The Life in My Years

This week’s Lens Artists Challenge is hosted by Anne Sandler and she has chosen the topic, Wildlife Close To Home.

I’m choosing home as what’s known as the entire Greater Bay Area, so I’m reaching out to the Pacific Coast.

Half Moon Bay is about 45 minutes away. That’s close to home. Right?

The Pacific shoreline teems with birds. Below is a flock of fluttering plovers (say that fast three times).     

Below, a posing black oystercatcher.

During COVID, Cora and I went for a walk along the shoreline near the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a sunny brisk and breezy January day. As we walked near a fence line a raven followed us, alighting on fence posts along the way. It should be noted he made plenty of noise but he never once quoted, “Nevermore.”

Getting closer to home, I usually take Lexi for walks past ponds and along the shore of San Pablo Bay.  One day on a trail walk past one of the ponds, we spotted a number of egrets and two racoons, surprising one of the masked creatures.

As Daffy Duck would say, “Suffering Succotash,” there’s always ducks floating in the wetlands near the bay. This one seems to be checking his or her – well, who knows.

We live in a valley near a large watershed which is home to a number of wild animals. On any given day I can step out into the backyard and watch hawks and vultures swooping through the eddies above. I’ve never been fortunate to photograph a hawk but on one October morning I did manage to catch a vulture perched in a tree.

Much closer to home, like on a potted plant just outside the door, I caught a glimpse of one of the twigs moving. On closer inspection, it was a walking stick. According to the National Wildlife Federation, “walking sticks, or stick insects, are a group of highly camouflaged insects. They escape predation by blending into plant material. As their name suggests, they look just like sticks, and may even sway back and forth to more closely resemble a twig moving in the wind.”

To view Anne’s site, Slow Shutter Speed, please click on the link and don’t forget to check out the comments for other takes on Wildlife Close to Home.