On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
It’s Albatrossity Monday!
I would have picked the water photo (obviously) for the featured image in the fly-out, but one of the privileges of always being our Monday morning guy is that Albatrossity gets to choose the image he wants to be featured. But you can’t expect the bird guy to choose the water photo, am I right?
Oh, and we have posts in the queue from Captain C and Uncle Eb, and a post from ema arrived today. But that’s it! So now would be a great time to send in some pics if you have been thinking about it. And if you haven’t been thinking about it, maybe you can let the idea of submitting something rattle around in your head?
Albatrossity
After the Friday evening birthday party for my daughter-in-law at a local brew pub, the next day was very relaxed. The birthday girl was treated to a spa day by her buddies, and the rest of us went to the beach. Montana de Oro is a wonderful state park along the coast south of Los Osos, and we headed there. Most of the pictures today are from that park.
The Anna’s Hummingbirds (Calypte anna) were abundant, and they were enjoying the abundant wildflowers. The yellow pollen on the bill of this young male attests to the fact that the flowers benefitted from their visits as well. Click here for larger image.
And here is another young male Anna’s Hummingbird, showing the first hints of that fine magenta gorget that he will be flashing at the ladies in the springtime. Click here for larger image.
Compared to the Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia) seen in most of the eastern part of the country, many of the subspecies found along the Pacific Coast are more heavily pigmented and have warmer tones (particularly on the flanks and wings). This handsome specimen shows off some of that color. Click here for larger image.
As noted before, Dark-eyed Juncos come in many varieties, and this one was fun to find. I believe it is a migrant Pink-sided Junco (Junco hyemalis mearnsi), a subspecies that winters in coastal California and summers in Canada. Distinctive plumage features include a medium-gray hood, bright rusty back, dark lores (the region between the eyes and the base of the bill), and extensive buffy-pink on the underside. Click here for larger image.
I know that I have included a shot of the Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens) in previous posts, but I think that they are adorable, so here’s another! Click here for larger image.
Blue-gray Gnatcatchers (Polioptila caerulea) are only summer residents in Flyover Country, but stay year-round in this part of California. They are small and quick, and can be a challenge to photograph, but fortunately they are also abundant and inquisitive! Click here for larger image.
But sometimes they just like to wag their tails at the camera. Fortunately, I have a vast collection of Bird Butt shots, and this one made it into my 2025 Bird Butt Calendar for its 15 minutes of fame as the January butt. Click here for larger image.
A delightful California resident, this Wrentit (Chamaea fasciata) is a taxonomic puzzle, currently placed in a couple of different families by different taxonomic schemes. This one was actually in a flock of Bushtits, which it resembles, and I only identified it after I looked at the pictures I took that day. Click here for larger image.
One of the attractions at Montana de Oro State Park is a tidal blowhole. Here is a phone photo, taken by my son Joey, of my daughter Ellen and her friend Anna getting drenched. Which is what they wanted, I suspect. It was a bit chilly and foggy for me to think that was a good idea, but I was nowhere near the thing. Win-win! Click here for larger image.
Jay
Thank you for the Birbs.
Betty
The gnatcatcher is adorable.
SteveinPHX
Thank you for photo of Chestnut-backed Chickadee.
(and other photos!)
Rusty
Thank you for pointing out the pollen on the Anna’s Hummingbird. I just love that picture with the beautiful plumage.
Dorothy A. Winsor
Beautiful pics to brighten our Monday morning.
HinTN
Second all comments. Such a great way to start the day. I do agree with WG, I love the California coast.
MCat
Thank you for the great photos. I do love the little birdie butt. I learn so much from your posts. Wonderful way to start the week.
Madeleine
The pink sided junco’s beak is interesting: pink (I think) but a tiny black tip. The attitude of the blue-grey gnatcatcher makes me smile and it’s such a lovely little bird. Well, they are all lovely.
stinger
Now that I’m retired, I have no reason to dread Mondays. In fact, I look forward to them, thanks to Albatrossity!
Albatrossity
@Madeleine: Thanks, all. And that little dark tip on the end of the bill seems to be a feature that lots of Dark-eyed Juncos have. Here’s a photo of one of my local birds here in Flyover Country, from a On The Road submission.
And yeah, I’m usually gonna pick a bird picture for the featured image accompanying the link to my posts every week. Sorry about that, WaterGirl! If I have water pics in future posts, I’ll try to remember to use those, Just for you!
Chat Noir
I always love your photos and captions, even if I don’t post a comment saying so!
Albatrossity
If you want to see a bird picture every morning, I post one on my BlueSky and Mastodon accounts daily. Here’s today’s Bird of the Day on BlueSky.
zhena gogolia
The comments are so great. They always enhance the photographs.
ETA: I mean captions.
DarbysMom
This is such a great start to the week. Look forward to your pics every Monday, Albatrossity.
JeanneT
I’d like to testify that even if you don’t see these pics till noon, they still make Monday brighter.
wombat probability cloud
Thank you for the wonderful photos. Love the pollen on the beaks of the Anna’s; any idea what they were visiting?
Albatrossity
@wombat probability cloud: The pollen is most likely from Bush Monkey Flower, See last week’s Monday OTR https://balloon-juice.com/2024/12/02/on-the-road-albatrossity-day-2-in-paso-robles-and-los-osos/
munira
I want that blue-gray gnatchatcher – it is so cute.
Gloria DryGarden
Wonderful
ive never seen anything like this hummingbird at the top
i adore ocean pictures that come with a story like this one
wombat probability cloud
@Albatrossity: I figured you would know it. Here in N. Wis. / Mich. UP we have a couple of diminutive relatives in Mimulus (glabratus and ringens) and Phryma, and I’m guessing that M. glabratus may be visited by hummers, also. Of course, these are all under about 6″ of snow at the moment, so pollinators are kinda scarce. Thanks again for your wonderful photos and knowledge.
Rob
@JeanneT: @Albatrossity: And more so at 7 p.m.! The Wrentit is wonderful, as are the two gnatcatcher photos. I’m glad the one gnatcatcher photo is in a 2025 calendar.