An adolescent canada goose takes a break from eating grass
This adolescent canada goose was photographed a few weeks after a similar gosling in my spring babies post. While I obviously can’t guarantee it was the same chick, it was in the same location, and all of the juveniles were about the same age.
This picture shows the juvenile feather development, the development of wings, and a longer body than the chick. Each time I see canada geese in the spring and summer, I am amazed at how fast they grow. Then I see all the grass they are scarfing down, and it makes a little more sense!
A great egret perches in early morning light, Redwood Shores, CA
This week’s photo is another of the great egrets that populate the area around my home. I took this photo at one of my favorite morning spots, where various egret species tend to congregate. This egret was in a great position to catch the early morning light. I set up my shot and waited until the first rays of the day turned his delicate white plumage a soft orange. Lucky, he seemed in no great hurry and posed for me for quite some time.
I was happy that this morning payed off. Being in the summer months, it is much more of a sacrifice to be up and photographing at dawn (which is currently at 5:45 AM). The weather, light, and yes, the birds must all be cooperating to allow successful images to be made.
Backpackers and mountain bikers in Henry Coe backcountry will come across what looks like a wrecking ball next to the trail leading into Mississippi Lake.
If you are a hiker or mountain biker in Henry Coe State Park, you might have come across what looks like a wrecking ball sitting in a field just off the trail. It is situated just south of Mississippi Lake about ten miles from park headquarters, and seems very out of place here. Just what was this thing, and what was it doing here in the middle of this field? Web research did little to answer my questions, but I was treated to many photos of intrepid hikers posed in front of it, none of whom had a clue to its purpose. I finally found my answer in the 2007 late spring issue of The Ponderosa, a newsletter for the park:
The “wrecking ball” … is actually a buoy used by the United States during World War II. The buoys were manufactured for the War Department in Clearfield, Utah, and were made out of 3/8″, preformed steel plates. They were used to hold up anti·submarine nets at the entrance to U.S. harbors during the war.
At the end of the war, at least 1,500 of these buoys remained unused, and they were purchased by the owner of a junk yard near Turlock, California, for $5 each. This junk dealer turned a handsome profit, selling them to farmers for $300 each. The buoys held 440 gallons of water, and farmers used them to store water.
Frank Coit, who was from the San Joaquin valley, seems to have purchased at least one of these buoys to clear out brush. Steel plates could be welded onto the buoy, a cable attached to the plate, and, filled with water, the buoy could be dragged by a tractor or bulldozer to clear brush.
It would have been quite a sight to see that beast in action, but from the looks of it, the buoy has been sitting there for a very long time.
A snowy egret shakes back and forth, rufflings its feathers.
This week’s photo is a snowy egret just after shaking his body to resettle its feathers. He had been fishing along the bank of a slough, and the wind kept disturbing his feathers. He shook his body vigorously to fluff all of his feathers, so that they could resettle into a natural insulating layer.
This type of shake will rearrange the micro-structure of a bird’s outer feathers, keeping water from penetrating the inner feathers. Usually a resettling of the feathers if followed by preening and a little oiling (if the bird has a preen gland). This egret didn’t bother preening at this time, as he seemed very focused on catching dinner.
