Tiny

 

Male Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)

 

Female Bushtit — note the paler eye color. 

 

Bushtit in Coyote Brush — a rare moment perched in the open!

 

Bushtit foraging in a lupine. 

P.S.  Bushtits are tiny — only about 3 inches (7.5 cm) long, with about half of that being the tail.

P.P.S.  For a little more information about Bushtits, review these previous posts: "The whites of her eyes" and "That's it!"

Soaring by

 

Earlier this month I showed a few Rough-legged Hawk photos (see post on 6 December 2016).  Today I was working outdoors when I looked up to see the Rough-legged Hawk soaring by directly overhead.  Luckily my camera was nearby.  This is a nice view of the underwing pattern with large dark carpal ("wrist") patches.

Greetings

Back in California and greeted by a beautiful northwest swell and an offshore breeze —

 

That's about a 10-foot swell with a wave period of about 15 seconds.

 

Fly-by

 

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)

 

The beauty of winter

I wandered around the yard early this morning and just couldn't help taking pictures of the frost and ice.  (I sure do miss cold winters!)

I had trouble deciding which photo to share, so I'm offering a broad selection (below).  Pick your favorite!


Frost feathers 1:

 

 Frost feathers 2:

 

Ice ridges:

 

Ice ridges (up-close with bubbles and light):

 

White Pine:

 

Half-and-half:

 

Holiday bubbles

A few quick images of the ice along the edge of a small forest stream in Walpole, MA, on 24 December 2016 —

Leaf, bubble, rock:

 

Ice orbits:

 

Effervescent ice:

 

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Special

 

We got lucky today.  We had walked most of Duxbury Beach (in Massachusetts) without seeing a Snowy Owl.  And then my mom's friend, Mark, drove by and offered us a ride back to the parking lot.  Mark's a photographer and had been keeping an eye out for Snowy Owls, too.

We were almost back to the parking lot when Mark spotted an owl on top of the dune ridge.  I took the picture above with my zoom lens (with a maximum focal length of 200 mm).  Then Mark offered to let me use his lens — an impressive 600 mm lens.  So here's the view through Mark's lens:

 

And another of this beautiful owl:

 

A special place, a special bird, and a special time of year!

Thanks, Mark, for giving us a spectacular view of this Snowy Owl.