The Great Backyard Bird Count is coming up!

The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), which is hosted by the Audubon Society and Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is coming up in a few weeks! This fun event goes from February 12th to February 15th. The point of the GBBC is to help scientists monitor bird species and bird migration through your area. Just watch some birds in your area for at least 15 minutes and submit your sightings to www.birdcount.org (or click on the ‘Great Backyard Bird Count’ button above). At that same website you can find a checklist that you can print out that has the species of birds in your area. Details you need to include in your submission is weather, habitat, place, time you spend bird-watching, and each species of bird you see, including how many of each species. To make sure that you don’t count the same bird twice, you should only count the largest amount of any species that you see at once during the whole time you are bird-watching. The more people who participate the better! So get outside and watch some birds from February 12th through the 15th, and have fun!

Adoption vs. Buying

When getting a new pet you need to decide where you are getting your pet from. You can chose between a breeder or a shelter. My dog came from a breeder, and my cats came from a shelter. I  think that adopting from a shelter is the kindest thing to do. Sometimes you’re saving the animal’s life, because many animals get euthanized if they can’t find homes. You’re also helping to reduce the number of homeless animals. Also, adopting is usually cheaper. After you get your pet it is a good idea to spay/neuter him or her. This will help to ensure that there are less homeless puppies and kittens in the future. Some breeders and shelters spay/neuter (as well as give needed vaccines) to your pet before you buy or adopt. 

Something Happened to the Scrub Jays

One day when I was checking on the nest, neither of the Scrub Jays were sitting on it. After that, I never saw them on the nest. I thought that possibly the eggs had hatched, but then I didn’t seen them going to the nest to feed possible chicks either. I knew something had happened when on a very cold, rainy day they still weren’t on the nest. Even if the chicks had hatched the parents would be sitting on them in weather like that. A couple days ago I found proof something had gotten the eggs; a crumbled egg shell, the right coloration for Scrub Jays lay on the ground. A predator had gotten their eggs, an intruding Western Scrub Jay or a Stellar’s Jay were the most likely candidates. They’re known for eating other bird’s eggs and young. A couple days later I found three more broken eggs inside the bush, but these were not Scrub Jays eggs. They were small blue eggs with brown speckles. A Robin’s eggs? Did the same jay that got the Scrub Jay’s get theirs? I don’t know, and may never know. I just wish that the baby birds could have survived.

Scrub Jay on the Nest

The female Western Scrub Jay is on the nest now almost constantly. Once when I was watching her, the male flew in and fed her. He always the one who feeds her. I’ve only seen her leave the nest once! This break was very quick (lasting a minute at most) which makes me think she definitely has eggs. Whenever I come near she lowers crouches down lower in the nest and tries to not be seen, another reason I think she’s protecting eggs. The nest is in the heart of the bush and it’s pretty hidden by leaves and branches so I haven’t been able to confirm that there are eggs or get any pictures. 

Painted Lady Migration

This month the Painted Lady butterflies, scientifically known as Vanessa cardui, are migrating north through California from Mexico. There are huge numbers of these beautiful butterflies all around my house. Often I’ll see 30 at once! The blossoming plum tree in my front yard is a popular feeding stop for the butterflies. They also share it with Box Elder Bugs and Honey Bees. The most wide-spread butterfly in the world, they are small, orange butterflies with black, brown, and white spots. I think they are very pretty! Keep your eyes out for Painted Ladies!

Nesting Scrub Jays

In my yard I have a pair of Western Scrub Jays that I have been seeing for a few years. One year they nested in our Quince bush. It was really interesting to watch them! First they built the nest, consisting mostly of sticks and twigs. Then the female sat on the nest, lay her eggs, then incubated them. Mostly the female sat on the nest and the male brought her food, but occasionally they switched. Then a few days after their chick hatched something happened to it, I’m not sure what but one day it wasn’t in the nest. I assume a predator got it. The next year they nested in an Oak tree across the street. Once the chicks fledged they brought them over to our yard and that’s where they spent most of their time. It was really fun watching them squabble for food and learn different skills. This year they are once again nesting in our Quince bush. All they have done so far is build the nest and they female has sat in it a couple times. One day I was looking out my window and I saw one of them down on the patio. We have an old, torn-up door mat out there and she was plucking little fibers off of it and finding them on the ground around there. When she finally flew off her beak was stuffed with little strings and fibers. That’s all the activity so far but I’m keeping an eye on them.

Animal Photography

Animal photography is a very fun, but also hard hobby. Sometimes, you get lucky and happen to get a good picture that you weren’t even trying to get! My pets, foster kittens, and the wildlife in my yard and other places all make great photo opportunities. You can’t always get a good picture, some days you’ll get an excellent one, and other days it might be completely blurry.

Practicing being very quiet, so you can get closer to animals really helps. If they 

don’t realize you’re there, you can get a lot closer and get a better picture. Good equipment also helps. I have a digital Nikon coolpix L3. It has a zoom-in feature that lets you get a close-up picture without really being close. This really helps in animal photography!

 I particularly like taking pictures of my foster kittens. They are always napping or playing, and both of these activities make cute pictures. One of the pictures I have here is of a kittens yawning. These yawns make hilarious pictures. No matter what your favorite thing to take a picture of is, animal or not, photography is fun!

Healthily feeding your Parakeet

Just like humans, parakeets need a balanced diet to keep them healthy. If a parakeet just eats seeds, then they probably won’t be as healthy. Although it is o.k. for seeds to be the main part of your parakeet’s diet, fruits and vegetables are important. Calcium and vitamins are also important in a parakeet’s diet. Cuttlebones, which can be found in pet stores, are one of the things that can supply birds with calcium and many essential vitamins. Some parakeets prefer seeds, and sometimes even avoid fruits and vegetables. Here are some ways I have learned to sneak fruits and vegetables into a picky parakeet’s diet. Sometimes all you have to do is try different types of food.  Parakeets have likes and dislikes. For example, my two parakeets avoid bell peppers, Kekona will occasionally nibble on a carrot, they kind of like strawberries, and they both love broccoli. Another way to get them to eat fruits/vegetables is to hide the food they’re avoiding in their seeds. Broccoli is a good vegetable to hide in seeds. Tear or cut off the end of each stem coming of the floret. You should end up with pieces small enough to easily mix them with the seeds. Some brands of seed and some treats include fruits, veggies, and vitamins for your parakeets.

Why To Let Your Cats Outside

It is a hard choice whether or not to let your cats outside. There are many advantages and disadvantages. I hope this article will help you make your choice. I chose to let my cats, Angel and Jasmine outside because they were overweight. Typically, overweight cats have more health problems and a shorter life span. It was an extremely hard choice for me because unfortunate things happened to two of my cats recently, due to being outside. My cat Phoenix was hit by a car, and my cat Max disappeared. These are some risks you must take if you are letting your cats outside.

I am glad, though, that I chose to let my cats, Angel and Jasmine, outside. Because now they are not overweight and they seem happier and less bored. They wait each morning for the moment when I put them outside. Once they are out, they have loads of fun curling up in the sun, attempting to catch bugs, hiding in bushes, exploring their territory, and just having fun!

If you do chose to let your cats outside, I recommend three things. First, bringing them in at night, (there are more predators at night, and it is harder for cars to see if your cat wanders into the road).  Second, leaving a bowl of water out for them ( so they don’t get dehydrated, especially in the summer). Finally, they should be up to date on their vaccinations, because they are exposed to different diseases outside. This way it is safer for them.

Otters at Monterey Bay Aquarium

Monterey Bay Aquarium has a cool, new exhibit with river otters called ‘Wild About Otters‘. Along with this exhibit they also have a Sea Otter exhibit in another area of the aquarium. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you may see some wild Sea Otters swimming by the aquarium’s deck overlooking the ocean. Below I talk about all of Monterey Bay Aquariums exciting otter attractions.

Wild About Otters
is a relatively new exhibit hosting about six African spotted-necked otters (including some pups), and four Asian small-clawed otters. Besides the otters there are also many fish species, Malayan box turtles, Giant tree frogs, and Asian vine snakes in the exhibit. I really enjoyed watching the African spotted-necked otter pups tumble through the water with each other, and play with their toys! In the exhibit they list many interesting facts and have various activities. Wild About Otters is really an exhibit worth seeing!

The Sea Otter Exhibit
has two floors, one where you can see the Sea Otters swimming through the water, and the other where you can see them on top of the water or on land. I like how they list each otter’s name, characteristics, and how they found her. Playing with their many toys is something they do frequently, and is very fun to watch. Something I find interesting about their exhibit is the tunnel in the rock that they can swim through.

Wild Sea Otters
find Monterey Bay a perfect home. On my most recent trip there, I spotted eight. A great place to look for them is on the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s deck, where they have telescopes to make it easier to see them. One swam right by the aquarium, and I got quite a few pictures before it left. It is really nice to see the Sea Otters making their magnificent come-back in their natural habitat!