Birding??? Challenge

A couple weeks ago Larry challenged those of us who would be interested in birding a spot we've never birded. Believe me, it was a bigger challenge than I thought it would be. I was disappointed because I did not get one single picture of a bird. I had decided to visit West Valley Community College located in Saratoga, California -- about 4-5 miles from where I live. It is nestled in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, consisting of 143 acres, and has been in existence since 1964 -- about the time when the Silicon Valley experienced one of its growth spurts. The campus is a wooded area with the various buildings spread out, yet a short walk from one building to another. Walking around and through the campus makes you feel like you are far into the country. I chose to go last Sunday (Jul 1) around 5 p.m. and the campus was pretty close to being isolated. It was very quiet and I felt very peaceful walking around for about an hour. At times I thought I'd be able to find some birds and possibly get a picture if I sat down on one of the many benches there -- a real park atmosphere. Anyway, the best I did was spot a few California Towhees, but no photos -- they were too far away and flew off when I tried to get closer. The campus is definitely not devoid of birds; I saw many birds in flight. And I even heard more birds than I saw. But I'm not good at identifying birds by ear -- something I still have to learn. The birds that I saw and can report on were crows, towhees, swallows and titmice. But the trip wasn't a total loss. I still enjoyed my little adventure and have decided to share with you what I did find while walking around the campus of West Valley Community College.

This is part of a sugar pine tree that died while growing in the Sierras. Quite impressive standing next to it. The size of this prickly pear cactus tells me it's got some age on it. Anyone want to guess how old it is? My guess is that it is at least as old as the school has been there (1964).
These little ones are California ground squirrels. I think they were just born earlier in the spring. They didn't wander off very far from their "nest" so I think they were waiting for mama to return. They look smaller than what I found out about the size of these little critters.

This is a "natural" arbor of a coastal live oak. I did not get a photo of the Calif. Holly - it wasn't much to look at.

These are cannas - unlike the kind I have in my garden. These are planted near one of the buildings.

This is a grape vine growing over the pergola located at the Child Developmental Center on the West Valley campus. The second pic shows a close-up of the grapes, about the size of a marble.

This was another prickly pear cactus I came across - closer to the parking lot. And you can see that it's about ready to bloom.

The light blue flowers in the foreground are Lily-of-the-Nile (forgot its other name). And I don't remember the name of the purple flowered bush behind them. But it sure was attractive. This was growing in front of one of the fine arts buildings.

And this was the view of the Mt. Hamilton range from the parking lot. This picture also shows how wooded the campus is.