Some Buggy Loves Me!

As I was rinsing out the bird bath, this little fella pops out to see what is going on.  I decided to take it's picture.

He seemed more than cooperative.

In fact, I believed he was becoming enamored with my camera.  This picture was taken just as he was getting ready to jump onto the lens.

This is a picture taken with my phone with him on my camera!  I tried and tried to get him to go back onto a leaf or a flower.  He would pull his arms in as if to say "No thank you"  Then he decided to jump onto my hand.

It looks like he is saying " I really like you!" 

"Do you like me??"

Then the little guy decides to walk up my arm and onto my shoulder.  From there he traveled up my neck to the top of my head.  I believe he would have been very happy to stay on me but alas, he was removed and put onto a leaf...

Sphinx Moth in Broad Daylight

 

As I was riding back home, I spotted this big bug on the barbed wire.  I had not seen anything like this before and after asking my neighbors, I found out what this was.  I thought it was alive and was just hanging on to the wire during a windy day but it looks like this moth was impaled onto a barb.  The Loggerhead Shrike (bird), is the only bird that captures and impales it's prey.  I was told the Shrike has not been seen at Sutter's Landing Park for quite sometime.  Could they be back?  

Beautiful Flyers

Buckeye Butterfly obtaining nectar from a Star Thistle Flower

This dragonfly and others like it, love to perch on the cyclone fence near an old landfill.

Swainsons Hawk flying over the American River

Veggie Flowers @ The Kayner Garden

Chinese Long Bean Flower with a tiny bean

Tomatillo flower with a tomatillo forming

The Preserve

I was so taken after my first visit to Mare Island, I just had to go back to see how the Osprey families are doing.  Have any chicks fledged?  Will I be able to see Osprey or other birds flying?  I was not disappointed.  Even during very windy conditions, these birds can negotiate a take off and landing with ease. 

I found this old sign inside the Museum at the Preserve.

This Red Shouldered Hawk flew out of a Redwood Tree and decided to fly toward an Osprey nest.  

Osprey landing on the nest

Osprey parent perched with it's chicks

Mama Osprey calling out to her mate as the chicks are hungry

Papa is paying attention in another tree

and flies off

With the food delivered, Mama feed her chick.  Open wide!

Front Yard Hummingbird

This teeny tiny Hummingbird likes to perch in the trees near my front porch and talk.  He also loves the two feeders I have hanging on my porch!  Every morning, afternoon and sometimes in the late afternoon, he talking, talking, talking.  Then he swoops in to one of the feeders and flies back to his perch.  I talk to him as much as I can, hence we now have a relationship.  I believe this is a Anna's Hummingbird. 

A Very Important Pollinator

This Honey Bee landed on our Blackberry flower loaded with pollen on his leg.  This particular bush produces inch long Blackberries that are so very sweet.  More flower buds will open soon allowing the bees to be instrumental in making sure I get to eat Blackberries all summer long!