Saturday, January 22, 2011

Beacons on Saturday Walk



In Monterey at one of the downtown historic state parks, Cooper Molero,
 the barn and the sky prompted me to pull out a camera.

Later in Pacific Grove....



January sunshine lit the distant sails of a small boat .

Since February 1, 1855, the Point Pinos Lighthouse has flashed its beacon nightly to guide ships off the  rocky coasts. 

                                          Birds are often beacons of light for me.
I  know there are observable differences between Great Egrets and  Snowy Egrets.  As I watched this bird today, I even knew what the differences were, but wasn't sure I was remembering which of the distinctions went to which bird.  So I checked when I got home and  made this little chart to re-remind myself once again. 
Feature                     Great Egrets                    Snowy Egrets 
Color                           White                               White
Size:                              39"                                    24"
Bill                              Yellow Bill                      Black Bill
Legs &  Feet         Black Legs & Feet               Black legs bright yellow feet

To complicate matters, when Little Blue Herons are immature they are also white with black bills but they have yellow facial skin at the base of their bills and their legs are black in the front and yellow in the back... Seriously, confusions are easy to come by, I am not making this up. 

I don't need to know  "who" the bird is for my heart to leap, but  the beauty of creation does deserve to be appreciated in all its details. And it seems  good  to me and for me to pay attention  and to exercise and double check my ability to retain and retrieve information details. 

Sometimes rocks proclaim their distinctiveness too...


                                                            Black feet, yellow bill...big bird: it's a Great Egret   Ardea Alba



Even at a distance...this smooth round stone stands out.
The waves washed in and it would disappear...and  as each wave subsided
I saw it again and marveled anew. 




12 comments:

Sarah Beth said...

LOVE the pic of the barn. Also the round rock amidst the turret shaped rocks is rad. Thanks for sharing!

John said...

Your composition is excellent, at least for me. The two pictures of the rocks in the seascape show the beautiful geometry of the world around us. Thank you, JgT

GLENDA CHILDERS said...

Such lovely blue sky and blue water. Hope your enjoying a lovely restful Sabbath day.

Fondly,
Glenda

Katie (Nature ID) said...

Do you remember what was on the other side of the road from the round rock? I want to run out tomorrow and see if I can find it. Nice captures of the great egret!

Jeannette said...

Try Esplanade Park and go toward Lover's Point...I started at the golf course and walked down to the water and toward the point...

Carol............. said...

You've definitely captured some cool shots! And I especially love the round "alien egg" (LOL) rock!

Neal said...

Great shots, especially the Lighthouse... Cheers, Neal

Jeannette said...

Thought of your lovely blog, Neal, when I took the Lighthouse shot.

Debbie in CA : ) said...

Beautiful! Oh how I have been missing the seaside! Your pictures gave me a mini-trip until we can actually get away to see/smell/hear the ocean I love so. Just beautiful!

Thanks for the kindly comment on my blog. It was wonderful to hear from you. : D

Anonymous said...

The info on distinguishing between egrets and herons was helpful...and the pics are wonderful. Thanks for sharing! :)

Covnitkepr1 said...

Really great pictures.
I’ve been following and enjoying your blog for a while now and would like to invite you to visit and perhaps follow me back. Sorry I took so long for the invitation.

bradzio said...

Ah thanks for the little chart to tell the two egrets apart. Aside from the size i wasn't sure what differences their might be.