Bird Pictures Mostly from Devereux Slough, Goleta Slough, Coal Oil Point,
and Sands Beach in Santa Barbara County

January and February 2007

Northern Shoveler

Birds January 13 thru March 10, 2007
Northern Shoveler, Canada Goose, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Black Skimmer, Willet - Goleta Slough, Devereux Slough, East Beach, Santa Barbara

Tree swallow Tachycineta bicolor
Tree swallow Tachycineta bicolor, Lake Cachuma, February 24, 2007

Parrot
Part of a flock of naturalized parrots in Altadena (near Pasadena) February 2007

"Pasadena has a population of naturalized parrots. The city's website identifies one, a Red-crowned amazon parrot, but according to the Parrot Project of Los Angeles, the parrots fall into as many as five different groups. There is a cycle of regular public outcry about the noise and the sheer oddity of the birds' presence, but most Pasadenans seem to have come to accept the birds as part of the city's life. They can be seen year-round, but are especially noticeable in the winter. The birds are definitely gregarious, and the amount of disturbance their chatter creates is definitely related to the time of day they may choose to chatter.

Theories and myths abound on how these parrots came to claim Pasadena and surrounding towns as their home. A heavily accepted story by longtime residents of the area is that they were part of the stock at Simpson's Nursery on East Colorado Blvd. in the Lamanda Park area. The nursery was burned down in 1959, and the parrots were thereby released to forage in the lush Pasadena area. It is also possible that some parrots moved northward from their normal range in central and northern Mexico as human habitation in the Pasadena area created artificial habitat in which the parrots could survive. Among their favorite foods are the berry kernels of the cedar trees that grow in great abundance around Pasadena."

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasadena,_California)

Parrot

Geese Febuary 2007
Canada Goose Branta canadensis - February 3, 2007
The geese have been at Devereux Slough for years, the flock is much larger in the winter, they leave every morning and come back in the evening.

Northern Flicker
Northern Flicker - Yankee Farm, January 28, 2007
(Photos of Yankee Farm, Jill's domestic birds and American Goldfinch on hanging bird feeder)

Sedgwick Reserve January 2007
Sedgwick Reserve - Birds of our Oak Woodlands, Leader: Fred Emerson
January 20, 2007

SANTA BARBARA BREAKS RECORDS WITH HIGH COUNT OF 224 SPECIES ON 2006 CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT!
by Joan E. Lentz and Count information

Prairie Falcon
Prairie Falcon at Lake Cachuma January 13, 2007 - Slideshow of Eagle count day at Lake Cachuma and surrounding area

white Pelicans at Devereux
White Pelicans at Devereux Slough - Early morning January 11, 2007

back to Birds

Interests of Callie | Birds | Surfing | Santa Barbara Farmers' Market, Gardening and Farming | Snowy Plovers | Trips and Places

Callie's e-mail: cjbowdish@hotmail.com