Tales of the Heliosphere

Thursday, August 13, 2009

In The Macroverse: Spider Kills Bee.

This spider worked non-stop for about 20 minutes wrapping a bee that had gotten stuck in its web. Once the bee was completely encased in webbing, the spider dragged it into the bottlebrush tree for dining later.

From In The Macroverse

Meanwhile, in a nearby web off-camera another bee struggled for the duration and escaped. There is no mercy or justice in nature. Only survival or death contingent on circumstances.

To see more photos of the bee wrapping the spider sequence, click the links above, which take you to the In The Macroverse album at picasaweb.google.com/tdavera. Scroll to the end of the album. And thank the gods you're at the top of the food chain. So say we all!

-tdr

Labels: Insects, Nature, Photography

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Saturday, July 11, 2009

Wild In The Urbs: Saga Of The Zebra Finch

Two weeks since he first made an appearance in the backyard, the escaped Zebra Finch is still coming around. He seems to be acclimating to the outdoors.

From Saga of the Zebra Finch

Not sure how long he'll survive, what with this neighborhood cat stalking the feeders every day. "That's right, cat, you'd better keep walking away, you damn furry little serial killer!"

From Cats

But he's doing fine for now.

From Saga of the Zebra Finch

-tdr

Labels: Birds, Nature, Photography

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Wild In The Urbs: Pigeon Sumo

From Pigeon Sumo

-tdr

Labels: Birds, Nature, Photography

# posted by tdr : 10:27 0 comments

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Wild In The Urbs: Mockingbirds vs. Crow.

Competition among birds isn't only over food. Sometimes, birds fight it out for territory. Here two mockingbirds harass a crow to drive it off the top of their telephone pole.

From Birds

-tdr

Labels: Birds, Nature, Photography

# posted by tdr : 21:13 0 comments

Wild In The Urbs: Ultimate Pigeon Fighting.

What do you get when too many pigeons try to fit in the same food bowl? Here it is. As always click on the photos to zoom in.

From Birds

-tdr

Republished to change images size.

Labels: Birds, Nature, Photography, San Diego

# posted by tdr : 21:06 0 comments

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Wild In The Urbs

Somebody's cage is missing a Zebra Finch. (Here.) The bird is not native to Southern California. Fortunately for it, it found a backyard feeder; and for me: it's got a sweet call and beautiful coloring.

Meanwhile, a native bird feeds on a San Diego Sunflower in the front yard.

The sunflower plant still blooms but it's losing flowers in anticipation of summer. The blooming flowers continue to feed hummingbirds and insects. The dying flowers feed other birds. Nice!

-tdr

Labels: Birds, Photography, San Diego

# posted by tdr : 10:52 0 comments

Monday, April 13, 2009

In The Macroverse: Beauty And Grace.

While some of us spent Sunday morning relaxing in the yard, at the insect level it was just another day of working to survive. Here's a pollen-laden bee hovering among the branches of a San Diego Sunflower.

This fierce-looking spider sits on another San Diego Sunflower bush nearby. Click the photo for a closeup of the spider's face. Its fu manchu mustache-like markings alone are worth the look.

I have no idea what this flying insect is or the flower it's resting on but they're both strikingly beautiful.

The flower's beauty is obvious to the naked eye. The insect is so small that to the naked eye it appears to be nothing much. Only under magnification is its beauty revealed to the human eye. Do other insects notice? Who can say? As far as we know, the aesthetics of a thing is appreciated only by human beings. These creatures live lives of unobserved grace and beauty.

To see more, go to my photos page at picasaweb.google.com/tdavera/InTheMacroverse and scroll to the end for the most recent additions. (Here.)

-tdr

Update: The flower in the bottom photo is a Tidy Tips and the insect is a hover fly.

Labels: Insects, Macrophotos, Nature, Photography

# posted by tdr : 21:19 0 comments

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Wild In The Urbs: Cesar Chavez Day

Today's a holiday at my office. We get all the holidays California state judges get, and they get a lot. So, this idle morning was spent in the backyard along with these visitors:

A Black-headed Grosbeak.

A House Sparrow, I think, came along.

Pigeons, too, of course, flew in from the nearby grocery store.

Meanwhile, the cat roamed the yard blissfully unaware of her appointment for vaccinations later today.

Have a day, everybody.

-tdr

Labels: Birds, Photography, San Diego

# posted by tdr : 10:07 0 comments

Monday, March 16, 2009

In The Macroverse: Woodpeckers versus Pine Tree.

The woodpeckers at Mount Laguna this weekend worked nonstop pounding on the pine trees and storing their nuts in the bark. The trees didn't seem to complain but nobody would blame them if they did. Here's an example of the woodpeckers' work.

And here's an oozing wound in the bark from all that pecking. That's gotta hurt.

But it's not all pain and destruction. Here's a pretty sapfall hanging from the bark.

For more closeup photos of a pine tree's skin, go to my picasaweb photos page at picasaweb.google.com/tdavera, open the folder labeled In The Macroverse, and scroll to the end. (Here.)

-tdr

Labels: Nature, Photography, Plants, Trees

# posted by tdr : 19:26 0 comments

Wild In The Wild: Mount Laguna Edition.

This weekend's shots of birds were taken at Mount Laguna about 50 miles east of San Diego. Saw 14 different types of birds. If I were a real birder I'd give you a list. But I'm not. So, here's a picture of a Steller's Jay, instead.

For more pictures of this and other birds go to my picasaweb photos page at picasaweb.google.com/tdavera and open the 2009 Laguna Mountain Folder. (Here)

-tdr

Labels: Birds, Nature, Photography, San Diego

# posted by tdr : 19:13 0 comments

Friday, February 20, 2009

Wild In The Urbs: The Early Bird Gets Something.

This little bird was busy this morning taking its breakfast meal on the sage plant. Notice the yellow matter coating its beak of this little bird. It's from the underside of the sage leaves that the bird is resting on.

Here's a shot of the bird feeding.

The photo is taken through a foggy window and a screen. Hence the poor quality. But it's still possible to make out the food on the bottom of the sage leaf and on the beak.

Native plants rule! You're welcome, little fella.

-tdr

Labels: Birds, Photography

# posted by tdr : 07:59 2 comments

Sunday, February 08, 2009

Wild In The Wild: HawkWatch 2009

This Red-Tailed Hawk displays its wings at the Wildlife Research Institute in Ramona, California. Each Saturday in January and February the Institute is hosting HawkWatch 2009, an educational program for the public. For more information about the Institute's work tracking raptors and preserving habitat go to its website. (Here.)

If you're in Southern California, head out to Ramona on any of the remaining Saturday mornings in February. You'll see birds like this beautiful American Kestrel, the cutest raptor of them all.

For more photos of last weekend's HawkWatch 2009, visit my photos website at picasaweb.google.com/tdavera. (Here.)

-tdr

Labels: Birds, Photography

# posted by tdr : 18:02 0 comments

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Wild In The Urbs: The Raptor And The Rapt.

This Northern Harrier (here) takes flight empty handed at Mission Trails Regional Park within the city limits of San Diego.

This drab little bird, a Cassin's Finch, I believe (here), looks curiously at the photographer in a San Diego backyard.

Happy Weekend, everybody.

-tdr

Labels: Birds, Photography, San Diego

# posted by tdr : 12:45 0 comments

Monday, January 19, 2009

Wild In The Urbs: The Inaugural Weekend Edition.

This weekend while America prepared for the Presidential Inauguration of its first living god, it was good to get away and view some of the handiwork of Thomas Jefferson's creator.

A gull floats over the Pacific off the coast of Imperial Beach, California.