Visitors 13
Modified 27-Oct-25
Created 24-Oct-25
40 photos
Birds -- such a delight! Colorful as flowers, skittish as falling leaves. More accessible than other wild animals – and more colorful than most. Just the right size range for us, not too small to observe easily, not too large for comfort. Songs and calls, varied colorful plumage, interesting behavior. Connecting us across time and space to distant lands, distant times. Amazing migration patterns hinting climate change, moving continents, deep history. Last remaining descendants of the dinosaurs who once ruled Earth. Birding connects people of many walks of life to many parts of the world.
Since 2009, some Jasper Ridge birders have generously welcomed me on their monthly traverses out of Escobar Gate. Their sharp eyes and ears alert me to interesting birds and their behavior.
October 15, 2025 is overcast. Flat light reveals natural colors. A “charm” of Lesser Goldfinch harvests seeds in the tall grass, too busy to be disturbed by passing birders. [I love the varied collective nouns for birds! Forget “flock”: “charm of finches” adds a twist.] Flitting back and forth from stem to stem, balancing precariously while reaching for a seed almost out of reach, chattering and enjoying life.
Earlier, the looping swoop of a distant bird catches my eye. A telephoto reveals the Northern Flicker at the top of a distant oak; closer inspection reveals two more, hidden in the branches beneath. Much later, at the other end of our traverse along the Grassland Fire Road (Road F), another sighting. Is this one of the earlier birds, or new for today?
Poison Oak provides nutritious berries and a colorful perch for smaller birds: one unknown to me (tyrant flycatcher?), and, later, a pair of Golden-crowned Sparrows. More gold on this dreary day!
Scrub Jays rule their corner of the chaparral.
BONUS: Colorful birds from Lake Atitlan, Guatemala – and a birding story:
At 51, inspired by the Merlin birdsong app, my son Jameson (AKA “Chema” in Latin America) became more serious about birding. Using Merlin as a hint of what was about, but insisting on visual identification, he began a “Life List” of birds seen. (An exception to visual confirmation: the Mexican Whip-poor-will (Antrostomus arizonae), whose unmistakable rising trills surrounded us as we hiked in pitch darkness toward distant dim sky, hoping to greet the dawn over the volcanoes of Lake Atitlan.)
His Life List was built between California and Guatemala: Portola Valley, Hidden Villa, Oakland, and the Pacific near Pescadero, CA; and in Guatemala, the Pacific Coast near Hawaii (no, not the island), volcanic Lake Atitlan, and Guatemala City. In less than four months, from December 7, 2024 through March 17, 2025 (I was there!), his Life List grew to 117 bird species – plus a vividly-recalled Turquoise-browed Motmot from earlier. Six days later, March 23, he died in a sudden unexpected accident, falling off a cliff while trying to rescue a small dog. I miss him.
Birding can provide connections and memories. I still have his Life List on Merlin. More than a record of birds, it is a window into his life, his travels, and his interests – so suddenly cut off. Here are two birds added to his life list in his last week, with me at Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.
People ask, to you miss him constantly? Only when I’m most alive. I miss him now.
Since 2009, some Jasper Ridge birders have generously welcomed me on their monthly traverses out of Escobar Gate. Their sharp eyes and ears alert me to interesting birds and their behavior.
October 15, 2025 is overcast. Flat light reveals natural colors. A “charm” of Lesser Goldfinch harvests seeds in the tall grass, too busy to be disturbed by passing birders. [I love the varied collective nouns for birds! Forget “flock”: “charm of finches” adds a twist.] Flitting back and forth from stem to stem, balancing precariously while reaching for a seed almost out of reach, chattering and enjoying life.
Earlier, the looping swoop of a distant bird catches my eye. A telephoto reveals the Northern Flicker at the top of a distant oak; closer inspection reveals two more, hidden in the branches beneath. Much later, at the other end of our traverse along the Grassland Fire Road (Road F), another sighting. Is this one of the earlier birds, or new for today?
Poison Oak provides nutritious berries and a colorful perch for smaller birds: one unknown to me (tyrant flycatcher?), and, later, a pair of Golden-crowned Sparrows. More gold on this dreary day!
Scrub Jays rule their corner of the chaparral.
BONUS: Colorful birds from Lake Atitlan, Guatemala – and a birding story:
At 51, inspired by the Merlin birdsong app, my son Jameson (AKA “Chema” in Latin America) became more serious about birding. Using Merlin as a hint of what was about, but insisting on visual identification, he began a “Life List” of birds seen. (An exception to visual confirmation: the Mexican Whip-poor-will (Antrostomus arizonae), whose unmistakable rising trills surrounded us as we hiked in pitch darkness toward distant dim sky, hoping to greet the dawn over the volcanoes of Lake Atitlan.)
His Life List was built between California and Guatemala: Portola Valley, Hidden Villa, Oakland, and the Pacific near Pescadero, CA; and in Guatemala, the Pacific Coast near Hawaii (no, not the island), volcanic Lake Atitlan, and Guatemala City. In less than four months, from December 7, 2024 through March 17, 2025 (I was there!), his Life List grew to 117 bird species – plus a vividly-recalled Turquoise-browed Motmot from earlier. Six days later, March 23, he died in a sudden unexpected accident, falling off a cliff while trying to rescue a small dog. I miss him.
Birding can provide connections and memories. I still have his Life List on Merlin. More than a record of birds, it is a window into his life, his travels, and his interests – so suddenly cut off. Here are two birds added to his life list in his last week, with me at Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.
People ask, to you miss him constantly? Only when I’m most alive. I miss him now.
Dan Quinn