Red-Tailed Aerial Aerobics

Wings up!

Stretch 'em out!

Now down!

No clouds in our skies of late but there have been a lot of raptors.  This Red-tailed Hawk took to the air as soon as I pulled out my camera.

See more views of the sky and what is in it at SkyWatch, Friday; hosted for us by Sandy and Sylvia.

A Visit to the Sandhill Cranes

It's Winter and that means it was time to visit the Sandhill Cranes at Staten Island.

No, not that Staten Island!  This Staten Island  is in the San Joaquin/Sacramento Delta and is operated as both a farm and a wildlife preserve by an affiliate of the Nature Conservancy.  It is the winter home of many Sandhill Cranes.

During our visit the cranes were mostly foraging and we saw few active interactions between them.

Nor did we see the variety of species that we have seen on previous visits.  There were a fair number of Northern Shovelers with their large beaks.

There were several pairs of Common Goleneye.

And a single Eared Grebe was spotted.

We also saw a Red Tailed Hawk and a coyote.  Perhaps we will get a chance to revisit Staten Island this season or one of the many other refuges in California's Great Valley.

Find other views of our wonderful World at Our World, Tuesday and look for more images of birds at    Wild Bird Wednesday.

Birding in Hawaii

We saw lots of birds while in Hawaii, just sitting in the back yard I saw many species that were new to me and others, like the morning doves, that were quite familiar.

Japanese White Eye--East Asia native

Familiar or not, all of the birds I saw were non-native species.

Nutmeg Mannikin--tropical Asia native

As nice as it was to see new birds, I would have been happier if the ones I saw were native species.

Saffron Finch--South America native

Competition from introduced species of birds and the introduced mongoose along with habitat loss have caused a decline in the population of native birds.

Yellow fronted canary--Africa native

Before the arrival of humans there were 113 species of native birds in Hawaii.  Of these, 71 have become extinct and 31 are threatened or endangered.

Yellow Billed Cardinal--South America native

While these birds were lovely and delightful to watch imagine what we have lost with extinction of the wonderful native birds and plants, not just in Hawaii but the world over.

Red Junglefowl--aka chicken

The introduction of species has been going on for a long time.  The Junglefowl was introduced by the Polynesians.

Find more views of our world at Our World, Tuesday; hosted by Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sandy and Sylvia.

See more birds at Wild Bird Wednesday, hosted by Stewart.

Foucault Pendulum

When I was a child we would visit the Griffith Observatory from time to time.  I was always fascinated by the Foucault Pendulum

 I still am.  I am not alone, it is a magnet for most who enter the observatory.

As the pendulum moves back and forth, the earth is turning beneath it.  About every 8 minutes the earth has rotated enough that a pin on the bottom of the pendulum knocks over another of the tiles at the left.

The shiny ball of the pendulum reflects the newly restored Hugo Ballin Murals in the dome of the rotunda.

Find more reflections at Weekend Reflections, hosted for us by James. 

We Are Still Here!

We took a quick trip to LA for an early Christmas with our son, Eric and his family.

Looking for a way to spend the day that we all could enjoy, we headed for Griffith Observatory.

It was a relatively clear day (for Los Angeles) with a view of downtown

and to the west, Century City and the Pacific Ocean.

 We hadn't thought much about the date when choosing where to spend the day but it was the Winter Solstice, believed by some to be the day the world would end according to the Mayan Calendar.  As it happens, the director of the observatory is Dr. Ed Krupp (on the right) whose specialty is Archaeoastronomy.  Not surprisingly, they made a big deal of the event.

Visitors were invited to watch the sunset on the patio where a line in the concrete would line up with the sun at sunset on the Winter Solstice.  This created several challenges for the photographer. 

The first was location.  With so many people it was difficult to find a spot where one could get a view straight down the line. 

 The second problem was exposure.  A little Photoshop Elements magic helped with that.

 I finally found the perfect spot, not surprisingly it was already occupied but I was able to shoot over the shoulder of the gentleman already in position.  When the sun had set and everyone began to drift away I found that I had been shooting over the shoulder of Dr. Krupp.  I imagine he had the spot picked out well in advance!

Find more views of the sky at SkyWatch, Friday.

Zipline

I'd been looking for an opportunity to try a Zipline and I found one on our trip to Hawaii.  My son Mark and Daughter-in-law Mimi were game to go with me.

The Zipline operated in an area of native forest and macadamia nut orchards.  We were encouraged to pick up macadamia nuts as we walked under the trees.

We took off from platforms, some we had to climb up to, others were almost at ground level at the edge of canyon.
At one point we walked across a narrow suspension bridge rather than zipping across.

With harness and two straps hooking us to a slide and cable, we were ready for our adventure.

Mimi

 

 

 

Ladies first!

Mark

 

Then the gentlemen

On the gentle Zips, the guides would some times have to reach out or climb out to pull in participants if they didn't have enough momentum to make it all the way to the next platform.  On other lines they used a block on a rope to stop you as you can see above.

I tried the video on my little Coolpix, not the best venue for learning a new skill as the action was pretty fast.  When I tried to take pictures while zipping I was unable to keep from spinning and if you watch the video you'll see I was out of control.  I would like to get another opportunity in the future and see if I can learn to control my flight.

  Linked to Outdoor Wednesday

Michael on the Fair Wind II

While in Hawaii we all went on a snorkeling cruise, even Michael!

We were impressed with the crew of the Fair Wind II.  They were committed to helping every who wanted to, to get in the water.

 Our grandson, Michael loves the water but he has multiple disabilities the greatest of which is a sever cognitive limitation.

With flotation belt and inner tube, with parents holding on, he went into the bay.  He does not understand if we try to explain what will happen but he does understand that he can trust his parents to keep him safe.

Once he got used to this new experience he seemed to enjoy himself.

His parents are always delighted when they can find a new experience he can enjoy.

I was glad I had my new little waterproof camera to capture these images.

Find more watery sights at Water World Wednesday, hosted for us by Kim.