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The Daily Bucket. Along Spanish Creek, Quincy, CA. A nice morning out. [1]
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Date: 2025-09-18
Tuesday, September 16. A brisk early morning ride, some nice birds and sun. Just as I was along the creek and took the photo of the starlings in the title image, a Red-tailed Hawk flew up onto a power line just across the creek from me.
The sun was still very low in the east so the hawk was in shadow.
The hawk moved a bit and the sun nicely caught its tail feathers.
The watched becomes the watcher.
Hummingbirds be all about the way the light catches them.
Twelve seconds later
I’m always looking for nature scenes and animals to photograph that aren’t just birds, but mostly I just get birds because birds are what there’s most of out there. Just thought I’d mention that. So, here’s a squirrel I saw this morning.
California Gray Squirrel
And here’s an animal that is definitely a bird, albeit a domestic but exotic bird, in a most unexpected and wild-bird-like location:
Don’t bother looking very hard. Although it’s there and it’s relatively very large bird, the tree renders it minuscule by comparison.
Yup. Centered in the orange dashed circle.
And, I’m guessing, a good sixty to eighty feet off the ground.
No, really, don’t bother. I zoomed way in with my camera lens and got two fair frames.
This is the better of the two.
Yes, it’s a peacock. As big as a Canada Goose. Did it fly up here? I don’t know. But I think it must have at least flown up to the lower branches of this big Ponderosa Pine because the branches don’t come down to where they touch the ground, so it couldn’t have simply hopped onto a branch and then kept on hopping on up branch by branch. So I would conjecture it flew at least part of the way and likely hop-flew between the branches as it ascended. Notice also that it has lost it’s showy, trademark tail plumes.
Here’s two, down on the road immediately adjacent to where the above photo was taken. This was back in June of this year. I know the fellow who owns this ranch area and these birds. One of his older sisters was in my school class. I was always sweet on her but we were only good classmates. Ah, reminiscences. Ah, but back to the real world.
Two birds that really like to hide in the foliage, pop out just long enough for you to get your camera up and focused and then flit away. So, I’ll take ‘em in situ.
Bushtit
Bewick’s Wren
Back down on the creek, a Mallard drake and hen. Actually there were two hens, but I’m using this photo because it best shows the drake’s color. Sun coming in low and from the left.
Here around Quincy we have the Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) in abundance. This morning I caught three fair frames.
By the time I took my last photo of the morning I had been out for an hour and a half. My hands were cold. Time to get back to the house and warm up and have another cup of coffee. A nice morning out.
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