Natural History Wanderings

I was at the UC Botanical Garden (Berkeley,CA) today for about two hours.  It was midday and sunny.  It was not an ideal time for photography,  but I did find a number of plants in the shade where the light was more even.  Its still early spring but the early bloomers were out.  I spent about an hour in the native California section and saw  two different species of Poppies, numerous Manzanitas and Ceanothus, Mahonia and several species of Ribes including Ribes sanguineum(Pink-Flowered Currant) and Ribes speciosum (Fuchsia-Flowering Gooseberry).  Also a photogenic Agoseris grandiflora from the Channel Islands.  A number of Rhododendrons and Camellias were in bloom in the Asian section.  A section of Muscari sp. (Grape Hyacinth) caught my eye as I saw a lot of it in Greece last year and hope to see it in Turkey (where this specimen was from) this year.  There were quite a few birds singing in the wooded areas especially up near the rose garden.  Unfortunately, my birding my ear skills are extremely limited and I could only I.D. a jay (probably a Stellar Jay) and California Quail.

Below are a few of my photos; click on the thumbnails if you want to see a larger version of any photo.