After a good long wait, and surviving my cat’s side-eye because I hadn’t invited her over, the hummingbird clearwing returned to the flowers. This is a big moth that shares a lot of convergent features with hummingbirds. It will hover-feed with it’s super long probiscus (tongue? magical black moth straw?). You can see the tongue rolled up in the first photo and extended in the second. But that doesn’t stop them from shoving their heads right in the flowers if it’ll get them a bigger gulp of nectar.
A hummingbird clearwing has been visiting the red flowers in the cottage garden the last couple of weeks. This morning, the light was (finally) right, and I spotted the little guy in the flowers, so I dashed off to grab my camera. By the time I returned, he’d buggered off to other more interesting flowers. But I knew he’d be back. So, while I waited, I found a much more boring butterfly and a really really loud bee (wasp?) coming to visit. I managed to disrupt the local ruby throat from her breakfast, but she sat for a portrait, which was damn decent of her, considering.
My response to the Government of Ontario’s proposed Cormorant cull
This is what I submitted as a response to the Ontario government’s proposal for a cull of double-crested cormorants in the province. I am proud of what I’ve done here, and maybe this can open some eyes to the prejudice levelled at these magnificent animals, and the gross unfairness of it.
I’ve been in love with these birds since I got the rare and exceptional honour to hold a young one during a banding expedition a few years ago. We’d ventured to an island in Lake Huron, just a few rocks, some grass and a spindly bush poked above the waterline. And on this island a small colony of Cormorants, maybe 50 or 60 pairs, nested beside and even smaller colony of great blue herons. I left that day feeling like my first child had been born … admittedly, a grey down-covered one.
The proposal can be found here: https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/013-4124
My response is below the fold. Please enjoy, and let me know what you think!
It surprised me how much of the coast highway isn’t actually along the coast. I had this romantic idea that it just cut its way along the shore a handful of metres above the ocean. But, it does cut inland from time to time, and climb its way over and around the coastal mountains.
Thank you, @forestmood! Your reblogs have brought a lot of welcome attention to my dusty corner of tumblr! And especially thank you for reblogging this post. It’s definitely my favourite photo from my journey!
(via forestmood)
Route 1 splits from Highway 101 for a few kilometres between Santa Barbara and Ventura. And when I passed on this day of Santa Ana winds, there was a solid line of motor homes parked and set up along its entire length. I’d never seen anything like that. As I rejoined Route 1 after Oxnard, I saw this pattern repeated, just with more passenger cars.
Anyway, my adventure is all but over. I’m waiting for my plane to take me home. I had to wait this long, I guess, to finally get my plane slotted into this chimera of a vacation.
I wish I had had more time.
The gulls down in SoCal have dark backs, and favourite rocks, apparently. These two both returned to the rocks I found them on after I spooked them away.
When I left Solvang in the morning, two cups of coffee in me, I decided to head overland through the San Marcos Pass. This took me through a much more deserty part of California. I passed mesquite and prickly pear cactus. Everything was hot and dusty.
After waiting almost a half hour for someone to come and take my order at a restaurant in Big Sur, I decided to head on without. I passed a sign telling me that the road was completely blocked due to construction 20 miles ahead – with no detour. But, since I’d probably already gone 30 or more miles down a road without a turn, I headed on.
I grabbed some scraps of maps from Google – there isn’t so much cell coverage out there. It looked like there was a road that went over the mountains just inside Limekiln State Park. Google is telling me that it’s called Monterey Co. Rte. 4004, at least for the first part of it. I found it, and read the long sign warning that the army base up the way might delay folks going through the base, or completely block them from going forward at all. Bah, I thought, I’m going to risk it! And off I went.
The road twisted insanely as it climbed up the side of the steep coastal mountain. This was the driving I’d signed up for! I mean, going 65 mph down Route 1 just felt wrong whenever I did it.
At the top of the climb was a state park with a campground. After that, a small plateau that led over to the edge of the army base. There was a strange, almost bodged-looking detector array in an arch over the road entering the base, covered with a plastic tent. Later, I’d notice another one over the other end of the road.
The base, Fort Hunter Liggett, had all kinds of ranges set up with towers and half-walls. There was also a really cool looking obstacle course.
But, the road took me over the mountains and back to Highway 101, and, as the day was wearing on, headed to Solvang for the coolest room of the night, and a beer garden for dinner.
I stopped briefly and walked down to the beach at Carmel-by-the-Sea. It was crazy hot, but not abusively so. But, it was full of people and I didn’t find anything cool to take pictures of. So, I headed on down Route 1 and stopped at this view point just south of the town.
