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Return of Pickleweed Red

Tuesday, December 4th, 2007

Free from the Box!

Wednesday brought early morning rain, but by 10:30 the rain clouds had moved on, leaving a gray sky with occasional patches of blue.

It was a good day to fly: not much wind, relatively warm and I had Baylands mostly to myself for the morning. Mike Bigby came by for a while and flew his HyperFlea. Not what I’d call a crowd.

Four batteries later, I decided to walk around the park while my charger did its stuff. Midway around the circuit, I heard honking and looked around. It was Gary in his olive truck, entering the park.

“Are they still planning to release Pickleweed Red?” I asked.

He said yes, at 1 p.m. In about 45 minutes.

“I’m finishing my walk,” I told him. “See you in about 15 minutes.”

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Fetchomatic 3000 Recall

Sunday, November 18th, 2007

Swainson’s Hawk

On Saturday, flyers discovered a Swainson’s Hawk trapped in a tangle of monofilament in the Baylands Giant Yuke.

One wing was wrapped tight to its body.

During the past few months, people have tried multiple times to rescue planes from this tree. Some of the attempts were successful. Many were not.

Those efforts left a nasty spiderweb of monofilament snaking through the tree.

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Plenty of Pelicans

Sunday, September 16th, 2007

Pelicans over Baylands

Friday morning, a group of 115 white pelicans soared overhead at Baylands, riding the thermals, gliding slowly west to east.

Though we often see white pelicans floating high above us, I’ve never before seen such a large flock.

A Splash of Color. White pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) are not completely white. The white body is accented by dramatic black feathers outlining the wings, and then there’s that big orange bill and matching orange feet.

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Blackbirds & Jellyfish

Sunday, July 1st, 2007

Red-Winged Blackbird

My choice for Baylands Bird of the Month is the red-winged blackbird. Big flocks of them are scouring stretches of grass for seeds and bugs.

I don’t remember seeing them last year, but they were probably all around while I was fixated on my primitive flying skills.

The bright red epaulets on the males are striking. The males travel in large fast-moving groups, foraging.

Looking for a picture on the web, I learned that it’s one of the most abundant North American birds and that it loves wetlands.

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