Hawkeye & Friend

The other morning as I was working on my laptop at home, I found myself gazing out my back window (shades of daydreaming in high school French class!) at the ornamental crane perched on my fence. I wondered whether the rotating wind-powered wings served to keep birds away from the fruit trees and grapevines lining my yard. Not two minutes later, another fluttering motion caught my eye, and I watched as this gorgeous hawk landed a few feet away from the "scary" crane. Guess that answered my question! There's a drainage canal behind my house, and the hawk appeared to be shopping for lunch. (Fortunately the fence blocked THAT view!) The hawk politely maintained his (her?) pose while I scrambled to get my camera and snapped this photo.

Can anyone tell me what kind of hawk this is?

Snow Goose Festival

Well the wonderful 10th annual SNOW GOOSE FESTIVAL is nearly upon us, with field trips, speakers, workshops, exhibits and the increasingly-popular "Gathering of Wings" banquet with both silent and live auctions and raffle. The featured speaker is Ed Harper, photographer, expert birder, and world traveler. This festival is just one of the things that makes living in Butte County so great.

It takes a lot of folks to put on a major event like this. Check out the list of sponsors who have donated time and/or funds to make this outstanding event happen.

During past festivals I've gone on field trips to the Sutter Buttes (which, as you may know, is an "by invitation only" place, so this is a rare opportunity) and the Black Butte Lake area and have attended many lectures and slideshows. It's a great event attended by folks from all over the planet. Check out the schedule and sign up for a field trip or workshop!