tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77051122024-03-10T20:23:20.537-07:00Silver ParrotSilver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.comBlogger1158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-9343239638952841782023-07-14T15:30:00.000-07:002023-07-14T15:30:11.738-07:00The List...College & Beyond Part I<p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Good lord! Another long break. Geez! Life is crazy. </span></span></p><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">In college, I continued with many of my favorite series including Darkover, the Pip & Flinx books, Valdemar and others. A few of my other favorites included (in no particular order):</span></span></p><p>The Shannara series by Terry Brooks can be a little controversial. Most people feel that it's a straight Tolkien rip-off - particularly the first book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sword-Shannara-Book/dp/B0001ZYZQE/ref=sr_1_1?crid=RJFV71OT6872&keywords=sword+of+shannara&qid=1689369392&s=audible&sprefix=sword+of+shannar%2Caudible%2C159&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Sword of Shannara</a>:</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicmZ9p8Ll6bM8SUbPRw_NKJAY2qUhkoSNVpQ3oNZe1P8GDfbgTIR48_t2qNIBQcgnyQQBWP9-T08WpFFCovG4x2D5fAr7HulXKJgkRFAwugJLroCUdSEZAdSNYxQvPgd8a44p5MuNpRy8aWliCMCt_1G2gQ3pmcWxkGyULeXf2BVFQ0IDt6gGOXA/s500/51oQz5++gtL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicmZ9p8Ll6bM8SUbPRw_NKJAY2qUhkoSNVpQ3oNZe1P8GDfbgTIR48_t2qNIBQcgnyQQBWP9-T08WpFFCovG4x2D5fAr7HulXKJgkRFAwugJLroCUdSEZAdSNYxQvPgd8a44p5MuNpRy8aWliCMCt_1G2gQ3pmcWxkGyULeXf2BVFQ0IDt6gGOXA/s320/51oQz5++gtL.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">And...they're not wrong...exactly. My personal feeling is that there's enough difference to make it interesting and, as the series expands, the differences become wide enough to make it worth reading for itself without the Tolkien comparison. Also, don't go by the recent (and horrible) TV adaptation that just ruined it. Brooks also does a great job of eventually weaving Shannara together with one of his other series so it's worth reading as well. My favorite of the entire Shannara series is "T<a href="https://www.amazon.com/The-Elf-Queen-of-Shannara-audiobook/dp/B01HFI07YS/ref=sr_1_13?crid=38OWDI206UNS1&keywords=terry+brooks&qid=1689369731&s=audible&sprefix=terry+brooks%2Caudible%2C138&sr=1-13" target="_blank">he Elf Queen of Shannara</a>". </span></span></p><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhlwqHYiKCvw2jSpiV9nHnHPFw1zWGrCe4d0hc2C6JguZ10DZx0w8vu6SiO8qVRGpcFIYEQEw9WDiDkaa2XDuSIsYzRfj9EY2bbsPryg_7z7jTYCcWgSRFKEb1rVTRt34ocv_qiNWDW4e9JuErkiPnyi7v0yS90JCGoZG7IWKIKuzQuZl2wHSPnA/s500/61VvFFWIhWL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhlwqHYiKCvw2jSpiV9nHnHPFw1zWGrCe4d0hc2C6JguZ10DZx0w8vu6SiO8qVRGpcFIYEQEw9WDiDkaa2XDuSIsYzRfj9EY2bbsPryg_7z7jTYCcWgSRFKEb1rVTRt34ocv_qiNWDW4e9JuErkiPnyi7v0yS90JCGoZG7IWKIKuzQuZl2wHSPnA/s320/61VvFFWIhWL.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p>His <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Kingdom-Sale-Sold-Landover/dp/B0996CMGJJ/ref=sr_1_6?crid=38OWDI206UNS1&keywords=terry+brooks&qid=1689369731&s=audible&sprefix=terry+brooks%2Caudible%2C138&sr=1-6" target="_blank">Landover</a> novels are also a fun read:</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQNj378IWrbGgePA4noUGwL4kDk09iAVXvxnmbBlG4w3PEUGiUbo8XCFkkYfXASWZSFYJDCj2SA5J0NWq0phNUuDhlVHaskJOWPbU3221QWoZUpkk78pYQ4KH7Bep6WlX8bW4N4rV8TyhgoJjf1bjr7akIxpXSZaspCBcF-wDqME95DOUBkxSPQ/s500/517oSFPQpKL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQNj378IWrbGgePA4noUGwL4kDk09iAVXvxnmbBlG4w3PEUGiUbo8XCFkkYfXASWZSFYJDCj2SA5J0NWq0phNUuDhlVHaskJOWPbU3221QWoZUpkk78pYQ4KH7Bep6WlX8bW4N4rV8TyhgoJjf1bjr7akIxpXSZaspCBcF-wDqME95DOUBkxSPQ/s320/517oSFPQpKL.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Next we come to another of my favorite, and very prolific, authors: <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Barbar</span></span>a Hambly. She writes across multiple genres including Sword & Sorcery, Urban Fantasy, Mystery, etc. and is still currently putting out novels. My earliest introduction to her was the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Darwath-Time-Walls-Armies-Daylight-ebook/dp/B0090WTL90/ref=sr_1_1?crid=EOXI7GJ0NDP&keywords=darwath&qid=1689371051&s=audible&sprefix=darwath%2Caudible%2C181&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Darwath</a> series:</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT57Hvt7yphLVJzfkJ9qGgormqz6P_-dHNs-zw6c-wHeNa4NsWhMZVQdHhzAhlNNv0lbq6uqZ18GjPsTEknclCXnxJIhrwWQzc8FDjgCM4GN90gnez_3yavlEna8-hl5-BM2NFpaDSRwMSthVRkZalzCUe5UK18Mpq0AFRx1RxCF5NvMhyRBg5oA/s500/51QSD+hVRCL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="328" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT57Hvt7yphLVJzfkJ9qGgormqz6P_-dHNs-zw6c-wHeNa4NsWhMZVQdHhzAhlNNv0lbq6uqZ18GjPsTEknclCXnxJIhrwWQzc8FDjgCM4GN90gnez_3yavlEna8-hl5-BM2NFpaDSRwMSthVRkZalzCUe5UK18Mpq0AFRx1RxCF5NvMhyRBg5oA/s320/51QSD+hVRCL.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br /><p>Blending urban fantasy elements with classic fantasy and a post-apocalyptic setting, Hambly utilizes what is a repeat theme for her - world-hopping between our "Earth" and another, more magical world.</p><p>This shows up again in her <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Tower-Windrose-Chronicles-Book-ebook/dp/B004TC1450/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1689371286&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Windrose Chronicles</a> books - which feature one of my favorite kooky yet brilliant wizard characters of all time, Antryg Windrose:</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ1VkYKZ6pl2xy3LK4KYhBDvJmwRxSuUzmTVDoS6wKzbvu-th0YrmesvQS_MY6i7rcUCDxDofP2iaJMeve0bilAf5TWera6V9cvDoN_jQ60PrDF2oI8B34T9bxQz2O5mm9dpNisjQNTn-FmDF9D4diNIDVfNrEtAPvHiv2JGjYrFITzXz24B0cPw/s500/51xDcFuovWL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="328" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ1VkYKZ6pl2xy3LK4KYhBDvJmwRxSuUzmTVDoS6wKzbvu-th0YrmesvQS_MY6i7rcUCDxDofP2iaJMeve0bilAf5TWera6V9cvDoN_jQ60PrDF2oI8B34T9bxQz2O5mm9dpNisjQNTn-FmDF9D4diNIDVfNrEtAPvHiv2JGjYrFITzXz24B0cPw/s320/51xDcFuovWL.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br /><p>If you want good ol' Sword & Sorcery, but with a twist, nothing beats the Sun Wolfe/Starhawk books which asks the question "What happens when your everyday mercenary barbarian swordsman is granted magic he neither understands nor wants?" And don't discount Starhawk - she's not the typical "chick in a fur/chainmail" bikini that is the Sword & Sorcery trope for female warriors. She's smart, she's deadly and she's an equal (or better) half of the partnership:</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWpZBk1kuUVo4N9pMQaMm1d3cedd9mUfVSDG0gkiWixHxXeRzqkNLCq5OHkdOLt2nUHNtf0ZiThHb87dL46LDfWJbDSwgylArcfUSEaMYdfKQoR-qaJY0Lxbc20oXAwKmiITXjpPUYXDHdLxs_MtJictBarpn7o10GQMyKM3gJbZSOjzP7pMopeQ/s500/51Z96jLM7aL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="328" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWpZBk1kuUVo4N9pMQaMm1d3cedd9mUfVSDG0gkiWixHxXeRzqkNLCq5OHkdOLt2nUHNtf0ZiThHb87dL46LDfWJbDSwgylArcfUSEaMYdfKQoR-qaJY0Lxbc20oXAwKmiITXjpPUYXDHdLxs_MtJictBarpn7o10GQMyKM3gJbZSOjzP7pMopeQ/s320/51Z96jLM7aL.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br /><p>On the other hand, if vampires are your thing...Hambly has that covered as well with her <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004TC149Q?notRedirectToSDP=1&ref_=dbs_mng_calw_0&storeType=ebooks" target="_blank">Asher/Ysidro</a> series. No, the vampires don't sparkle...and James Asher brings a touch of Sherlock Holmes/private detective flavor to this series...one of my favorite takes on the vampire trope before it became overdone and everywhere:</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8E5ERMWM0EkdMifUlJCEGloRcLjKoSIkjDNGK5xjOUTLwsTVLMzelJVV5fhsau6ehoPVEtwduVTapti-lnFC4egQilGw-o2_7YtoX8tnZhjpYQI7leBIARVs8JYfuHH0t4edQ7VQJ4qZeWHDHQWyo00hoarVhdjmZzBln19kzXgj4lhvlFatTzg/s500/516SLjmuOHL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="328" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8E5ERMWM0EkdMifUlJCEGloRcLjKoSIkjDNGK5xjOUTLwsTVLMzelJVV5fhsau6ehoPVEtwduVTapti-lnFC4egQilGw-o2_7YtoX8tnZhjpYQI7leBIARVs8JYfuHH0t4edQ7VQJ4qZeWHDHQWyo00hoarVhdjmZzBln19kzXgj4lhvlFatTzg/s320/516SLjmuOHL.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br /><p>I'll talk more about Hambly's other works in an upcoming post, but if you prefer straight up mysteries without the fantasy elements, I highly recommend her Benjamin January books.</p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><p>I've saved the best for last: Katherine Kurtz's books. I first discovered her through her <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Deryni-Rising-Chronicles-Book-ebook/dp/B001HD8NZS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3KDU39MMXZ5IP&keywords=deryni+rising&qid=1689372341&s=digital-text&sprefix=deryni+rising%2Cdigital-text%2C164&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Deryni</a> series which takes place in a meticulously researched and detailed alternate medieval Europe where non-magical humans magically gifted Deryni live side by side and take turns throughout history being in control and persecuting the other race only. The painful losses suffered on both sides are emotional and gut-wrenching (detailed in the prequel books about Camber of Culdi and particularly in King Javan's Year). The detailed magical system and religious elements really add to the realism of the world.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMG0NLQmysW3SSyM_VVaH3GTHtnv1k33Uhlfe0CEF0hUYtMVKsudnOAmP9qNlA_drpZznd9_s1dXSeZhC4f1KrNh_hGWYDhSz-uTvZsjsWaRE72LezoNWv4rAVQ_dUNmPejs_Kg-pq3lpuuaKgjbt2XkngeUBnXpXgH-V7YP4s-ctqHJhaq4yRuQ/s500/51iyy40a14L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="310" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMG0NLQmysW3SSyM_VVaH3GTHtnv1k33Uhlfe0CEF0hUYtMVKsudnOAmP9qNlA_drpZznd9_s1dXSeZhC4f1KrNh_hGWYDhSz-uTvZsjsWaRE72LezoNWv4rAVQ_dUNmPejs_Kg-pq3lpuuaKgjbt2XkngeUBnXpXgH-V7YP4s-ctqHJhaq4yRuQ/s320/51iyy40a14L.jpg" width="198" /></a></div><br /><p>Kurtz also furthered my love of Urban Fantasy with her <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005Y4FFK2?notRedirectToSDP=1&ref_=dbs_mng_calw_0&storeType=ebooks" target="_blank">Adept</a> series. Unfortunately, I've learned that only book 5 is available via Kindle, but you can still get the paperback versions of the others. I've had to give up on physical book copies as my worsening allergies include dust from book papers as they deteriorate over time.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsx56-gm0hj8Zd5c8f34ru7ErIa2E_-_RZL_UEbBgf32uYlVaZhSzHjaT9ocZDo_eznTg92Qrwka-T-gPNokOdotp9jXwuM9Pa--yV9IAZ7pTV1MorhT5pz9kpNTgb4ZeAZU9tcIOY8b9rfP4vqhrWIp1LZJuY_B-dcgJi9V4h2jIgSxQimHMAZg/s346/51vNw2Z3vaL._SY346_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="230" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsx56-gm0hj8Zd5c8f34ru7ErIa2E_-_RZL_UEbBgf32uYlVaZhSzHjaT9ocZDo_eznTg92Qrwka-T-gPNokOdotp9jXwuM9Pa--yV9IAZ7pTV1MorhT5pz9kpNTgb4ZeAZU9tcIOY8b9rfP4vqhrWIp1LZJuY_B-dcgJi9V4h2jIgSxQimHMAZg/s320/51vNw2Z3vaL._SY346_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p>There's a loosely-related series about the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Temple-Stone-Knights-Templar-Book-ebook/dp/B01FRQEV8S/ref=sr_1_3?qid=1689373082&refinements=p_27%3ADeborah+Turner+Harris&s=digital-text&sr=1-3&text=Deborah+Turner+Harris" target="_blank">Knights Templar</a> by Kurtz that is also excellent.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5b6d88l5-hIXmKskL4t4Wnab76Ntp0pfbC4QxO-EsI3cQMmAZV9_ukrsBT7jqKP84ybMCidg_XURRE_a-TM8TeQA8PNS60-MtwHY_ZRulkr54fdj_rY80RUkwvoSFzN-E1Ii9U9Cf6xyt8u-Rzy7H0JIPqtL0_evP1roqoGX1OHvk3OK9brOYog/s500/51eQr57OfIL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="328" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5b6d88l5-hIXmKskL4t4Wnab76Ntp0pfbC4QxO-EsI3cQMmAZV9_ukrsBT7jqKP84ybMCidg_XURRE_a-TM8TeQA8PNS60-MtwHY_ZRulkr54fdj_rY80RUkwvoSFzN-E1Ii9U9Cf6xyt8u-Rzy7H0JIPqtL0_evP1roqoGX1OHvk3OK9brOYog/s320/51eQr57OfIL.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br /><p>Okay, that's it for this installment. Hopefully, I'll be able to get the next one done more quickly (but no promises).</p><p>KJ</p><p><br /></p></span></span>Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-18850874096797619892022-10-14T16:42:00.000-07:002022-10-14T16:42:05.031-07:00The List...High School Years Part II<p>Ooops...that took longer to get back to than I thought. I've been gradually cataloging books and rummaging through my memory to put these lists together and have updated some of the prior entries with things I'd forgotten about when I posted originally so...worth checking out the earlier posts for the new info.</p><p>Okay, so...more high school. While I continued to read in my favorite series by Norton, McCaffrey, Valdemar & others, I was also getting into some of the earlier sci-fi/fantasy that influenced these amazing writers. Examples include the <b>John Carter of Mars</b> books by Edgar Rice Burroughs, anything by Leigh Brackett and the <b>Jirel of Joiry</b> series by the amazing C.L. Moore - one of the true female pioneers of the genre.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7j8kCDuH2uaqiLirT9S9SVt8KUNBJP1Kx7xahPjFG3WIEo-5h7KEgO_IYCmzipIrYPN-ZmZUIK3dQFRUULtfkj1GHVnb76SFo4ib-s8I-2xx9cEUWbDVKBzExQ9abRGghTMNo-PE-Goy-YLRPr71chkzv3_kD9JesdJ6aRQHnUmNrbprjKmY/s346/jirel.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="230" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7j8kCDuH2uaqiLirT9S9SVt8KUNBJP1Kx7xahPjFG3WIEo-5h7KEgO_IYCmzipIrYPN-ZmZUIK3dQFRUULtfkj1GHVnb76SFo4ib-s8I-2xx9cEUWbDVKBzExQ9abRGghTMNo-PE-Goy-YLRPr71chkzv3_kD9JesdJ6aRQHnUmNrbprjKmY/s320/jirel.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">I went through a major King Arthur phase which included MZB's <b>Mists of Avalon</b> as well as the wonderful series by Mary Stewart that focuses on Merlin's point of view:</span></span></p><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHvw6kcvf4IGfHmj1ThJUr4bRbIyPlnOT2oCx_SIaBSzEVJG9oIDWiRZyW0OuTYps_pJoj0D-IAvJ3JLviv1g8EQa1wNNSy_NJcoO0snDDwx2vPEIFwxKq6Q6M_9i02Y_6wQ2vCKvtg9rzgSCqHeMV5yTdLHdflIQSOU77tsNNFQ7sOiZMMc0/s500/crystal%20cave.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHvw6kcvf4IGfHmj1ThJUr4bRbIyPlnOT2oCx_SIaBSzEVJG9oIDWiRZyW0OuTYps_pJoj0D-IAvJ3JLviv1g8EQa1wNNSy_NJcoO0snDDwx2vPEIFwxKq6Q6M_9i02Y_6wQ2vCKvtg9rzgSCqHeMV5yTdLHdflIQSOU77tsNNFQ7sOiZMMc0/s320/crystal%20cave.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Another work that I don't believe is as well known, but which I thoroughly enjoyed is Gillian Bradshaw's <b>Hawk of May.</b> Rather than following the more well-known characters like Arthur, Merlin or Lancelot (although they are all there), this series focuses on Gwalchmai, more familiar to us as Sir Gawaine.</span></span></p><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Z2wbnwtFXYs1xkapOrsJnzqkJVaiEBi8HG4xT01O4MBQ7gsii56_x_fB4bo9SGrNglxneQE6hd1tl7rS74OA-JSMVNpfPxe1ka1Vt8DlBXz64_yn1s7Qsrkcuil_p8T2-dmv_bYzGlMe5aFxtZzzF0e8XLrEhm9Ml8V9BsgKHEETq8-HVbI/s500/gwalchmai.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Z2wbnwtFXYs1xkapOrsJnzqkJVaiEBi8HG4xT01O4MBQ7gsii56_x_fB4bo9SGrNglxneQE6hd1tl7rS74OA-JSMVNpfPxe1ka1Vt8DlBXz64_yn1s7Qsrkcuil_p8T2-dmv_bYzGlMe5aFxtZzzF0e8XLrEhm9Ml8V9BsgKHEETq8-HVbI/s320/gwalchmai.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Switching over to sci-fi, I discovered the <b>Flinx & Pip</b> series by Alan Dean Foster. Philip Lynx or "Flinx" as he is known is a galactic orphan with a mysterious past and some strange abilities. Because of these abilities, he is able to partner up with a deadly creature known as an Alaspinian mini-drag, who he names "Pip". These books are set in Foster's wider universe known as "The Commonwealth" where humans and the insect-like Thranx have formed a close alliance against the reptilian Aan. The world-building is strong, Flinx & Pip are really likable characters and even the most insect-averse reader will come to like the Thranx (plus, they smell good!) It should be noted that the books were not published in the chronological order of the story so readers will have to choose if they want to read in chronological order or publication order. If you want to start chronologically, then <b>For Love of Mother-Not</b> is the place to begin:</span></span></span></p><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3JHsOUh8uqJqTitGN-RUNYlgoxLDbL-lmMCmE4hkpg9E-k2LpHMfyXqBlieN_1g8MC0jXoc2c8A6DGhyIaURsVp-u-WxxLUxj4jnpqfyc3dSnD_nQizX07VtxaIX9NZSOiLhT-ovcfz40QblhJQ5JzanKhu-1FWcv2e0OTY6BbQgg15kLJ1A/s500/flinx.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="303" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3JHsOUh8uqJqTitGN-RUNYlgoxLDbL-lmMCmE4hkpg9E-k2LpHMfyXqBlieN_1g8MC0jXoc2c8A6DGhyIaURsVp-u-WxxLUxj4jnpqfyc3dSnD_nQizX07VtxaIX9NZSOiLhT-ovcfz40QblhJQ5JzanKhu-1FWcv2e0OTY6BbQgg15kLJ1A/s320/flinx.jpg" width="194" /></a></span></span></div><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Personally, my favorite in the series is <b>Mid-Flinx</b>. Pip & Flinx find themselves on a sentient jungle planet where anything you touch may be deadly:</span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqyg1x5mwPHm6cmQs4Yo5zNOQqZ4R48-nbP_CNjrBKb8412PQYeaHOgrvSybCJ-MXmemmu7cgAcPsBdHH2bu9asRcgApiSGOvJjQCXyRtVlqLxG0uUtUCSnpSV-Pkr4bXvH2x0Nxfy_of5PFPO1HGmZQ_FwF8qi8bWaqAgdQzpKVbDq89RObc/s500/mid.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="305" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqyg1x5mwPHm6cmQs4Yo5zNOQqZ4R48-nbP_CNjrBKb8412PQYeaHOgrvSybCJ-MXmemmu7cgAcPsBdHH2bu9asRcgApiSGOvJjQCXyRtVlqLxG0uUtUCSnpSV-Pkr4bXvH2x0Nxfy_of5PFPO1HGmZQ_FwF8qi8bWaqAgdQzpKVbDq89RObc/s320/mid.jpg" width="195" /></a></span></span></div><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Additional excellent books that take place in the same Humanx Commonwealth universe, but don't feature Pip & Flinx, include <b>Nor Crystal Tears</b>, the <b>Icerigger Trilogy</b>, and <b>Cachalot</b> among many others:</span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-WrM9luGL7PhvpDSfFhzJVyXa2LKtzHUPLfusRcncQgrDUvFiwuOLOg5OlyV8r1pICStK_wYPE1SDAPablf4KGy6z82mhuwQRFMaMPWTAQA1NFW-CVTC372P2Q1JRNwH6GCuzEoM-KIG08e_nJV8udEIxqiik6DiQ4XjvYlbCCqkFyu15WCo/s499/cachalot.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-WrM9luGL7PhvpDSfFhzJVyXa2LKtzHUPLfusRcncQgrDUvFiwuOLOg5OlyV8r1pICStK_wYPE1SDAPablf4KGy6z82mhuwQRFMaMPWTAQA1NFW-CVTC372P2Q1JRNwH6GCuzEoM-KIG08e_nJV8udEIxqiik6DiQ4XjvYlbCCqkFyu15WCo/s320/cachalot.jpg" width="202" /></a></span></span></span></div><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br />Foster is also well-known for writing the novelizations of many famous sci-fi films including <b>Alien</b> and multiple entries in the Star Wars universe.</span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">But wait! You only like fantasy, you say? Foster has you covered with his <b>Spellsinger</b> books which feature the grouchy (and possibly crazy) turtle wizard, Clothahump, the always-up-for-a-good-time otter, Mudge, and a hapless human recruited from Earth for his alleged spell singing abilities...which he has to learn how to use. If you've ever sat in traffic while mentally matching your Spotify soundtrack to your favorite sword & sorcery scenario - these books are for you! You'll never listen to "Sloop John B" the same way ever again.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcAdeyRewQEVs2-EW3EhcjvLabtHHJksreK8PyasP0-Jpbyipz1TTmzbX85sX_sPLKmlZdMSdS2uPuFEnsBmZ-kYpzsW6vwX7LMtg1FdCFCS9UUyIcuBnCQR5KM_TIxalVkv7tiu5EB-C4Aj-vt4v7Vm_7NVtxfyxwDtH_4Fzsa4OBeHLNk_w/s500/spellsinger.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="328" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcAdeyRewQEVs2-EW3EhcjvLabtHHJksreK8PyasP0-Jpbyipz1TTmzbX85sX_sPLKmlZdMSdS2uPuFEnsBmZ-kYpzsW6vwX7LMtg1FdCFCS9UUyIcuBnCQR5KM_TIxalVkv7tiu5EB-C4Aj-vt4v7Vm_7NVtxfyxwDtH_4Fzsa4OBeHLNk_w/s320/spellsinger.jpg" width="210" /></a></span></span></span></div><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">But wait! You say you only have time for short stories? Foster has that covered, too! I am not always a big fan of anthologies but there have been a few exceptions like the MZB's <b>Darkover </b>& <b>Sword & Sorceress</b> anthologies (which I was also reading during this time), but Foster has two of my favorites:</span></span></p><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipiZuXItNi2oTC05CicdHJONH26sLAouEbvMmiNRN5l8jLs6UWW54O3LLV9v9IYupvQ0DpzA6jpRTx8ubKm3g73_mRE-MRn_PjgLr3AE6FdZjddug2zqcKc0Kc_VChBzH8871NUa2kud-u4rTANJ5AjHOaAUhhETY7XX9_RFIEmua9qKY5kus/s474/friends.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="278" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipiZuXItNi2oTC05CicdHJONH26sLAouEbvMmiNRN5l8jLs6UWW54O3LLV9v9IYupvQ0DpzA6jpRTx8ubKm3g73_mRE-MRn_PjgLr3AE6FdZjddug2zqcKc0Kc_VChBzH8871NUa2kud-u4rTANJ5AjHOaAUhhETY7XX9_RFIEmua9qKY5kus/s320/friends.jpg" width="188" /></a></span></div><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">"Why Johnny Can't Speed" is one of my personal faves from this collection - predicts the phenomenon of road rage YEARS ahead of its time.</span></span><div><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">And then the follow up volume is, of course:</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tohWE_URJywtbqtniDv1eGP6dVYJoGVLDRz17yilmbO1C61OcCknWGDs-CnsWh335qCHBbhwga0EX-9an4n8r8lfdG0l-Tg5DIwMvDIUgMxz3U2jZOlR6BksFRl0vXO3rhxNF2e43-IOZ69uFAvOlfnDuISWonyuCVlI8BdAJxvtX6WjgAg/s499/enemies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tohWE_URJywtbqtniDv1eGP6dVYJoGVLDRz17yilmbO1C61OcCknWGDs-CnsWh335qCHBbhwga0EX-9an4n8r8lfdG0l-Tg5DIwMvDIUgMxz3U2jZOlR6BksFRl0vXO3rhxNF2e43-IOZ69uFAvOlfnDuISWonyuCVlI8BdAJxvtX6WjgAg/s320/enemies.jpg" width="204" /></a></div><br /><div>There were so many, many more, but this is where the memory banks are being a bit recalcitrant. I'll have to come back and update as I remember more. Next...the college years and beyond.</div><div><br /></div><div>KJ</div>Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-38044804686734906942022-05-30T15:07:00.002-07:002022-05-30T15:07:22.815-07:00The List - High School Years Part I<p>Moving into high school, I was still reading books by some of the authors previously mentioned as they published additional installments of their various series. High school wasn't as nerve-wracking for me socially, either, so no more hiding in the library. I moved to just always carrying a novel with me as I could usually squeeze in a few minutes of reading while waiting for a class to start or if I finished a test early, etc. I did have to pick up the art of using brown paper grocery bags to cover some of the books - cover art back then could be quite lurid. Let's face it - this genre was still being marketed to men and teenage boys and the art reflected it. Often, I'd look at the cover after finishing the story and think "this scene/person isn't even in the book!" I got tired of the odd looks I'd get when people saw some of the anatomically imbalanced characters or weird aliens on the covers. I also perfected the following conversation:</p><p>Other Person: "What are you reading?"</p><p>Me: "Oh, just a book."</p><p>Because, invariably, if I actually answered the question, the other person would get strangely quiet, then sort of mumble "ummm...oh, okay", give me a weird look and then leave. Example:</p><p>Other Person: "What are you reading?"</p><p>Me: " It's called 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' and it's by Philip K. Dick" </p><p>You see the problem? (Side note: This is the book that the movie "Bladerunner" is very loosely based on)</p><p>Often later I would catch that person pointing at me while whispering about me to someone else...I'm sure something along the lines of "that girl is reading the weirdest book!"</p><p>So, brown paper bag covers and refusing to provide details became de rigueur. Nowadays, I've been saved all that bother because my books are on the Kindle app on my phone. No more trying to shove a hardback in my purse (paperbacks were small enough to not be a problem) and no more answering awkward questions! Although, it probably wouldn't be as much of an issue for me now - I find being over 55 and having gone through menopause means I give zero f***s what anyone thinks 😉</p><p>Here are some of the additional authors and series I ran through in high school:</p><p><b>The Xanth series</b> by Piers Anthony</p><p>Fair warning - if you loathe puns, this is NOT the series for you. On the other hand, if puns are your thing - there are 42 books in the series! No, I'm not kidding. Now, I stopped reading somewhere about book 10 or so. The early books (first 3 in particular) are the best AND there are a lot of issues with the female characters and how they are described and dealt with. These books do NOT stand the test of time, but I did enjoy them at the age of 14.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiG4BymSeUO3DITy73CxLdFEbWYpZ9Hh7hUcK6DFHQ5Us-kfQVKF1nWBuk70q4nQROB3TIWRvAD7suby0jnTfvHP1PaQsQJOkBWVNLYQHeKdJCfeD91dA64HQsBTJjlTDAVIsm8bv-D7uO03sjk4Kbkod_7Js6iTiuSo3GxEdPEIqOC0zwuQE/s500/Xanth.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiG4BymSeUO3DITy73CxLdFEbWYpZ9Hh7hUcK6DFHQ5Us-kfQVKF1nWBuk70q4nQROB3TIWRvAD7suby0jnTfvHP1PaQsQJOkBWVNLYQHeKdJCfeD91dA64HQsBTJjlTDAVIsm8bv-D7uO03sjk4Kbkod_7Js6iTiuSo3GxEdPEIqOC0zwuQE/s320/Xanth.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p>While that issue runs through all of his books to a certain extent, I find it less obvious/bothersome in his other series and think they've stood the test of time better than the Xanth books. Also, they finished at a rational point (because no one needs 42 books of ANYTHING). I loved the <b>Incarnations of Immortality</b> series (major archetypes such as Death, Time, Nature, etc. are embodied in actual people. The first book centers around the archetype of Death and, in my opinion, is the best of series. The Time installment gets a bit hard to follow (as is almost always the case with any time-travel story). </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0hLiePgl-J1v3oZGdmh04U5ADh6J_NOsI4c99HfJHKmgPGbZ8WemooYrMk-JW9TsHjpM3FwcUEtVEJ1Jsr9fZwd400Ff0ubgazqCbMvJzkxlEeHe9mRqIfa3KyqGAlvVxVnhpwTBiVySbpRXtx1MYad8RPdIXxzOQ1J2hAeci181Pb7Z14As/s346/Immortality.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="210" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0hLiePgl-J1v3oZGdmh04U5ADh6J_NOsI4c99HfJHKmgPGbZ8WemooYrMk-JW9TsHjpM3FwcUEtVEJ1Jsr9fZwd400Ff0ubgazqCbMvJzkxlEeHe9mRqIfa3KyqGAlvVxVnhpwTBiVySbpRXtx1MYad8RPdIXxzOQ1J2hAeci181Pb7Z14As/s320/Immortality.jpg" width="194" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>I also really enjoyed <b>The Apprentice Adept</b> series. Based on a a mix of two worlds - one tech-based (Proton) and one fantasy-based (Phaze) - that mirror each other. This book also (rather eerily accurately to my mind) predicted the rise of reality-type competition shows with a social media following. I haven't re-read them in a long time - I'd be interested to see if they still hold up.<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSVlUB-zrctmQIMP3ZbQ8c6pQIf_OQzcHjuNtCDWVQM32HSOIHShuQSaHB8MOgrhUYYG-H8ytAlSaMvJxEOsRFdFZzmJT4IS1jvfbP3MnHy5YyPA6eks1B7da1zUX2GmNsLkk6RoLpr6qzUeFHTOnfFM9H96Hm7OCK9E2fMV4KcFEXv0TCUUI/s500/Adept.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="301" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSVlUB-zrctmQIMP3ZbQ8c6pQIf_OQzcHjuNtCDWVQM32HSOIHShuQSaHB8MOgrhUYYG-H8ytAlSaMvJxEOsRFdFZzmJT4IS1jvfbP3MnHy5YyPA6eks1B7da1zUX2GmNsLkk6RoLpr6qzUeFHTOnfFM9H96Hm7OCK9E2fMV4KcFEXv0TCUUI/s320/Adept.jpg" width="193" /></a></div><br /><p><b>Valdemar </b>by Mercedes Lackey</p><p>Another series that I was really fond of in high school, but which also has not stood the test of time as well as I had hoped when I recently re-read them (or maybe just needs to be re-categorized as YA which, as I've mentioned, was not so much of a thing back in the pre-Harry Potter era) are the <b>Valdemar </b>books by Mercedes Lackey. It's not true across the board of the entire series. While all the books take place in the same "world", there are "mini" series within the whole scheme that are usually 2-3 book arcs following a particular set of characters and/or time of history in the world. The initial series that starts with <b>Arrows of the Queen</b> has a very young protagonist, which is likely a big part of the reason that I don't still connect with them as strongly. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhu85jWLgHDPyPve04U5Z7M-bp01pQAHRXV5fy0Zsqz56duTmpVHLwwepOoTpTpKY1KJLewT-LtG4UtBuFxbDdQivC8YrnZdJErpvUnKtwcNfFKNejGvglqsTKLVoJDRe31GcWJ1dXRF8IjtTMMhK438ka2A1SUKNEMp3WSMNIhJMtojQSkWU/s500/Arrows.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="329" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhu85jWLgHDPyPve04U5Z7M-bp01pQAHRXV5fy0Zsqz56duTmpVHLwwepOoTpTpKY1KJLewT-LtG4UtBuFxbDdQivC8YrnZdJErpvUnKtwcNfFKNejGvglqsTKLVoJDRe31GcWJ1dXRF8IjtTMMhK438ka2A1SUKNEMp3WSMNIhJMtojQSkWU/s320/Arrows.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br /><p>I think the <b>Vows & Honor (Tarma/Kethry) </b>duology likely holds up better due to more serious subject matter and slightly older characters:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpLFoKjpEINzhmYo8zP_j9QsQTUG6G3kkUCW1OS_7Bcvp0FhKWlOyK0utdhuVyeRcf9dSSD2IQuj4TEn4uU3aq5RAvkIAV3Trd8225vx86Bur7TqGuG10b1W_GV28u9_cFDzlYDQ-iCgOQn72K4pDlo8mQ69Ap_YNVwbjI9euQx1XYleg_wt4/s346/Vows.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="229" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpLFoKjpEINzhmYo8zP_j9QsQTUG6G3kkUCW1OS_7Bcvp0FhKWlOyK0utdhuVyeRcf9dSSD2IQuj4TEn4uU3aq5RAvkIAV3Trd8225vx86Bur7TqGuG10b1W_GV28u9_cFDzlYDQ-iCgOQn72K4pDlo8mQ69Ap_YNVwbjI9euQx1XYleg_wt4/s320/Vows.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br /><p><b>The Last Herald Mage</b> series is some of her best work, but it can be a rough read (tears! many, many tears!). It probably also remains the most timely given the focus on an LGBTQ character. Gender-related issues and characters with different sexual identities crop up throughout Lackey's books to varying degrees so the advertent reader will want to judge their own tolerance levels (or the levels of those they might recommend the books to) judiciously:</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxey_MSyDhfYK8uIjYxt1iJM1hyMn5eU3xBOtTq02LPEmNM0C3j11mmYwU__1Q0PocWlm9HVgBaMqpiyJBPMMg94bLS3VORfUw1IHeHkWiucWxTeMyA41DKEw1dcLgUd8iaxA77ilCvKU8YYt_LtLMf3JbN-eTDeqKCw2Yo0uPhjdWDwaNgU/s346/Last%20Herald%20Mage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="230" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxey_MSyDhfYK8uIjYxt1iJM1hyMn5eU3xBOtTq02LPEmNM0C3j11mmYwU__1Q0PocWlm9HVgBaMqpiyJBPMMg94bLS3VORfUw1IHeHkWiucWxTeMyA41DKEw1dcLgUd8iaxA77ilCvKU8YYt_LtLMf3JbN-eTDeqKCw2Yo0uPhjdWDwaNgU/s320/Last%20Herald%20Mage.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p>If you like Valdemar as a world, but non-human characters are more appealing to you, then you can get your fill in the <b>Mage Wars</b> series (although I always think of it as the Gryphon series):</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNL8gAOd8-BQuLQRj86jAKLbgcNOCorfSWOGR-Yzz15Q2ryr1BaKkAE8XlnPbW6XxYoqOyE2lIHsgg4Fk7hNZiZ6bIBZVsQXVqNhiNhryDGtAZGmzjg2wRwvTOdrRdf7doU8BPvRo6E1e54ZqiIcsVmJrT6cAzbf0VK7YsTgpXkloQZ0rhWog/s327/Gryphon.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNL8gAOd8-BQuLQRj86jAKLbgcNOCorfSWOGR-Yzz15Q2ryr1BaKkAE8XlnPbW6XxYoqOyE2lIHsgg4Fk7hNZiZ6bIBZVsQXVqNhiNhryDGtAZGmzjg2wRwvTOdrRdf7doU8BPvRo6E1e54ZqiIcsVmJrT6cAzbf0VK7YsTgpXkloQZ0rhWog/s327/Gryphon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="327" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNL8gAOd8-BQuLQRj86jAKLbgcNOCorfSWOGR-Yzz15Q2ryr1BaKkAE8XlnPbW6XxYoqOyE2lIHsgg4Fk7hNZiZ6bIBZVsQXVqNhiNhryDGtAZGmzjg2wRwvTOdrRdf7doU8BPvRo6E1e54ZqiIcsVmJrT6cAzbf0VK7YsTgpXkloQZ0rhWog/s320/Gryphon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>It probably seems like I was doing nothing but reading Mercedes Lackey during this time, but she had so many good books! Her <b>Diana Tregarde</b> books were my first intro to Urban Fantasy along with the <b>Bedlam's Bards</b> series. The <b>Bardic Voices</b> (not to be confused with the previously mentioned series - they are not related) were also great - music is definitely magic! Some of the later Valdemar books (starting around the <b>Mage Winds</b> series and later) slowly lost me and I haven't read any of the <b>Collegium</b> or <b>Herald Spy</b> series, but I did pick up the two most recent books having to do with the original founding of Valdemar and quite enjoyed them - they seem to be back closer to what I liked about the earlier books with slightly older protagonists and not so YA-seeming.</p><p><b>Amber </b>by Roger Zelazny</p><p>It was also about this time that I discovered the amazing Roger Zelazny. He had a number of stand-alone books and volumes of short stories that I'll focus on in a later entry dedicated specifically to those non-series items. Let's talk <b>Amber</b>! From the moment the amnesiac Prince Corwin (as we later learn) wakes up on Earth in a "sanitarium", I was hooked! Part detective noir, part multi-plane fantasy, part political/dynastic struggle, these books have something for everyone! This series is a "Game of Thrones" with much more creativity and fantasy elements thrown in as everyone jockeys for power and your best friend (or brother) today could be your worst enemy tomorrow (and vice versa).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit2VNGipVopzETHO_Z1hwDMI8lA7yI9Rtjg_GdkQBWBXge40aQwpWkMMTMvKB4olvw-vFo_q_sWKGUUWs9QhSQCLnytItKE_C4RUSditQ4kwgyeemnnxhh1C86zULiq-Qe5RX0-CCm78T3K8Kh2mCV7EVhWInGjxhYrBXTlZMvi8RGKYCvZ7s/s346/amber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="223" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit2VNGipVopzETHO_Z1hwDMI8lA7yI9Rtjg_GdkQBWBXge40aQwpWkMMTMvKB4olvw-vFo_q_sWKGUUWs9QhSQCLnytItKE_C4RUSditQ4kwgyeemnnxhh1C86zULiq-Qe5RX0-CCm78T3K8Kh2mCV7EVhWInGjxhYrBXTlZMvi8RGKYCvZ7s/s320/amber.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><br /><p>And if 5 Corwin books weren't enough time in Amber (and they weren't), you get the bonus series about Corwin's son, Merlin (no, not that Merlin)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQTXQ6UQKRgCtiyiKdemLjx_ZkKU7lJ_gt-EeIV6d_MZKuzu6L-5u28INmXUpWhmeFZkntLcXcLSJHe1lkgsOQdQvbacnjJQIcRMl8yfo9WofirEuAKSFOtUZ1NDCgF9gOq9NOEAqeLtWsIi6p2X27TlMjAv46qqQu4TA1C9iCLhcZm4kLTqQ/s500/Trumps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQTXQ6UQKRgCtiyiKdemLjx_ZkKU7lJ_gt-EeIV6d_MZKuzu6L-5u28INmXUpWhmeFZkntLcXcLSJHe1lkgsOQdQvbacnjJQIcRMl8yfo9WofirEuAKSFOtUZ1NDCgF9gOq9NOEAqeLtWsIi6p2X27TlMjAv46qqQu4TA1C9iCLhcZm4kLTqQ/s320/Trumps.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><p>I remember these books so fondly that even writing about them now is inspiring me to do a re-read!</p><p>Stay tuned for Part II of my high school era series list!</p><p>KJ</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p><br /></p></div>Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-4786638559774423562022-05-25T16:07:00.002-07:002022-10-14T15:41:46.686-07:00Sci-Fi/Fantasy Life List...The Early Years<p><br /></p><p>The following are not necessarily in any order (i.e. I didn't list them with "most favorite" first, etc.). If there's any order at all, it might be chronological based on when I discovered them? Maybe? This is starting about mid-late elementary-school age-ish (8-11 or so) as, once I blasted through Tolkien & Lewis, I was jones-ing to get my hands on my next fix.</p><p><b>From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler</b> by E. L. Konigsburg: While not Fantasy in the strictest sense, this story of young children running away and hiding out in the Metropolitan Museum of Art always had that "fantasy" feel to me as it was such an unlikely scenario - especially considering how long the get away with it. This was another in the long line of "mom made me read all the Newberry/Caldecott award winners" whenever we checked books out from the library. This charming story was one of those where mom got it right.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVQvsU_HdoG1V5GBTak1iaBH0B9u4rIMv8EBDG7kqwAVNwO5IRKGpjzdfEVhu2bNLPfHsuDEALDizQR8JWgfY1D0E_9EvBD8WxM0jsokqp6FCUb0Vhjcc0SNmgzXgJ52sEWvLqBPIjuENukbUSy6XgXfI0bUsd28M24dDSF2A9gYCm_yxpdKg/s499/Files.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="334" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVQvsU_HdoG1V5GBTak1iaBH0B9u4rIMv8EBDG7kqwAVNwO5IRKGpjzdfEVhu2bNLPfHsuDEALDizQR8JWgfY1D0E_9EvBD8WxM0jsokqp6FCUb0Vhjcc0SNmgzXgJ52sEWvLqBPIjuENukbUSy6XgXfI0bUsd28M24dDSF2A9gYCm_yxpdKg/s320/Files.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><div><br /></div><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><b>Mrs. Frisby & the Rats of Nimh</b> by Robert C. O'Brien is the basis for the Disney film "The Secret of NIMH" and is yet another Newberry award-winner (mom strikes again). Charming talking animals story with lots of fun and adventure!</span></span><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3drNHPmNuD4aKcbtBEb7lYh8l9opVnFnDHmw9cW8L4WmIopxV6S7hpQYMy5eYVHJjU8DLAiQPeHVv3OC4LgBi4nvYfLsoXWg0UnHcMhT4Mv7Yu-mLd97BC07CgsVOVXGDrAe8Rci_KmGcy45ZxxMc3Yr3pUgt6OlwPasitYXbGX84wKzB1k/s346/Nimh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="233" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3drNHPmNuD4aKcbtBEb7lYh8l9opVnFnDHmw9cW8L4WmIopxV6S7hpQYMy5eYVHJjU8DLAiQPeHVv3OC4LgBi4nvYfLsoXWg0UnHcMhT4Mv7Yu-mLd97BC07CgsVOVXGDrAe8Rci_KmGcy45ZxxMc3Yr3pUgt6OlwPasitYXbGX84wKzB1k/s320/Nimh.jpg" width="215" /></a></div><br /><div><p>I will give a special shout out to my 3rd grade teacher who, whenever it was rainy day schedule or he just didn't feel like teaching, he would get out this old Madeira wine jug (not a tall bottle - the short, fat, round kind) that had different colors of candle wax dripped all down the side from the various candles he'd used in it over the years. He'd turn off all the lights, light the candle that was in the wine jug's opening and read out loud to us. <b>James and the Giant Peach</b> was a favorite and no one can convince me that life-size, talking insects living inside a giant peach flown around by seagulls is NOT fantasy.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxdvpdmizjLW-DBwyL6vicELrFX_Oj6PmH9uCNI8s6SEJKh9_9VYIIPey1blt7GTzu2H1MkeQQrguUuLHwkNzXHsJmOuMtCYtMsteV-PhvKB9TlPzFFB0W7LgbPAfDdS2PT0GDrdy3e2xDWty9TwLqNlrMRzVYnn1VASucZ30d7ZwqKo6dts/s346/James.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="224" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxdvpdmizjLW-DBwyL6vicELrFX_Oj6PmH9uCNI8s6SEJKh9_9VYIIPey1blt7GTzu2H1MkeQQrguUuLHwkNzXHsJmOuMtCYtMsteV-PhvKB9TlPzFFB0W7LgbPAfDdS2PT0GDrdy3e2xDWty9TwLqNlrMRzVYnn1VASucZ30d7ZwqKo6dts/s320/James.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><br /><p><b>Wrinkle in Time</b> by Madeleine L'Engle: </p><p>A series featuring a Newberry award-winner (my mother was obsessed with ensuring I read every Newberry book as a kid...sometimes with great results...and sometimes not so great). The first two books are the best IMO. I identified with the social outcast Meg who even the school administrators didn't care for. Proginoskes, the Cherubim, from Book 2 is one of my favorite characters of all time. I loved these books so much that I paid a high school friend of mine who was quite the artist to paint a re-creation of one of the book covers for me. It's still hanging in my room at my parents' house. Do not waste time on the movie version of "Wrinkle". Yet another adaptation gone wrong.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvEMkHSHWbwBPmF1Mh3bAJqKEAPBIw6POvbtCaNltYfDTVAPU4F4JPegH62FftkOZXeADv-1tUOEdGnwTNnN6LG9BPs2m4Parh-NyoXNLy8W8WeODefPmZwnndJFgqyDC1YNQ0lo9wVEODMgHfMPFcoA_9oCXPSTnPQBqz-LyU10cdy46UqM/s500/Wrinkle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="340" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvEMkHSHWbwBPmF1Mh3bAJqKEAPBIw6POvbtCaNltYfDTVAPU4F4JPegH62FftkOZXeADv-1tUOEdGnwTNnN6LG9BPs2m4Parh-NyoXNLy8W8WeODefPmZwnndJFgqyDC1YNQ0lo9wVEODMgHfMPFcoA_9oCXPSTnPQBqz-LyU10cdy46UqM/s320/Wrinkle.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><div><br /></div>The <b>Tripods</b> series by John Christopher is a sci-fi trilogy about aliens who take over Earth by controlling the thoughts of all adults. At the beginning of adolescence, each person undergoes a "capping" ceremony where the aliens implant a device in their heads that renders them incapable of independent, anti-alien thought. Only the children retain freedom of thought, but they've been taught to revere and look forward to the "capping" ceremony. The main character finds out what happens when the "capping" is unsuccessful and allows him to retain his own identity and thoughts. I loved these stories, but did always feel there was a certain light horror element and the idea of losing control of my free will always creeped me out.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1AjrAhNA5sbiFJWslMpbyW1KkwiafYoVaVzwbmsZDz04M3QojSB5vFOaJvYvada2Sk8KfJ96s8pb7fEUOuPkDOIvwYdOBjEet4v_Sds3RiOSWQ6pWPKPWJxg9_-HsurGKbgRkhNuvYQyojFvB7EV3L4jehwDww8bbF-hP_VhLCbL5Mm9X2g0/s293/Tripods.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="207" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1AjrAhNA5sbiFJWslMpbyW1KkwiafYoVaVzwbmsZDz04M3QojSB5vFOaJvYvada2Sk8KfJ96s8pb7fEUOuPkDOIvwYdOBjEet4v_Sds3RiOSWQ6pWPKPWJxg9_-HsurGKbgRkhNuvYQyojFvB7EV3L4jehwDww8bbF-hP_VhLCbL5Mm9X2g0/s1600/Tripods.webp" width="207" /></a></div><div><br /></div><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">This book I believe I discovered through the several-times-per-year Scholastic flyer we would get at school where we could pick out and order our own books. I LOVED book delivery day - it was awesome to come into class expecting to do fractions or whatever and get a fresh new stack of amazing books. <b>The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet </b>by Eleanor Cameron is kid-friendly sci-fi at its best. Who hasn't tried to build a spaceship in their backyard? While most of us probably used leftover cardboard boxes, etc. Chuck & David manage something that actually works and takes them on multiple adventures to the planet Bastridium.</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnZHC5N2Y4q5LtbrsmlnrVWoWPfBaNkqqSj8_ZNCQKz6DDctZ2udh-ByvnYU2HYmaGfsY6cRCb5zvUy-Hiets0izlprNIiJrQM1E9vFQL9SgxncL7kcVWrMqfmVgf4ahkAq5xRKVjwGsqUZhRW8NAmJAszsxQaYe728hS7v8pK52lCCilfgmE/s499/mushroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="336" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnZHC5N2Y4q5LtbrsmlnrVWoWPfBaNkqqSj8_ZNCQKz6DDctZ2udh-ByvnYU2HYmaGfsY6cRCb5zvUy-Hiets0izlprNIiJrQM1E9vFQL9SgxncL7kcVWrMqfmVgf4ahkAq5xRKVjwGsqUZhRW8NAmJAszsxQaYe728hS7v8pK52lCCilfgmE/s320/mushroom.jpg" width="215" /></a></div><br /><div><div><p>Somewhere in this period I came across Andre Norton's <b>Magic Sequence </b>(part of that "free reading" I was allowed to do when I tested out of the school reading program)<b> </b>which I loved and there will always be a special place in my heart for <b>Steel Magic </b>in particular. A mix of Welsh/Arthurian fantasy elements and some world-gate-jumping similar to her adult Witch World novels was irresistible to me and it always made me look at stainless steel utensils in a different way when I set the table. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCV3NgDafxZLGKdDNSbhIBDWC3aEhwt0Xpb4yWMNvKSGUCC0w4A3ANBnjEz5s8Z0orI-4jANWAgQSnsFBABg5UsJB85o963ddqv9Wz8gIy7U0i_5_tXbmf-A3apKEBUodq0YPuh-CuhuTmkYziodeY-n6DDT3Od4HeSbUmGZz7zc7x5IRZpDA/s500/Steel.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="328" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCV3NgDafxZLGKdDNSbhIBDWC3aEhwt0Xpb4yWMNvKSGUCC0w4A3ANBnjEz5s8Z0orI-4jANWAgQSnsFBABg5UsJB85o963ddqv9Wz8gIy7U0i_5_tXbmf-A3apKEBUodq0YPuh-CuhuTmkYziodeY-n6DDT3Od4HeSbUmGZz7zc7x5IRZpDA/s320/Steel.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br /><p><b>The Dark is Rising</b> by Susan Cooper. </p><p>This is a 5-book series and the first book (and probably the weakest IMO) is <b>Over Sea, Under Stone</b>. Book 2 gives the series its name and please, please, please do not judge the books by the HORRIBLE movie adaptation that was attempted a few years ago. It's my favorite book in the series, but Book 4, <b>The Grey King</b> won the Newberry Award (mom strikes again!) and is also excellent as is Book 5, <b>Silver on the Tree.</b> Originally, I would say the series was published as children's books (hence the award), but that was back when "Young Adult" (YA) was not really an established sub-genre the way it is now in the post-Harry Potter world. Don't let that put you off - I re-read it every few years and I maintain that it still holds up although in a different way than it did when I was 12. The author masterfully incorporates elements of Welsh and Arthurian mythology as well as some darker elements (I always had a hard time walking home alone from school after I read this book)!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZkSPZ8bRe-_BIxipMiDhQXc-HVT_i9C_OBnBn5rFhjSDjSBkO7NAXpI87WXIAlwtQ8J3_WFZQqBkmuUCmYEVcUnY-XhrRW6sU9FcBxJEXh3k0RnWDNO7ADhehHtLjRCgI-f5Y6ak-iIT2WboNOwJI9_pflAZUOj9uFv4iXIULINoUdPOyBQU/s500/Dark.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="413" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZkSPZ8bRe-_BIxipMiDhQXc-HVT_i9C_OBnBn5rFhjSDjSBkO7NAXpI87WXIAlwtQ8J3_WFZQqBkmuUCmYEVcUnY-XhrRW6sU9FcBxJEXh3k0RnWDNO7ADhehHtLjRCgI-f5Y6ak-iIT2WboNOwJI9_pflAZUOj9uFv4iXIULINoUdPOyBQU/s320/Dark.jpg" width="264" /></a></div><br /><p><b>The Big 3 or How I Spent 7th Grade Lunch Periods Hiding in the Library</b>. My junior high had this weird rotating schedule where every week, your class schedule changed and it impacted which Snack & Lunch periods you went to. For example, week 1 you would attend class periods 1-7 in that order. Week 2 you would attend 2-6, and 7 last. The physical location of whatever classroom you were in during the 3rd and 5th slots of the day would determine if you went to Snack 1 or Snack 2 or Lunch 1 or Lunch 2 (1 being before the relevant period and 2 being after). So, if, say, ALL YOUR FRIENDS had a different class than you did, you often wound up on different lunch periods (I'm going to ignore snack time for now as this is already confusing enough and snack time was short enough that I could usually avoid any problems). It's probably apparent from my reading list that I was...persona non grata at my school. Not well liked. Hated and bullied in some cases. What? An honors-student nerd who reads sci-fi/fantasy was bullied in Junior High? I know, show me your shocked face and I'll show you mine. Anyway, I did have a small core group of...hmmm...friends is likely too strong a word...group that let me eat with them and didn't harass me. However, when our schedules didn't sync up, it was a whole 'nother story - until I figured out I could spend my entire lunch period in the library. Technically, we weren't allowed to do this, but being a canny nerd-girl, I figured out how to slip in after the librarian left for lunch so she didn't see me. Now, a REALLY smart girl would have used this extra time to get caught up on the math assignment she'd blown off the night before, but...math. Ewww. 'nuff said. </p><p>Then one day I found it...emergency shelter...also known as the sci-fi/fantasy library shelf. And there they were: </p><p><b>The Witch World series </b>by Andre Norton.</p><p>Norton is a true master of the sci fi/fantasy genre and also one of its most prolific. In the <b>Witch World</b> books, she manages to weave together elements of high fantasy such as an ancient land drenched in magic (much of it best left alone if you know what's good for you), fantastic creatures, Arthurian elements (the Siege Perilous), world gates, and sci-fi elements like the villainous Kolder. The geography is varied as well as the stories bounce from WW II-era Earth to Estcarp, Karsten, Alizon, Gorm, High Hallack/the Dales and finally to forgotten Escore. There are even hints that this is an apocalyptic scenario where ancient Adepts unleashed powers of magic and science to devastating effect and then gated themselves away leaving the rest of the populace to pick up the pieces. The early books, written solely by Norton, are my favorites - especially <b>Year of the Unicorn</b>. The later books were often collaborations with other authors and, while still good reads, did not have quite the same quality level as the early books. There is one exception: <b>The Key of the Keplian</b> which remains one of my favorite re-reads to this day.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBGu0tT6RZQEJnY7Hf643sE4BuOQZ7OFjEeo4qlHs2WoEl2zHoB1PUEAgmZe3_Ojb89HhWPyw72j5l3trQoblemEarVEuBap3W7RfIDr5SoIncwf5o5TDd2MoeLXwQJFZ7zVHFYzW2piBC1rWLvlcnPBgZo0ytLpSBNVg2N__ZG5D-GdCd2D8/s500/Witch.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBGu0tT6RZQEJnY7Hf643sE4BuOQZ7OFjEeo4qlHs2WoEl2zHoB1PUEAgmZe3_Ojb89HhWPyw72j5l3trQoblemEarVEuBap3W7RfIDr5SoIncwf5o5TDd2MoeLXwQJFZ7zVHFYzW2piBC1rWLvlcnPBgZo0ytLpSBNVg2N__ZG5D-GdCd2D8/s320/Witch.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK53qwZzGTWPmzpg50duf8-GN-cq7lpFMQIFDOYhcQzdROvwxtcb_quWjYhASIsccEoXDnPj1HJ54pHWcicRzzbJJjRFasM1-5hJwAkGIwk4R7X36uTzbwX8e4zsDLL6BNH4nKG2oOjkUU5OIS2ftT_EhqC0OxzxnUE2BX19EMuRUEkGIjaG0/s160/Keplian.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="160" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK53qwZzGTWPmzpg50duf8-GN-cq7lpFMQIFDOYhcQzdROvwxtcb_quWjYhASIsccEoXDnPj1HJ54pHWcicRzzbJJjRFasM1-5hJwAkGIwk4R7X36uTzbwX8e4zsDLL6BNH4nKG2oOjkUU5OIS2ftT_EhqC0OxzxnUE2BX19EMuRUEkGIjaG0/w203-h203/Keplian.jpg" width="203" /></a></div><br /><p>Multiple series by Anne McCaffrey.</p><p>Of course, she's best known for the <b>Dragonriders of </b><b>Pern</b> books and that's where I started as well. Lessa of Pern was one of my earliest intros to a strong female protagonist. Besides, who wouldn't want to ride a magnificent golden queen dragon like Ramoth? While the series starts out firmly in the fantasy realm with telepathic dragons and their riders, later books bring in some sci fi elements as the people of Pern discover more about their lost history and the origin of the dragons. And I maintain that nobody does dragons as well as McCaffrey (with the possible exception of the <b>Temeraire </b>series<b> by </b>Naomi Novik which I'll review in a later section as it's a more modern series). Again, as with the <b>Witch World</b> books, I find the earlier ones are the best and the later ones (some of which were written with or by her son) are not as compelling. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz1rDD2awhiug45vSzBaXzBKW-eT4cLywRbn-bEIm7TpCxxWDse2sxnfTm1BOWKz3UPQ291ijis7ERAMcXi0gc1yRM95OE5ypSRMoy_-D4cnjqC3TY-vSLZypf6cCwO5S99s6IjUj_6Puj01nuLXhXuiJnq1BVfCJbZOzsPsfaCTCbhe8ttUw/s346/Dragon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="228" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz1rDD2awhiug45vSzBaXzBKW-eT4cLywRbn-bEIm7TpCxxWDse2sxnfTm1BOWKz3UPQ291ijis7ERAMcXi0gc1yRM95OE5ypSRMoy_-D4cnjqC3TY-vSLZypf6cCwO5S99s6IjUj_6Puj01nuLXhXuiJnq1BVfCJbZOzsPsfaCTCbhe8ttUw/s320/Dragon.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br /><p>Also like Norton, she was prolific and wrote multiple series that leaned into different areas of the genre. The <b>Talents</b> series (<b>To Ride Pegasus</b> is Book 1) tracks humanity's discovery of and gradual acceptance/use of telepathic/telekinetic powers.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinoqCk9FJNZ1DHM5M3X3XXdT3ZBJwvw43N58A3qSvDT6NyYUEoEFNwZaUhX0-y3FhmXD605fFyrmR5Ca8vPDv460d3cBJervK-wKa1WQpJ-NWcbtkVbcKAtUGMgBaSkXa0Jh4hglt7acjBRpzxRlNWY3eldgSIECRyzELEgra6w1H0NQgFFYQ/s500/Pegasus.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="301" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinoqCk9FJNZ1DHM5M3X3XXdT3ZBJwvw43N58A3qSvDT6NyYUEoEFNwZaUhX0-y3FhmXD605fFyrmR5Ca8vPDv460d3cBJervK-wKa1WQpJ-NWcbtkVbcKAtUGMgBaSkXa0Jh4hglt7acjBRpzxRlNWY3eldgSIECRyzELEgra6w1H0NQgFFYQ/s320/Pegasus.jpg" width="193" /></a></div><p><b style="font-weight: bold;">The Brain/Brawn </b>(<b>The Ship Who Sang</b> is Book 1) series is one of the earliest examples of a protagonist with profound disabilities and cyberpunk elements. </p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL_yiTrECrD10cVv7U3U_8LOmgWoPtdw9Uy8sGkbAK9-7VgLsah8HqQlvOFYXHIIJjFOgWMbm8wvnG1Vh-SdgfvKrCxslvcaT_6Xpx4aCTQWSy1rWpqh42d_Qwco9zRAtw9Y_kqjCbVSsWvB1MK5YkO6PaGF5OQY0pO6PjDlF3G21PyUuPDGY/s346/Ship.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="207" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL_yiTrECrD10cVv7U3U_8LOmgWoPtdw9Uy8sGkbAK9-7VgLsah8HqQlvOFYXHIIJjFOgWMbm8wvnG1Vh-SdgfvKrCxslvcaT_6Xpx4aCTQWSy1rWpqh42d_Qwco9zRAtw9Y_kqjCbVSsWvB1MK5YkO6PaGF5OQY0pO6PjDlF3G21PyUuPDGY/s320/Ship.jpg" width="191" /></a></div><p>The <b>Crystal Singer</b> series asks the question "how far will you go when the lifelong goal you've dreamed of and trained for suddenly becomes impossible". All lean more into the sci-fi or sci-fantasy and all feature strong female characters. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlf3nUEMPxwxkKavAy9S0qe74jB4TWJchEJtfxreNU1oio4e_oGjxB1BfkgeV-C85rtNHK_AWunRQOkAbokRK3AwUT_-dOdzFMTgwGi8hjQMg27HO23Phl7RGJ9pi1O3_3ofIA4OFVq0Leq_L_2uD0sGgiK2ZTJCNvp7CUwNaTAIYIv4kmeO4/s346/Singer.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="212" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlf3nUEMPxwxkKavAy9S0qe74jB4TWJchEJtfxreNU1oio4e_oGjxB1BfkgeV-C85rtNHK_AWunRQOkAbokRK3AwUT_-dOdzFMTgwGi8hjQMg27HO23Phl7RGJ9pi1O3_3ofIA4OFVq0Leq_L_2uD0sGgiK2ZTJCNvp7CUwNaTAIYIv4kmeO4/s320/Singer.jpg" width="196" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p>I first came across the origin stories for most of these series in her anthology of short stores called <b>Get Off the Unicorn </b>and recommend it as a great introduction to her writing and worlds<b>.</b> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvuMOezlRlb1OqpVQZzBrAfNtu01xOSuLt81a4-HeTZONFRINoY5WH5Evud4KY9e6iCi126xOIok16MiSz1HJqxcLYc67o50C1f7VjCivlHKoP4L7XoI7sb_jVUgC7DmxLS0w8eXR6WMBmp1gqt49rm9xtlDc8wNPzFzSffSn74uqDWnQHmeU/s346/Unicorn.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="212" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvuMOezlRlb1OqpVQZzBrAfNtu01xOSuLt81a4-HeTZONFRINoY5WH5Evud4KY9e6iCi126xOIok16MiSz1HJqxcLYc67o50C1f7VjCivlHKoP4L7XoI7sb_jVUgC7DmxLS0w8eXR6WMBmp1gqt49rm9xtlDc8wNPzFzSffSn74uqDWnQHmeU/s320/Unicorn.jpg" width="196" /></a></div><br /><p>The <b>Darkover</b> series by Marion Zimmer Bradley.</p><p>This is another series that straddles the line of sci-fantasy as the telepathically powerful (yet declining) Darkovan society comes up against the more technologically advanced (yet not any smarter for all that tech) Terran Empire. Strong female characters are often featured although arguably her most memorable characters, Lew Alton and Regis Hastur, are both male. Many of the books deal with the ethics of genetic engineering as well. <b>The Bloody Sun, Winds of Darkover, </b>and <b>Stormqueen</b> remain some of my all-time favorites. I'm aware that this author has become a controversial figure in recent years as allegations related to her personal life have come to light. I have chosen to remember the enjoyment these books brought to a lonely, depressed kid hiding in a library and leave the rest to each individual to research and determine their own personal choices regarding separating reaction to an author vs. reaction to their work.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvHN43CFyyMGQ0ZePMtrwVKOCjd3mik6qp3jPNRpmRkbCF7QzO6yddinw-ncjhUGYzAFCpDlD4bp6JA2szey8bCmXg9v0dWB882Pol28o5BIePq-wlryFj4SsUhfHZowFoM8FjcKU8eICM1q8xaH2cbsGjw49X1WDnPZbagDjiXvT8uSUx5c0/s500/Stormqueen.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvHN43CFyyMGQ0ZePMtrwVKOCjd3mik6qp3jPNRpmRkbCF7QzO6yddinw-ncjhUGYzAFCpDlD4bp6JA2szey8bCmXg9v0dWB882Pol28o5BIePq-wlryFj4SsUhfHZowFoM8FjcKU8eICM1q8xaH2cbsGjw49X1WDnPZbagDjiXvT8uSUx5c0/s320/Stormqueen.jpg" width="204" /></a></div><br /><p>With the discovery of the above three authors, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I mean magic, gates, dragons, psychic powers, space expansion, aliens, all there for me to peruse at my leisure via these 3 series (and sneak into math class later so I didn't have to pay attention to algebra). </p><p>Next, I'll move into the series I discovered during my high school years. I moved on from hiding in the library and learned to just carry a book in my back pack at all times.</p><p>KJ</p><p><br /></p><br /></div></div>Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-56640568748456928272022-05-16T17:47:00.000-07:002022-05-16T17:47:44.012-07:00Sci-Fi/Fantasy Life List...The Caveats<p> </p><p></p><p><b>CAVEAT #1:</b> I'm not putting J.R.R. Tolkien's works on this list. I'll pause while people recover from passing out/having aneurysms/looking for weapons, etc. The reason is...they kinda go without saying, right? Also, they're my gateway <strike>drug</strike> books. I've probably mentioned somewhere in the deepest, darkest earliest of my several years of blog posts that I <strike>stole</strike> borrowed a copy of <b>The Hobbit</b> off my Dad's nightstand (because he was taking too long to finish it) when I was 8 years old...and I never looked back. It's not an exaggeration to say that book and <b>The Lord of the Rings </b>changed my life. And yes, I still know how to write in Elvish. Peter Jackson did a pretty darned good job with the film adaptations (although I still don't care for the casting choices for Arwen and, to a lesser extent, Galadriel). I'm looking forward to Amazon's new "Rings of Power" series and hoping they don't screw up <b>The Silmarillion</b> too badly.</p><p><b>CAVEAT #2:</b> Same goes for C.S. Lewis's <b>Chronicles of Narnia. </b>Again, the film adaptations don't do the books any favors, but they are a cut above most others. Strangely, I picked up <b>The Silver Chair</b> as my first intro to the series and didn't care for it (still maintain that's the weakest book). In fact, I almost didn't read the rest of the books, but thank goodness, I did. It wasn't until I went back and read them in order that I really fell in love. Also, Reepicheep rules!</p><p><b>CAVEAT #3: </b>This list is for series. No standalone books - maybe I'll make a separate list for those.</p><p><b>CAVEAT #4:</b> I'm going to loosely organize the list in chronological order based on the period of my life where I discovered the books - not necessarily anything to do with when they were published although there will likely be SOME similarity there. </p><p><b>CAVEAT #5:</b> If you're looking for hard sci-fi recommendations, this is probably not the list for you. While I've read some, they tend to not be my favorite books or have much impact on me. 100 pages of technical detail of how circuit A fits into capacitor B because dilithium crystals and half-integer spin equals space travel is more likely to make me fall asleep or throw the book across the room in frustration. I prefer my technology like my cars and my computers - I know enough to turn them on and get them to run, but I couldn't build one from scratch or perform anything other than VERY basic diagnostics (yep - that tire appears to be flat). Forget repairs - that's what AAA and Geek Squad are for. Although, a story about a tow-rocket operator in space might be kind of interesting...something along the lines of "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_Thru_Hell" target="_blank">Highway Through Hell</a>", but in space with aliens and stuff.</p><p><b>CAVEAT #6: </b>This list is already spawning a couple of corollary lists - one for standalone books that I loved, but that weren't series and one for books that I either flat out hated or at least was underwhelmed by (that everyone else seems to be raving about).</p><p>Okay, next entry will start the actual list. I felt like I had to get a lot of this set up off my mind first to clear the decks and get the old memory banks warmed up (getting harder all the time - I am definitely remembering a couple of stories that have no title or author attached to them or even enough detail for me to search for them...which is kinda sad).</p><p>KJ</p><p><br /></p>Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-28871148596727764262022-05-13T16:19:00.001-07:002022-05-30T13:28:51.938-07:00Sci-Fi/Fantasy Life List...Background<p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>BACKGROUND:</b> There are those (I don't understand them, but it appears they exist) who don't "get" sci fi/fantasy. Or maybe they want to dip a toe in, but aren't sure where to start. So, I thought it might be helpful to talk about a few factors I think might've influenced my <strike>addiction</strike> interest in these genres. </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Constantly moving and/or unusual environments:</b> When I was young (ages 0-5), my father was an officer on a nuclear submarine. So, as navy families do, we moved. A lot. That meant constantly adapting to new places, people, food, music, etc. I see parallels with sci fi planetary colonists, etc. The last place we were stationed was Hawaii. I'm not talking downtown Waikiki with its tourist traps and high-rise hotels. We were in the boondocks (if an island can be said to have boondocks) and it was the late 60's. TV was limited to "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_the_Cat" target="_blank">Felix the Cat</a>", we were dependent on the timely arrival of supply ships, and we weren't exactly a welcome addition to the neighborhood. Dad would be gone 3 months at a time on the sub. I was 3-5 and my brother was 0-3. Mom was alone with us. There was quite a lot of crime (some serious). At the same time, we were surrounded by tropical plants and animals and I only had to duck my head under the water to see a completely different world via the coral reefs. If all that didn't leave me wide open for tag lines like "...explore strange new worlds..." and all the wonders and dangers attendant thereto, then nothing would.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>History:</b> Mom's side of the family lived in Santa Fe, NM. We visited a lot and my grandmother (a teacher) exposed me to a lot of the art, culture and history of the Southwest. She gave me a whole set of books with each book devoted to a different Native American tribe and what their daily life was like from how they built their homes to how they dressed and what food they hunted or planted. I have no idea who the author was, but I loved those books and read them until they fell apart. My recollection is they were quite detailed and while I'm sure they wouldn't hold up to today's standards, I can still remember (among other things) the descriptions of how to use all the parts of a buffalo or how to carry a water jug up the side of a pueblo. I especially loved descriptions of beading and decorations on clothing - probably why I got into beading and jewelry-making later in life. We took many side trips around the Southwest to places like Bandelier and Silverton. </li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Mysteries, Westerns & other Sub-genres: </b>Early on, many of the sub-genres shared various tropes like the mysterious stranger with no past, etc. While I was never a huge straight-up mystery fan, I do like the formula and if you mix it with fantasy goodness...well, yumm! In addition to spending a lot of my childhood in the Southwest, I had other Western influences in my life. I met Western author <a href="http://www.louislamour.com/" target="_blank">Louis L'Amour</a> on the train to Silverton. I read some of his books and Dad and I always bonded over movies like "The Magnificent Seven" (original only...sorry Chris Pratt) and "The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly" (nothing better than vintage Clint Eastwood). Like most girls at the time, I couldn't get enough of the "Little House on the Prairie" books. While they aren't fantasy themselves, to a 20th century girl, they smacked of time travel or settling on another world and trying to survive. In fact, I'm sure there's a whole host of sci-fi books that could be re-titled "Little House on the 7th Alien Moon" or whatever.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Archaeology & Marine Biology:</b> Give me a good episode of "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Kingdom" target="_blank">Wild Kingdom</a>" or a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Cousteau" target="_blank">Jacques Cousteau</a> film any day. The home we moved to in California (after Hawaii) where I grew up was on a pre-historic reef. I used to hunt for fossils and shark's teeth. Dragons, anyone? Ancient civilizations? Ancient aliens? Other worlds? You see where I'm going with this...</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Weekend Movies:</b> I remember a whole series of movies both in the theater and on the Channel 5 Family Film Festival with what, for the time, were probably cutting edge special effects, but now, they'd be laughed at. Still, "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinbad_the_Sailor_(1947_film)" target="_blank">Sinbad the Sailor</a>", '<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thief_of_Baghdad_(1961_film)" target="_blank">The Thief of Baghdad</a>", etc. certainly impacted me and don't even get me started on the rich vein of the darker/horror side of things that was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvira%27s_Movie_Macabre" target="_blank">Elvira,</a> Mistress of the Dark and the movies she intro'd (in a great programming move, she was on right after Family Film Festival)</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Reading in General:</b> I'm a voracious reader. Always have been. Mom taught me to read above my grade level well before even kindergarten and by 5th grade, I'd tested out of the entire rest of the elementary school reading program and the teachers didn't know what to do with me so I was put on "free" reading. Translation: go read whatever the f*** you want because you're already reading above the teacher's level, too, and we want you to go away and stop bothering us, you freakish little girl." I immersed myself in a lot of mythology - when I ran out of Greek & Roman, I moved on to Welsh, Arthurian, Norse, etc. I will give a special shout out to my 3rd grade teacher who, whenever it was rainy day schedule or he just didn't feel like teaching, he would get out this old Madeira wine jug (not a tall bottle - the short, fat, round kind) that had different colors of candle wax dripped all down the side from the various candles he'd used in it over the years. He'd turn off all the lights, light the candle and read out loud to us. </li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Other Early Influences:</b> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chr%C3%A9tien_de_Troyes" target="_blank">Chretien de Troyes</a>, Sir Thomas Malory (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Morte_d%27Arthur" target="_blank">Le Morte D'Arthur</a>), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Scott" target="_blank">Sir Walter Scott</a> (Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, etc.) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Verne" target="_blank">Jules Verne</a> (Captain Nemo & the Nautilus), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandre_Dumas" target="_blank">Alexandre Dumas</a> (best character name ever - D'artagnan AND knightly French dudes with swords!), and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe" target="_blank">Edgar Allan Poe</a> (love me some Raven).</li></ul><div>Now, this is not to say that you need all or, indeed, any of the above to enjoy sci-fi/fantasy. I'm just saying that some of this kind of stuff might make you more open to it and/or make the first foray easier. For example, you don't need to care about art, culture, architecture, history or even speak French to enjoy visiting Paris. But...you might have a deeper, more profound level of enjoyment if you also had an appreciation of any of those things (or maybe just drank a lot of wine...) Now, imagine how much you'd get out of the trip if you liked all that crap AND spoke the language...just a thought.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, let's say you've never touched sci-fi/fantasy, you don't speak the lingo, you can't tell the difference between <b>Star Trek</b> and <b>Star Wars</b> and you're not familiar with Asimov's <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Laws_of_Robotics" target="_blank">Three Laws of Robotics.</a> </b>What do you do? Have an open mind. Suspend your disbelief at least a little bit. Try a bit of everything (hard sci-fi, soft sci-fi, space opera, high fantasy, urban fantasy, fantasy/romance, grim/dark, even horror if that's the kind of thing you think might appeal to you) until you see what fits. It's kinda like trying on shoes...or being Goldilocks. Which reminds me...if you know your Brothers Grimm or your Hans Christian Anderson, you'll have a leg up. And, please...appreciate the Disney versions (if you must), but don't rely on them. Although, I do have a soft spot for "Maleficent" - that was pretty well done.</div><div><br /></div><div>Next, a few caveats as to why I'm leaving certain things OFF the list...</div><div><br /></div><div>KJ </div><p></p><p><br /></p>Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-32390648164302220872022-05-11T17:16:00.000-07:002022-05-11T17:16:37.073-07:00Still Not Dead...<p> ...and still wanting to revive my blog. Not sure what happened to my writing voice. Did the creativity just get siphoned off into other places? Work? Getting the kid out of high school and onto college? Other hobbies (i.e. birding & photography)? Or did I just run out of things to say for a while?</p><p>Still trying to figure that one out, but, for the first time in a very long time (2 years if blogger.com is accurate), that voice is monologuing in the back of my head again. I know from a lifetime of experiences this means if I don't write down what it's saying, it won't shut up and let me go to sleep tonight.</p><p>So...what brought the voice out of its coma, you ask? Something that's likely not important to anyone else, but apparently, my inner voice feels quite strongly about it.</p><p>It all started a few months ago when my bedroom TV set died. Now, this may not sound like a big deal, but what you have to know is that this TV set dates back to about 1991. My brother and I split the cost of purchasing it when we were furnishing our first post-college apartment. Yes, I lived with my brother...because I am THAT cool! And, being that old, it pre-dated the Internet, Cell Phones, Smart TVs and streaming services. Again, check out the coolness factor.</p><p>I probably should have replaced it long ago just based on a needed technology update, but it was a really nice Mitsubishi TV with great color/picture and I just didn't get all this "streaming service" stuff anyway (especially since I'm already paying through the nose for cable, but that's another <strike>rant</strike> blog entry). Then, a family member gave us an older Smart TV and my son set it up downstairs for his use (it was too small for my bedroom and I didn't want to give up my nice bigger screen Mitsubishi). So, it's his fault I got dragged into "The Mandalorian" and "Wanda Vision", etc.</p><p>When the Mitsu finally died (insert "TAPS" here), I rushed right out and bought myself an brand-spanking-new Smart TV and added a few more streaming services and have been thoroughly enjoying joining the modern age.</p><p>Which is how I started looking at YouTube videos on my TV (and yes, I already knew about them from my computer & phone, but didn't use it that often due to the small screen size). What a difference the big screen made! Now I can watch the West End Catalina Bald Eagles or the Cornell Labs Feeder cams any time I want! And because scarily accurate algorithms, YouTube also decided I'm a fantasy/sci fi fan and started throwing me all these recommendations on that topic.</p><p><b>SIDE NOTE:</b> Okay, yes, creepy, but also, this would've been soooo helpful when I was growing up. Look...there ARE other people like you who like this stuff and you don't have to put brown paper covers on your books so people at school won't think you're weird. </p><p>Most of them looked too off-topic or rant-y even for me, but there's one guy who does some funny stuff and great reviews of books, TV shows, other media, etc. that I've been quite enjoying. One of the things he does fairly often is rate/rank his favorites: series overall, sci fi only, fantasy only, etc.</p><p>And here's where my inner voice got a tad annoyed...I mean I get this kid is all of 6 months old (okay, he's 25-ish, but compared to me...he's a baby) and while he does have SOME grasp of the classics, there's so much that is being left out, overlooked, etc. that I can't stand it. Now, I get it, there's a LOT of material out there now...WAY more than when I was limited to 2 shelves at the old B. Dalton to make my reading picks. Not only are there all the other media types, but now there's the whole self-publishing trend as well. It'd be impossible to take a look at everything...or even at most things...especially from prior eras.</p><p><b>SIDE NOTE #2:</b> I like to think I'm not a snob, but so far, I've been woefully underwhelmed by the self-published items I've tried out. The one exception (although it's not REALLY an exception because these were well-established authors who were just "between" publishers at the time) are the Lee & Miller books "Fledgling" & "Saltation" which were originally self-pub'd on-line, but have since been picked up by Baen. However, if anyone has any fabulous recommendation on a self-published sci-fi or fantasy book/series...I'm open.</p><p>Anyway, all of this prompted me to think about what MY list(s) would be like. After all, I've been reading/watching/consuming this stuff since the early 70's...and these kids need to know that "The Wheel of Time" and "A Song of Ice & Fire" (aka "Game of Thrones") are not the be-all and end-all of these genres.</p><p>Soooo...I'm puttin' a list together. One to start, I think, unless it makes more sense to split up the genres but I probably won't know that until after I start building it.</p><p>Stay tuned...</p><p>KJ</p>Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-3182254626999044082020-06-25T15:14:00.001-07:002020-06-25T15:14:36.846-07:00Monarch UpdateButterfly #2 hatched this morning as expected and was transferred to the enclosure for a couple of hours in the sun to dry and warm up/strengthen its wings. #1 was still in there as it was too late to release it yesterday.<br />
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Both of them were successfully released this afternoon and immediately flew away!<br />
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#3 is still in its chrysalis, but we managed to successfully transfer it out of the plastic container and into the butterfly enclosure so I no longer have to worry about it not having enough room to spread its wings after it hatches. The chrysalis is already turning dark so I imagine we'll see it sometime in the next day or two.<br />
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After that...it'll be a couple of weeks before the next wave is ready to hatch. I've got one brand new chrysalis that just formed a couple of days ago and one caterpillar that looks big enough to become a chrysalis any day now.<br />
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I certainly never thought a simple request for ONE milkweed plant would lead to all of this LOL! Be careful what you wish for!<br />
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Here's a few photos of #1 & #2 hanging out prior to release:<br />
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KJSilver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-32400567297541997372020-06-24T17:12:00.003-07:002020-06-24T17:12:46.026-07:00The Monarch Saga (also...no, I'm not dead)I've been looking for the time and content to re-start this blog. A global pandemic seems like as good a time as any :-) I had a big long post partially drafted about where I've been and what happened to me, but then I decided, why not just skip to what's actually happening now. <br />
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I've been working INSANE hours from home since California shutdown began in March (sure, take a job in crisis management for your restaurant company - it'll be a hoot!). Although I've been logging 12-15 hour days including weekends & holidays, since I am working from home, I've had more oversight of what's been going on in my back yard. This led to the observation of a couple of Monarch butterflies hanging around one day and I thought "hmmm...I should get a milkweed plant for them." Milkweed being the only plant that they will lay their eggs on and the Monarch population being in serious decline...seemed like a good idea at the time.<br />
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Ha!<br />
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I thought we'd a attract a couple of butterflies and maybe end up with a caterpillar or two. Boy, was I wrong. So, so wrong.<br />
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I mentioned the idea to my mother and she kindly gave me a pretty, flowering Butterflyweed (species of milkweed with yellow flowers) plant as a Mother's Day gift. I set the pot out in the backyard and didn't think much about it although I did observe a Monarch land on it and it appeared to be laying eggs.<br />
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A few days later...we had not one or two, but about 7 caterpillars! They very quickly ate their way through this plant and I had to go grab another from my mom's house that she had bought for herself since we clearly needed an emergency food source.<br />
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After a few caterpillars disappeared and, after I did some hasty on-line research, I learned that they deliberately leave the plant when they are ready to make a chrysalis. I have no idea what happened to those first few, but since a determined search turned up no chrysalises anywhere nearby, I was determined to ensure the rest of them survived to become butterflies if I could. To this end, I quickly ordered a mesh butterfly habitat online figuring it would arrive about the time the next group of caterpillars was ready to make a break for it.<br />
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The day the enclosure was supposed to arrive, I woke up to two pieces of news. One was a "sorry to inform you" notice from Amazon that the enclosure was damaged in shipping and had to be returned to the vendor. Two was the next caterpillar in line had left the plant and was slowly crawling up our outdoor garbage can.<br />
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Now, the garbage can did not seem like an ideal place for a chrysalis so I quickly grabbed a plastic container and some milkweed leaves and put the caterpillar and leaves inside of it. I then went online to order another enclosure. When I went back outside, caterpillar #2 was crawling across the brick patio and looked like it was about to be lizard lunch. I found another container and in he went. Before the emergency enclosure order arrived, I had to repeat this process with a third caterpillar/container.<br />
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Once the enclosure arrived, I moved 2 plants with remaining baby caterpillars on them into the enclosure.<br />
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I've spent the last 2 weeks with 3 containers on my kitchen counter...each with a chrysalis in it. By the way, watching the caterpillar morph into the chrysalis is a fascinating and yet kinda revolting process. I always thought they spun a cocoon (probably because I raised silk moths once when I was a kid), but noooo. The caterpillar hangs upside down in a "J" shape, then its skin splits up the back like a zipper and this wriggling green chrysalis emerges. It's weird.<br />
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Somewhere during all of this, I also had to go on a hunt for more milkweed plants given that we had way more caterpillars than I ever planned on and they'd already reduced the first two plants to nothing but stalks. Trips to Green Thumb & Home Depot proved futile as they were totally out. I had to order plants online and then finally also found some at Roger's Gardens.<br />
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So, now I have 8 milkweed plants (two mostly eaten), 2 butterfly/caterpillar enclosures (because the original one eventually showed up after the emergency order arrived), and 3 plastic containers of chrysalises. One enclosure is empty and will house the butterflies after they pop out but before they are ready to take off. The other enclosure has the remaining plants with caterpillars and one new chrysalis that was just formed last night. Oh and there are still more caterpillars that just hatched LOL.<br />
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Finally today, after all that, our first Monarch butterfly hatched out of its chrysalis! This was the one I rescued off the garbage can. I expect #2 to hatch tomorrow as it was about 24 hours after the first one that it formed its chrysalis. They'll spend a few hours in the butterfly enclosure to dry and strengthen their wings and then I'll release them.<br />
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See, I told you it was a saga :-)<br />
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KJ<br />
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P.S. If you're interested in having your own Monarch saga, here are a few helpful links:<br />
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<a href="https://www.joyfulbutterfly.com/">https://www.joyfulbutterfly.com/</a><br />
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<a href="https://monarchwatch.org/">https://monarchwatch.org/</a><br />
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<br />Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-21194729001166835982018-05-01T06:30:00.000-07:002018-05-01T12:10:30.520-07:00WBW - Meet the Bluebirds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I took a much longer blog sabbatical than I intended. Between work demands and my son starting high school, time has just flown by. I've been able to get out and about with the birds and the camera, but have lost the time to process, organize and write about the photos :-( Hopefully, I can turn that around. The below story actually took place in 2015, but I never did get around to posting about it.</div>
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I used to follow the saga of some <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Bluebird/id" target="_blank">Western Bluebirds</a> at my son's old elementary school. Although there's been a concerted effort in recent years in this area to hang nesting boxes in the local parks for these birds, this particular pair found an unusual and innovative solution to the "where to put the nest" question. They found an opening in the side of a metal soccer goal frame and used it to (successfully - based on the increased number of bluebirds I've seen at the location) raise their babies.</div>
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Mr. Bluebird came in first...</div>
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...he scoped out the location...</div>
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...tested the access...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu73SpoR6b2SGUmsFjjyit8G9lp6Z4Aa4a0ZX-_ncv1tV0WNmF19MsfrhdI4Qt2qYAu_QhIimrc4WteejKo_i9-8bZsGNS1sU8npoXFzXicF6IPZ4BW43-eQf8YRch_6Vx7Ld2-g/s1600/BB+Soccer+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="556" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu73SpoR6b2SGUmsFjjyit8G9lp6Z4Aa4a0ZX-_ncv1tV0WNmF19MsfrhdI4Qt2qYAu_QhIimrc4WteejKo_i9-8bZsGNS1sU8npoXFzXicF6IPZ4BW43-eQf8YRch_6Vx7Ld2-g/s640/BB+Soccer+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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...thought about it for a while...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipb25kgJNbL9cOUfLZ2EUX_sPj6yB4pL_dVoVWM1Utcqbmiktbol92K7noNLdyvInn-lotpA0hoqM_HLqLogL2MR2xuVS3CsXL7g0dyo1VtOLbTZqpNHONz2DAMWmicYxf0m5BoA/s1600/BB+Soccer+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipb25kgJNbL9cOUfLZ2EUX_sPj6yB4pL_dVoVWM1Utcqbmiktbol92K7noNLdyvInn-lotpA0hoqM_HLqLogL2MR2xuVS3CsXL7g0dyo1VtOLbTZqpNHONz2DAMWmicYxf0m5BoA/s640/BB+Soccer+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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...tested it some more...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjImUcMaRfRJP-jd6L_SkgGjLEbxUdV22A00CYD2MjEIEA1I3VmQuMIU4h39gomC4wW3fM3TKUBca8cl5dNttlup18AHJsDiQA0FqFWbpw6twY0joVk_Z3xV6q69SEMyTGi_CJzaA/s1600/BB+Soccer+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjImUcMaRfRJP-jd6L_SkgGjLEbxUdV22A00CYD2MjEIEA1I3VmQuMIU4h39gomC4wW3fM3TKUBca8cl5dNttlup18AHJsDiQA0FqFWbpw6twY0joVk_Z3xV6q69SEMyTGi_CJzaA/s640/BB+Soccer+2.jpg" width="624" /></a></div>
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...and then invited Mrs. Bluebird to come and check it out.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSfax5R30RCBJoTbbnp2tT3_wjGOM6YIngc11Hy8YnHE8cQsGkQUOZIthqvnqqFSeAdpdvf3kkMecFtIVCtoOcPGzKkNIkQMjI5ZT1sBVbmaqe5J2o9ZvFry6qemd6qjcqH9znWA/s1600/BB+Soccer+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSfax5R30RCBJoTbbnp2tT3_wjGOM6YIngc11Hy8YnHE8cQsGkQUOZIthqvnqqFSeAdpdvf3kkMecFtIVCtoOcPGzKkNIkQMjI5ZT1sBVbmaqe5J2o9ZvFry6qemd6qjcqH9znWA/s640/BB+Soccer+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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She remained skeptical at first and soon flew off. </div>
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He attempted to lure her back in with a tasty snack.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxsos_ocMATdokROCzXNVoeOWezjBB89C0xYLyhgDssLEFIvPUOCrcwCZyMCw8RPc_COG5AitKdFrCFeMh1qNodLPMiL4MhYknOWaXMlOFTgP6AcpagXrWQbu4PM-L0-ZGyOT9Og/s1600/Mr.+%2526+Mrs.+Bluebird+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxsos_ocMATdokROCzXNVoeOWezjBB89C0xYLyhgDssLEFIvPUOCrcwCZyMCw8RPc_COG5AitKdFrCFeMh1qNodLPMiL4MhYknOWaXMlOFTgP6AcpagXrWQbu4PM-L0-ZGyOT9Og/s640/Mr.+%2526+Mrs.+Bluebird+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Being partial to worms, she agreed to give the potential digs a test run.</div>
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She checked the access...</div>
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...and invited her girlfriends over to get their opinions.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQWUOguN1ZVC6FejGLd32gMoVKXhIrWP-j-saQUt-lKlFji9Hcx2De6FLTAvDh1AhZhQ-_rzKYo6NcqQFBOF_oRrLRpydK771rpW6xyLAjtWF6e1DmVpLB1VfvwHhvoR9KkYmpfg/s1600/BB%2526F+Kiss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQWUOguN1ZVC6FejGLd32gMoVKXhIrWP-j-saQUt-lKlFji9Hcx2De6FLTAvDh1AhZhQ-_rzKYo6NcqQFBOF_oRrLRpydK771rpW6xyLAjtWF6e1DmVpLB1VfvwHhvoR9KkYmpfg/s640/BB%2526F+Kiss.jpg" width="574" /></a></div>
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This almost proved to be a disaster when one of them tried to kiss Mr. Bluebird behind Mrs. B's back!</div>
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Mrs. B flew off to the playground to think things over.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpM1MNky62re0CzS_6piIJOEBItp4JXp2Xxm5M5oUpiHmIrZl424GI2ZPRn-UUASvb0RO1u0F3wg8yE8RndIS17yHYM0fugWzwa7VtpXIPToDVl6sDDKG7XWUdMhQ8ogk6vW1Gvw/s1600/BB+Chips+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpM1MNky62re0CzS_6piIJOEBItp4JXp2Xxm5M5oUpiHmIrZl424GI2ZPRn-UUASvb0RO1u0F3wg8yE8RndIS17yHYM0fugWzwa7VtpXIPToDVl6sDDKG7XWUdMhQ8ogk6vW1Gvw/s640/BB+Chips+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Mr. B was banished to the wood chip pile.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwAkEyuYBejptxSOm8AvPGNlGJ1RQDDl4L03MVvi4FcrN4cj7a__zWKLNipe2JE8ejrjmmrt4dYEM0uZNIbl5TAvjvpwe2r2LmPvHQLl05IT-VxUt4qknG6Noj83r6aN8JPTz5xQ/s1600/BB+Post+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwAkEyuYBejptxSOm8AvPGNlGJ1RQDDl4L03MVvi4FcrN4cj7a__zWKLNipe2JE8ejrjmmrt4dYEM0uZNIbl5TAvjvpwe2r2LmPvHQLl05IT-VxUt4qknG6Noj83r6aN8JPTz5xQ/s640/BB+Post+1.jpg" width="502" /></a></div>
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He watched from afar using this fencepost as a vantage point.</div>
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I like to think they eventually learned to ignore those pesky House Finches and raised a nice brood of Bluebird babies!</div>
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KJ</div>
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<a href="http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com/2018/05/wild-bird-wednesday-301-sulphur-crested.html" target="_blank"></a><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com/2018/05/wild-bird-wednesday-301-sulphur-crested.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqWKGgl6yvdHGnXy6NON6Rf6mEr_gP3vMgstuoxyx35XPwfbhhNMbkelYb3tATw4SsmY_KkfkUrpjXv4BWOuRqWGlpNUeQO4L9horL9ADeWFNUBbur-duqDMIgNQLKWT0WsEBXQA/s1600/Wild+Bird+Wednesday.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></td></tr>
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Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-40725593799341629182017-01-10T07:30:00.000-08:002017-01-10T07:30:44.239-08:00Wild Bird Wednesday - Townsend's WarblerWarblers frustrate me...sigh. As a relatively new birder, I have a tough time even FINDING them (the ubiquitous Yellow-Rumped Warblers being the exception). But, if I am lucky enough to see one, I then have the even more frustrating task of trying to get a decent photograph as they hop about in constant, hyperactive motion like they've just had a double espresso at Starbuck's. <br />
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Still, every once in a while, I get lucky...like this day in October when I found some <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Townsends_Warbler/id" target="_blank">Townsend's Warblers</a> hopping around this sycamore tree in the parking lot at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary. I didn't get as good of a series of shots as I would have liked - I'd just gotten out of my car and was still making some adjustments and taking test shots when I first spotted them. Then, all too soon, another car pulled in and parked between me and the tree (and it was an open convertible so I KNOW the guy saw that he drove right through my shots LOL) and the birds took off. Haven't seen them there since.<br />
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Here's what I did manage to get...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialfrfjJvZgpjf4WV_knjBoTCbZajbbL6jS6Txo3JKKj1UpwXBC665tL6TOorY-1GnU0iYGEJc8vfZ4kir-5IqK5SS2WRSp_627T9P86Gt03aXoZ9_0TddRzob5IcrYGH3Dgi1sw/s1600/TW+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialfrfjJvZgpjf4WV_knjBoTCbZajbbL6jS6Txo3JKKj1UpwXBC665tL6TOorY-1GnU0iYGEJc8vfZ4kir-5IqK5SS2WRSp_627T9P86Gt03aXoZ9_0TddRzob5IcrYGH3Dgi1sw/s640/TW+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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These guys were definitely good at hiding amongst the leaves.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGEiKZnJvpek_PHbwpJxCB8e-e2FXYvCR8J5RXPkj4d8ZF-RdWYKU54V8SfkxMat5FLKyAuFK4GpptNLibNjeCjjTFfGB342KGTKCgu5RlaMSRiJOWLykwpLA_fv-ozVNRoapOvQ/s1600/TW+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGEiKZnJvpek_PHbwpJxCB8e-e2FXYvCR8J5RXPkj4d8ZF-RdWYKU54V8SfkxMat5FLKyAuFK4GpptNLibNjeCjjTFfGB342KGTKCgu5RlaMSRiJOWLykwpLA_fv-ozVNRoapOvQ/s640/TW+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Just love those facial markings - so pretty!</div>
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Peek-a-boo!</div>
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I think he sees me.</div>
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One last look before he was gone...</div>
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That was it - my one and only exciting warbler encounter for 2016 that I managed to capture in photos. Maybe my skills will improve in 2017 - Spring Migration is not that far off! In the meantime, I'm still processing photos I took over Xmas break. Birding was not as easy as I'd hoped since we did finally get some longed-for rain. In spite of that, I managed to add two lifers: Long-eared Owl (but no photos!) and American Bittern. I'll be sharing the Bittern in a future post.</div>
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KJ</div>
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Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-61074474093521933292017-01-04T16:13:00.001-08:002017-01-04T16:13:18.463-08:00Wild Bird Wedneday - Reddish EgretThere are approximately 3-5 Reddish Egrets that can be found fairly consistently at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. I've found they are most active at low tide - especially if you want to catch shots of their strange sideways, hunting "dance" as they search for small fish in the shallow water.<br />
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This past May, I was also lucky enough to catch one in it's mating plumage - check out that tri-colored beak! I though frosted blue eye shadow and Pepto Bismol Pink lipstick went out of fashion after the 80's, but these birds make it look good!<br />
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That hairdo also has a distinctly 80's feel to it!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8AkEnGItHLyQEnKJ3vrt9hsX-xedRZpbyOfBOM6x0M4IXuC1D6hNZGvRWase24bs846VC5hBHT5huOTjh0HbIlAgZ-cRaUAozze6qYn3ZkdLWiQUXPcRaQWbANy7FsbbgXd_pnw/s1600/RE+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8AkEnGItHLyQEnKJ3vrt9hsX-xedRZpbyOfBOM6x0M4IXuC1D6hNZGvRWase24bs846VC5hBHT5huOTjh0HbIlAgZ-cRaUAozze6qYn3ZkdLWiQUXPcRaQWbANy7FsbbgXd_pnw/s640/RE+4.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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The perfect pose!</div>
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Darn - I JUST missed him snapping up a fish, but you can see the water droplets falling from his beak!</div>
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In position for another strike...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2jF0-QJ14WW0wU4fmvxnK6sp8wB9iJ4qcHDrCa29j3pxpenMjpblK6ilseKheovBeWdsYa385QELzqagOKEdiDZMJKzeSfj6me9wMu6G6Lfmql0Ay8io6bD3x9BWPdfgkRc3t3A/s1600/RE+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2jF0-QJ14WW0wU4fmvxnK6sp8wB9iJ4qcHDrCa29j3pxpenMjpblK6ilseKheovBeWdsYa385QELzqagOKEdiDZMJKzeSfj6me9wMu6G6Lfmql0Ay8io6bD3x9BWPdfgkRc3t3A/s640/RE+9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And then it was time for the dance...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif22ZQ8uNQFWJQ8heS0G_B_O5YlsmrQjD_tqPuL2GzO7sqBAuPcpVRwEATiUVJxw8VC34lVqdcFxseWkyrfk1VZoLkdcCgJs5bg-XRnCAaKQoSgUA0MoJ6gWoJyovJYvKxsBQnUA/s1600/re+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif22ZQ8uNQFWJQ8heS0G_B_O5YlsmrQjD_tqPuL2GzO7sqBAuPcpVRwEATiUVJxw8VC34lVqdcFxseWkyrfk1VZoLkdcCgJs5bg-XRnCAaKQoSgUA0MoJ6gWoJyovJYvKxsBQnUA/s640/re+10.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Step 1...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGWKLHXalzMvWm-ZL2r0KOZnid_ohi8us8jcYrtrI5atcjq3v47cZDnAovMl6UPyJmXQYD6hmbg689vkLdWIBasPMAqQ0hxQsI3MfPKM0OPrPX-4FOYSGRQUuE8BMor_l-dHl5UA/s1600/re+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGWKLHXalzMvWm-ZL2r0KOZnid_ohi8us8jcYrtrI5atcjq3v47cZDnAovMl6UPyJmXQYD6hmbg689vkLdWIBasPMAqQ0hxQsI3MfPKM0OPrPX-4FOYSGRQUuE8BMor_l-dHl5UA/s640/re+11.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Step 2...darn no fish.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_Fbxyy_OhlUtk9Bpl-9Zxqr8ODOAwGpFK9_Rv3NJmGyGMobBzHgw45YlZTJeofrSnW215VFfz_xs6tYa9O-PNwQ7cufDa4PDkLEXdd0ujphkIyhzu2Cf2amZNrASk8-qBTmb1w/s1600/re+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_Fbxyy_OhlUtk9Bpl-9Zxqr8ODOAwGpFK9_Rv3NJmGyGMobBzHgw45YlZTJeofrSnW215VFfz_xs6tYa9O-PNwQ7cufDa4PDkLEXdd0ujphkIyhzu2Cf2amZNrASk8-qBTmb1w/s640/re+6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I had to return later in July to capture the full dance. Notice that the bright beak colors from May are gone. </div>
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Step 1...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFZ-eg9HeVJzVUAo9tADsF_bA_SyvIMi5TdEx7gxixCTraf67MJ6a0MQ56QrLlc3uS_QKG4VRUHRLubM2S-cD8_VW_JJs0jRoleIoxXxrsq49ax7t6Oj2bcEXrC4MYHLho9u2uaw/s1600/re+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFZ-eg9HeVJzVUAo9tADsF_bA_SyvIMi5TdEx7gxixCTraf67MJ6a0MQ56QrLlc3uS_QKG4VRUHRLubM2S-cD8_VW_JJs0jRoleIoxXxrsq49ax7t6Oj2bcEXrC4MYHLho9u2uaw/s640/re+10.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Step 2 - some freestyle maneuvering...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZOJ71EfGSIFQ-MxogxPKjec6r44p3fjKenhTqbYY3wcxq8Z2LkzA3q7ehZ8TjKXiLl1rfHTlBS0WjS0xOzZz5fjjUzsT4VdfAMU22SXjrMEXPXau_OAPjCIo5xT2HidYaXIb6mA/s1600/re+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZOJ71EfGSIFQ-MxogxPKjec6r44p3fjKenhTqbYY3wcxq8Z2LkzA3q7ehZ8TjKXiLl1rfHTlBS0WjS0xOzZz5fjjUzsT4VdfAMU22SXjrMEXPXau_OAPjCIo5xT2HidYaXIb6mA/s640/re+11.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Step 3 - Ballerina Pose...</div>
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...and the dance concludes successfully with a fish...</div>
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...unless you like to play with your food and accidentally drop it...</div>
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...but skilled performers know how to make a quick recovery!</div>
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And then take a bow!</div>
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Hope you enjoyed the dance of the Reddish Egret!</div>
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<br />Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-31263542547644801512016-12-20T07:30:00.000-08:002016-12-20T07:30:03.498-08:00Wild Bird Wednesday: Western Tanager...and a Surprise!These photos were taken this past May at Laguna Niguel Regional Park. It's a great local birding place that has even grabbed the attention of an unusual migrant or two the past few years. <br />
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Lately, it's suffered some unfortunate environmental impacts, though. The park includes a large lake which attracts lots of waterfowl including multiple duck and goose species, terns, herons, egrets, killdeer, spotted sandpipers, ibis and more. An outside contractor used to manage access to the lake which required purchase of a special fishing permit and additional costs to take out a boat (vs. fish from the shore). This past year, control of the lake reverted to the County park system so there is no more boat fishing and the only requirement for shore fishing is a California state fishing license. This has been great for the fishermen (much lower cost), but as a result, the entire bank area where I used get great shots of herons, ibis and egrets are now full of fishermen no matter what time of day I go. The birds have either left or re-located to the far side of the lake where there's no bank access.<br />
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In addition to the fishing issue, the sycamore trees in the park are under assault from a fungal disease caused by an insect that bores into wood and leaves the fungus behind. The trees' main defense to this is their sap, but that has been affected by our terrible drought. Many of the trees have already had to be removed in hopes of preventing the spread of the disease. <br />
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I don't think the fishing issue is going to improve any time soon, but we have had some rain this fall so I have hopes that perhaps we'll start to make a dent in the drought (although we'll need several years of good rainfall to really make up for it).<br />
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I took the below photos before they started removing the sycamore trees in this area and got lucky to see my first ever male Western Tanager. Such gorgeous colors - they remind me of my favorite popsicle - Cherry-Pineapple Big Sticks:<br />
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I was first alerted to this gorgeous bird by a flash of bright yellow high up in this tree.</div>
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I kept hoping he'd come out from the leaf/branch tangle so I could get a better shot...</div>
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...so I followed him pretty relentlessly as he hopped around inside this huge tree.</div>
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No such luck.</div>
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This was probably the best shot that I got - at least he doesn't look like there's a twig sticking through his head.</div>
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It was at this point that the park had a little surprise for me. Have you ever been so focused on something that you only realize later that you were actually hearing or seeing something else happening in the background, but that your brain filtered it out so you could maintain your intense focus? Kind of like when the alarm goes off in the morning, but doesn't wake you all the way up until you realize that you've been hearing music in the background of your dream...that is really coming from your radio?</div>
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As I was focused on the tanager and firing away with my camera, I finally realized that I'd been hearing a repetitive noise for a few minutes off to the side. As I turned my head to figure out where it was coming from, I suddenly discovered a VERY pissed-off Red-Shouldered Hawk diving RIGHT AT MY HEAD! I quickly dropped to the ground and she passed close enough to ruffle my hair with the air from her wings!</div>
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Apparently, I'd been so focused on the tanager that I hadn't realized that WAY UP HIGH in the top of a nearby (and very, very tall) tree...was a hawk's nest.</div>
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Um...oops! I felt terrible and backed off to where my car was parked in the lot nearby. She continued to sit on a nearby branch and scream her displeasure at me...and everyone else (to be fair - this is a VERY busy park and I was not the only person wandering near the trees - there were people playing tennis and basketball on the nearby courts, kids playing soccer on the grass, people walking dogs on the path through this same group of trees, and cars driving by on the nearby road).</div>
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Here is Momma Hawk - still screaming. I'm now inside my car with the door shut and am shooting at the full range of my SX50 through window that's open just a crack.</div>
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She did calm down eventually. I really love these hawks - such gorgeous colors and patterns on their feathers.</div>
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Because her nest was so high up, I couldn't see what, if anything was going on in there that day. I went back to the park a few weeks later and was able to take a more circumspect approach to the tree and maintain a proper distance now that I knew where the nest was. On that occasion, I was rewarded with these shots:</div>
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Here's mom on the actual nest.</div>
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And a few minutes after she flew away...Junior popped up and showed himself. He's still got a few fuzzy baby feathers along the top of his head, but he looks ready to fledge soon. </div>
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I learned a valuable lesson about not getting so focused on a particular bird that I completely tune out what's going on around me. I've had mockingbirds in our front yard who will dive bomb anything that comes near (making it difficult to get to the car in the driveway sometimes), but that is NOTHING compared to having a full-grown momma hawk try to scalp me.</div>
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Not a lesson I will forget...ever.</div>
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KJ</div>
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Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-80666715705243213962016-12-13T07:00:00.000-08:002016-12-13T07:00:05.157-08:00Wild Bird Wednesday - Baby Tree SwallowsSince I started birding, I've become a big fan of Tree Swallows. Their amazing aerobatic displays are so fun to watch - I've even seem them grab drinks of water and bathe while on the wing - dipping first one wing and then the other into the water as they skim over the surface.<br />
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At San Joaquin, there's been a concerted effort to promote breeding of this species with nest boxes placed all around the ponds. Watching the birds arrive in January and start to bicker over the boxes is endlessly entertaining. <br />
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But nothing can beat the sight of what comes next - the first appearance of the babies!!<br />
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I could've sworn there was really only room for one bird at a time in that doorway, but everybody wants to get fed RIGHT NOW!</div>
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Mom must be comin' in hot from the right!</div>
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Ooh...she just missed on that pass!</div>
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Now she's got it dialed in...and with a nice, juicy dragonfly, too!</div>
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Across the trail in another box...another hungry baby!</div>
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Not to worry...the parents are on the job!</div>
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Apparently, EVERYONE in the neighborhood is having dragonfly for breakfast!</div>
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No picky eaters here!</div>
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Just tired parents who swoop off to catch more bugs as soon as this one gets delivered.</div>
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These photos were all taken this past Spring. I was at San Joaquin yesterday and noticed that the first Tree Swallows had just arrived - soon the sky there will be full of their aerial displays and the liquid trills of their voices...and the cycle will start over again.</div>
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KJ</div>
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Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-10809728830713677102016-12-06T07:30:00.000-08:002016-12-06T07:30:47.245-08:00Wild Bird Wednesday: Common YellowthroatSince I first started birding in 2015, one of the birds that has really frustrated me is the Common Yellowthroat. As its name suggests...it's common. In fact, it's "witchety-witchety-witch" call is one of the few bird calls that I can easily recognize and learned right away. However, since it has a tendency to stay hidden deep within the reed beds or only pop out for a half-second (just long enough to get the camera trained in and focused, but not long enough to actually get the shot!), it has been difficult for me to get any decent photographs.<br />
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Finally, I found a cooperative male who left the reed beds and took up position in this tree to sing.<br />
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They are striking-looking little birds with their black bandit masks.</div>
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This male is singing his "witchety" song.</div>
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And now he's cranking up the volume.</div>
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Gotta hit that high note!</div>
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Not sure why this bird was willing to hang out and let me get so many nice shots of him, but as long as he was willing to cooperate, I was willing to go with it!</div>
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After singing, he got hungry and started hunting for bugs on this branch.</div>
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Hope you enjoyed meeting the Common Yellowthroat.<br />
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KJ<br />
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Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-28791024617813245352016-11-29T07:30:00.000-08:002016-11-29T07:30:30.215-08:00Wild Bird Wednesday - California Least TernsI've posted previously about one of our local beach bird species that is on the endangered list due to loss of dune habitat - the Western Snowy Plover. Sadly, though, that is not the only species affected. The California Least Tern also utilizes the rapidly-disappearing dune habitat for nesting and is similarly threatened. The Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve and nearby Bolsa Chica state beach have both set aside protected nesting areas for the Terns and Plovers.<br />
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After watching the adult birds fly back and forth diving for fish during breeding season, I was lucky enough to witness the successful results below as a Least Tern fledgling waited for its parent to bring it a meal...except it wasn't quite ready for the meal it got...<br />
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Here's the fledgling, patiently waiting to be fed.</div>
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Parent shows up with a fresh-caught, delicious fish...</div>
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However, like many children, this kid is a picky eater and loudly protests not receiving any more "pre-digested" fish...</div>
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The parent bird continues to patiently offer the fish...</div>
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...but Junior is having none of it and continues to squawk.</div>
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Junior eventually turns his back and walks away...</div>
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...in fact, he takes his first short flight in attempt to get out of eating fish for dinner.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbvMDv7iJUXU029ynfforD3GmF3QfjlUqSm0nQsOFFExMkDi4Ha4x3bWC5AF-Tzdqy56gUpe6QgzIPJVXlZnzM-SZNvLg5nr2Rj4oP1JX7pVACWH4Sv_x0OWJ-EQio-1mVmC5Cgw/s1600/lt+flight+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbvMDv7iJUXU029ynfforD3GmF3QfjlUqSm0nQsOFFExMkDi4Ha4x3bWC5AF-Tzdqy56gUpe6QgzIPJVXlZnzM-SZNvLg5nr2Rj4oP1JX7pVACWH4Sv_x0OWJ-EQio-1mVmC5Cgw/s640/lt+flight+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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He only makes it a few feet away...</div>
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...but poor Mom or Dad is left behind...still holding the now much-less-fresh fish.</div>
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KJ</div>
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<br />Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-86275683872572676132016-11-22T10:20:00.002-08:002016-11-22T10:20:56.415-08:00Wild Bird Wednesday: Costa's HummingbirdLove getting to travel outside of my normal stomping grounds to see different birds. Last fall, I had a work conference in Palm Desert and since the last session ended at mid-day, I was able to sneak in a visit to The Living Desert - one of the best small zoos I've ever been to. Seriously, it is WELL worth it if you are in the area to stop by. Not expensive and in addition to all the exotic zoo animals, the place is a mecca for wild hummingbirds of all varieties. <br />
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One type that I don't get to see near my home on the coast is the Costa's Hummingbird, but they were sure putting on a show during my time at the zoo. I think I spent more time photographing them than I did looking at the giraffes, cheetahs, etc.<br />
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This is a young male - his purple throat feathers are just starting to come in.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxp6uEeedP2E7yTl-N8gm-N3WC_zKEZPy4SayQx46XG76QcVuEhTspCgHoYbBftau2IgNQKrHl252ygnWgjG_HFpt9pfCg-3-DGdzx5mFvT4N1QZt6cFuQNnnevF0lzjkrP7VAiw/s1600/Snoozy+Hummer+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxp6uEeedP2E7yTl-N8gm-N3WC_zKEZPy4SayQx46XG76QcVuEhTspCgHoYbBftau2IgNQKrHl252ygnWgjG_HFpt9pfCg-3-DGdzx5mFvT4N1QZt6cFuQNnnevF0lzjkrP7VAiw/s640/Snoozy+Hummer+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The energy output of a hummingbird is truly astounding to watch. No wonder this little guy is trying to catch a few ZZZs...</div>
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This mature male has the full complement of purple head feathers. I just couldn't get the right angle of light to make them all appear, but you can see a few. There's an amazing hummingbird documentary on PBS that shows how these birds use these feathers in mating displays. The head and throat feathers flare out and make it look like the bird's entire head is a glistening purple flower as he hovers in front of a female. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJEYpeoDwN-XtepyWtTJxLNBdhWXqaT-j2FT8fpM5U5EhE71qAOwaQXiXAMCm_GohfSDAY-pj34x6VeGF3KOLdX-Aylff6Zys2iiyr5RhQmA1rk6SEQfGJclausrNK4z4KnL6Ivg/s1600/Hummer+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJEYpeoDwN-XtepyWtTJxLNBdhWXqaT-j2FT8fpM5U5EhE71qAOwaQXiXAMCm_GohfSDAY-pj34x6VeGF3KOLdX-Aylff6Zys2iiyr5RhQmA1rk6SEQfGJclausrNK4z4KnL6Ivg/s640/Hummer+5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here are few more looks at this pretty little bird.</div>
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Does anyone else ever silently chant in their heads "C'mon, just look over here" while photographing birds? Or is it just me?</div>
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Because...sometimes it works!! Finally got him to turn and show off those gorgeous feathers!</div>
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If it works...you can't call me crazy, right?</div>
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Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-79054012072632091152016-11-15T07:00:00.000-08:002016-11-15T07:00:39.261-08:00Wild Bird Wednesday - Blue-gray Gnatcatcher<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I was introduced to this sweet little bird last fall when I caught a quick flash of blue out of the corner of my eye. Realizing it was too small to be either of our other local "blue" birds (Western Bluebird or California Scrub Jay), I thought I might be on to something new. Once I got home and compared the photos to my birding guide...yep, new bird for me: <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue-gray_Gnatcatcher/id" target="_blank">Blue-gray Gnatcatcher</a></div>
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They are more blue than our endangered California Gnatcatcher (still hoping to see one of those!) and have that distinct white eye-ring.</div>
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He was definitely keeping an eye out for the local Cooper's Hawk who flew over while I was taking these photos.</div>
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Such a pretty little bird.</div>
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And feisty, too!</div>
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Woops! Gotta watch out for that hawk again!</div>
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These little guys are back in town now that it's fall again, but I have yet to get shots any nicer than these from last year. I must've had a little bit of beginner's luck going!</div>
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KJ</div>
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<br />Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-8440552779032770222016-10-18T16:09:00.000-07:002016-10-18T16:52:16.554-07:00Wild Bird Wednesday - Ridgway's Rail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Well, that turned into an unintentional blog hiatus. Wow...can't believe my last post was in July! I guess I've been busy! The summer seemed particularly short (thanks new school starting date that takes away 3 weeks of our summer vacation)...because...it was! We took a fantastic vacation to Santa Barbara and Morro Bay in early August (from which I'm STILL processing the photos! Hope to have them in a future post). Then school started and the reality of 8th grade homework (geez there's a lot) hit us and then Ryan got sick and missed almost the entire second week of school...which required a LOT of catch up time (see previous comment about massive amounts of homework) and work was crazy that whole time (of course). </div>
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This all left me with no time for birding and even less time to process photos or write blog posts. Hopefully, I can get back on the horse now!</div>
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This is my one and only encounter (thus far) with a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridgway%27s_rail" target="_blank">Ridgway's Rail</a>. Found this shy, secretive bird poking around the mussel beds below the bridge at the Bolsa Chica wetlands.</div>
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Only got a few shots before it disappeared into the vegetation...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLa2Lmqv8cz291B0qqs0VBFLKiJaNnl7KdMCmU36zLzPFqazcB7TCY2R8pgjnYtgbM-B9gw-IbmyJtpD47OKFf6aK1VxxScCkiS2q-PGZCEtW9UH-uUpjWgGdEnILej7ji5OWzSQ/s1600/rrail+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLa2Lmqv8cz291B0qqs0VBFLKiJaNnl7KdMCmU36zLzPFqazcB7TCY2R8pgjnYtgbM-B9gw-IbmyJtpD47OKFf6aK1VxxScCkiS2q-PGZCEtW9UH-uUpjWgGdEnILej7ji5OWzSQ/s640/rrail+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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...this is my favorite one...look at that foot!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGY2fOE_7oO2a_kMu5-j9dLCxMYxeyTBjlFfx4q8FZGP5_NBLY43WcgoLlliTreCEsoWPx0sFICI3iHExcsauSukc6KCbZEdE_IPX_7TjQAY2QFiOZ_VNY3IEp0q-oefl41oozyg/s1600/Wild+Bird+Wednesday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGY2fOE_7oO2a_kMu5-j9dLCxMYxeyTBjlFfx4q8FZGP5_NBLY43WcgoLlliTreCEsoWPx0sFICI3iHExcsauSukc6KCbZEdE_IPX_7TjQAY2QFiOZ_VNY3IEp0q-oefl41oozyg/s1600/Wild+Bird+Wednesday.jpg" /></a></div>
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Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-87805910680324157212016-07-05T09:33:00.001-07:002016-07-05T09:33:07.038-07:00Wild Bird Wednesday - Black Oystercatcher<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Had some great birding this weekend thanks to the holiday allowing me some extra time. Am still processing all the photos so thought I'd share something from last fall. This was my first sight of a <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Oystercatcher/id" target="_blank">Black Oystercatcher</a> on a Southern California beach (had previously seen them up north). Shots were taken at Crystal Cove, CA on 10/10/15:</div>
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With their pink legs, orange/red beaks and yellow eyes, these birds are quite dramatic-looking.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiKJqVS3UUC8zNlj9BvECSDcCVhFrwOhr7HvalNOh5GjXMdOhkrFK4DJLXUWs-wy8g4vS9EY24XrDbU0zHA3GaOn_GNEvL47Kpcq7VFiKhpRFcZT3mfYlk6Gr_dHNbf6NpEGLX3A/s1600/SCS+BO+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiKJqVS3UUC8zNlj9BvECSDcCVhFrwOhr7HvalNOh5GjXMdOhkrFK4DJLXUWs-wy8g4vS9EY24XrDbU0zHA3GaOn_GNEvL47Kpcq7VFiKhpRFcZT3mfYlk6Gr_dHNbf6NpEGLX3A/s640/SCS+BO+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here he is patrolling one of the tide pools...with lots of barnacles on the rocks.</div>
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Love that beak color!</div>
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Catching some spray!</div>
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Stopping to pose...</div>
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...and then grabbing a snack.</div>
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Somebody needs to work on their leg tan.</div>
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<br />Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-88466850472821332912016-06-21T08:12:00.000-07:002016-06-21T08:12:48.921-07:00Wild Bird Wednesday: Northern Red BishopThis past fall, I was pulling out of the parking lot at my regular birding spot in Irvine when a brilliant flash of orange caught my eye. Due to other commitments, I was unable to turn around to see what it might have been and wondered all the way home what I'd missed.<br />
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A week later, I discovered that a small flock of unusual birds had made a temporary home at this spot. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_red_bishop" target="_blank">Northern Red Bishops</a> (also known as Orange Bishops) are actually from Africa! However, they are one of a multitude of non-native species that has escaped and taken hold in the Southern California environment.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMnjTBj8-FpIqBQ6_3rB7mcO0b91LgxeiU4rfdsbmqYXb1wAtvkhGFYEuZBH3VO3jt_i1ECebZ4pWBr9WJP06IaILOxUd8n6mF6bwJwF_TBE-qJzebG08_pM4C8FMMijBg5deeDQ/s1600/SCS+Bishop+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMnjTBj8-FpIqBQ6_3rB7mcO0b91LgxeiU4rfdsbmqYXb1wAtvkhGFYEuZBH3VO3jt_i1ECebZ4pWBr9WJP06IaILOxUd8n6mF6bwJwF_TBE-qJzebG08_pM4C8FMMijBg5deeDQ/s640/SCS+Bishop+7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The males are a brilliant orange/red with black faces and chests.</div>
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This small flock hung around for about 2 months on this same grouping of dead branches.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieErHdbmgCM3rlCenKDg4dNQYml9qQcBtlx9kv8-rlC3RLX-a6kdXE2oaGLOXDSuGWj6Im7Ck204bsvsdXbsYT6z7RtwWonB0mURg3TIenhtKJ4GAmKPk_CqV1HnuQosF27REwaw/s1600/SCS+Bishop+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieErHdbmgCM3rlCenKDg4dNQYml9qQcBtlx9kv8-rlC3RLX-a6kdXE2oaGLOXDSuGWj6Im7Ck204bsvsdXbsYT6z7RtwWonB0mURg3TIenhtKJ4GAmKPk_CqV1HnuQosF27REwaw/s640/SCS+Bishop+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Their brown wings look almost like a sparrow's wings have been grafted on - I always thought they don't match the rest of the bird.</div>
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As I watched them over time, it was easy to pick out their dominance games...always trying to be in the "top spot" on the branch.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0IK35vQLleAhdbPH2MJTt4T8EnmVC4afirQPFBQ5U_qxZCYATqLp6gwinsqrE26CXg4O5NqKB4dqqlCkFvvpqIScj_M3u819PIAkcpdieeT4yYGY6Qp4Gx5SMF-iGkRU91hWwLQ/s1600/SCS+Bishop+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0IK35vQLleAhdbPH2MJTt4T8EnmVC4afirQPFBQ5U_qxZCYATqLp6gwinsqrE26CXg4O5NqKB4dqqlCkFvvpqIScj_M3u819PIAkcpdieeT4yYGY6Qp4Gx5SMF-iGkRU91hWwLQ/s640/SCS+Bishop+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The orange feathers on the backs of their heads can ruffle up to appear almost like a hood.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGto2feLcK8NrDEdiMA2iNToILIuKKVvT-s9unPn3psjLKAVUAbAkheqZs13wYKz-p_DMwLtA1b-ZksNygDGI5qQ_ZVF6kly8UBIR6ZrpTULhUQlFjyH7OS8Zr5yOMxAcbPmrbQw/s1600/Bishop+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGto2feLcK8NrDEdiMA2iNToILIuKKVvT-s9unPn3psjLKAVUAbAkheqZs13wYKz-p_DMwLtA1b-ZksNygDGI5qQ_ZVF6kly8UBIR6ZrpTULhUQlFjyH7OS8Zr5yOMxAcbPmrbQw/s640/Bishop+1.jpg" width="522" /></a></div>
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This set of photos was taken two weeks later than the ones above...and the birds were still on that same group of branches!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMatLSrxV_W6km4w5IjwoeJNiqDrt5p67csD3Pap9wRL01j5hznGKhXfLLZYLrxqJK8huH8xg8nMguJkGCFW8VlKAg0kdczTa5xPWjEfrUc1QBEadmAcCNxSsy6pN8slM5YxvN1Q/s1600/Bishop+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMatLSrxV_W6km4w5IjwoeJNiqDrt5p67csD3Pap9wRL01j5hznGKhXfLLZYLrxqJK8huH8xg8nMguJkGCFW8VlKAg0kdczTa5xPWjEfrUc1QBEadmAcCNxSsy6pN8slM5YxvN1Q/s640/Bishop+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This time, I was able to get a few shots of the females...who really do look like sparrows! </div>
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I had to do some research at home to make sure these weren't just sparrows hanging out with the Bishops.</div>
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There's quite a lot of controversy regarding these non-native species (especially those that are nest parasites like the Whydahs) and whether they should be allowed to proliferate. I'm a little on the fence - would not want to see a native species displaced by these birds, but on the other hand, if there are enough resources for them to co-exist, then maybe it's okay. We've lost so many species and so much habitat...if something can manage to survive, maybe it's Nature's way of moving a new game piece onto the board. In any event, I'll be interested to see if this flock returns this fall or if this was a one-time deal.</div>
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<br />Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-43575048880545996482016-06-14T09:59:00.002-07:002016-06-14T09:59:22.196-07:00Wild Bird Wednesday: Northern HarrierThese pictures are not of the best quality, but this was such an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime encounter that I decided to share them anyway. While I saw <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Harrier/id" target="_blank">Northern Harriers</a> several times over the course of fall and winter (the only time they are present in Southern California), it was always at a distance or while they were in flight. However, one day, as I was walking down a path, I was amazed to see a female Northern Harrier pounce on something in the reeds just in front of me. <br />
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She graciously allowed me to snap 3 shots and then she was off with her prey and disappeared in the distance. I had no time to maneuver for a clean shot so there are a few reeds in front of her, but the owl-like facial disk that is unique to this raptor is clearly visible.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4CgMhkYV4xHz6MvTwpjTcaUkXFp3Po_e0Nnm3wOqiyix1OCp4ifmfyTZEgi_RQTrdf_8OPt9ok7ctzk6Wc5a7j4bj7r4R3eyzdGXYCVYnvG0Ed3XDW1lASvA6FncX_odHC0WRAQ/s1600/NH+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4CgMhkYV4xHz6MvTwpjTcaUkXFp3Po_e0Nnm3wOqiyix1OCp4ifmfyTZEgi_RQTrdf_8OPt9ok7ctzk6Wc5a7j4bj7r4R3eyzdGXYCVYnvG0Ed3XDW1lASvA6FncX_odHC0WRAQ/s640/NH+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Maybe if I can just sneak a teeny bit around I can get those reeds out of the shot...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha79_m8DJ36ZbB-ObFDNBZRSSzBl_6G7BwxzrQ9XsCL-BHkNbOLxcX9XhBxxcpIhlGpeMlOValfpIzzoGgJSblTNE7va02HmI8-VKMyxXIfZqTsjFXwv_TJmakgoRsprqq7rRDnw/s1600/NH+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha79_m8DJ36ZbB-ObFDNBZRSSzBl_6G7BwxzrQ9XsCL-BHkNbOLxcX9XhBxxcpIhlGpeMlOValfpIzzoGgJSblTNE7va02HmI8-VKMyxXIfZqTsjFXwv_TJmakgoRsprqq7rRDnw/s640/NH+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Yep - she saw me. Bye-bye!</div>
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And that was it. The end of my surprise close encounter with this amazing raptor. I did at least manage to get a shot of those cool facial markings, though. I saw her a few times after this, but always in flight. Never saw a male at this location, but did see one in April at location much farther inland - the males are smaller and much more gray in coloration. In fact, their nickname is the "Gray Ghost".</div>
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Next fall...I'll definitely be looking out for the return of this stunning bird.</div>
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KJ</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-q-WPMZZCUv5PHgXdoNjmJ7LyyR3krhOrBjfTNahlaFQmest7avV6oCXyeQSO_Bd-IwV9fXvKGdtRpzjWgTx01eNQJRHUo42QjASzYzLZqXcnG8iDlEC9jtL0vxr6rZMbcHLKnw/s1600/Wild+Bird+Wednesday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-q-WPMZZCUv5PHgXdoNjmJ7LyyR3krhOrBjfTNahlaFQmest7avV6oCXyeQSO_Bd-IwV9fXvKGdtRpzjWgTx01eNQJRHUo42QjASzYzLZqXcnG8iDlEC9jtL0vxr6rZMbcHLKnw/s1600/Wild+Bird+Wednesday.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br />Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-78618154926062920962016-06-07T07:30:00.000-07:002016-06-10T13:11:48.884-07:00Wild Bird Wednesday: Snowy PloversIn late 2015, Ryan and I participated in the OC Snowy Plover survey. After a day of training, we were assigned a particular beach and went out on two occasions to survey it. Unfortunately, our beach was an unlikely location and, as expected, we didn't find any Plovers. However, a few weeks later, the Sea and Sage Audubon Society (who sponsored the survey) also had a Snowy Plover field trip which we attended in the hopes of finally spotting this bird. While numerous in other parts of the country, Snowy's are listed as threatened in Southern California due to habitat loss. Work is being done to restore native sand dune ecologies and to set aside some roosting/breeding areas for these birds. Following are some of the photos from that day:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfgWdpahtb054yObFqLC6BhAKjJDkCvkQINblMNPFcE5c5fW2LjHmaFCeT8WZRS_BYrMyyIj8YFMnUUvDgwbNvSlVMCPySI7KgtR_FiDb8RoBCdBiQ9g3vLTXlU2vxgMiP2FLDg/s1600/IMG_4866.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfgWdpahtb054yObFqLC6BhAKjJDkCvkQINblMNPFcE5c5fW2LjHmaFCeT8WZRS_BYrMyyIj8YFMnUUvDgwbNvSlVMCPySI7KgtR_FiDb8RoBCdBiQ9g3vLTXlU2vxgMiP2FLDg/s640/IMG_4866.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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This shot (looking north towards the pier) shows some of the very small area of remaining native dune plants.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgChf8aDHCG2wtgkQbwkDagR-f84nKidwmi8-zzbko60THfyAFbpVtlv9Irat9N-v7CfVhQ-bNJ5aJPnnOPcbpRIyIpa4Z6VAq5o3dllGGOuOMfsiSdgsSgNK0sW5h1eW9NsDl3gw/s1600/IMG_4861.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgChf8aDHCG2wtgkQbwkDagR-f84nKidwmi8-zzbko60THfyAFbpVtlv9Irat9N-v7CfVhQ-bNJ5aJPnnOPcbpRIyIpa4Z6VAq5o3dllGGOuOMfsiSdgsSgNK0sW5h1eW9NsDl3gw/s640/IMG_4861.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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This shot looks south towards Balboa Harbor and shows the fenced off Plover area.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebocI7YxIsSVusqn8AiX12CQYm1kvJAkeGncPzYnQDbXvxx22Ul8iZX1Sf49HciMlnuMxnFH_cc6fGOVaCjQwmTM292tu3A7wj1IuX_RZBk2lLJjVY_U4qMxBben8TBVx6fUfFg/s1600/Beach+evening+primrose.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebocI7YxIsSVusqn8AiX12CQYm1kvJAkeGncPzYnQDbXvxx22Ul8iZX1Sf49HciMlnuMxnFH_cc6fGOVaCjQwmTM292tu3A7wj1IuX_RZBk2lLJjVY_U4qMxBben8TBVx6fUfFg/s640/Beach+evening+primrose.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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These are some close-ups of some of the native/endangered plants...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Pr7rQ9671gSZqYbiFxv5cM5pHeeLS2rwc2fzl44NHnDH0xofSlKo-ahenOqs1c3dUTaU0XWDnI9VDgpmWbLzlAZMbTcvLg8oCT-VdonDM_5_aB3BXbY7zxYOlWv__ULCxoCu8A/s1600/IMG_4869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Pr7rQ9671gSZqYbiFxv5cM5pHeeLS2rwc2fzl44NHnDH0xofSlKo-ahenOqs1c3dUTaU0XWDnI9VDgpmWbLzlAZMbTcvLg8oCT-VdonDM_5_aB3BXbY7zxYOlWv__ULCxoCu8A/s640/IMG_4869.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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...Beach Primrose...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOLVrM8w0q_zwsFhZlgfl7n03zT6-1FCItH4tWlfnXitohydNkQOhqOGfjQrEhxXYhGP94DKT3tjQpGSp1BNGgIlJlqOJXLCCpymc4InU4Cs-p7oVoTK2V-wH3xzbPqHwN0eMuvQ/s1600/IMG_4874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOLVrM8w0q_zwsFhZlgfl7n03zT6-1FCItH4tWlfnXitohydNkQOhqOGfjQrEhxXYhGP94DKT3tjQpGSp1BNGgIlJlqOJXLCCpymc4InU4Cs-p7oVoTK2V-wH3xzbPqHwN0eMuvQ/s640/IMG_4874.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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...and Sand Verbena</div>
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Hopes were high in the week leading up to the trip as the biologist/guide reported that the Plovers were in the expected location every day. We arrived at the meeting location south of Balboa Pier on the morning of October 17th...only to be met with the news that the Plovers had apparently just moved to a new location that day. As we expressed our disappointment and tried to decide what to do next, one possible reason for their departure became immediately apparent:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGS7E0ALtZYsVR0mfjOdexR3qNHeGPnNBPyLZq6ieqjaR-Xm2MPZ-7TpyDBoR0SghS8E1GmLCgO2EyKbEmMyC0VKcdQ3BFf5_iQ6oXWTi8HyV9AQEEnrT9hAOtKllJ8-BppEIRiw/s1600/CH+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="556" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGS7E0ALtZYsVR0mfjOdexR3qNHeGPnNBPyLZq6ieqjaR-Xm2MPZ-7TpyDBoR0SghS8E1GmLCgO2EyKbEmMyC0VKcdQ3BFf5_iQ6oXWTi8HyV9AQEEnrT9hAOtKllJ8-BppEIRiw/s640/CH+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This adult Cooper's Hawk flew right in and settled on the fence of the roosting area...clearly he wanted a nice plump Plover for breakfast! Just as clearly, the Plovers weren't coming back to this area any time soon :-(</div>
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After much discussion, the group agreed it was worth heading up the coast another 20 minutes or so to Huntington Beach to check out another potential location. This time...the Plovers didn't disappoint!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLIWRVowck_TwnKItU3IudqNKq6cy_AQ7G3ePON2Pr1aESXP_bGLjy3mSz1gErULKSeVGGY0RZQlQ9bgDJHtKZ4RxqUez6tbSSeqL-330cjiT6Daw1pD7_cE7JexgNvA-_BkfHw/s1600/SP+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLIWRVowck_TwnKItU3IudqNKq6cy_AQ7G3ePON2Pr1aESXP_bGLjy3mSz1gErULKSeVGGY0RZQlQ9bgDJHtKZ4RxqUez6tbSSeqL-330cjiT6Daw1pD7_cE7JexgNvA-_BkfHw/s640/SP+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Now you see why we couldn't give up on finding them...they are quite arguably the world's cutest bird!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg64nZ6RKxpOdrRs9OHUK8PiUy8Ol901LwMGRRrfXlDZrN9gEEEaFZn0W_7a0aq2toB7pf0yl3UocmnQoSxgDjPosl4UgBzPmI6mDbwwNWUtCRa4LuUP67WlTeETfCZwt8GlFXX4Q/s1600/SNPL+Mixed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg64nZ6RKxpOdrRs9OHUK8PiUy8Ol901LwMGRRrfXlDZrN9gEEEaFZn0W_7a0aq2toB7pf0yl3UocmnQoSxgDjPosl4UgBzPmI6mDbwwNWUtCRa4LuUP67WlTeETfCZwt8GlFXX4Q/s640/SNPL+Mixed.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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For comparison, here's a shot of Snowy's mixed with Sanderlings. You think Sanderlings are tiny little birds until you see them next to Snowy's!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkKARafBpPmtMFZ0P4v-imQsWq_sVLQYOgu0aG0UMUmpAn83nz5lUJL-5-wLCLdZvotN2LJPDgcG4TLDlV6d-nRbmq1tyqu065H98l48p0ALKXxxQzIvme81YM1BYZpU0JwZ52dQ/s1600/SNPL+Egg+Carton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkKARafBpPmtMFZ0P4v-imQsWq_sVLQYOgu0aG0UMUmpAn83nz5lUJL-5-wLCLdZvotN2LJPDgcG4TLDlV6d-nRbmq1tyqu065H98l48p0ALKXxxQzIvme81YM1BYZpU0JwZ52dQ/s640/SNPL+Egg+Carton.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here's an example of what our guide referred to as the "egg carton effect." Snowy's like to roost in divots in the sand...think a speeding lifeguard vehicle is going to notice them in time?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzOYMUoltn4JvtCOcup1I7xH8yglS4pzA5my3FfqKfoIMSQzq4ehxTnmFuiGJR9y5pOKmphM7WL4cDozBQ_r6JeqT7Mza7640Ege9WLbFQEf0T8dxgxkC22qj8QygjL2s7T62Ing/s1600/SNPL+Tracks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzOYMUoltn4JvtCOcup1I7xH8yglS4pzA5my3FfqKfoIMSQzq4ehxTnmFuiGJR9y5pOKmphM7WL4cDozBQ_r6JeqT7Mza7640Ege9WLbFQEf0T8dxgxkC22qj8QygjL2s7T62Ing/s640/SNPL+Tracks.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Speaking of vehicles...guess where the nicest "sand divots" are? Yep...vehicle tracks! You can see a track running right through the bottom section of this photo...and a Snowy standing right in it!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwKOGZ_ACn3coLxWmAOabm-DUK4OsitDSEbE1sl7HFkDLYMk7NmI2fmVWxLb8wMp_HHlVVpsk6BeZsnwTSqi1Bdnk8BMyI0QiebpT3JUaMOpaSG83fDw-TV2fOiRvZivr8v_A6HQ/s1600/SNPL+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwKOGZ_ACn3coLxWmAOabm-DUK4OsitDSEbE1sl7HFkDLYMk7NmI2fmVWxLb8wMp_HHlVVpsk6BeZsnwTSqi1Bdnk8BMyI0QiebpT3JUaMOpaSG83fDw-TV2fOiRvZivr8v_A6HQ/s640/SNPL+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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These guys are just so cute that I couldn't stop taking photos. I took well over 1,000 shots that day which is why it's taken me 6 months to go through them all. Truly, it was a bit excessive LOL!</div>
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On the day we were there, I seemed to see mostly females or males in non-breeding plumage, but I was looking for that one male who would be showing the nice dark shoulder bars...</div>
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Here's a wing stretch in progress, but the shoulder marks were still a little fuzzy...</div>
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...and then this handsome specimen showed up with his nice dark shoulder marks. If there was a complete single dark ring...this would be a Semipalmated Plover. If larger and 2 rings...a Killdeer.</div>
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Another example of the "egg carton" effect.</div>
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Just for fun...see if you can guess how many Snowy's are in this photo!</div>
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<br />Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-34762329798195384892016-05-31T12:28:00.000-07:002016-05-31T12:28:03.286-07:00Wild Bird Wednesday - Cooper's HawkStill dealing with the annoying aftermath of a that cold so I'm pulling from the archives again. Last fall, I had an incredible, up-close encounter with this juvenile <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/coopers_hawk/id" target="_blank">Cooper's Hawk</a> who was sitting at eye level right along one of the main paths at the San Joaquin sanctuary. He sat there for quite a while and let me just blaze away with my camera. Taken October 4, 2015 at SJWS in Irvine, CA.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeGGWuXKOX764jIBuy4Y2uwEMNiaHVpFs2qn2UTaF6v959G62s-MzzRKrazCSiRz1KrCJA0jdc8hwxFHrLZGA1YvHgHaH0HRh7JvZWGQFvLSJcbtpQVGaqKWnwwFbUQEqCJVBC3A/s1600/SCS+CH+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeGGWuXKOX764jIBuy4Y2uwEMNiaHVpFs2qn2UTaF6v959G62s-MzzRKrazCSiRz1KrCJA0jdc8hwxFHrLZGA1YvHgHaH0HRh7JvZWGQFvLSJcbtpQVGaqKWnwwFbUQEqCJVBC3A/s640/SCS+CH+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Cooper's Hawk's eyes turn red as they mature.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCem1NpLP3RX_xnFp3aXK4xEFSfsNo6a4A1nvCmjV-eIDMs9Kp7rvFZXR19EVkt87s30KaaeCUivj8EsBD8j73_Pn0q19eO7sEC2tF1tz-3fmxox5Q-KlYDNmzToxa6SeaV7mtUg/s1600/SCS+CH+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="528" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCem1NpLP3RX_xnFp3aXK4xEFSfsNo6a4A1nvCmjV-eIDMs9Kp7rvFZXR19EVkt87s30KaaeCUivj8EsBD8j73_Pn0q19eO7sEC2tF1tz-3fmxox5Q-KlYDNmzToxa6SeaV7mtUg/s640/SCS+CH+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Sadly, I believe this bird may have been responsible for the loss of the local female Kestrel several months after I took these shots. She was reported to have been taken by a Cooper's in front of witnesses and she has not been seen since.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM52LqWgWIrvGXAPBgh5DtzoD3Pko7tA__8_Qv6bNCd3pIsFmGc6cXYaK7-VaZfBpNud_3K0h1ghrDCC5JWLqfHuRRQNVPB2hux2J86k2tO0Wnu2mKKB_kTgOFH-X9ghBrlYRJYw/s1600/SCS+CH+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM52LqWgWIrvGXAPBgh5DtzoD3Pko7tA__8_Qv6bNCd3pIsFmGc6cXYaK7-VaZfBpNud_3K0h1ghrDCC5JWLqfHuRRQNVPB2hux2J86k2tO0Wnu2mKKB_kTgOFH-X9ghBrlYRJYw/s640/SCS+CH+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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At the time I took these shots, though, this bird was still perfecting it's hunting skills. I would watch it drop in low over the various ponds and try to grab one of the shore birds...but fail.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga_zIWxKQNG7el4k-65SnKt6k8GBKKwBwY9_WjR70dBkZBpIcmksER-QforXX8ABo8osYwgYfvrGghA1KQArG9TlrwnUzaDhR77B2HB_vgfDpynuIEZnJroUIOtWmhU1tWObgiCA/s1600/SCS+CH+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga_zIWxKQNG7el4k-65SnKt6k8GBKKwBwY9_WjR70dBkZBpIcmksER-QforXX8ABo8osYwgYfvrGghA1KQArG9TlrwnUzaDhR77B2HB_vgfDpynuIEZnJroUIOtWmhU1tWObgiCA/s640/SCS+CH+7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I managed to get this shot showing one of a Cooper's more distinctive features - the long, striped tail.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2HuYkNN77UuLh1S-Qwau_yynOH-VxafK7eJdgcM8ktBVOw0dFtp19fIs7ujpZFmDo0KjU-fGTr49Mll43BMZGsmiEWnKp5S9RhCEsPAdN3IJDWfEPo64XIETfsLLenUkke-KJ5A/s1600/SCS+CH+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2HuYkNN77UuLh1S-Qwau_yynOH-VxafK7eJdgcM8ktBVOw0dFtp19fIs7ujpZFmDo0KjU-fGTr49Mll43BMZGsmiEWnKp5S9RhCEsPAdN3IJDWfEPo64XIETfsLLenUkke-KJ5A/s640/SCS+CH+8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The rounded end/uneven tail feather lengths help differentiate it from another similar raptor known as the <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Sharp-shinned_Hawk/id" target="_blank">Sharp-shinned Hawk</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtNtln4_dFlKI-ziAHXTM0ap5jfjLl_QFX5XrIEzkgE3vyMNO55NeyJmLmlPo6zZ9psvyFX-CDs_QGQErLNAbRE9vrk6uOmxUrl6__sqKFC6A7Upv3l68GkHr0TrccZLcwJScjUg/s1600/Wild+Bird+Wednesday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtNtln4_dFlKI-ziAHXTM0ap5jfjLl_QFX5XrIEzkgE3vyMNO55NeyJmLmlPo6zZ9psvyFX-CDs_QGQErLNAbRE9vrk6uOmxUrl6__sqKFC6A7Upv3l68GkHr0TrccZLcwJScjUg/s1600/Wild+Bird+Wednesday.jpg" /></a></div>
Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705112.post-62321474009726293532016-05-24T07:30:00.000-07:002016-05-24T07:30:32.272-07:00Wild Bird Wednesday - SanderlingSomewhere around September, 2015, I got very behind in reviewing, processing and filing my photos. I'm determined to get caught up so this series of photos was taken around that time frame at one of my favorite local beaches: Crystal Cove.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg64Pl2JnV1SQ1mUbets94mx9t9KuKpUskEuedSbLGDk4Mb0sx5GbUk0lRm574Vn6FJY9WoS6cMi5kKYDMblYzByiUX4YIUeTarpFeE1rDT0bxu47doyunLOZWXSAfpYFNBo9O_gw/s1600/Sanderling+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg64Pl2JnV1SQ1mUbets94mx9t9KuKpUskEuedSbLGDk4Mb0sx5GbUk0lRm574Vn6FJY9WoS6cMi5kKYDMblYzByiUX4YIUeTarpFeE1rDT0bxu47doyunLOZWXSAfpYFNBo9O_gw/s640/Sanderling+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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After taking part in survey Training for the Snow Plover survey, I learned that this bird, the Sanderling, is one of the birds that people often mistake for Snow Plovers.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxqr5nD369avvDZHNwhVgI5peXhf1Mq8btaVSIOO3EWVSc1ZASFcAitJifoRSM6_uQFET3udd-LktuTuWdbivVovlG52ti5vy5WobOM15E4TMFp0M6IJa_12vA-cpTe_ubXFpcjg/s1600/Sanderling+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="542" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxqr5nD369avvDZHNwhVgI5peXhf1Mq8btaVSIOO3EWVSc1ZASFcAitJifoRSM6_uQFET3udd-LktuTuWdbivVovlG52ti5vy5WobOM15E4TMFp0M6IJa_12vA-cpTe_ubXFpcjg/s640/Sanderling+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Seen on their own, I see why as they appear so much smaller than the other common beach birds like Turnstones, etc. However, once you see them in comparison to an actual Snowy, you realize that Sanderlings are quite a bit larger.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmwiz0YX-OM5EnD2C1RFwBrmXOkmvbG9QQZ9MHcPYYiztWpJ8H7iicmlPivRuv0ijdXcM-qUcftkr90X3oLvFSEN3zLA1RfbZ1BDlkPJbPT4-TvSHwOaRvJNW81WN01IUYU5ruA/s1600/Sanderling+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmwiz0YX-OM5EnD2C1RFwBrmXOkmvbG9QQZ9MHcPYYiztWpJ8H7iicmlPivRuv0ijdXcM-qUcftkr90X3oLvFSEN3zLA1RfbZ1BDlkPJbPT4-TvSHwOaRvJNW81WN01IUYU5ruA/s640/Sanderling+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Also, they are much more gray/white where the Snowy's have a touch of light brown.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS3_NsMywFWWAjNctRGAZ9BBdnn8LDtb4LOmt0n2EzZakl4Qimz85WUxk00L9FEojPF9NdImuLKzBP0nMcdoEmuSHCakDoX5SmwGUcVQU4UpXrUNt5N2ZcJ6zDxsezk17jB4b2Fw/s1600/Sanderling+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS3_NsMywFWWAjNctRGAZ9BBdnn8LDtb4LOmt0n2EzZakl4Qimz85WUxk00L9FEojPF9NdImuLKzBP0nMcdoEmuSHCakDoX5SmwGUcVQU4UpXrUNt5N2ZcJ6zDxsezk17jB4b2Fw/s640/Sanderling+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Both can have partial black shoulder marks...more or less defined depending on whether it's breeding season or not.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfpLtWWcGf26MzLERneVbgcD7h2KDgERoOuoISS_ZSyixyjz660z4H7SCVfzgVkTAFqmW468jRWjZyLzn8k8InLjFqMiQXvCDJa_2mZmu8jUoiz7WR5twqux9XDY8ZD2EEOWAvA/s1600/Sanderling+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="588" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfpLtWWcGf26MzLERneVbgcD7h2KDgERoOuoISS_ZSyixyjz660z4H7SCVfzgVkTAFqmW468jRWjZyLzn8k8InLjFqMiQXvCDJa_2mZmu8jUoiz7WR5twqux9XDY8ZD2EEOWAvA/s640/Sanderling+5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Some other key differences are behavioral...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpPJSUxZh1EuNXhAD8Z95nVcGE-FowSjzPp7lXBQ-_rgU02JwiYMPg9qoNFj9-3c8miXYNTqUkryQ8RTVUNiQyblYnlDxuqEu_-miqAi14W7SPy_9u6JFSAWmsK0_fMg3PuFCT5w/s1600/Sanderling+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="584" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpPJSUxZh1EuNXhAD8Z95nVcGE-FowSjzPp7lXBQ-_rgU02JwiYMPg9qoNFj9-3c8miXYNTqUkryQ8RTVUNiQyblYnlDxuqEu_-miqAi14W7SPy_9u6JFSAWmsK0_fMg3PuFCT5w/s640/Sanderling+7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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...Sanderlings are more likely to be found running almost ceaselessly between the waves and the tide line on the beach.</div>
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When roosting in groups, Sanderlings require less "personal space" between birds than do Snowy's.</div>
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Everyone occasionally experiences itchy feathers, though.</div>
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KJ</div>
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Silver Parrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873603171743392110noreply@blogger.com5