Brewer's Blackbird - Western Birds

A male Brewer's Blackbird, looking for free handouts at an outdoor restaurant, Ventura, CA; 6/19/2011.

After our Wildlife Cruise to Anacapa Island in the Channel Islands National Park, we relaxed at an outdoor restaurant before we resumed our trip back towards the East. A Brewer's Blackbird (Above) made itself welcome at several tables on the patio. The wait staff was continuously chasing it away, but it was pretty persistent.

A female Brewer's Blackbird in a grocery parking lot, Newport Beach, CA; 6/15/2011.

A few days earlier, while we were restocking our groceries for our trip a female Brewer's Blackbird (Above) was very bold in the parking lot, looking for goodies that shoppers might have left behind. Needless to say, Brewer's Blackbirds are not shy and are very opportunistic for their food supply.

A Brewer's Blackbird, Rock Mt. Nat. Park; 7/8/2010.

That is not to say that brewer's Blackbirds cannot survive without human rubbish. They can and do. When we were camping in Rocky Mountain National Park last summer, there were lots of Brewers living off the fat of the land.

Great Blue heron, Ventura, CA; 6/19/2011.

Another bird made an appearance just outside the restaurant at which we were eating. A great Blue Heron (Above) landed on the dock just yards from where we were eating.

Tomorrow I will start posts from birds we saw in Arizona's Petrified Wood National Park.

Sunset of the Day

Well, actually a moonrise. Perfect conditions - a clear sky, a full moon, a still lake and snowcapped mountains contributed to this scene in Yellowstone National Park, WY; 6/11/2006.