Clouds!

· Maine Event

Today we awoke to light rain. It was so incredibly nice. The air was soft, and the smells of nature were different. Then all day there were miraculous clouds and drama everywhere. Both of us were super busy and in too many meetings. Problem solving. Then we made a lovely dinner, ran to the store, snuck in a walk, and returned with the bats overhead, only to be greeted by the owls in the parking lot.

The wild world around us: The Great Horned Owl thrives in Point Reyes National Seashore, and in a wide variety of places across the U.S. It lives from the Arctic Tundra down to South America and can adapt to deserts, forests, wetlands, and even major cities. It is most common due to its wide comfort with different landscapes. In sheer numbers, the Barn Owl and Screech Owl probably outnumber them. They prefer semi-open country (me too). One interesting fact is that they don't build their own nests. They reuse old stick nests from past seasons, usually from crows, ravens, or even squirrels. Out of the 10 owls seen in the National Seashore, the Great Horned Owl is the most common.

The 10 owls are the Northern Spotted Owl, Great Horned Owl, Barn Owl, Long-Eared Owl, Western Screech-Owl, Northern Saw-Whet Owl, Burrowing Owl, Short-Eared Owl, Flammulated Owl, and the Barred Owl. (We got our nighttime work cut out for us)

Rainy morning
This tree trunk
And this tree trunk is the same kind of tree. It's so interesting how the bark changes as they grow.
Good Morning (misty-eyed) Black Mountain
Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips'
Lesser Goldfinches in the Purple Vervain. It is non-native and considered invasive. Birds and butterflies seem to love it, and it doesn't seem to be proliferating here.
Good Night with Black Mountain, bats, and the owls.

6:39 am – 7:38 pm, which is 12 hours and 59 minutes of daylight

The bird of the day was the Red-necked Grebe

Here is a poem for you.

Love, Tawnia

Bird List: 33 species today

California Quail
Band-tailed Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Anna's Hummingbird
Turkey Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk
Great Horned Owl
Acorn Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Western Flycatcher
Black Phoebe
Steller's Jay
California Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Brown Creeper
Pacific Wren
Bewick's Wren
European Starling
Western Bluebird
Swainson's Thrush
House Sparrow
House Finch
Pine Siskin
Lesser Goldfinch
Song Sparrow
California Towhee
Spotted Towhee
Red-winged Blackbird