On the first day of March, J, our two dogs Kodi and Kaja, and I headed out to the 1,627 acre Santa Teresa County Park located in the Santa Teresa Hills ten miles south of downtown San Jose in Santa Clara County, CA. This park is about 45 minutes from my home in the Santa Cruz mountains and on this early spring day (I know spring was a couple weeks away but this is California) the park was green with the wildflowers beginning to bloom.
The small can be very fascinating especially when it comes to photography. I have been taking macro photos for a few years but a year or so ago I picked up a 105mm f/2.8 Macro (Nikon calls it Micro) lens and was not disappointed.
This little bird is about 5.75" long with a wing span of 10" and only weighs .63oz (18g) but like warblers they are constantly moving in search of insects. I first saw this bird on Dec 31, 2011 a few days after it showed up at the Santa Cruz Court house which is located along the San Lorenzo River.
This winter has brought a few rare birds to Santa Cruz County and this week a Hooded Warbler showed up at Natural Bridges State Beach. This is an East Coast bird that was last seen in the county in 2006.
Black and White Warblers show up somewhere in Santa Cruz County each year and this winter is no different. A B&W was spending time in a 4 block long green space called Bethany Curve in Santa Cruz proper.
