At the start of the month it was so hot (and humid). How hot was it? It was so hot that I passed on my monthly butterfly count. That is something I truly hate to miss.  I did make it to the monthly blacklighting survey in the same area. It is much cooler at night and at the end of the month. Some nice moths, a couple of California Mantises, and a Walkingstick!

It's warbler season! With migration underway, I had to get out often. There is such a short time frame and every day may be different. There are always the welcome usual warblers, such as Black-throated Gray (one of my favorites), Wilson's, and Townsend's, but also the ones that get special attention for being locally rare: Blackburnian, Blackpoll, Tennessee, Lucy's and the mega-rare Dusky Warbler. Other migrants come through or back again too. I found a bullfrog at the Nature Center and I am seeing a high number of Warbling Vireos, Western Wood-Pewees, as well as flycatchers in general, such as the beautiful Vermilion Flycatcher. I caught a shot of a Bullfrog at the Nature Center and photographed it croaking. It created amazing patterns on the water. In the insect world, mantids (commonly called praying mantis) have been showing up everywhere! 

I took some notable day trips and one overnight trip too. At Piute Ponds, Lancaster Water Treatment Facility, and Apollo Park, I saw some wonderful birds including a Virginia Rail, Bell's Sparrows, and a Barn Owl, as well as quite a few dragonflies.

On a pelagic birding trip out of Dana Point, I saw shearwaters, jaegers, and lots of common terns. We even saw a few dolphin.

My favorite trip of the month was to Morro Bay with my husband. While I enjoy going out with Audubon groups and insect enthusiasts, it is the most wonderful to catch beautiful sunsets with the one I love. In addition to sunsets, there is also an overabundance of adorable sea otter photos.

Website 'improvements': I have reorganized my birds. I combined my two bird sections into one and have now put them into subfolders. My organization is not exactly taxonomic, but in some cases combines birds that might be confused such as sparrows and finches. Also, I am expanding the number of birds in this section to include birds in all of LA county and a few farther locations.  I am hoping this will make it easier to find and compare birds on my site.

Watch the slideshows or click on the links to look through at your own pace.

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

Local stuff:    http://kimssight.zenfolio.com/new_sep_2017 
 

Irvine Ranch Blacklighting:    http://kimssight.zenfolio.com/irc_night_sep_2017

Pelagic Birding Trip out of Dana Point:    http://kimssight.zenfolio.com/pelagic_trip_sep_2017

Lancaster/Piute Ponds et al:    http://kimssight.zenfolio.com/piute_ponds_sep_2017

Morro Bay:    http://kimssight.zenfolio.com/morro_bay_sep_2017