Summer Sunset

We had an unexpectedly nice sunset this week and I thought I’d share.  Hope you are all having a great summer!

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“Summer Lightshow”

Down South

Early (really early) on Sunday, we drove down to Irvine on a fool’s errand.  However, the morning started on a positive note and we saw a Barn Owl hunting as we left the neighborhood.  After detouring for some coffee, we arrived bright and early and started to look around.  It’s always nice to get out of town and explore someplace different.  The first thing we noticed were the rabbits, which are larger than the Brush Rabbits up here, and are some sort of cottontail.  Most of the birds we saw are commonly seen up here too, but we did have a few nice finds: American Avocet and Wood Ducks.  However, we weren’t expecting to see a young White-tailed Kite perching on a small sycamore in riparian habitat.  I suspect it was moving through the area after being pushed away by its parents.

While we didn’t find what we were looking for, I did manage to take a few images that I’d like to share.  There was a somewhat cooperative Green Heron, a very tolerant Anna’s Hummingbird, and an adult Black-crowned Night Heron was nice enough to pose out in the open.  I think the next impromptu road trip will have to head either towards the mountains or along the coast.  Decisions, decisions…

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“Green Heron I”  –  Irvine, California