Blue Heron

Happy New Year!!!

Shuttled over to the Post Office...Cuckoo Clock came...needed a wall clock...and the little book about Olmsted came...review soon...intro is very good..Olmsted did, and wrote about, some important things, and not just Parks!...paddled back through Bobcat Meadow...was on the Boardwalk near the Lily Pads, and sighted BigBig Wings flying high across the Meadow...and Big Wings was flying slow enough I could get the new camera out....took another continuous sequence like with Hawk in Two Top Pine Meadow a few days back...wasn't sure who Big Wings was, until I sat by the Elm and reviewed the pics...Blue Heron!...Heron continued past the Falls and disappeared into the Trees of the Hanging Sloping Valley...studied the area a bit with the scope...suspect Heron might have home thereabout...after work, related the sighting to friends, and one said their son had been hiking thereabout a week or so ago, and sighted Blue Heron flying there too...made a complete circle of Bobcat Meadow...then across Chapel Bridge and the Big Loop...clockwise...quietquiet....sunny with high scattered overcast clouds, cool....Chickaree in the old Boiler Cabin when I got back...wall has a hole, and Chickaree was sitting in it, looking out, and piping, thought it was Ground Squirrel...Ground Squirrels all asleep....I see Chickaree and two or three Grey Squirrels in the Backyard almost everyday....sighted Mama Doe and One Fawn in the Oak Grove from the Shuttle...

Link of the Day: Merced River Alliance

http://www.emrcd.org/alliance/index.htm

Oak Grove Deer

Paddled over to the Post Office....Deer in the Oak Grove...Mama Doe and Two Fawns....another Doe came along, and a small dustup...didn't know Deer lay their ears back when angry!...picked up late Breakfast in the Village, and paddled back through Bobcat Meadow...quiet... one Acorn Woodpecker at the Woodpecker Tree....Mama Doe and One Fawn at the Deer House...went a little ways out in the Lower Falls Delta...looking for tracks...but none to see...and quiet...walk was scenic though...small storm clouds clearing again...cloudy to sunny blue....full moon tonight, and some herring bone clouds...need to learn the names of clouds!!....Acorn Woodpecker yesterday huddled under one of the Cabin's deck...trying to get warm in the morning sun...cause of some concern among us Cabin dwellers...happily, after awhile, Woodpecker warmed up and took flight!...

Report of Sea Lions leaving Pier 39

http://j-walkblog.com/index.php?/weblog/comments/seal_lions_split/

Cedar And Coop

Shuttled over to the Post Office...paddled back through Bobcat Meadow...happened to look back while on the Boardwalk by the Lily Pads, and saw Hawk, Coop, fly low across the Meadow and perch in the Elm...farfaraway pic...sat on the Boardwalk and watched Coop awhile through the binocs...a long while...and finally paddled out across the Hummocks!...got half way across and Coop flew across the Road to the Oaks....by the time I got there, Coop long gone...paddled to Lower Falls and back to the Cabin... too early for lunch, so made a loop through Owl Woods to Creek's End....sat awhile...quiet...Ouzel was about...picked up and went to Last Chance for lunch...white bean soup and corn muffins....thought to get all the gear, but second thought to just stay with the new camera and binocs....went out to Two Top Pine Meadow...sat awhile at the Broken Cottonwood...and glimpsed Hawk in flight on far side of the Meadow...Red Tail, Zeke...farfar away pic...watched awhile through the binocs...and finally paddled out through the draw across the Meadow!....half way across, Hawk flew off into the Scorched Forest...looked all about when I got there, but no luck...went back to the Bike Path, and across Swinging Bridge...and on the Path along the Road, when I was nearing the Cedars by the 25 Speed Limit sign, sighted Hawk, Cedar, in the Cedars...took the farfar away pic!...and as I walked nearer, kept taking a pic now and then...until I reached Cedar with Falls in background!...Cedar, almost perched above the Path, was unperturbed!...manymany pics...very cool...Cedar flew off the perch, and I tried to track, and thought Cedar would soon be off and away, but Cedar did a Hummingbird like hoover and maneuver, and perched on a Snag right over head!...veryvery cool!...but Cedar only stayed perched a moment....then flew to the Cottonwoods along the Merced...I sat awhile on the Split Rail Fence, watching Cedar fly about thereabout with the binocs, or just searching for where Cedar perched...picked up when I couldn't find Cedar anymore.... continued to Chapel Bridge, around Bobcat Meadow, through the Oak Grove to Lower Falls and back to the Cabin...last bit of the walk, to Last Chance and dinner, in fading light behind the Rooms listening for Owl...but quiet...a wintry day!...clouds...and some snow flakes coming down tonight...I had hoped today to get pics of Hawk, because of work week starting tomorrow, it's the last evening walk of 2009, and Providence was kind!...and a kind of afternoon that seemed to stretch out and last a long time, and a time to treasure.

Coop And Cedar

Shuttled over to the Post Office...paddled back, and when I crossed the Road to Bobcat Meadow, glimpsed Hawk, Coop...went Tree to Tree a bit (only pics from one Tree) all the way around back to the Village and then over to Sentinel Bridge...very close to one very good pic when Coop was perched in a large Cedar....but no luck....continued from the Bridge through the Meadow back to the Cabin...thought to nap...then thought to snack...took the Bike Path route from the Cabin to Last Chance...hoped to maybe see Cedar...and did!...just when I got to behind the Rooms, Cedar flew from the gap between up to a Snag... pics, but Sun right behind...Cedar flew out the Path to Owl Woods...perched near the Lunch Sit Log...pic....then flew deeper into the Woods...started to follow, and another Hawk came flying from the Merced...blurry flight pic...not sure what kind of Hawk...and then another Big Wing joined the Hawk in flight and both went towards the Cattails.....one a Hawk for sure as it called, but dont know who second Big Wing was...maybe Owl?..anyway, Cedar took flight again, and I got one more tiny pic...and then Cedar flew again back into the Woods, I think, because I heard what sounded like Cedar's quiet call on the other side of the River in the Cottonwoods...a puzzle....I may have been chasing after four different Big Wings!....and nary a pic, except at the start back at the Bike Path...where I returned, and to Last Chance for Snack...went back to the Woods, after soup and rolls, coffee in hand, and at the same place on the Bike Path, saw Hawk high atop a Cottonwood...started to sight the new camera, but Hawk flew off over the River...too many Hawks!...went back to the Cabin and got all the gear....made the Big Loop counterclockwise, and of course it was quietquiet....all the chasing about wore me out, and at the Cabin settled in for TV and take out dinner before Last Light...so no report today from the Creek..hmmph...pic of Song Sparrows and two Grey Squirrels in the Backyard....and Juncos over in the Oak Grove...that back before first seeing Hawk...tried for Brown Creeper pic...Creeper Tries entail watching Creeper going up one Tree after another, with hope one trip will be close, and on the near side of the Tree Trunk!!...overcast coolwarm....saw two Deer in the Oak Grove from the Shuttle....

Hawk And Coyote

After Breakfast, checked for Hawk across the Road....and out to the Bike Path...coffee in hand, paddled back to the Cabin...and when almost there, happened to glance at a Utility Post...a streak of fresh whitewash...looked up...and there was Hawk, Cedar, perched right over head!...very cool...pics...Cedar flew over to the Cabins' Cedars....one right over the back of the Cabin...veryvery cool!....and then flew off toward Lower Falls...had lots of time, so paddled along to Lower Falls...just took the new camera and binocs....lost sight of Cedar, and continued out Rocky Slope all the way to Beaver Bend...and along the Merced to Swinging Bridge....the whole South Wall covered with moving clouds of the clearing small storm...crossed the Bridge, and out along the Road...just when the Path clears the Trees, I sighted Coyote going under the Split Rail Fence....I angled out into the Meadow, kneeled in the Snow, and waitedwaited...Coyote did three hops...pics of two...and I thought Coyote would come my way, but my low profile, and all black clothes, spooked Coyote...and Coyote diverted up to the Path, and Coyote trotted towards the Bridge....traffic stopping to looksee!....cool to see Coyote again...Coyote's ears dont seem to be as tall as Death Valley Coyote....picked up and finished the Loop around to Lower Falls and back to the Cabin...pics of Acorn Woodpecker, Ravens, and Blue Jay along the way...and scenics too!...should have taken the 20x...oh..everything...but it's kinda relaxing to just carry one camera...rainsnow in the morning...melted fast...and clearing clouds..very pretty walk...report of Bobcat at Church Bowl...and Mama Doe and One Fawn across from the Cabin by the Rooms, tourist gathered about too close!....

Blog of the Day (Wood Duck in Central Park, NY, NY, and some other cool sightings thereabout)

http://urbanhawks.blogs.com/

Olmsted designed Central Park, and some of the layout in the high country hereabout too! re: Olmsted Point His recommendations were suppressed for years, see story on web...Frederick Law Olmsted http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Law_Olmsted

quote

This landmark report, the first to recommend management guidelines for the newly-reserved Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove of Big Trees, has a mysterious history. Prepared on behalf of the Yosemite Valley Commissioners for presentation to the California legislature, the report (considered controversial at the time) was not submitted to the governor for review. It may have been suppressed.
Amazingly, Olmsted's proposals remained undiscovered and unpublished from 1865 to 1952. Just as astonishing, the report has never been made available to the public in separate book form until now.
Much more than a simple management plan, the document set forth the policy underlying the preservation of areas of unique natural beauty for the benefit of the public. In effect, Olmsted's report formulated the philosophic base for the establishment of state and national parks.

http://www.amazon.com/Yosemite-Mariposa-Grove-Preliminary-Report/dp/0939666693

unquote

Cedar Hawk Portrait

Shuttled over to the Post Office....paddled back through Bobcat Meadow, and over Chapel Bridge to make the Big Loop clockwise...quietquietquiet in all three Meadows...lots of tourists though...traffic continuous on the Road, and Swinging Bridge!....finally took the new camera out behind the Rooms for Acorn Woodpecker high on a Snag...like to have something current to post up!... thought tonight I'd have to dig through the archive....but...behind the cabin, Blue Jays have a favorite Bush...right behind the wall behind my head as I write, in fact...though I dont know if they sleep there...anyway....Blue Jays were thereabout when I finished the walk...and time was near....and I tried for some pics...and got some I liked...one up....then I glimpsed Grey Squirrel by the Canoe...but lost sight...then glimpsed Chickaree hurrying behind a Cedar Trunk....couldn't find...and then I heard Hawk...'oh, somewhere by the Rooms again!' I thought...and hurried out the Bike Path, camera out and ready...trotting in fact, which I think amused some tourists!...reached the Rooms, and walked slow between out to the Road...and there was Hawk...low and right in front...on an Alder I think...Cedar pivoted and walked up the Branch...and flew off out of sight behind the Roof Line...out in front, I sighted Cedar on what might be the same Cedar Branch of a few days ago...I Indian walked, not looking up, head down in fact, and camera too, under the Branch, then turned and looked up, and Cedar had stayed put!...many pics!...past time....I left off, and back to the Cabin...skipped whiskers and teeth...and headed back to work, but stayed to the left of the Road...I had fifteen minutes, overtime, left!...and hoped Cedar may still be about...and was!!, very low on an Alder!...I turned to some tourists behind...asked for quiet, 'Hawk ahead!', and they obliged....think they got some cell phone clips while I clicked away with the new camera...manymanypics...left off, and just as I did, Cedar flew to another Cedar Tree and perched higher up...'find the Hawk' pic up...so...a walkabout that was quietquiet, ended with new favorite pics!...very cool...overcast, coolwarm...three day old report of Owl...'screeech?...screech? or hooo? hooo?'.....'hooo hooo' the reporter reported...and this in the early morning by the Train Wreck...so Owl is about, but being illusive!!....Shuttle driver friend reported seeing Hawk fly low right over the Cabin....