Barred owl quickie video, etc

Two nights ago, Nellie and Hooper needed to go out and do their business at 1:00 am. I stumbled to the back door and let them out. As I was closing the door, I heard our barred owls calling:

It's really, really faint, so crank up your speakers.


Kathi and I went for a bird walk today, and we actually saw birds this time.
Blue-gray gnatcatchers
Turkey vultures
Eastern meadowlark
Song sparrows
Chimney swifts
Tree swallows
Killdeer...
Did I miss any, Kathi?

We also saw a millipede.


Miss Holly Go-Lightly came along, too. Isn't she a happy-looking dog?

Yesterday,while sitting in my favorite spot at Lake Isabella (By the way, reports of the GHOW chick branching are coming in), I heard a long, drawn out bird song. I grabbed my trusty Les Beletsky's Bird Song book and found the warbling vireo. I played the song a few times and got him to land about 20 feet from the car:


I did a program today at the EPA. Yes, the E P freakin' A. I was a little nervous about it, but it was great. It was awesome. I totally killed. I had an A game. I feel really, really good right now.

And now, the gravy.
Our crab apple tree is in full bloom, and to see little bird faces peeking out of all that pink is just a handful of joy: