Well, I am rising to the challenge and adding some "feathers" to my petals and feathers blog. I have many pictures of birds and will share a few of my favorites. These were all taken at Sepulveda Basin - a bird sanctuary which is practically in our back yard. We love going there. It is free (including the parking) and is only about 6 miles from our house. The earlier in the morning we go, the better the viewing. We were fortunate enough to to find this incredible crane one day. I think he is so stately.

Quite often we see these Great-Tailed Grackles flitting in among the trees and on the ground. They are rather interesting. At first they look black, but they are actually deep purple. Their tails sort of fan at an angle. Try double clicking on the picture for a larger view, which shows his colors much better.

Just a few weeks ago we saw this beutiful little Rufous Hummingbird - it was wonderful to have him stay still long enough for me to zoom in on him and get a really great shot.

That same day we also saw this Spotted Towhee. I was able to get a pretty nice picture of him.

On other days we have seen Canada Geese,

White Pelicans, (Be sure to double click on this one for a better shot)

and ducks...lots and lots of ducks.

It makes for a great Saturday morning hike.