I Moved Away and Found Some Birds

This summer I graduated from high school and moved away to go to college. With the UCSB lagoon within walking distance (round trip is five miles), I can get up in the early hours of the morning and look for birds.

Here is what I got yesterday morning:

Great Blue Herons

Black-necked stilts

The first black-crowned night heron I've ever seen!

I was really excited to see it because I've wanted to see one for a long time. Then I saw about seven of them this morning at Devereux Lagoon, so it's not quite as exciting as it was yesterday.

Black Turnstone doing some ballet moves:

Female black-bellied plover. I saw several males too.

Some sort of sandpiper. I am feeling lazy and have not looked into what kind it is.

Sanderlings, probably.

Vacation to Carmel

This year's trip to Carmel came earlier since that's the only time my family could all go together, so my sister and I got to miss two days of school.

As usual, we went to Point Lobos and saw some animals and scenery.

Black Oystercatcher

Mule deer fawn

Western sheep moth caterpillar

A different caterpillar

Scenery!

This is how you get kinks in your neck.

Fisherman's wharf in Monterey

Yellow-billed magpie at a rest stop on the way home.

Honeybee and New Lens

I got a new lens for Christmas. It is a Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro lens.

Recent Pictures

Brown Pelican

I took this last winter but I like it and finally decided to put it up.

They don't always land on their feet

Not like cats at all.

Seriously, though. The hamster jumps off the couch again and again and lands like this every time.I guess they're flexible enough that it doesn't bother them.

This one's good. I might use it for my photo project.

Spider