododendrons that grow in the redwoods in May...

A periwinkle peeking out from the underbrush...

A lone columbine, not yet fully open.

We did see many hummingbirds, high above at the tops of trees, but I didn't get any decent photos.

South Humboldt Bay

Monday I took a drive south a few miles, to the So. Humboldt Bay area and the Humboldt Bay NWR. There is a 1.75 mile loop trail in the Refuge, wandering through marshy wetlands like the Arcata Bottoms...the weather was foggy and windy but I saw a few things of interest...

A great blue heron flying overhead in the distance...

Many more of the long-billed marsh wrens...

This really pretty black moth, called a ctenucha multifaria (I kid you not)...

An immature long-billed marsh wren...love the downy tufts...

A view of the landscape...

Another great blue heron flying off into the foggy mist...

Along the channel of water, I came across a buck and two does, discovering them one at a time...

The buck was out in the open but quickly snuck back into the nearby underbrush...he then got up and moved again and I was sorry to see he was limping...look closely, he has velvety antlers growing behind his ears...

I do believe this is a Savannah sparrow, with bits for a nest...a lifer!

The Arcata Bottoms

Sunday my middle sis and I walked the loop trail at the Arcata Bottoms to see what bird life we could find. The trail follows open agricultural fields, a marsh type setting...

There were plenty of song sparrows; this one looks immature...

Returning back to the path from a short side trail to the water passage's edge, we found this carving in the side of a fallen tree trunk...

A red dragon fly with orange wings...

Two reeeeeally large 'shrooms...the one in the foreground is at least 8" across...

A battered swallowtail...there's a large, jagged tear in the top left wing...

A long-billed marsh wren, a lifer for sure...it's the only wren found in marshes according to the field guide...

Anyone know what this is?? I think it's an immature green heron...if so it's a lifer...

This is what the landscape looks like at the Arcata Bottoms...

We saw several American goldfinches...

And great egrets, which are almost always too far away to get a decent photo of. This one is wading up to its wings in marsh water covered in plant life.

A Steller Feller

...What a hair-raising 'do, eh?!

Finally, photos of the Steller's jay! Like other jays, normally they don't stand still and are real skittish...my folks have this pair nesting in a neighbor's tree and they come to my folks' yard a few times a day. I was sitting at my laptop yesterday when this fellow/gal landed on the shrub outside the sliding glass door. I snuck outside...the other jay had joined the first...and I managed to get a few photos before they flew off.

No. California/Redwood Highway

Friday I drove from Medford, Oregon, which is about 115 miles inland from the Pacific coast, SW on Hwy 199 to Crescent City, CA and then south to my hometown, Eureka, along Hwy. 101. I've traveled this beautiful route many times but will never tire of it...there is so much scenery to see...this was the first time I've been to my hometown during wildflower season since I began photographing wildflowers, and I took my time along this route, stopping in a couple of spots for the first time also...

Just south of a small town called Gasquet, there's a botanical point-of-interest I'd always wondered about...I stopped there for the first time and discovered a small trail loop that leads to Darlingtonia Bog, which was like a large 'pit' of cobra lilies! Can you see where they got their name?!

Also along the trail were these pretty lavender flowers (above), and the very unique-looking zygadene lily (below)...I saw a type of wren flitting about too but couldn't get a photo...

Further along Hwy 199 reaches the Smith River...I took a river access road for the first time, partway, stopping to get some photos of wildflowers and one of the bridges over the river...the flower below looks like it's from the rose family...

Below is fire pink...it was growing on the very edge of the ridge above the river so I was very careful when I took this photo...

Wild cucumber (below) was also growing in this area...it grows in the Black Hills too...

The Redwoods version of a wild tiger lily (below) is different than the one in the Black Hills...

And the same goes for the wild honeysuckle (below)...the Black Hills version is dark yellow...

Below is just a portion of a redwood tree...if you've never seen a redwood forest, you really should...Hwy 199 reaches the redwoods along the Smith River near the coast...

If you look more closely under the redwood canopy, you will find many types of mushrooms...this one has dew drops...

Where I stopped, I also found this pretty white flower with purple veins...

And this neat little star flower that seemed suspended in the air...

Once reaching Crescent City at the coast, I always stop at the beach there and at the Chart Room restaurant on the marina, where I had breakfast (just like last year) and watched the sea lions and harbor seals lounging on a pier...

Life is rough, huh? The harbor seals far outnumber the sea lions...

There were seagulls of course, some hanging out with the seals, some on the rocks below the restaurant, eating crabs left by fishermen...the one below was captured just as it took off...

Free crab...they don't know how good they have it...

After breakfast, I went just down the road to the beach, where I found a few people surfing...if you surf in the Pacific ocean, you need a wetsuit, it's chilly!

It was still foggy...the fog normally burns off after noon this time of year...

Barnacles grow on the rocks on the coast, even on small stones...

Further south of Crescent City, I checked out a turn-out at a pond for the first time, Lagoon Creek it turned out to be...with a hiking/biking trail I'd love to follow some day...the pond by Hwy 101 has pond lilies growing on it right now...I first saw these flowers in Yellowstone last year...

Still further south, I just had to stop to get photos of the foxglove growing wild...

That was my last stop before heading on home...where I was reminded by dad that they have two Steller's jays nesting nearby that like to come visit around the house! One and then both of the pair just showed up in the tree outside the front glass door, so I got some photos thru the glass, then crept outside and took a few more before they flew off...did I finally get a good photo of one??

Anyway, I am now caught up w/ the photos from my trip...I hope to get out w/in two days and check out the bird life in some nearby refuge spots, like last year.