Fade to White Buck
Reply
Tag Archives: Black Tailed Deer
Beyond the White Hummingbird
The Australian Garden at the University of California Santa Cruz Arboretum has so much to offer, and while I was understandably blown away by the spectacular white hummingbird sighting, I thought I might share some of it’s other treasures…
Rare Leucistic Anna’s Hummingbird in the Grevillea.
Me in my official like birding outfit – meant to blend into the garden and attract hummers…worked!
Showy Banksia
Flight fight!
Showy Honey Myrtle
The Rufous and Allen’s Hummingbirds look a lot alike, the Allen’s is supposed to have two white spots on its tail tips instead of three like the Rufous, but even knowing this it’s still hard to tell as the Allen’s does have a sliver of white on that third feather and both can have a substantial amount of green on their backs – especially the juveniles and the females.
Scrub Jay
Cooper’s Hawk fledglings
Desert Cottontail
Bottle Brush
Lipstick Plant
Common Buckeye
Actual buckeyes – (on a Black Tailed Deer)
Open Door
Open a door and nature will follow.
My studio overlooks a beautiful ravine and while I love living close to nature I also love my roses so I have a jasmine covered fence which keeps the “wilderness” both in view and at bay. This way I can watch the deer take afternoon naps as I work or I can watch them romping past in the evening. Occasionally I’m careless and I leave the gate open or I underestimate the persistence of wildlife and I get a visit that’s close up and personal. I only regret these visits if I don’t have my camera in hand!
This visitor was a Columbian black-tailed deer, as opposed to the California mule deer which are also native to our area. He came with a doe but she was much more camera shy.
This young buck is so lovely, You can see the blue reflection of the sky and the green of the leaves in his antlers, a detail I wouldn’t have imagined without this close observation.
Likewise, I could not have imagined his illuminated whiskers and backlit, translucent pink ears with their delicate red veins. All really superb reference material for paintings!
I must remember to keep the door wide open more often!