Above, the great blue herons are in their nest in the trees by the tennis courts. The growth of the foliage on the trees makes it harder to see the birds and their activity. The photo below shows a hydrangea flower just starting to bloom.
Above is an image of the water fountain in Lost Lagoon. Below are a series of photos of the Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina) which has a length of 5.25 inches, a wingspan of 13.5 inches and a weight of 0.49 ounces (14 g) according to The Sibley Guide to Birds (National Audubon Society).
The photo above shows a great blue heron in flight across the lagoon and below is a painted turtle with its head sticking out of the water. I did see another turtle but it was not in a good position to take a photo.
The bird above is a female red-winged blackbird. This one flew off into a tree nearby and then flew at me from behind. I could feel its claws on the back of my head as it flew past. Then below are a couple of images of the swans. The second photo is of a swan organizing the greenery on its nest.
2 comments:
Neat. Do you know what the bees were feeding on? looks like wild blackberry (or some plant in that family)
The bees are feeding on the nectar of the flowers belonging to a variety of blackberry (Rubus ssp.) native to the west coast, so you're right in your assumption. I'm still trying to ID the bees (Bombus ssp.) but that will take time thought I have noticed that there are several that are common to this area. When I find out, I will post the species and subspecies names.
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