Jo's Morning Walk: August 2018

I have to admit that the weather has been a bit warm. It's the high humidity that saps your energy and makes you want to just sit in the shade with a nice cold drink. Early morning is a good time to check the plants and apply water when needed. Noticing that there were quite a few birds foraging in the garden, I decided to take some photos. As I snapped away at the birds having much success finding bugs and insects in my pesticide-free garden, I noticed that most were resident birds, birds that stay in San Diego all year-round.

Here are some shots of the resident birds and also what is blooming in my backyard. A shot of a juvenile Northern Mockingbird. What a cutie!

I have seen the adult come and check out the fountain and hunt for bugs here in my backyard but to see this youngster was quite a treat!

Close-up.

A male House Sparrow.

A very young House Sparrow lands on the apple tree.

There were several dozen that were in my backyard but they were in constant motion. I felt lucky when I finally got three in the same frame.

A quick visit by an Allen's Hummingbird looking over the roses.

He is probably looking for tiny insects.

This is where I usually see the hummer. A newly planted Stephanotis on my back fence shows off its many blooms.

A Cassin's Kingbird stops on the utility wire in our ally for a photo shoot. He has been busy capturing big wasp-like insects for his breakfast.

As I walk closer to my planter, I spook a California Towhee out of the shrubs. He sits on the top rail of the side fence and poses nicely.

My attention goes to the back fence where a juvenile House Sparrow on the right is begging for food.

The adult female is a little cautious of my presence.

More begging.

All the begging pays off.

Close-up.

The youngster keeps begging.

Gets fed again.

That's all for now.

The California Towhee watches the sparrows but keeps his eye on my movements too.

He appears to be molting or maybe this one is also a youngster getting his adult feathers. Look at all the pinfeathers on his head.

Here is a shot of my plumeria seedling that is coming along really fast. This one is about a month old. You will need patience if you want to grow these. It takes about 6 months for the seed pods to ripen and after you have planted them and you successfully raise them to this size, it will take another 2 years before they bloom.

I have my seedlings color coded. The Green and blue are seeds from a plumeria called "Metallic" and the pink containers have been planted with a plumeria called "playful". All are doing well.