October has been quite hot, and I missed my butterfly survey for a third month in a row. However, I did see some butterflies and other insects on local trips. The winter birds are finally returning. I do love the mournful song of White-crowned Sparrows.  Finally at the end of the month, it turned into a fantastic month for birds for me. At Cabrillo Beach, I saw an Arctic Tern on its journey from the Arctic to the Antarctic. This was at the end of October and the bird was panting from the nearly 100 degree heat! I also added to my life list with a gorgeous Grasshopper Sparrow, a female Scarlet Tanager, and a Bobolink. I saw some other less frequent birds, including a Tropical Kingbird that came to the phone line in my own yard. An early morning trip to Santa Fe Dam with Pasadena Audubon was good for coyotes.

I participated in a Park Planning session for Deforest Park. It was an interesting exercise. They said that in all the other sessions, no one had raised the issue of habitat. I was glad that I was there to represent nature.

The wetlands bird survey was at the end of the month, and it was hot. The usual raptors were there along with sparrows. A Brewer's Sparrow was a first on the survey.

A trip to Two Harbors on Catalina Island was definitely the highlight of the month...or year. It was a relaxing two-night stay at the Banning House Lodge with my husband and two good friends. We enjoyed the views, the company, the relaxation, and the food. Marla and I took nature adventure hikes while we left our husbands to read and nap. Marla and I saw a large school of Leopard Sharks at Cat Harbor, searched for quail, laughed, and enjoyed our hikes. I, of course, searched for birds. I enjoyed the Catalina California Quail, which are a subspecies of our California Quail. They sounded a little different to me.  They traveled in small flocks with one or two standing sentry. We also listened to the wing beats of the Ravens. It is a powerful sound. We had two Catalina Island Foxes visit with us. One was 'Dennis' a frequent visitor according to the hotel staff. The other we named 'Denise'. It was much smaller and very shy. I could stare at the landscape seemingly endlessly. Small changes in light and wind made for a constantly changing view. I plan to go back!

Inktober is a month-long art challenge that is focused on improving skill and developing positive drawing habits. Every day for the month of October, anyone participating in the Inktober challenge creates an ink drawing and posts it online. Everyone has set their own 'rules'. There are 'prompts' provided for those who wish to use them, but I found that too stifling. For me, it is daily practice, creativity, and ink only (a variety of different types of ink). I found some days I just needed to DO SOMETHING, anything. Other days I had more time, felt more creative, and had more motivation. It was an interesting experience, but now I look forward to new creations with a variety of media, and at a more leisurely pace. You can see all my ink creations below.
 

Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KimMooreNaturalist/

Watch the slideshows or click on the links to look through at your own pace. Links open in a new tab.

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

Local stuff:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/new_oct_2019

Wetlands Bird Survey:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/hellman_oct_2019

Catalina:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/catalina_oct-2019

Inktober:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/inktober