Night-time blogging

I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep, so decided to catch up a bit on blogging. Migration is just starting to get underway, so it's going to be exciting. Yesterday I had a White-faced Ibis at our ponds in Alpine.

 At CMO, a couple days ago, I saw this animal scat, and wondering what it is. I think it's mountain lion.

What I found most interesting about it is that an impenetrable thicket nearby reeked of rotten meat. I'm thinking there are the remains of a kill in it. So dense is the thicket that I believe vultures couldn't get to it. 

My son went to the oasis with me that day (20th) to help with chores. We gave the ground feeder a bit of a new look.

The rocks we placed there give the birds perches, but also, hopefully wedge against the feeder making it harder for a bear to jiggle seed out of it. And will help prevent the erosion that was going on.

Hybrids, or intergrades, between Myrtle's and Audubon Yellow-rumped Warblers seem to be more prevalent than people realize, perhaps as much as 25%. I've really noticed that lately. Basically, the Myrtle's has a white throat and white eyeline, whereas the Audubon's has a yellow throat and no eyeline. This next photo, taken at my birdbath in Alpine, shows a bird with a yellowish throat and no eyeline, making it an intergrade, I believe.

Some individuals are even more obvious intergrades. Here's a video clip from the bird bath at CMO showing a male with a white throat and no hint of an eyeline. (Background calls are dove and quail).

Lastly, here's a photo of a male I found online showing the yellow throat of an Audubon's, but the white eyeline of a Myrtle's.

Got a decent photo of a Summer Tanager at the oasis that day also. They don't nest there, but probably found a few ripe mulberries, or just looking for some. Getting that time of year.