Yay! I got my Tamron 150-600mm lens back from repair (fourth time, but who's counting). It makes all the difference. I am happy to go back to my routine of random walks. At this time of year, the migratory birds are elsewhere, and we are left with the babies of our locally nesting birds to amuse us. The babies are the ones begging for food. It's all about the food. I can relate. The gape flange is the region where the two parts of the beak join together at the base. In young birds this is often brightly colored -- or as I call it, baby lips. Many have spiky feathers. Young Snowy Egrets look like muppets. The Red-shouldered Hawk looked like a punk teen. Some young birds, such as the Bullock's Orioles, resemble the adult females. Some are very streaky and have duller colors than the adults, such as the Chipping Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, and Western Bluebirds. The Least Tern chicks are very hard to see because they blend into the pebbly ground. Woodpeckers have a red patch on their foreheads which they lose as an adult. I also saw a young coyote. Don't worry - he didn't see the rabbit.

Some local spiders, butterflies, and other insects also passed by my camera lens. One day I went into my yard and noticed very tiny flowers growing in the grass. Most of them are non-native, but none the less pretty and feed the butterflies and bees. A Marine Blue butterfly was laying eggs on the Black Medick leaves.

I also spent a little time on artwork. I did a little printmaking and also painted in acrylics. My muse (or mews) is my cat. However, for the acrylic painting I used my cat in my garden for inspiration, but made it a Bobcat at Irvine Ranch instead.

The Irvine Ranch butterfly survey was very gray, and the dew was more like drizzle at times. Despite all the flowers blooming, and because of the cool wet weather, there were NO butterflies flying! A few moths tried to trick us, and there were Painted Lady caterpillars on thistle, but we don't count them. One team on another transect reported three butterflies, but the other teams also came up empty. We saw one large gopher snake who seemed too cold to move. The dew really made the grass spider webs stand out and covered the flowers with droplets. The grass was high and the trails were narrow and quiet. Every month the trail seems different! I never cease to feel in awe and renewed after the walk.

Blacklighting in the same area was fun, visiting old friends, and finding new moths and beetles. There were a few bats flying, and we heard the calls of the Barn Owls. I tried to take photos of the bats, but they are too fast, and it is too dark. I appreciate people who are enthusiastic and curious, and especially if we have a common interest.

A friend and I went to the San Gabriel Mountains off Angeles Crest Highway for some birding. Some of the roads were closed, so we wound up doing some exploring. It wasn't as birdy as we expected and hoped, but the views were spectacular and the weather very pleasant. We saw some nice butterflies, lizards, and a few mammals. At one point, while we were listening carefully for birds, we both heard a low growl. This is not a sound I wanted to hear. We never saw anything, so never found out what it was. I am trying to convince myself that it was a bobcat, but my heart keeps saying mountain lion. We continued on to another spot and had a wonderful time.

A few days later I went with another friend to the West Fork of the San Gabriel River and up to Cogswell Dam. We were in a vehicle and stopped to admire the beauty of the river, and to photograph a few butterflies. My friend is a volunteer with the Forest Service. Some people came by and asked if I was the Forest Lepidopterist. Our time was cut short as we helped reunite a separated  couple, provided water to a dehydrated bicyclist, and then assisted with notifications of evacuation because of nearby fires. I am a bit of a chicken and would love an uneventful day in the mountains!

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Enjoy the show! I always appreciate corrections to ID's.

Local stuff:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/new_jun_2019
 

Butterfly Survey:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/irc_jun-2019

Blacklighting:    https://https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/irc_jun_night_2019

San Gabriel Mountains:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/san_gabriels_jun_2019