I'm exhibiting in the California Wildlife Show

I have two bird portraits in this show. Need a good excuse to get out of town and visit Half Moon Bay and the coast? It's beautiful and not that long a drive if you avoid commute hours.

Endangered Beauty . . . Rose-breasted Grosbeak

The Rose-breasted Grosbeak breeds in the Eastern United States among conifers and deciduous trees. They occasionally visit California and other Western states and migrate to Central and South America.

Beneficial to farmers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks consume many destructive insects and are known as potato-bug birds in Colorado.

Unfortunately, Eastern populations are declining. Their song sounds like an American Robin in an especially good mood:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NixrHvecZ8c

Endangered Beauty . . . Burrowing Owl

Burrowing Owls were once widespread over western North America.  Populations have declined and in some cases disappeared due to the changes that humans have made to the owl's habitat. Federally listed as endangered or threatened in a number of states, they're considered a Species of Special Concern in California. Seventy to 80 percent of Burrowing Owls found in California reside year-round along irrigation canals in Imperial County.

The Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society works to reverse the trend in their area:
Saving Burrowing Owls:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z92FIFxO4cE

A Burrowing Owl family in action: 

http://m.youtube.com/watchv=4icW2RQEqSg&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D4icW2RQEqSg

Endangered Beauty . . . Cerulean Warbler

A bird so dazzling that it's been called a flying piece of the sky. The number of Cerulean Warblers fell by 70 percent from 1966 to 1996. In the Appalachian mountains, long a breeding stronghold, large stands of prime habitat have been lost -- fragmented, heavily logged, converted to agriculture or destroyed.

In 2005, a 540-acre Cerulean Warbler Reserve was created in Colombia, providing a protected habitat for migratory birds from North America as well as local threatened species.



Henry David Thoreau called the Cerulean Warbler's song ethereal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sps_wdUUjlQ

Endangered Beauty . . . Wood Thrush

Wood Thrush populations have seen a continent-wide decline by almost 2% per year from 1966 to 2009 due to forest fragmentation and destruction.

Wood Thrushes will nest in suburban areas but breeding success is reduced by cowbird parasitism and nest predation from jays, crows, raccoons and domestic cats. Tropical deforestation has reduced wintering habitat, although shade-grown coffee provides a welcome winter environment.

The Wood Thrush has a haunting, flute-like song:

http://youtu.be/f-22ZuQyAJ4

Bullock's Oriole

The Bullock’s Oriole hybridizes extensively with the Baltimore Oriole in the Midwest where their ranges overlap.  Seasonally monogamous, their breeding season lasts from May until July.

Bullock’s Oriole males and females sing different songs. Before and during nest-building, the female sings regularly and may sing more than the male. Mated pairs weave deep, pendant baskets made of bark, fine grass fiber and animal hair.  The interior is lined with down, hair and moss, and three to six eggs are laid.  Both sexes rear the young and defend the nest from predators and parasites.

Bullock’s Orioles prefer habitat edges, riparian corridors, open deciduous woodland and scrub forests of cottonwood, pecan and willow.  In dry areas, they prefer salt cedar and mesquite.  Their diet consists of insects, berries and nectar. In California, eucalyptus trees are major sources of nectar. 

Number five: The Blue Jay

Common in eastern and central states, Blue Jays are extending their range to the Northwest. The proportion of jays that migrate may be less than 20 percent.

They lower their head crests when hanging out with their flock or tending to the nestlings.

When approaching birdfeeders, jays frequently mimic hawk calls. This may either warn other jays of a hawk's presence or clear the feeder of other species, who are deceived into believing that a hawk is approaching.

In the wild, jays consume acorns, nuts, seeds, eggs, nestlings, dead or dying adult birds and small vertebrates.

Independent nestlings are often found up to 15 feet from the nest and are mistakenly thought to be abandoned. If restored to or near the nest, the parents will resume feeding the nestling. The entire brood leaves the nest together at approximately three weeks old but will continue to be fed by the parents for up to two months.
http://www.allaboutbirds.org