Golden-fronted and golden-bellied

 

 

I encountered a small flock of Bushtits (Psaltriparus minimus) in a willow thicket in the late afternoon today (20 February 2023).  They were so covered in pollen that at first glance I thought they might be warblers!

 

Here's another individual:

 

 

 

 

And the Bushtits weren't the only ones — here's a Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens) dusted with so much pollen that its belly is golden:

 

 

 

Ring around the daisy

 

A small bee making its way around the ray flowers of a Seaside Daisy (Erigeron glaucus). 

Here's a close-up so you can enjoy the metallic green color of the bee,with white hairs on its abdomen, and pollen covering its legs and face.  Busy, busy!

 

Have you been eating willow flowers?

 

Who me?

Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla), 4 March 2020

 

Sit-down lunch

A couple of quick photos from the UC Davis Arboretum this afternoon.  The setting was a bit shaded, but it was a nice view of this Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna) sipping from a sage flower while perched:

 

Up close, you could see lots of pollen grains on the hummingbird's bill and throat:

 

Following footsteps

Earlier in March, I was watching some insects visit the flowers of Footsteps-of-spring (Sanicula arctopoides).  Check out this fly.  Hard to believe how thin its "neck" is:

 

I'm not sure if this next insect (below) is a wasp or a bee — maybe a wasp?  Let me know if you can help with an identification:

 

And here's one of the flower:

 

Nestled in the iris

About a week ago, I was walking in the coastal prairie during a chilly afternoon.  I noticed a bumblebee nestled in an iris flower, then another bumblebee in a different iris, then two bumblebees in a third iris, and there were quite a few others.  I'm not sure why so many bumblebees ended up in Douglas Iris (Iris douglasiana) flowers, but it was a nice setting: