Birds of a Feather!

Each year in early spring not only do we contend with the Mallard ducks swimming in our pool and trying to nest in the ferns, we have a funny looking bird with a curved bill that always returns and keeps her nest in the one of our pygmy date palms.  The chicks are so cute and it is funny to watch these birds as they grow and run and fly about our property. Here are two of the chicks that were there this past week.

Where I (Kevin) work there is a large lake used for the water treatment plant, the water district owns several thousand acres and of course we have a variety of wildlife that shares the property with us.  This year in one of our chemical tank farms we had a pair of Great Horned Owls nest and lay eggs on one of the lights attached to the canopy.  We have to avoid the area as much as possible until they leave the nest within the next couple of weeks. These are some photos from the biologist who verified who the new occupants were. I love the look on their eyes as they realized they were being photographed.