First Day in the New Spot

This morning I got up bright and early. I took Jay to school and headed out to the Burris Ranch for some bird photography. Today was the first day of using my photoblind at its new location on the ranch. As I walked up the hill I was glad to see a couple of Scrub Jays and an Acorn Woodpecker using the feeders I had set up. After a bit of fussing around on my part I ended up moving the feeders and the blind about ten feet and knocking my camera over in the process. OOPS! I finally got it right and settled in. There weren't too many birds at first (probably because I moved the feeders) and then it started to pick up with the Jays and the House Finches coming in. Some California valley Quail came by but I didnt have any platform feeders or ramps set up for them to use so they just stayed on the ground and ate spilt birdseed. It was a good learning morning and when I came out of the photoblind I made a lot of changes to improve my next visit. Walking down the hill through the pasture

I discovered a dragonfly in the weeds. It reminded me now that dragonfly season has started I need to check out the pond. I also stopped by the honey bee nest and discovered that they have indeed taken up residence in the madrone tree and are adding combs to their hive structure in the branches. After leaving the ranch I spotted a Lazuli Bunting in a tree alongside the road. It made for a nice environmental portrait. Which means I couldn't get close to it for a tight image. God's light and love to all, chris