Walking On Air: Recent Episodes
Dawn Endico
Yesterday was quite the day for reptiles. On my hike at Windy Hill I saw ten lizards and five snakes! There were two rattlesnakes, one normal looking garter snake, one garter snake with a red stripe on its belly (which I think is rare and endangered) plus another big snake which I mistook for a rattler at first but wound up not having rattles.
The most exciting, though was the show by these two rattlesnakes. Luckily I happened to notice them when I was 20 feet away and not as I was passing next to them. At first all I saw were two heads sticking out of the grass, swaying like they were in a snake charming act. Then they started wrestling and tumbled down on to the trail where I could see them better. They were twined around each other and it looked like arm wrestling except the arms weren't attached to anything. Apparently its pretty rare to catch this behavior on video.
I stuck around for 20 or 30 minutes watching them partly because it was so interesting and partly because they were blocking my way. They never moved more than a few feet from the trail though so I finally turned around and took a different route.
Video: Rattlesnakes, 2 minutes
Download: Rattlesnakes.mp4, 32 MB
Elephant Seal Pup
Now on his own, an elephant seal pup is rebuffed as he tries to make friends. Taped at the elephant seal rookery at Point Piedras Blancas, near San Simeon California in February 2003.
I think this pup had been recently weaned. I'm not sure if he wanted a replacement mom and a good meal or was just looking for a piece of real estate to call home.
This is my first time using internet archive and mp4. Let me know how well this works. I believe the mp4 should work in any modern media player. It works for me on Mac in quicktime and Realplayer 10. I think it should work on windows in either of those apps plus Windows Media Player.
Download: Go Away, Kid, 27.1MB, 10 minutes
Point Piedras Blancas
A short clip showing the unique roar of an adult bull Northern Elephant Seal. You can hear these guys from a mile away. Video shot near San Simeon, California in February 2003.
Download: Bull Roar, 2.5MB, 18 seconds
Deer at Leidig Meadow
These mule deer were grazing just a few feet from the sidewalk, not caring much about the tourists walking by. One doe did get a bit spooked though when someone tried to feed her a handful of grass. Later I found out that the animal that's caused the most human injury in Yosemite National Park isn't the bear, or even the coyote. Its the mule deer. Taken in the Leidig Meadow, near Swinging Bridge in Yosemite Valley.
Download: Mule Deer at Yosemite, 21.4MB, 4 minutes
Nevada Fall
A trip down the Merced river starting at the rim of Yosemite Valley, down the cascade at Illilouette Creek, then over to the top of Nevada Fall, down to Vernal Fall with a jump off Swinging Bridge into the river in Yosemite National Park.
My new camera can shoot movie clips too and this movie was shot with this camera. As video cameras go, its pretty awful but it has a big advantage over my real video cam. Its small enough to fit in my pocket and as my main still camera, I'll carry it around with me a lot. A crapcam in the pocket is worth a TV studio at home. Maybe now I'll post to this blog more often.
Download: Down The Merced River, 22MB, 3.5 minutes
Its A Tail!
Originally uploaded by Dawn Endico.
Last January I got to see four elephant seal births. I was really lucky to see the first one. The mom was close to the surf, and pretty far from me. I had no idea that she was in labor and just happened to be looking out that direction when I caught a big wet 'sploosh'. Wow!
After that, I went back to the other end of the beach where there were a bunch of cows waiting to give birth, and several people watching and trying to figure out which ones were in labor.
Someone noticed that this one was about to give birth when she lifted up her tail and there was a tiny little black tail sticking out too. Two more births followed this one around sunset but it was too dark for pictures.
If you watch the slideshow at high speed you can pretend its a movie of the birth.
Click To PlaySnowy Egret Chick on blip.tv A snowy egret chick thinks real hard about the next branch, which he eventually jumped over to. Shot at Baylands Nature Preserve in Palo Alto, California.
Download: MPEG4 Video (.mp4)
Click To PlayEgret Family on blip.tv Snowy Egret parents feed their chicks at the Baylands Nature Preserve in Palo Alto, California.
Download: MPEG4 Video (.mp4)
Click To PlayJuvenile Black Crowned Night Herons on blip.tv Juvenile Black Crowned Night Herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) in their nests at the Baylands Nature Preserve in Palo Alto, California. Being brown, the chicks were hard to spot at first, but it was easy to tell they were there because of all the clucking. Here's a still image of them at Flickr.
Download: MPEG4 Video (.mp4)
Taft Point In Ten Seconds on Vimeo
Download taftpoint.mp4 , 1.2mb
Looking down from Taft Point to the floor of the Yosemite Valley, 3200 ft. below.
Long Water on Vimeo
Download: longwater.mp4 ,1.8mb
Twenty three seconds of birds chirping and water dancing in the sun in the reflecting pool at the Pulgas Water Temple on Cañada Road in San Mateo County.
Beached on Vimeo (4:16 minutes)
Download: beached.mp4, 28.3MB
Elephant seals lounge on the beach at Point Reyes National Seashore in California. Music by subatomicglue.com. Photos by Jef Poskanzer and me.
Click To PlayArmless Duck Wrestling on blip.tv While I was at the duck pond to see the egrets I noticed these three ducks going at it in the parking lot. One is a Mallard and I guess the other two are some domestic variety.
Download: MPEG4 Video (.mp4)
Click To PlayBroken Legged Stilt on blip.tv
When I first saw this Black Necked Stilt he had one knee bent forward, one bent backward and moved around by hopping around gingerly on one leg.
This was taken at the Baylands Nature Preserve in Palo Alto, California in the marsh along San Francisco Bay. Here's a photograph of the bird on Flickr.
Download: MPEG4 Video (.mp4)
Click To PlayCliff Swallow Nests on blip.tv Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) have built a number of nests at the Baylands Nature Preserve visitor center in Palo Alto, California.
Here's a still image of the nest on Flickr, and one of a baby who didn't make it.
Download: MPEG4 Video (.mp4)
Click To PlayStreaming in Ten Seconds on blip.tv
At the Lukens Lake trailhead water falls over a log and a new shoot grows next to a creek in a spot where snow has recently melted.
Download: MPEG4 Video (.mp4)
I want to see if i can get this videoblogging stuff working in ANT. Since I don't have any video of my own online yet I'll link to this one of dolphins at sunset by a couple who are obviously walking on air.
For a moment like this you can endure a couple months in a dungeon.
Download: beach bliss.mov, 5.7MB, 4.5 minutes