redders | Reading

And again. I had completely failed to go out anywhere this morning when U texted me that she was going to Creekside and did I want to join her? Of course, so this was dip #7.:) The Red-eyed Vireo had been seen yesterday, but neither we nor the birders on the scene before us found it today. It was overcast but not too cold, and there was a smattering of drops on my windshield when I left about 1 pm. Highlights for me today were getting a glimpse of a Black-headed Grosbeak, I guess the same bird as last visit; and spotting a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron, a blob on a branch above the creek. ( The list: )

I was glad to get out, however short the list. Will I go again? If the bird continues, probably.

stonepicnicking_okapi

Veering into scrapbook territory more than I usually do. I had a cancelled shift on Tuesday, so I collaged with the map of the Metropolitan Museum of Art that I saved from my day trip to NYC at the beginning of August.

mrkinch

I went down for about an hour while doing a few errands. Interestingly, again I heard, and this time briefly saw, Yellow Warbler, two chasing, apparently. To my surprise I recognized their sweet chip note. I don't think they sang this time, though. There was not much other activity, not even birds on the wires and fences. ( A very short list: )

I hope to bird this small area often, which will be quite boring until it (I hope) isn't.:)

mrkinch

U made sonograms from my recordings and matched them with sound files at the MacCauley library. Also the list mod thought it sounded like a Vireo. So there we have it: Cassin's Vireo! Not an unusual bird but more so at this time of year, and a very unusual call.

mrkinch

It was clear on the way up and clear when I parked, but shortly the fog began spilling through the gaps. It didn't get very thick, and I spent so long on the first slope that by the time I walked the open hillside it was a bit windy but mostly clear, so I had a good morning. Heard some California Quail though none appeared; flushed a Mourning Dove, first in a while; heard a Swainson's thrush, briefly and softly; and three Warblers: a Townsend's, several Wilson's, and a MacGillivray's but only chipping, not singing. Still a surprising number of Hutton's Vireos flitting about, as well. ( The list: )

Interesting that for the second day in a row I heard a Black-headed Grosbeak. Perhaps they're on the move.

mrkinch

Getting a somewhat late start meant sunshine! I've not recently had sunshine at this park, so that was nice and it did seem to increase the activity. My list was a little longer, and the best bird was hearing a Black-headed Grosbeak pik call. As I was wandering towards the exit, wondering if I should stay longer, who should appear but U, making a spur of the moment stop. We walked around a little and she found me a Wilson's Warbler.:) ( The list: )

So sixth dip on the Red-eyed Vireo. If it's reported today will I try again? I have no idea.:)

stonepicnicking_okapi

I failed to mark it and now I can't find it, but today's word comes from I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle, which is the DW bookclub book for August and it's the verb form of... ...

hod

to bob up and down on horseback, as an inexperienced rider may do; to jog.

It's tagged 'intransitive, Scottish, and obsolete.'

That sounds about right. I distinctly remember it was a verb form. More info from Wkitionary:

Probably an alteration of hot (“(Northern England, Scotland) large basket for carrying earth, etc.”), from Middle English hott, hote, hotte (“large basket or pannier for carrying earth, etc.; unit of measure for grain; hut or shed (perhaps originally of wattlework); lump of dirt (?)”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman and Old French hote, hotte (“large basket carried on the back”) (modern French hotte (“carrying basket”)), from Frankish *hotta (“basket”), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *hud- (“to shake”) (see further at etymology 1), ultimately an onomatopoeia of the swaying movement of such a basket (compare Middle Dutch hotten (“to jolt; shake”)).

This is a hod (noun) carried over the shoulder.

stonepicnicking_okapi

My favorite of many favorites

Watch on YouTube

stonepicnicking_okapi

1. The boys are back in school. Minisculus is less than enamored with middle school but that's to be expected.

2. For the first time, I might be in danger of not meeting my 150k GYWO word count goal. I am hoping Hallowe'en and Xmas will help. I am just not interested or inspired. I finished my soap opera in mid June and did a ficlet for Watson's birthday, but that's about it.

3. Minor got blackmailed by someone on a messaging app wanting $50 to not spread doctored photos to his friends. What a world. I didn't even know the app he is using. But he handled it himself. Apparently the app administrator(s) located the blackmailer account in Iran!

4. I signed Minisculus up for art (meaning drawing, painting, etc) without realizing it was a 1 quarter course, not a full year course (chorus for Minor had been a year-long so I thought all fine arts courses were) so they filled in the rest of the quarters with other things. Now he has Theatre (!!! If there is a child in the universe less inclined toward performance it is my second born). And then there is what we used to call Home Economics and now they call Family and Consumer Science and then General Music. We'll see how it goes.

5. So there is a gap left by my dropping of the BTS fandom, and I am filling it with some online puzzles which I found via @snowynight's post: https://snowynight.dreamwidth.org/323738.html

The one I like best is called Squardle which is a word search. https://squaredle.app/

I also play Quordle (solving 4 wordles at once): https://www.merriam-webster.com/games/quordle/#/

And clues by Sam, which is a logic puzzle: https://cluesbysam.com/

[sorry for the formatting. DW is being weird today or I forgot how to do stuff or both]

Also filling the gap is this woman who takes care of a pair of capybaras named Cheesecake and Pumpkin (among other animals) in Florida (warning: pun/dad joke)

Watch on YouTube

mrkinch

Wilson's Warblers are still here, and Western Flycatchers, but the American Robins we heard may be here for the Winter rather than breeders heading South, since we get both. At Jewel Lake not only was there a pair of Mallards, first in a while, but a Great Blue Heron was fishing along the opposite bank. The most exciting observation is still unresolved. Towards the north end of the Trail I head a call I could not identify. I think it was a Flycatcher but later when I went through Flycatcher vocalizations in the Sibley app I found nothing that matched. The bird called continually for some time as I walked up and down, recording it and hoping to see it. It seemed right overhead but I couldn't find it and merlin gave me nothing.:) It was loud enough and went on long enough that I hoped U and Chris would hear it on the upper trail, but no, so I played them the recording, hoping that they'd recognize it from their more extensive out-of-town birding, but they did not. So U asked for the recordings and will clean one up to submit with the ebird list and also to the What's This Bird facebook group. We shall see! ( The list: )

I will post when the mystery bird is identified, if it is.:) ETA It seems to have been a Cassin's Vireo. I have never heard one anything like it but the sonogram looks right so there we are!

stonepicnicking_okapi

Watch on YouTube

And a favorite jazz station on YT put out a new video this weekend: Vinyl in the Attic: Afternoon Jazz Vinyl Session

stonepicnicking_okapi

More fun with my Friday client Crafty Lady. I like the first one.

mrkinch

I went up today, Saturday, rather than the usual Sunday because the weather looked better and indeed, it was lovely, a little windy along the open hillside but always sunny. I was on the first rise well before the sun rose, and while there weren't quite the as many birds as four days ago I had a great time. Nothing utterly unexpected turned up but I heard or saw almost all the locals as well as four species of Warbler, Orange-crowned, MacGillivray's, Black-throated Gray, and Wilson's. The MacGillivray's even sang once, as did the Wilson's, but the Black-throated Gray was less easily identified. I heard the chip, rather like a Townsend's but ending more abruptly, and I briefly glimpsed a facial pattern without color, but if merlin hadn't ID'd it I would have had to let it go. It is useful on occasion.:) ( The list: )

So the columbidae were back but after entertaining me for several weeks, the California Quail were nowhere to be seen or heard.

mrkinch

This morning U, Chris, and I made an unsuccessful attempt on the Red-eyed Vireo (U's second, Chris's first, my fifth), but it was Chris's first time to Creekside and we had a good time. We got about the same number of species as I reported yesterday, the major addition being a Western Wood-pewee sallying from a tall, spikey snag. The strangest thing was that we neither saw nor heard a Black Phoebe until our way out. On previous visits they've been loud and visible. ( The list: )

From there we went to Brickyard Cove where a Surfbird was reported the next day after my recent visit.:) We didn't find that, either, but three species of gull, a few Mallards and Canada Geese, and two Killdeer. Not terribly exciting, so we continued on to Point Emery, where we saw five (5) species but U made a list anyway because there were two beautiful male Surf Scoters swimming and diving off the point. They were quite a surprise as Winter ducks aren't expected for another couple of months. ( Five species: )

We're really looking forward to Winter.

mrkinch

No luck with attempt number four, but I had fun and saw a few more birds that previously. Brown Creepers were loud and even visible, there were the usual multiple Flycatchers, I heard an Orange-crowned Warbler as well as a couple of Wilson's, and I saw a Spotted Towhee as I have not done lately. ( The list: )

When I'd been there almost an hour and a half under heavy fog when the sun kinda sorta came out, at least I could see faint shadows on the ground, bringing a definite increase in activity. Birds have to eat regardless, but they seem to appreciate sun after fog.

stonepicnicking_okapi

Because I woke up to the sound of rain

---

Praise the Rain by Joy Harjo

Praise the rain, the seagull dive
The curl of plant, the raven talk—
Praise the hurt, the house slack
The stand of trees, the dignity—
Praise the dark, the moon cradle
The sky fall, the bear sleep—
Praise the mist, the warrior name
The earth eclipse, the fired leap—
Praise the backwards, upward sky
The baby cry, the spirit food—
Praise canoe, the fish rush
The hole for frog, the upside-down—
Praise the day, the cloud cup
The mind flat, forget it all—

Praise crazy. Praise sad.
Praise the path on which we’re led.
Praise the roads on earth and water.
Praise the eater and the eaten.
Praise beginnings; praise the end.
Praise the song and praise the singer.

Praise the rain; it brings more rain.
Praise the rain; it brings more rain.

mrkinch

I went up a little later than usual, so that although there was fog on the ground, there was light from the East and I started down the trail right away. Once in the shelter of the hillside it was quite comfortable and the amount of activity surprised me, especially along the slope down to the dip. There were multiple individuals of several species that seem usually to be found alone, Hutton's Vireos and Wilson's Warblers for two, so possibly families are about to disperse. I saw a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, lots of Bushtits and Chestnut-backed Chickadees, and several coveys of California Quail. I heard a White-breasted Nuthatch again and there were Pygmy Nuthatches all over the tall pines. Best of all, a MacGillivray's Warbler sang a few times as I was heading North and again when I returned. ( The list: )

At the North end of the trail the fog was pouring through the gap and I didn't stay long. As I approached the end of the trail I flushed a Great Horned Owl that I unfortunately had not noticed; big, brown, silent flight, couldn't be anything else. Imagine my delight when I started back down and there they were, sitting in plain sight. I hear them far more often than I see them, so this was a treat.

stonepicnicking_okapi

My reserve for David Rosenfelt's new book on audiobook just came through and I think it will be a nice tonic for stressful times. This is the Andy Carpenter, defense attorney and dog shelter owner, series. The book is called Dead Men Don't Play Fetch. It's predictable, a case involving a dog somehow, everything gets resolved, a cast of weird lovable characters. And Grover Gardner narrating.

Also, I wasn't planning to participate this month because I couldn't find the book at the library in any form but I was browsing through Barnes & Noble yesterday after back-to-school clothes shopping with Minor ($$$!) and saw August's book there and thought, 'well, okay.' It's Peter S. Bealge's I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons.

stonepicnicking_okapi

Wednesday's word is...

...torc.

a collar, necklace, or similar ornament consisting of a twisted narrow band, usually of precious metal, worn especially by the ancient Gauls and Britons.

--

This came to me by way of an article in the latest edition of Archeology magazine which one of my clients (aka oil futures guy) reads. The article was entitled "A Change in Fashion" by Daniel Weiss (Hoards of lavish gold and silver neck rings buried on an English hill reflect dramatic social change.).

And here's an article from 10 years ago from the British Museum blog: How do you wear a torc?.

torc

mrkinch

Lower Codornices Creek will be worth checking frequently once migration gets going but today I just wanted to see what the place is like these days. It hadn't changed much, not much restoration, and a couple of tents that I hadn't seen before. I didn't get a very long or exciting list, but I heard a less-usual warbler Northern Yellow Warbler, and saw some interesting behavior: a small flock of Barn Swallows following a big mower around a grassy playing field. Makes sense, but I hadn't seen it before. ( First list: )

I then made a short stop at the northeast corner of the Target parking lot, where there's wildly overgrown creek that is, I think, the next bit of Codornices Creek. It should be interesting later but wasn't today. As I left I decided to stop at the Seabreeze Market parking lot. By chance the tide was right for there to be birds on the mudflat, a hundred plus Western and California Gulls, and possibly others but I didn't check each one. Fun for me were the two Least Sandpipers that flew in, not my first this season (that was at Elsie Roemer a few weeks ago) but the first in a place I'll go often this Winter. ( Another little list: )

I also took a walk in Berkeley Meadow but it was noon and I saw almost no one, so no list.

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One more robot learns to be

something more than a machine

8/28/2026 Creekside Park

Collage Journaling: the Met

8/27/2026 Lower Codornices Creek

mystery bird: Cassin's Vireo

8/26/2026 Inspiration Trail

8/25/2026 Creekside Park, again

Word: Hod

Rest in power, queen

Views & News: second day of school edition

8/24/2026 Lower Packrat Trail

Music Monday: 'Round Midnight by Theolonius Monk

Collage Journaling: coffee and moon & stars

8/22/2026 Inspiration Trail

8/21/2026 Creekside Park // Brickyard Cove // Pt Emery

8/20/2026 Creekside Park

Poet's Corner: Praise the Rain by Joy Harjo

8/19/2026 Inspiration Trail

Reading

Word: Torc

8/18/2026 Lower Codornices Creek // Brickyard Cove

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December 2023

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