Looking for Cranes

We went to Lodi on Christmas to look for the Sandhill Cranes.  There were not as many as in previous years in the location where we usually go, but we did manage to see some and heard lots of others going to neighboring fields.  We upgraded from our annual McDonald's and hit up Denny's instead.  Movin' on up!

Sandhill Crane Thanksgiving

Since we had an early Thanksgiving, we spent our actual Thanksgiving in Lodi with the sandhill cranes.  As has now become a bit of a tradition around Thanksgiving, we made our annual trip to McDonald's too.  Once a year is really enough for that place ;-)  The weather was alot nicer this year than is year's past, so we didn't even need our hot chocolate.  Alex and Julia both enjoyed seeing all of the birds and taking turns with the binoculars.  Julia was also, of course, impressed with the moon, which is something that she loves to see these days.  It is always amazing to me how beautiful the sight of these birds coming in for the night is.  The sounds in addition to the sight are truly amazing and the pictures just do not do them justice at all.  This will definitely be a tradition that we stick with because it is always so enjoyable.

Biking by the Bay

Last night we went over to Alameda to take Alex biking by the bay before sunset.  It was a gorgeous night and Alex did a great job on his bike.  He found some geese, which were of course a great point of interest for him.  He was essentially herding the geese on his bike. 

Updated Video of Mourning Doves

Here's an updated video, one from Wednesday evening. The Momma was sitting at a different angle, so you get a better view of the two little ones. One of them even stretches his wings at one point. It appears that their dinnertime is about the same time as ours.

We put out some sunflower seeds on the back deck, hoping that the Momma would find them and not have to travel too far to get food. She did leave the nest shortly thereafter, and then came back and fed the babies. Alex has dubbed the Momma as Martha and the baby birds as Miles and Mickey. I read that the chicks only stay in the nest for two weeks, so we may see them fly away within the next week or so.

While we were capturing the doves on video, Alex was talking about taking pictures of the birds. He had his toy camera and "his" tripod in the other room, up against the window trying to take pictures of them, while David was doing the same in the kitchen. It was cute. He was saying "cheese, mourning dove, smile!" while taking pictures.

A Visit to the Isenberg Crane Reserve

Rush hour traffic in the sky

Tundra swans

Little bird boy


Trying to get a closer look

Sandhill cranes lounging in the field


In flight, coming in for the night


Coming in

Sandhill cranes wading in the water at sunset


Sandhill cranes at sunset after landing

After reading last week, about the Sandhill Cranes which winter near Lodi, we decided to make a trip over there on Saturday afternoon. It was certainly worth the drive and we would recommend it to anyone who wants to see a dazzling display of birds. We arrived at about 4:00, which was an hour and a half before sunset and from the moment we arrived until two hours later when we left, there was a constant flow of birds flying over head, landing or just hanging out in the fields and ponds at the Isenberg Crane Reserve. In addition to the Sandhill Crane, which has a wingspan of up to 7 feet and are 4-5 feet tall, we saw Tundra Swans, Canadian Geese, egrets and Snow Geese, which all winter in the area from November until February or so.

During the time that we were there, you would hear birds in the distance from all directions and gradually they would either fly over us or come in for a landing in the reserve. At a few points there were multiple flocks crossing paths above us in the sky, basically like a bird rush hour. It was absolutely amazing. It looked like a constellation made up of birds. Alex had a fun time and was especially happy that he could see almost two entire pages of his Aububon Society bird guide, right there in front of us. There were many birders there, some with some really nice viewing equipment and one of the ladies spotted two Great Horned Owls in a tree in the distance, amid all of these other migratory birds. Alex was quite excited!

It was quite a cool evening. This will definitely be an event to put on the calendar for future visits. The pictures do not do it justice, but hopefully between the video and the pictures, you will get some sense of the atmosphere there. Remember, if you click on any of the pictures in any post, you will get an enlarged version.

Geese Flyover

Sandhill Cranes Landing for the Night

This video was taken on Saturday night near Lodi, which is about an hour and a half from our house. These Sandhill Cranes and numerous other birds winter in that area, so we went to watch them in the afternoon before sunset.

If you want to make this video (or any other video which we post on YouTube) larger and sharper, on the YouTube tool bar (below the YouTube logo) click on the 360 and set it to 720 instead and then go to the four arrows next to it and press it to make it full screen.

I know my bird friends

Monterey Bay Aquarium!

Holy mackerel!


Jellyfish at Monterey Bay Aquarium

I spot a pigeon


Chase pigeon!

Aaaaah, run pigeon, run!

I love this place!

We took a spur of the moment trip to Monterey Bay Aquarium on Saturday and had a great time! There were so many fun things to see, including the sea otters, lots of huge fish, jellyfish, a neat exhibit on seahorses and their relatives, and of course, there were pigeons and seagulls outside in the courtyard, so that was a hit as well. I'm going to post some short video clips of some of the seahorses, because the pictures do not do them justice. Really cool stuff!

Chasing Pigeons

Be very, very quiet, I am chasing a ....

How cute is this? Alex was extremely excited to see this family of geese and did not quite understand that a goose's happy voice is not normally a hiss. Every time that Alex got within about four feet of the Daddy goose, he would stop and hiss at him. They were just out on their afternoon walk on Angel Island. They were headed over to get some water and spend some time in the sun.

At the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito on Monday, they were celebrating Chinese New Year. We were waiting for the lion dance to start, so Alex entertained himself by chasing the pigeons, which seems to be one of his favorite pastimes. This video gives you a glimpse into how quickly he gets around. Sometimes I don't think it is actually appropriate to call it "walking"....I really thinking "jogging" is more appropriate.

A Nice Weekend

It was a nice weekend here in the Chng household. We had brunch at the Chia's house on Saturday, which was fun. It was great to get to hang out with the family. Nat is such a great big brother to Mika, who loves Elmo these days. Alex had a good time watching the older kids and enjoyed his new books which were a gift from the Chia's.

Today we took the bikes over to Alameda to ride around by the shoreline. While David was unloading everything, Alex had a fabulous time chasing seagulls around the parking lot. He was quite fascinated by the birds, who were being fed by some ladies nearby. Every time they would all start to fly, he would squat down to make sure they didn't hit his head. It was too cute! In fact, a lady came all the way over to us, from a picnic spot to let us know that we had such an adorable little boy.

He has definitely decided that walking is the preferred mode of transporting himself around. He is quite cautious and is aware of transitions between different types of floor covering, as well as thresholds, which is a good thing. He is starting to try to climb on things more and definitely does not stop exploring for a moment! Lately he also has started to say "un-un-un", which always seems to happen when the context would suggest that he is trying to say "no".

We are keeping busy here and hoping for a nice weather week, so that we can spend some more time outside.

Finally....

Look! David was able to capture a photo of one of the hummingbirds feeding at the feeder outside of the front window. Looks like the little bird actually felt comfortable enough to sit down and have a sip. We've just recently seen quite a few hummingbirds coming to the feeder, after putting it up about a year ago. Just thought we'd share...isn't it beautiful?