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The Daily Bucket. Labor Day no sweat; bicycle through the park. [1]

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Date: 2023-09-06

Monday, September 4, 2023. Gansner Park, Quincy, CA.

There’s this little park, about 15 acres worth and about a mile and a half from my house, that is right along Spanish Creek. Bicycling along the path that runs parallel to Spanish Creek at the park there are several spots I can access a fair river view. I frequently pedal out to the park and this path; I’ve taken more than a few photos now of lifer bird species out this way, notably the Lazuli Bunting, Cassin’s Vireo, Yellow-breasted Chat, and Bushtit, all of those just this year. On spots along Spanish Creek that weren’t close by the park I’ve also caught the Water Ouzel, House Wren, River Otter, Western Pond Turtle, Bald Eagle, Snow Goose, Tundra Swan, and Bewick’s Wren. This list is not necessarily everything, because there are also insects and various mammals (like the Gray Fox) that I’ve seen, some of which I’ve photographed, some not. In short, the river and riparian environment is a rich and thriving living place.

To give you an idea of what our little community park is like, here’s a satellite image to which I’ve added some markings and text. You can right-click the image and open it in another tab for a fuller view.

The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns. We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the phenological patterns that are quietly unwinding around us. To have the Daily Bucket in your Activity Stream, visit Backyard Science’s profile page and click on Follow.

The long and short of it is that as soon as I cross the pedestrian bridge across Spanish Creek I’m in high alert camera mode and slow way down on my bicycle, not least because there can be other people (and some with babies in strollers) on this pathway. But I’m usually out in the park early in the morning before there are very many other folks about and tend to have the path pretty much to myself.

It’s very much an ordinary park.

My usual routine is to go down past the park (now heading east) about a quarter-mile to a place where there’s a bend in the river and wide sand bars, which is a beach of sorts. This puts the sun at my back on the return trip, making for optimal lighting conditions for photography. I’ll sit at the “beach” for awhile, having some coffee from the small thermos I’ve packed, and just enjoy the relative quiet and peace of the morning, getting whatever photos I can get, if any. After a half-hour or so, it’s a leisurely pedal-trek back to my house, or over to Feather River College. FRC is due west of Gansner Park, scarcely a mile away. Or perhaps a diversion and look-in at Dellinger’s Pond. It’s what I call making my “circuit”. The following photos are my lens captures from the morning of September 4th.

Steller’s Jay

A different Steller’s Jay, in the same tree as the foregoing, a couple of seconds later. Aw, poor little ol’ dragonfly. But that’s neat; the first time I’ve ever caught a Steller’s Jay with a meal in the mouth. Well, actually, the first Jay, above, dive-bombed the one with the dragonfly, making it leave the branch and drop the dragonfly in flight. Heh heh, no chance for catching that in the camera, but I did see it.

Downy Woodpecker and Cedar Waxwing; tree immediately alongside the park bike path. Note the dreary sky background; foggy overcast from the previous three days of rain. I also have to mention that this was pretty cool for me, seeing the Downy and the Waxwings in the very same tree at the very same time, and perched so close to each other.

California Mule Deer fawn, streamside along Spanish Creek, adjacent to Gansner Park. I watched this fawn for several minutes; it just browsed without a seeming care in the world. It was about twenty yards line-of-sight from where I was standing on the creek bank opposite to it.

Lesser Goldfinch, bicycle path between Gansner Park and FRC

Orange-crowned Warbler, bicycle path between Gansner Park and FRC

Purple Finch, female. Feather River College.

Commonplace perhaps, but it is my world and I do enjoy it so.

* * * * *

SEPTEMBER 5.

Another ride out and I spotted, from a good distance off via full zoom lens, a hawk on a tall antenna/light tower over at the airport. I took one photo, from about ¼ mile, knowing it would barely come out, and scooted quick on my bicycle over to the airport, and crossing the taxiway and runway to set up my camera on my tripod. When I got there and was able to look closer I could see the hawk was having brunch. Heat shimmer caused some blurring of photos, but still not all that bad. Certainly the first time I’ve videoed a Red-tailed Hawk in dining mode.

It’s there. This photo from about ¼ mile distance, before I pedaled over to the opposite side of the tower and within about 100 yards of the tower, as in the following photos.

Those are zip-tie ends sticking up. Signature work of some lazy-ass technician.

Hey, hey, hey, and I got a Bug of the Day.

Blue Mud Wasp, Chalybion californicum

Now it’s your turn.

What’s up in your world, nature and changes, that you have observed lately?

Let us know in the comments and as always please include your location, and photos if you got ‘em!

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/6/2191596/-The-Daily-Bucket-Labor-Day-no-sweat-bicycle-through-the-park

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