Cecile Marion Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 Being from Florida, I know little about California birds. I’d appreciate a look from anyone knowledgeable. These two were spotted in Ojai Valley, Ventura County, in March: California Towhee, Melozone crissalis Adult male Spotted Towhee, Pipilo maculatus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 That bottom bird is especially beautiful. Sorry, all I've ever managed to id from California were gulls. My bird book is only for the Eastern US - I'm from NY - I've never seen anything like it. Best of luck I'm sure someone here will know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cecile Marion Posted April 30, 2019 Author Share Posted April 30, 2019 2 hours ago, Marianne said: That bottom bird is especially beautiful. Sorry, all I've ever managed to id from California were gulls. My bird book is only for the Eastern US - I'm from NY - I've never seen anything like it. Best of luck I'm sure someone here will know. Thanks anyway, Marianne. I thought it was really pretty, too. Daughter number 1 moved to California last year and I was visiting. Daughter number 2 lives in your neck of the woods, and I’ll be seeing her very soon. I must say, the east coast is much more familiar to me than the west! 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 (edited) 9 minutes ago, Cecile Marion said: Thanks anyway, Marianne. I thought it was really pretty, too. Daughter number 1 moved to California last year and I was visiting. Daughter number 2 lives in your neck of the woods, and I’ll be seeing her very soon. I must say, the east coast is much more familiar to me than the west! 😀 I lived in California for a year in college (and loved it out there) but otherwise it's been NY for me, other than three years in Massachusetts, and summers in Connecticut as a kids (and a few weeks a year now), so I'm an East Coast girl too. My parents lived in Palm Coast, Florida near St. Augustine for many years. Where are you? I'm in Westchester County just above NYC so not the bitter cold of upstate, but chilly enough much of the year. Nice for you to have warm weather when you prefer to shoot outdoors, although my neck of the woods is getting pretty warm now, a bit rainy but hopefully it'll be all May flowers for you when you visit up here. 😎 My daughter's in the cold midwest. That bird really looks like a robin from another planet. Maybe it escaped from the San Diego zoo? I'm hoping someone can tell you what it is. Edited April 30, 2019 by Marianne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cecile Marion Posted April 30, 2019 Author Share Posted April 30, 2019 I live about an hour west of Palm Coast, so know it well. It’s a nice part of the state. My younger daughter lives a bit south of Edo’s old apartment in the city. I’m looking forward to some good photo opportunities, and hoping the summer heat holds off for awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhandol Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 (edited) 1st picture looks like California towhee (Melozone crissalis), 2nd & 3rd picture is of a Spotted towhee (Pipilo maculatus) also called rufous sided towhee. Edited April 30, 2019 by Bhandol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 Glad for the bird ID, Bhandol. My daughter used to live in Brooklyn. If you're visiting soon, you should have nice weather. The city is rife with photo opportunities. I always feel like a tourist with my camera there, but it doesn't bother me to be a tourist elsewhere or to be out and about near my home with my camera. Maybe because my friends and I used to laugh at the busloads of tourists snapping away when I lived in Manhattan. Now it's the busloads with selfie sticks! I took some photos at my niece's baby shower a couple of weeks ago and a few people said they couldn't recall the last time they saw a "real camera." And yet our "real photos" go for peanuts. Oh well! Have a good trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cecile Marion Posted April 30, 2019 Author Share Posted April 30, 2019 Thanks, Marianne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cecile Marion Posted April 30, 2019 Author Share Posted April 30, 2019 13 minutes ago, Bhandol said: 1st picture looks like California towhee (Melozone crissalis), 2nd & 3rd picture is of a Spotted towhee (Pipilo maculatus) also called rufous sided towhee. Thanks very much, Bhandol. Much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnie5 Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 (edited) This website can be helpful for identifying birds (hawks are confusing to me) and they have a phone app for field use. Ojai has a great farmers market. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/search/?q=spotted towhee Edited May 1, 2019 by Johnnie5 additional comment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cecile Marion Posted May 1, 2019 Author Share Posted May 1, 2019 Super! Thanks, Johnnie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Kyhn Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 Also very useful: Merlin Bird ID app (for iOS and Android + free): http://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cecile Marion Posted May 1, 2019 Author Share Posted May 1, 2019 Thanks, Thomas! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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