tarantula, Lark Sparrow, California Thrasher.(20161015) A visit to the Solvang area pays off.

I was up earlier than everyone else this morning so I thought I would grab the camera and head out to the end of laneway for our AirBnb spot. There was fog in the air and the ground was damp. There were a lot of little Bushtits flitting about, but I had to wait for more light. I did manage to find this Scrub Jay, this is one of the birds that was on my list to get better shots of this trip.

As I headed back to the house I spotted this Red-shouldered Hawk. It was a long way off so this is not such a good shot.

So the morning produced, even close to camp! Another bird I was hoping to get better images of were Acorn Woodpeckers, and I achieved that before getting back to the house. The large Oak tree (with about a 7 or 8 foot diameter) hosted at least a pair of these beauties most of the day.

A visit to Solvang was in order, as appartently this is one place you have to visit in the area. We grabbed some breakfast, then Neil and I left the ladies to do the tourist thing while we walked one of the local parks. It didn't take long for the park to produce. Here is my first ever California Thrasher.

We were able to grab another new bird for me a Northern Mockingbird. Although they can be found in Nova Scotia, I haven't spotted any yet. So this is a first here for the blog, just like the thrasher.

Our next spot was this little Spotted Towhee. It would turn out to be just the first of many that I would see on the trip. But this is likely the best image I have.

Here is the second of at least three Thrashers that we found this afternoon. I like to have two images of blog "first timers".

I felt really fortunate to capture this Scrub Jay foraging in the area. I have a number of great shots of it. Here is just one action shot.

We spent some time touring the area. Then Neil and I headed out for a bit of an evening cruise. As you can see from the sky of other shots the day threatened rain all day, so the light was pretty bad. As always I was shooting first and asking questions later. This shot is the first Lark Sparrow that I have ever seen.

Here is a second shot of this new bird to the blog.

It was really nice to see some Western Kingbirds. They proved to be just as tough to capture here as in Alberta.

Then came the surprise of the trip. I was driving along and couldn't believe what I spotted on the roadway. This is my first ever sighting of a Tarantula. Apparently they come out in the fall evenings.

It was also nice to find some Western Bluebirds this evening, but they too proved to be very skittish and could only be captured from a distance.

So this turned out to be a great day with four new to the blog (and myself personally) sightings. Take the time today to put a little "wild" in your life.
Turbo