San Fransisco, Alcatraz et al.

fog on the day we drove over the Golden Gate bridge though

Archie at the bridge

me at the bridge

we had not ever eaten at a Hard Rock so decided to

tunnel from the military days of the prison

prison viewed from the ferry

San Fran viewed from the Rock

prison recreation yard

old military morgue

The lighthouse you can see the city behind it.

Our ferry captain

The bay bridge as viewed from the ferry we lucked up and had no fog on the day we went to "the rock"

sign on the admin building

ASFA's Convention of Delegates was in San Jose, CA this year. Archie and I went. I'd never been to CA, we both work in a prison ( I'm a teacher he's the accounting manager ) so of course we went to see Alcatraz (also drove through the up and down streets of San Fransisco and across the Golden Gate bridge before we flew back. Alcatraz was originally a military prison , the tunnel photo is from the old part of it. American Indians briefly occupied the island in 1970-1971 after it was closed, and the spray painted signs still attest to that. It is administered to by the National Park Service, you ride a ferry over and get to wear a headset with neat tour information and walk around to your heart's content. The view of the bay and the city is beautiful but I could not help but think what a horrible, cold, detached place to confine people. The day we drove over the Golden Gate bridge was really foggy but got a couple of good photos. Free to drive North over it and $6.00 to return to the city on it. Saw my first redwood trees, wow are they big, and managed to get a photo of a Western gull at Alcatraz. Unfortunately it was a traumatic weekend, I knew I had a biopsy coming up the Tuesday after it ( I had a "hot" mammogram) and on the Sunday of ACoD I got a phone call from my son that my father had died. My last couple of months have been kind of full of traumatic events so I have really kept to myself about most everything. Thanks to all who were kind during this time though, you will never know just how much it meant to me.

February 17, 2010 Merritt Island NWR

Way cool I caught about a dozen brown pelicans diving at one of the briny creeks at Merritt Island

OK even cooler I caught this osprey on the beach, at least that is what I believe it is, this is as close as I could get before it flew away, a big big bird

We did a 6 mile nature walk through the marsh, lots of birds

black vulture-slightly smaller than his cousin the turkey vulture, not quite as ugly either since his bald head is black

Ah another opportunity to take a lighthouse photo, this is Ponce Inlet Lighthouse in Florida, taken on the day we drove over to the Merritt Island National Wildlife refuge, took photos of several other birds not here but most of those are photos of herons and anhingas and other ducks I've already got photos of. Merritt Island was donated by NASA and you can see it across the inland waterways of the NWR

Feb 15, Daytona Beach FL

OK here are lots of shorebirds where we walked several miles down the beach on the Monday after the race. I think I have the species right from digging through my Kaufman field guide to North American birds but the big gray gull has me stumped although it is probably another immature Herring gull. The ruddy turnstones are in winter plumage. I matched the royal tern because of the leg and beak color same with the ring billed gull

The immature herring gull above was BIG fully a third bigger than the bonaparte and ring billed surrounding it. He had found a nice crab to munch on for breakfast.

This is the old boardwalk it looks as though it is being refurbished, might be neat to visit once fixed up.

This is my stumper. If it isn't an immature herring gull someone please tell me what it is?

ah the rare Larus mississippius archiea walking the beach

The Sanderlings and turnstones flocked together.