A Quail Pair

The Protector, originally uploaded by Jen Joynt.

I'm a bit behind on my blog posts, but I have been out exploring my favorite parks in Marin and Berkeley.  And it seems everywhere I go, I hear and see quail.  On this day, I came upon this male sitting in a bush. I eased my way a little closer to him, which he tolerated. But I was so intent on getting a nice shot of him, I almost missed the female taking a nice dust bath.




It was a super windy day, disrupting the usual sleek look of the quail's feathers.



The quail pair tolerated my presence for quite a while before setting off together down the trail.

Happy Belated Mother's Day

Better late than never. Happy Mother's Day to all mothers, human and wild.

 

Great Horned Owl Mother and Owlet

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to watch some of the young life of a Great Horned Owl.  You can read more about my experience in a story I wrote for Bay Nature:  http://baynature.org/articles/web-only-articles/owls-their-owlet-and-the-berkeley-masses

I ended up shooting a few videos of the owl.  Here is one of the young owlet stretching a little, and Mom coming in to feed and check on her chick.