August always starts out slow birding until the end of the month when the shorebirds come in. At the end of August I visited the LA river several times. Not only did I see birds, but a pair of Coyotes cruised close by. It is a fun time of year to see the birds in mixed plumage; some are still in summer and some are getting ready for fall and winter. Also there are both juveniles and adults. I finally saw a Solitary Sandpiper and a Wandering Tattler! It was a good opportunity to compare them to young Spotted Sandpipers. I'm always learning something new. I don't always 'chase' rare birds, but word of a nearby American Oystercatcher got me out. I missed one two years ago, but this time was successful on the second try. Why are all the 'good birds' too distant for good photos?  A pair of young Mockingbirds in my backyard amused me as they waited for a parent to come feed them berries and bugs. I guess I am easily amused; I found 'Unicorn' poop which is actually coyote poop filled with the glittery green wings of Fig-eater Beetles. I went out whale watching. We saw dolphin but no whales. The highlight of my monthly Los Cerritos Wetlands bird survey was watching a young Green Heron fishing.

I missed my monthly butterfly count this month, but I did go blacklighting in the same area. What a splendid night. I enjoyed the company of my friends and enthusiasts, saw bats, and enjoyed astronomy, with the help of a friend who brought an amazing telescope. In addition to the moon, we saw a reddish Mars, Saturn with it's clear rings, and Jupiter with the four Galilean moons. The Galilean moons are the four largest moons of Jupiter—Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. No astral photography through the telescope, but I shot Mars and the Moon with my long lens. But back to bugs. Some nice beetles including colorful Banded, Striped, and Spotted cucumber beetles, a few longhorned beetles, and a lovely Curculio weevil. A few other orders of insects made an appearance including an impressive Legionary ant. The highlight of the moths, of which there were plenty, was a large Penitent Underwing.

As if it wasn't hot enough in California, I went to Arizona. We stopped in Tucson to pick up my son. He has Zebra-tailed lizards and White-winged Doves outside his door. We then drove to Summerhaven at elevation over 8000 ft. I did not bring all my camera equipment because this was a short family trip. However, I had my pocket camera and my general lens for when I took couple of short walks with the family and caught some cool insects under the porch light at night. I had a few 'life list' birds including Hepatic Tanager and Yellow-eyed Junco. I need to plan a separate longer trip with proper camera equipment.

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Local stuff:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/new_aug_2018 
 

Irvine Ranch blacklighting:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/irc_night_aug_2018

Los Cerritos Wetlands Bird Survey: https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/hellman_aug_2018

Tucson and Summerhaven, AZ:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/az_aug-2018