Half Dome and Moon

At Lunch: sat awhile, the whole time actually, under the Cottonwoods at Ozone Beach visiting with new friends, the English tourists from yesterday...talkabout Owls (and pic viewing on cameras), critter sightings, and vacation adventures...very cool...picked up to return, and Mama Doe and Two Fawns right behind us...pic up...Half Dome pic form Owl Morning...sunny hothot blue...report of Rattlesnack under the handicap ramp entrance to Last Chance from Teusday...a marvel!!!...more report of Owls calling over in Siberia...and in foothills too...trip maybe in works to Foothill Ranch with lots of Owls...

Owl

At Lunch: of late, I've been having Ozone Beach to myself at Lunch, but this evening, two tourists were sitting on the Log under the Cottonwoods...'nice spot...'...'oh, yes!'.....and I heard Owl, and lots of daylight, an early evening Lunch....'do you hear Owl?'...'oh?'....and I paddled up the Diversion Channel...startled Owl, Sentinel, and a blurry flyby pic...and a few pics when Owl perched in the Black Oaks...on return, 'I don't want to intrude, but would you like to see Owl?'...'oh, yes!'...turns out tourists were from England or Austrailia, where there are 'pink and blue Blue Jays', and Woods in their Backyard, with Owls, and reported they once saw Owl. with Mouse in beak, pass the Mouse to another Owl..all this while both Owls were in flight!!...maybe Mama Owl feeding Fledgling, I thought...a fine brief talkabout about Owls, the Valley, taking pics, and such...suuny blue and cloudy, hot...report of hoo hooos in Siberia, and behind Village....considering these reports, and report of hoo hooos at Backpacker's Camp, I'm wondering how many Owls are about the Valley...maybe a before Dawn bicycle rideabout  in order...friend who heard Owls in Bobcat Meadow, Flicker Grove, too, hoo hoos at me at work...

Northern Harrier

no pics today...Morning taken up with mailing bills and shopping...At Lunch taken up with showing Bobcat and Coyote book to friend, which has become a routine...since book has no text, I narrate as I turn the pages..friends are usually snacking across from me..what happens, friends usually expect a good pic of Bobcat, and to sorta respond like one would to a souvenir pic from vacation...but as I turn the pages, jaws drop...and when I finish, I say to them, 'your food is getting cold...'...much fun....oh...saw W. in Village, and she gave me a book of Valley Songs, with a new Valley critter, Sierra Long Toed Ring Necked Black Eyed Squeegee...W. signed book...a very fine Souvenir!!.....Harrier pics from yesterday at MWR....sunny hothot blue...

Waterbirds

Rolled down the hill to town for errands and snacks, and time for rollabout Merced Wildlife Refuge...Water is back now at the Entry View Platform, and some Waterbirds too...I've learned Birds' names, but not to the point I can recall them off hand...anyway...it's charming to see Birds return...one wonders where Birds have gone and what adventrues Birds have had...Big Wings, Buzz Birds about, and Small Hawk I couldn't id, and Notrthern Hariiers, which I almost got good pics of...Harrier pics I'm haveing trouble getting...Harrier's are always on the move horizontally, bobbing and swooping...thought is, if I can ever get in front of Harrier's flight path, Harrir will fly right into me...but I haven't even come close to that happening...not being able to get out and walk being the problem...anyway...Harrier pic for sometime...now, on the blog, if I post more than one pic, thumbnails appear below, and one can clic through all the pics, rather than scroll...trouble is, one can't click on and enlarge, like before, unless, there is just one pic up...so, sometimes now I just post one pic, so one can enlarge ti and study it more closely...a large res uncropped pic can usually be clicked on and enlarged twice...sunny hothot blue...gone most all day, and no Valley pics or walk.....

Two Yearling Deer

Two Deer by the Cabin this morning...pic up...sunny, maybe cloudy, (didn't get out much!), warm....after dinner at last chance, picked up a mocha (which I have been getting on the farflung rollabouts--a travel treat) for the first time at Last Chance, which has a coffee corner, which I've never gotten coffee from before, I mean, it's right there, but as part of my chores, I make coffee, and can have coffee for free, or when off work, half price, and I dont know, it just never occured to me to get the special coffees, which are sorta like deserts....anyway, with mocha, paddled out to Ozone Beach...sat awhile ahd watched Mama Doe and Two Fawns, One Fawn, and Bucks and Does over in the Diversion Channel..made the Inside Loop counter clockwise...sat awhile at Creek's End...there's a fine Log now with the old view in front of Owl Log..and I was content to watch Last Light fade from Half Dome...Blue Jays, Robin call, Mallard call, Ouzel, Phoebe, quiet...report of Bobcat catching Ground Squirrel behind the Rooms..

Two Fawns

At Lunch: Sighted, what I thought, was just Mama Doe and One Fawn nestled in the Grasses by the Use Path on the way to Ozone Beach, but on review, see Second Fawn in pic too...so the head count today, okay...Second Doe about too...sat awhile under the Cottonwoods...Ouzel, Blue Jays, Robin call...quiet...sunnycloudylightlightsprinkles, warm...asked friend who was up in Tuolumne on their weekend by Pothole Dome if they saw Deer Herd...'yes'...and Birds?...'no big ones, hardly any others at all'...oh,,,and a web report of Golden Eagle at Cartwright Reservoir....wait...looks to be Young Bald Eagle..:)

Owl

Out and about before Sunrise...at the RipRap, heard Owl, Sentinel, across the Creek...crossed the Creek, and followed call, calls, Ponderosa calling too, to Flicker Grove...thought I made clip of both calling together...but newer camera didn't record calls...disappointing, as Owls were calling back and forth....too dark for pics...and sighted first Ponderosa fly over head back to the Creek, and Sentinel calls followed, and I crossed back over the Creek, and at Owl Woods, sighted both Owls again...and missed calls again in clips...pic of Ponderosa too dark, and pic of Sentinel up, very grainy...was going to call post, Black Eyed Owl...very cool to see Owl with pupils dilated all the way...picked up, and at the Merced, Ozone Beach, sighted Mama Doe and Two Fawns upriver at Cottonwood Bend...clip for sometime...sunny blue with thunder clouds in the west at dawn, thundershowers later in the afternoon, clear tonight....at Lunch: sat awhile at Ozone Beach...Ouzel, Robin, Bluejay, Flicker call, and lots of Ravens...quiet...friend heard Owls too at Flicker Grove, and asked if Owls always there....I dont know if Owls are about in July and August, two months I have no pics or reports...I suspect Owls dont call much in Spring and Summer....