College and Stuff; Third Wheel Chronicles Chapter 4: Prelude to the Best Days; Summertime Unsadness Part 2

    Wow it's been a while since my last post. I guess starting college really gets in the way of writing...  No, it has definitely not gotten in the way of my birding; nothing really can. Anyways as I'm horribly behind on the Eurasia trip and even more so on my packed summer, I'm going to try to do both at the same time! Here goes:

6/24-6/25

    For our final day in Astana, we decided to take a rest before catching the flight to Almaty. But who needs sleep when you can go look for birds? So I woke up early-ish and went for a nice morning stroll, walking to the beginning of the marshes we had visited the prior day. No new birds were seen but nice morning walks are nice, especially in a country where you pretty much cannot communicate with anyone.

White Wagtail 

My first good views of the Paddyfield Warbler.

Vicia villosa being a constant noxious presence

A gorgeous Brown Hawker (Aeshna grandis)

White-letter Hairstreak (Satyrium w-album)

    After a few hours flying with the shady af Scat Airlines (seriously look at this and this), we arrived in Kazakhstan's cultural capital Almaty. The apartment we stayed in here looked pretty shady from the outside and the really rickety elevator ride up consisting of us 3 with our luggage and our quite burly driver in a probably 4 x 8 space lit only by a loose lightbulb supported this view. However, when I got to my room:

    So yeah. The apartment had our basic needs and functional equipment, although the cutting board was sticky and weird. Views of the surrounding city on one side and the Tien Shan Mountains on the other made up for everything (mostly). 

One of the most common birds of Almaty: the Common Myna. Taken from the kitchen window.

Parent with 2 recently-fledged young being teenage delinquents not looking at the camera. 

Common Blackbird

Some satyrinid I think. Any input would be amazing. The next few days in the Almaty region ended up being the best days of the whole trip so remember to keep reading! Or not if you're a loser.

To be continued....

8/3/15

    Common Tern reported at A2E (pretty rare in the county) and like the lame chaser I am, I decided to chase it. I also brought along my pal Will Brooks again and another nice morning was spent by the Bay. "Did you see it?" one may ask rhetorically. Nope.

Tubeworms sticking out of mud at Charleston Slough

A bunch of migrant shorebirds at the Sunnyvale WPCP marsh. Close up views of Semipalmated Plover always nice. 

Same for peeps. Too bad this Western Sandpiper has this bill deform that also made me think it was a Semipalmated Sandpiper due to an illusion of a thicker bill.

Also at the Sunnyvale WPCP were an absolute shit ton of Western Orbweavers. Shit ton. I kid you not, bushes were covered in curtains full of this species. Anyways here's Will's hand next to one.

Gopher Snakes have the best face patterns. Shitty pic of one at the Sunnyvale WPCP trails.

And of course the continuing Lesser Flamingo, chillin with ducks.

8/9/15

    Biked to Pearson-Arastradero Preserve and enjoyed a nice, peaceful afternoon walk. Being in the middle of the week, human activity was low and the oak forest was absolutely beautiful in silence only broken by a few birds and a warm breeze.

Variegated Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum) being a fabulous beauty queen.

Woodland Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanoides), a year butterfly, always nice to see.

Tarantula Hawk of idk species searching for its larvae's food. With their iridescent orange wings contrasting with their jet black bodies, these showstoppers are immediately identifiable in flight. At least to tribe level.

Western Pondhawk (Erythemis collocata) by Arastradero Lake, another stunner.

The Marsh Baccharis (Baccharis douglasii) was in bloom and being one of the few flowers around, tons of insects were drawn to the plants. Here is Dipalta serpentina, a Bee Fly.

Unidentified species of Tachinid I believe in genus Cylindromyia.

Highlight bird: male Black-throated Grey Warbler, foraging in a mixed flock with Blue-grey Gnatcatchers and Bushtit.

And highlight reptile, a very timid and gorgeous Pacific Rattlesnake who quickly slithered away after seeing me. What a true lovely.

To be continued...

Summertime Unsadness Part 1

    Wow after finishing my last post, I realized that it took place over 2 months ago... Someone please send me back on vacation... SIKE still on summer break suckahs!!...although it'll all be over very, very soon... Anyways, as I mentioned in an earlier post, summer has been super eventful in terms of wildlife viewing and unfortunately due to my lateness, I must again revert to the condensed stream of consciousness style. So anyways, here I go!

7/17/15

    On this date, for the first time in a while I birded Shoreline fairly exclusively, rather than taking a quick look at the area before biking towards Sunnyvale / Alviso. Although I didn't see anything new, it was fun to slow down and observe bird behavior more closely. 

Unfortunately I cannot ever be as fabulous or flexible as this exquisite Forster's Tern. I still can dream. I still can dream.

Baby Barn Swallows at that stage in life where they leave the nest but still rely on their parents. Sort of like me lmao.

My first non-flying Red Saddlebags

Common Carp rooting through the algae and sediments at Adobe Creek. Although they're invasive, it's so entertaining seeing these large (2 feet +) fish swimming in unprotected waters probably less than a foot deep. 

7/18/15

    Did Alviso Loop with Will Brooks. Beginning of shorebird migration. Pretty good day.

You know it's a good day when you see this.

Or this.

Or this.

This too.

Sunbathing Barn Swallows? Also generally indicative of a good day.

Human photographing a Black Phoebe

Cooperative Red-tailed Hawk

Snowy Plover running open-mouthed through swarms of brine flies at A12. Yep it was a good day.

7/26/15

    Photographing some bugs seen in San Gabriel Nursery in Pasadena. 

Proctacanthus occidentalis, a large-ish robber fly perched conveniently for photography.

Cotinis mutabilis, the beautiful Figeater Beetle.

Another large fly species, the Mexican Cactus Fly (Copestylum mexicanum)

I did not get a chance to get pictures of any of the Monarchs flying around but did catch this Eufala Skipper (Lerodea eufala) in decent light.

8/1/15

    Skyline OSP. Bugs, bugs, bugs, bugs, bugs, bugs lotta buuuuugs.

I endorse this Strawberry Crown Moth. I endorse this Strawberry Crown Moth. I am Jasen Liu and I support this Strawberry Crown Moth. Awesome use of that Batesian mimicry.

Another awesome use of Batesian mimicry, although in this case the mimicry only transcends family level, as opposed to the previous transcendence of order. Lorquin's Admiral (Limenitis lorquini) doing its best California Sister (Adelpha californica) impression. 

Red-veined Meadowhawk (Sympetrum madidum)

Quercus chrysolepis - Canyon Live Oak, my favorite member of the live oaks. 

Trichostema lanceolatum - Vinegar Weed. Didn't bother smelling the leaves but I trust its name...

Funereal Duskywing (Erynnis funeralis) with its simple yet killer jet black with white wing fringe aesthetic.

Epilobium densiflorum - Many-flowered Willowherb.

Cercyonis pegala - Common Wood-nymph. Although in flight these guys are quite easy to see, with their floppy wingbeats, large size, and dark brown coloration, they are surprisingly difficult to notice when perched, despite those flashy ocelli.

Leaf Miners always make the prettiest artwork

8/2/15

    Pillar Point Harbor. Lotsa birds.

Love multi species shots. This year has been really good for Elegant Tern, with juveniles being a large portion of the huge flocks at Pillar Point (shown here). Also hanging out are a Surf Scoter and Red-breasted Merganser.

Another multi species shot with more Elegant Tern, Caspian Tern (notice how enormous they are), Western Gull, and Harbor Seal.

And finally, a Western Gull with a Common Murre. Unfortunately, that murre looks pretty sickly and probably will end up being food for the gull. 

To be continued...