August 27 -- Another Glorious Sunrise, An Agave Stick, Hummer Frenzy -- And A New Yard Critter...

First off -- a spectacular sunrise, taken at 5:50am --

Then looking west --

After breakfast I went out to the back yard, where "hummer frenzy" was in full gear, and a female Bullock's Oriole had a face full of jam --

I also saw a somewhat nondescript bird in the greenery. I knew it to be a warbler of some kind, so I got in touch via Facebook with some knowledgable birder friends -- and they came to the conclusion that it was an immature Lucy's Warbler -- 

After dropping off kitchen "stuff" I got from the late Kim Murphy at the local Swap 'n Shop (where I also saw teak-topped dining table which I may buy as the one I have now is too small) I went to the Portal post office where I had some Amazon packages waiting for me -- goodie, Xmas early! I ran into my friend/real estate agent/personal guru, Helen Snyder, while at the post office, and she said she had dropped off a few things for my back yard at Faranuf. When I got back I saw a tall agave stick with branches which would be perfect for perching birds ( I wrapped PVC tape around it and a metal fence stick to hold it in place) and also another stick that had a woodpecker hole in it, Ladderback woodpecker specifically. Helen said chances are it will attract Ladderbacks during nesting season, and I'll have them in my back yard...Then I took some photos during the Hummer Frenzy --

Mr. Black-chinned

 Immature male Broad-billed

 Adult male Broad-billed -- What at above will look like

At around 5pm I happened to look out front and saw a small shape moving along the "driveway". I went outside -- and it was a tarantula. I immediately named "her" (as my friend Kerry Ross determined) Tarantella, and she became another of my "yard critter" friends, meaning she will be protected as much as I could. I took the following photo of her with my Canon 500mm f/4 lens with the 1.4x teleconverter on, which gives is an effective focal length of 700mm digital, meaning you have to be at least 20 feet away from your subject or it will be out of focus. A good technique to use for, say, poisonous Mojave rattlesnakes...

Beautiful, isn't she? And she's probably looking for a mate...Then, before I left to have dinner at the Portal cafe with another new friend, I saw the Gray Fox once again at a bird seed tray in the back yard; he was looking considerably skinnier than I had last seen him -- 

I ended up another productive day with dinner and conversation with Donald, a veteran birder who lives in Palo Alto in the Bay Area, and discussed bird things there in Portal and beyond. Later, when I got back to Faranuf, I smiled at the thought of another productive day in paradise...