Created 28-Jan-26
News of the season: Ripe Toyon berries attract a round of gorging Robins, with an occasional Cedar Waxwing. Finches sample a few berries beforehand.
Male Anna’s Hummingbird poses on bare branch, preening, displaying scarlet helmet, hoping for companionship. Meanwhile, sallying forth to grab insects from the air. (Later, I see a pair of hummingbirds playing tag, dodging branches. Time to mate.)
A venerable Blue Oak, finished photosynthesizing, without leaves, stands out in its light green lichen coat – offering footing to Red-shouldered Hawk, hunter of Ground Squirrels, and to Turkey Vultures, waiting to clean up the leavings. Then, unexpectedly, the tree is gone – cut down, disposed of, leaving only a dusting of sawdust.
Buck visits lone Blue Oak. Other birds active in early spring: Lesser Goldfinch, harvesting buckwheat; Western Bluebirds, fledgling and grown; ducks dabbling in Frog Pond; California Scrub Jay, Band-tailed Pigeons, California Towhee, and Oak Titmouse. Bare branches of Blue Oak, Valley Oak, and California Buckeye await spring’s quickening. California Bay, green year-round, adds golden blossoms. Buckeye seed, dropped onto moist ground, pushes roots deep into soil, extends fragile shoot upward.
NEWS FLASH: Western Leatherwood (Dirca occidentalis) blossoms along Los Trancos Trail. Milkmaids (Cardamine californica) line the trail. Buckeyes burst into new leaves at tips of branches. By month’s end, springtime arrives.
January 2026 in Portola Valley Ranch and nearby.
Male Anna’s Hummingbird poses on bare branch, preening, displaying scarlet helmet, hoping for companionship. Meanwhile, sallying forth to grab insects from the air. (Later, I see a pair of hummingbirds playing tag, dodging branches. Time to mate.)
A venerable Blue Oak, finished photosynthesizing, without leaves, stands out in its light green lichen coat – offering footing to Red-shouldered Hawk, hunter of Ground Squirrels, and to Turkey Vultures, waiting to clean up the leavings. Then, unexpectedly, the tree is gone – cut down, disposed of, leaving only a dusting of sawdust.
Buck visits lone Blue Oak. Other birds active in early spring: Lesser Goldfinch, harvesting buckwheat; Western Bluebirds, fledgling and grown; ducks dabbling in Frog Pond; California Scrub Jay, Band-tailed Pigeons, California Towhee, and Oak Titmouse. Bare branches of Blue Oak, Valley Oak, and California Buckeye await spring’s quickening. California Bay, green year-round, adds golden blossoms. Buckeye seed, dropped onto moist ground, pushes roots deep into soil, extends fragile shoot upward.
NEWS FLASH: Western Leatherwood (Dirca occidentalis) blossoms along Los Trancos Trail. Milkmaids (Cardamine californica) line the trail. Buckeyes burst into new leaves at tips of branches. By month’s end, springtime arrives.
January 2026 in Portola Valley Ranch and nearby.
Feeding Frenzy: Robins Devour Ripe Toyon Berries, January 2026
Visitors 12
16 photos
Created 31-Jan-26
Modified 31-Jan-26
Anna’s Hummingbird Displays, Stretches, and Sallies Forth for Insects
Visitors 3
13 photos
Created 28-Jan-26
Modified 28-Jan-26
Old Blue Oak Hosts Hawk and Vultures for the Last Time
Visitors 7
14 photos
Created 30-Jan-26
Modified 30-Jan-26
Birds, Buck, Buckeye, Buckwheat: Portola Valley Ranch, January 2026
Visitors 5
15 photos
Created 30-Jan-26
Modified 30-Jan-26
1/30/2026 Dirca, Milkmaids, Buckeye: Springtime Arrives
Visitors 6
6 photos
Created 30-Jan-26
Modified 30-Jan-26
Dan Quinn