DanT1999

(Gallinago delicata) I shot this photo in the late afternoon on April 9, 2013 at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve near Encino, California. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to get a shot like this of this species because most of the times I have encountered snipes is when I have inadvertently stepped into their habitat and scared them out of their hiding places with their sudden flight scaring me in the process as well. This bird, however, was very cooperatively foraging out in the open and didn’t mind my presence so much.

The most likely birds that Wilson’s snipe could be confused with are probably the long-billed and short-billed dowitcher, but to tell them apart is straightforward. Unlike the dowitchers, Wilson’s snipe has stripes on the back and crown as well as much shorter legs. Also, the behavior is markedly different. While dowitchers tend to forage in large groups on open mudflats, Wilson’s snipe is more solitary and very secretive, often remaining under the cover of thick vegetation. When spooked, the Wilson’s snipe makes a croaking sound and soars high into the air before settling to a new spot, a different behavior from other sandpipers.

Wilson’s snipes are fairly common winter visitors and spring and fall migrants in Southern California although they can be a bit difficult to find because of their secretive nature. They have a wide range which includes most of North America and parts of South America. One interesting fact I read is that the female typically lays four eggs and the male will hatch the first two chicks and leave the nest with them leaving the female to care for the other two chicks, the parents apparently never interacting with each other again.

_{Facts I cited about this species come from allaboutbirds.org and personal experience.}5 days ago

(Limnodromus griseus) I shot this photo in the early evening on September 7, 2010 at Malibu Lagoon State Beach in Malibu, California. The bird in this photo, a fall migrant, has not yet completed its transition to non-breeding plumage. Short-billed dowitchers, depending on the subspecies, breed in the taiga regions of Canada or Alaska. They are common spring and fall migrants through Southern California and uncommonly a few stick around during winter.

The long-billed dowitcher and the short-billed dowitcher are notoriously difficult to distinguish from each other, and it’s one of the greatest ID challenges birders in North America face. They can most reliably be distinguished by voice. The long-billed dowitcher’s call sounds sort of like “eek” “eek” “eek” whereas the short-billed dowitcher’s call sounds sort of like “toot” “toot” “toot”, On average, the short-billed dowitcher does in fact have a shorter bill (which sometimes droops slightly at the end) than the long-billed dowitcher, but there is a considerable amount of overlap and variation among individual birds so judging bill length alone is not usually sufficient. There are a variety of subtle plumage characteristics that can be helpful to evaluate, but in any event without hearing the bird you have to rely on a combination of characteristics to make the ID. Short-billed has a preference for coastal estuaries and saltwater marshes whereas long-billed prefers freshwater, but both species can still be found in the same habitats at the same time.

I will describe two of the characteristics that I find most helpful to separate the two if the birds are silent. One is the “loral angle” which is found if you draw a straight line from the middle of the bill to below the eye and another line from the middle of the bill to the middle of the eye. A wide angle between these two lines is characteristic of short-billed dowitcher and the converse for long-billed dowitcher. The other characteristic is the curvature of the supercilium (i.e., eyebrow); strong curvature is a characteristic of short-billed and flatness of long-billed.

_{Facts I cited are from New advances in the field identification of dowitchers by Cin-Ty Lee and Andrew Birch.}5 days ago

(Limnodromus scolopaceus) I shot this photo in the late afternoon on April 20, 2011 at Del Rey Lagoon Park in Playa del Rey, California. The bird in this photo, a spring migrant, has almost completed its molt into breeding plumage. Long-billed dowitchers breed in the high Arctic tundra of northern Canada and western Alaska but are common spring and fall migrants through Southern California and a few stick around here through winter.

The long-billed dowitcher and the short-billed dowitcher are notoriously difficult to distinguish from each other, and it’s one of the greatest ID challenges birders in North America face. They can most reliably be distinguished by voice. The long-billed dowitcher’s call sounds sort of like “eek” “eek” “eek” whereas the short-billed dowitcher’s call sounds sort of like “toot” “toot” “toot”, On average, the long-billed dowitcher does in fact have a longer bill than the short-billed dowitcher, but there is a considerable amount of overlap and variation among individual birds so judging bill length alone is not usually sufficient. There are a variety of subtle plumage characteristics that can be helpful to evaluate, but in any event without hearing the bird you have to rely on a combination of characteristics to make the ID. Short-billed has a preference for coastal estuaries and saltwater marshes whereas long-billed prefers freshwater, but both species can still be found in the same habitats at the same time.

I will describe two of the characteristics that I find most helpful to separate the two if the birds are silent. One is the “loral angle” which is found if you draw a straight line from the middle of the bill to below the eye and another line from the middle of the bill to the middle of the eye. A wide angle between these two lines is characteristic of short-billed dowitcher and the converse for long-billed dowitcher. The other characteristic is the curvature of the supercilium (i.e., eyebrow); strong curvature is a characteristic of short-billed and flatness of long-billed.

_{Facts I cited are from New advances in the field identification of dowitchers by Cin-Ty Lee and Andrew Birch.}5 days ago

(Calidris alpina) I shot this photo in the late afternoon on April 19, 2013 at Del Rey Lagoon Park in Playa del Rey, California. With the red tones on its back and black belly patch the bird in this photo is in breeding plumage. Spring migration is generally the only time to see dunlins in breeding plumage in Southern California since unlike other similar sandpipers they molt into their winter plumage before leaving their breeding grounds and arrive as fall migrants later compared to other peeps (October as opposed to July). The dunlin in winter plumage is not as pretty, being very drab in color and lacking the black belly patch.

Sandpipers of the genus Calidris are colloquially referred to as “peeps” and can be tricky to tell apart. If I’ve confused the dunlin with any other species, it would be the western sandpiper in winter plumage. However, the dunlin is noticeably larger than the western sandpiper and has a longer, more decurved bill and in breeding plumage has a black belly patch that the western sandpiper lacks. In Southern California, I most often see dunlins during spring migration (March to April) as part of mixed flocks with western sandpipers and fall migration (October) as individuals or in small groups. While a few winter locally at coastal lagoons, this species is absent during the summer when they are at their breeding grounds. Their breeding range is on the tundra of western Alaska for birds wintering in Asia and northern Canada for birds wintering in North America.

_{Facts I cited about this species come from allaboutbirds.org, ebird.org and personal experience.}1 week ago

(Calidris mauri) I shot this photo in the early evening on July 8, 2011 at Malibu Lagoon State Beach in Malibu, California. With its reddish tones, the bird in this photo is in breeding plumage. The western sandpiper in breeding plumage is not as pretty, being pretty drab in color.

Western sandpipers are most numerous in Southern California during spring migration (March to April) and fall migration (July to September) when flocks of thousands can be seen in the right habitat such as extensive mudflats and the edges of coastal lagoons. A few stick around during winter, but they are absent during the summer when they are at their breeding grounds. The breeding range for western sandpiper is on the tundra of western Alaska and eastern Siberia.

Sandpipers of the genus Calidris are colloquially referred to as “peeps” and can be tricky to tell apart. Least sandpipers are smaller and more brown with greenish-yellow legs instead of black; dunlins are somewhat larger with a more decurved billed and with a black patch on the belly in breeding plumage; and sanderlings are more plump, have two instead of three toes and more strictly prefer to feed in the sand at the water line. The western sandpiper is most difficult to distinguish from the semipalmated sandpiper which has a shorter, stubbier bill and subtle plumage differences, but semipalmated sandpiper is very rare in California. One favorite late summer pastime among Southern California birders is to scan the flocks of thousands of western sandpipers in the LA River near Long Beach to find the one bird that is a semipalmated sandpiper.

_{Facts I cited about this species come from allaboutbirds.org, ebird.org and personal experience.}1 week ago

(Calidris minutilla) I shot this photo in the early evening on March 28, 2011 on a jetty near the beach in Playa del Rey, California. Least sandpiper seems to be the hardiest of the little sandpipers that I see in my area. While most of the others restrict themselves to mudflats, estuaries and lagoons, I encounter these birds on jetties and in a wider variety of locations than the others.

Sandpipers of the genus Calidris are colloquially referred to as “peeps” and can be tricky to tell apart. Least sandpipers can often be found in mixed flocks with western sandpipers and other peeps but are told apart by their smaller size (though that can be hard to judge), generally more brown appearance and especially by their greenish-yellow legs (the other peeps have black legs). They are the most common and widespread peep found in Southern California during the winter but are outnumbered by western sandpipers during spring and fall migration. This species is absent from Southern California during summer when they breed in the tundra and taiga regions of Canada and Alaska.

_{Facts I cited about this species come from allaboutbirds.org, ebird.org and personal experience.}1 week ago

(Calidris alba) I shot this photo in the late afternoon on July 22, 2011 at Malibu Lagoon State Beach in Malibu, California. These birds are so fun to watch as they run really fast along the sand at the water line occasionally probing for tasty morsels like for instance sand crabs. The bird in the photo was likely a returning fall migrant even though it was seen at the end of July. “Fall” for shorebirds is when they leave their breeding grounds and head back to their wintering grounds which for many species begins in July. Sanderlings are often seen in huge flocks so it was somewhat unusual that on that day I just saw the one. Also, this bird is still in breeding plumage. More often I see them in their winter plumage when they are mostly white with some light gray above.

The sanderling has an amazingly wide winter range, being found on sandy beaches all over the world. However, its breeding range is restricted to the high Arctic. The sanderling is common on Southern California beaches all winter, but personally I have found them to be especially numerous during spring migration when I’ve seen flocks of over a thousand. When I observe a flock of sanderlings I can’t help but contemplate how these birds may have come from the bottom of South America and are on their way to the North Pole or vice versa. The thought that these tiny birds are traveling thousands of miles and seeing rugged and remote places that I will never see I find so awe-inspiring and its thoughts like these that draw me to birdwatching.

_{See allaboutbirds.org for the facts I cited about this species.}1 week ago

(Tringa solitaria) I shot this photo in the late afternoon on April 15, 2013 at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve near Encino, California.

The solitary sandpiper is somewhat similar to the spotted sandpiper (see my prior entry). In comparison to the spotted sandpiper, the solitary sandpiper has longer legs, a more distinct white eye ring, a somewhat speckled pattern on its back, and black barring on its tail which can be seen on birds in flight. Also, it doesn’t incessantly bob its tail like a spotted sandpiper; instead when it occasionally moves its whole upper body up and down like a willet or yellowlegs. Actually, I’ve confused solitary sandpiper more often with lesser yellowlegs (see my second prior entry). In comparison to lesser yellowlegs, the solitary sandpiper has greenish instead of yellow-orange legs, a shorter neck and a barred tail that the yellowlegs lacks.

The solitary sandpiper is a regular spring and fall migrant through Southern California but turns up only in very low numbers. I have managed to see one or two every year in suitable habitat during at least one of the two seasons. They winter mostly in Central and South America and breed in the taiga regions of Canada and Alaska. Unlike most other sandpiper species which build their nests on the ground, the solitary sandpiper uses the abandoned nests of tree-dwellings songbirds. While not truly a “solitary” bird (in fact I’ve seen two together at once), unlike most other shorebirds it doesn’t migrate in large flocks.

_{See allaboutbirds.org for the facts I cited about this species.}1 week ago

(Actitis macularius) I shot this photo in the late afternoon on July 5, 2010 at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve near Encino, California. This bird in breeding plumage seemed to be guarding over two or three chicks that were down in the creek below. It’s breast is in fact spotted as can be seen in the photo, but during the winter this species lacks spots. I think a more apt name for this bird would be “teetering sandpiper” since it’s constantly bobbing its tail.

This is an older photo and I have shot many photos of spotted sandpipers since I shot this one and I see them all the time, but this is still one of my favorites of this species. I was just waiting to post it until I could get a decent photo of a solitary sandpiper, a similar bird, for comparison (see my next entry).

The spotted sandpiper is the most widespread sandpiper breeding in North America and can be found in just about any habitat near water. It is an interesting species in that the traditional male and female roles are reversed (phalaropes are like this too). The female, often larger and more aggressive than the male, stakes out the breeding territory and defends it against outsiders while the male incubates the eggs and cares for the young. Furthermore, the female practices “polyandry”, laying clutches of eggs with different males who establish their own mini-territories within the female’s main territory.

_{See allaboutbirds.org for the facts I cited about this species.}1 week ago

The differences between greater and lesser yellowlegs are easier to appreciate when seeing them together side-by-side. In this photo which taken in the early afternoon at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve near Encino, California on April 20, 2013, the lesser yellowlegs is on the left and the greater yellowlegs is on the right. Note that the lesser yellowlegs is in fact smaller than the greater yellowlegs, has a shorter bill relative to the size of its head and also has less barring on its flanks. 3 weeks ago

(Tringa flavipes) I shot this photo in the early evening on April 17, 2013 at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve near Encino, California. Lesser yellowlegs is not too common in my area and while they do turn up in low numbers I haven’t had many occasions to photograph them. Most of my other photos of this species have been at a great distance and not very clear. I’m still not entirely satisfied with this one, but it’s my best so far. Greater yellowlegs, a very similar bird, is much more common in my area and without care can be confused with this species (see my prior entry and my comment to this entry).

Sometimes I still have to think twice when trying to separate the lesser yellowlegs from the greater yellowlegs, the more common of the two species in my area. Actually, they are easy to tell apart when they are standing beside each other because the lesser yellowlegs averages only about two-thirds the size of the greater yellowlegs (the size difference implied by how these species were named). When they are not side-by-side, the next best characteristic to look at is the length of the bill. The lesser yellowlegs has a bill that is about the same length as its head and that is almost entirely dark with a needle-like appearance. By comparison the greater yellowlegs has a bill about one and a half times the length of its head that often has a lighter gray base and that may be slightly curved up at the tip. The next best characteristic to tell them apart is their behavior. The lesser yellowlegs appears calm and sedate compared to the greater yellowlegs which tends to forage very actively and noisily. I have seen described subtle differences in plumage between the two species, but I have not found any of those supposed distinctions helpful at all in field identification.

The lesser yellowlegs shares much the same breeding range in Canada and Alaska as the greater yellowlegs as well as the same wintering range from the southern United States to South America. Nevertheless, the lesser yellowlegs is much less common both as a winter visitor to and as a spring or fall migrant through Southern California than the greater yellowlegs. They can be found with other shorebirds foraging in muddy and shallow freshwater or saltwater habitats.

Check out the San Diego Natural History Museum’s webpage where I got many of the facts I quoted. 3 weeks ago

(Tringa melanoleuca) I shot this photo in the late morning at McGrath State Beach in Oxnard, California on September 4, 2010. The location in the photo looks pristine, but this was actually just a flooded part of a parking lot. This is an older photo and I have shot many photos of greater yellowlegs since I shot this one, but this is still one of my favorites of this species. I was just waiting to post it until I could get a decent photo of a lesser yellowlegs, a very similar bird, for comparison (see my next entry).

Sometimes I still have to think twice when trying to separate the lesser yellowlegs from the greater yellowlegs, the more common of the two species in my area. Actually, they are easy to tell apart when they are standing beside each other because the lesser yellowlegs averages only about two-thirds the size of the greater yellowlegs (the size difference implied by how these species were named). When they are not side-by-side, the next best characteristic to look at is the length of the bill. The lesser yellowlegs has a bill that is about the same length as its head and that is almost entirely dark with a needle-like appearance. By comparison the greater yellowlegs has a bill about one and a half times the length of its head that often has a lighter gray base and that may be slightly curved up at the tip. The next best characteristic to tell them apart is their behavior. The lesser yellowlegs appears calm and sedate compared to the greater yellowlegs which tends to forage very actively and noisily. I have seen described in field guides subtle differences in plumage between the two species, but I have not found any of those supposed distinctions helpful at all in field identification.

The greater yellowlegs shares much the same breeding range in Canada and Alaska as the lesser yellowlegs as well as the same wintering range from the southern United States to South America. The greater yellowlegs is a common winter visitor and also a spring and fall migrant through Southern California whereas the lesser yellowlegs is much less common both as a winter visitor to and as a spring or fall migrant through the area. The greater yellowlegs can be found with other shorebirds foraging in muddy and shallow freshwater or saltwater habitats. Sometimes I find greater yellowlegs annoying because they are so vocal if I approach too closely that they “scare away” (or “warn” is probably a better way to put it) the other shorebirds in the vicinity I might be trying to look at.

Check out the San Diego Natural History Museum’s webpage where I got many of the facts I quoted. 3 weeks ago

Monday, April 15

1) My left leg, calf muscle in particular, was still sore from running the 15K yesterday, but it wasn’t so bad that it prevented me from going for a walk during my lunch break. I will probably have to avoid running for the next few days though…

2) Traffic on my route was atrocious this morning, but fortunately this afternoon it wasn’t so bad…

3) Birding at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve after work… I was able to add solitary sandpiper (species #260) to the list of birds I have seen in Los Angeles County in 2013… Also, I saw all four great horned owls in the park today: mom, dad, and the two babies which are already noticeably bigger than they were last week…

Sunday, April 14

1) Running a 15K this morning in Santa Monica, my first time running a 15K. I finished it in 1:17:09…

2) Finally taking my bottles in to be recycled… I have had bags full of plastic bottles accumulating in my apartment for quite some time, and it was becoming unsightly… I’m glad to have them gone…

3) Doing my taxes before the deadline… I owed federal taxes but am getting back some from the state so it approximately evens out…

Saturday, April 13

1) I went birding this morning making a couple of stops in the Antelope Valley, where I saw a couple of lingering red-breasted nuthatches and a late season ferruginous hawk, and ended the morning at Placerita Canyon State Park… Today I added warbling vireo (species #258) and lazuli bunting (species #259) to the list of birds I have seen in Los Angeles County in 2013…

See the collage of photos I took today…

2) I had dinner with Andrew at Khun Dang, a Thai restaurant, in Van Nuys… I could eat fried noodles everyday although that’s probably not a good idea…

3) We rented a movie called “Chained”... I don’t know if it was ever in theaters or if it was just straight to DVD (the latter wouldn’t surprise me). The idea was kind of interesting but the ending was a bit rushed and left a lot of unresolved questions. Also, we found it interesting that a woman directed it… 4 weeks ago

I ran the Beach Bash 15K organized by Rocket Racing Productions in Santa Monica, California on April 14, 2013. I liked this event because it was small and informal. There were four simultaneous races taking place including a 5K, a 10K, a 15K and a half marathon, and combined less than one hundred people participating in them. More than half the participants ran the 5K with the rest split among the 10K, which was the next most popular, and half marathon while only three people, incluiding me, did the 15K. The course was open (i.e., not closed off to other runners, bicyclists, pedestrians or other general traffic) and consisted of an out-and-back loop along the boardwalk in Santa Monica starting just south of the pier and going north from there. The 10K was two loops of the 5K, the 15K was three loops of the 5K and the half marathon had a single, longer loop.

The weather was perfect for running, overcast and cool but not cold. Santa Monica is one of my favorite places to run because of the atmosphere being near the beach and the interesting mix of people it attracts. Even the participants themselves were a diverse mix of serious runners and more casual runners or walkers who wanted to enjoy a morning by the ocean. There were three teenage girls who had took a detour from the race to go swing on the swings on the beach. I had run 10K in the time it took them to get close to finishing the 5K, but it looked like they were having fun so I can’t blame them. Rocket Racing has several similar events in Santa Monica during the year, and I’ll definitely participate in another one soon.

My goal was to finish in 1:15, assuming I could comfortably do 25 minutes per 5K. I didn’t make it but came sort of close. This may be the only time I ever finish number one in a race. Here’s how I did:

Overall: 1 out of 3
Men: 1 out of 1
Finish: 1:17:09 (hours:minutes:seconds)
Pace: 8:17 (minutes:seconds per mile) 4 weeks ago

Friday, April 12

1) At work finishing the team presentation we had to give to management discussing the results of our analyses…

2) Going out to lunch with my team to celebrate being done… We went to Bulan Thai Vegetarian Kitchen on Melrose. When I asked for my noodles to be made extra spicy, my colleagues were impressed that I could eat very spicy food…

3) I went birding at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve after work this afternoon… I saw some cool things today including a very cooperative Wilson’s snipe foraging near the river, dozens of cliff swallows collecting mud for building their nests (see the photo I took), and a juvenile great horned owl continuing in its nest up high in a eucalyptus tree near the cricket fields. Also, I added hooded oriole (species #257) to the list of birds I have seen in Los Angeles County in 2013…

Thursday, April 11

1) Running this morning… I woke up late so today was just a short run… I’m just glad I’ve been consistent at doing some amount of running at least four days a week..

2) Dinner at the Korean mall…

3) Listening to the music of Erin McKeown… She’s one of my favorites though I haven’t listened to her in a while. I got lost in memory a bit while listening to her song Didn’t They because I once had an experience exactly like the song describes… At the time I first started listening to her music, I really had no idea she was lesbian although in retrospect I guess that explains why a disproportionate percentage of the people in the audience of her shows that I’ve been to seemed to be lesbian or gay…

Wednesday, April 10

1) Running this morning… Today was my longer than average run…

2) It was kind of hot today, so during lunch I stayed in my car parked in the shade reading…

3) At the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve after work today, I saw that at least one of the baby owls was still on the nest and the mother was on guard on a nearby perch…

Tuesday, April 9

1) Running this morning… Nearby it looked like a crew was getting ready to film something with a horse…

2) When I was driving through Hollywood to work this morning I saw a man spontaneously do a dance while walking by himself on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He seemed like a normal, conservatively dressed older man and not at all homeless or weird or anything like that. It was odd to see; maybe he was walking by the star of Fred Astaire or someone like that and felt inspired…

3) I stopped by Lake Balboa after work today… It’s interesting to see the impact of bird migration. Duck populations are way down, and for the first time in months year-round resident mallards now outnumber American wigeons which will soon all be gone. Lark sparrows are already gone and only a few white-crowned sparrows remain. Bullock’s orioles and yellow warblers are back and increasing and can be heard singing once again… 4 weeks ago

(Buteo swainsoni) I shot this photo in the morning on March 30, 2013 in the high desert near a ranch yard northeast of Lancaster, California. This bird was one of three I encountered circling together over an alfalfa field. I believe this particular bird is an “intermediate morph”. In relation to birds, “morphs” describe the color variation within a particular species, sort of the way humans come in blond, brunette or redhead. Light morph Swainson’s hawks have a dark chest and white underparts whereas dark morph birds are almost entirely dark except near the tail. This bird seems to be in between with an almost entirely dark body but light under the wings. I read on Wikipedia that 90% of Swainson’s hawks are light morph but dark morph is more common in the far west part of its range (e.g., California).

The Swainson’s hawk is a bird of the open country of the West. According to allaboutbirds.org, this species has a very long migration route, summering in Canada and wintering in Argentina. In Southern California, they are typically seen as migrants through the desert and along the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains from February through April. Swainson’s hawks often migrate together in huge numbers, even into the thousands. I myself have not witnessed that yet; I’ve only seen no more than five together at once just because I haven’t been lucky. The prairie dog is known to be one of their favorite foods although they are also known to be voracious consumers of insects like grasshoppers. 1 month ago

(Buteo regalis) I shot this photo in the morning on December 12, 2012 in the high desert near a ranch yard northeast of Lancaster, California. Ferruginous means “rust-colored”, and as is apparent on the bird in the photo the wings do exhibit some rust-coloring. The ferruginous hawk is probably my favorite of the hawks that can be found relatively close to my area. I especially find them beautiful in flight. I’ve seen some birds that are almost entirely white underneath with only a few feathers speckled with rust or brown color.

According to allaboutbirds.org, the ferruginous hawk is the largest of the hawks found in America. It is a bird of the open country of the West that feeds on small mammals. In Southern California, they are fairly common winter visitors to the high desert generally from September to March. Only rarely to they stray to the coastal slope. All the ferruginous hawks that I have personally seen have been east of the mountains in the desert. Another interesting fact can be seen if you look closely at the photo and notice that this bird has feathers that go all the way down to the toes. This is one of only two American hawks that have this characteristic. 1 month ago

Thanks for sharing it… The flock of birds freely flying in the beautiful setting did make me think about something though. I spend a lot of time observing birds and they really seem to have only three interests: finding food, avoiding predators, and reproducing. I wonder if they can appreciate the beautiful settings and environments that they are often a part of… 1 month ago

Sometimes, but not always, the book is better than the movie version of the same story. I found the story interesting in the movie, but I don’t know that it is interesting enough for me to invest the time into reading about it… 1 month ago

Good GPA and a mix of math and business courses are ideal. Internships and other activities where you demonstrate leadership ability definitely help. Most significantly you should pass at least one or more actuarial exams to have the best chance for landing an entry-level actuarial job.

I can’t say that it’s my dream job, and I’m not sure I would go into this field if I had it all to do over again. However, I can say that I generally like the work. As with just about any job, there can be periods of monotony and you won’t love every single thing you do. Some of the work is kind of mundane, like preparing supporting exhibits for the department of insurance to file rate changes if you work in pricing or preparing data to be sent to auditors if you work in reserving. However, much of the work can be quite interesting. What I find interesting is developing an understanding of the business so much after analyzing trends in various breakdowns in the data that we can explain things like how growth in certain segments has affected our profitability and recommend corrective actions to take.

PM me if you would like to know more. 1 month ago

I shot this photo on March 30, 2013 at Apollo Park in Lancaster, California at about 7:10 AM. It hadn’t really occurred to me to try photographing the moon before, but I had recently been looking at photos of the moon that people had shot with simple cameras and was curious to give it a try when at that particular moment I glanced and saw the moon. I shot with a Canon 7D and 400mm lens and was impressed with the detail considering how far the moon is and that it was already daylight. I think I will try photographing the moon again sometime… 1 month ago

Monday, April 8

1) It was so windy today, and I happened to be driving home from work on a street with a lot of palm trees. There were palm fronds in the road and even the wind was knocking them out of the trees as I was driving… I was happy that my car wasn’t struck by falling palm fronds or any other debris…

2) I went to the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve after work this evening… In the park before I left I saw that two baby owls have hatched up high in their nest. I watched as the mother guarded over them peering at me and another photographer down below. The woman who walks her dogs in the park and says hi to me was there also along with her friend and seeing the owlets brought smiles to their faces…

3) Watching episode 68 of “Here Comes Oh Ja Ryong”... Gong Ju’s mother is in shock to find out that she is dating Ja Ryong and vehemently disapproves, and Yongsuk, the evil son-in-law, lies about Ja Ryong’s character to make the mother even more opposed… Even though things will surely work out as the official promotion for the drama describes the plot as how the second son-in-law (thus Ja Ryong and Gong Ju will have to marry at some point) rescues the family business from ruin by the scheming first son-in-law (Yongsuk), it’s still fun to see how things evolve to get to that stage…

Sunday, April 7

1) Running early this morning just before sunrise… I was impressed I was able to get up so early even though it was Sunday…

2) A quick stop at Dockweiler State Beach on my way to Redondo Beach this morning where I immediately found the glaucous gull that had been sighted there. Glaucous gull was species #253 on the list of birds I have seen in Los Angeles County in 2013 and also a “life bird” for me. I also added elegant tern (species #254) to my list…

3) Not getting sick during the three-hour whale watching trip I was on out of Redondo Beach this morning… The sea was so rough I thought I might not be able to tolerate it, but I held down my breakfast… Four fin whales were sighted though I didn’t get any photos of their blows or dorsal fins as I was focused on what birds I could find. There were hundreds of pacific loons flying northbound and also hundreds of Bonaparte’s gulls feeding on krill. I added two species to my county year list, red-necked phalarope (species #255) and northern fulmar (species #256). Northern fulmar was a “life bird” for me…

Saturday, April 6

1) I went birding and for a short hike early this morning at Big Rock Creek at the edge of the Antelope Valley. I was able to add a couple of more species to the list of birds I have seen in Los Angeles County in 2013. Among the Joshua trees on the road on the way there I found three Scott’s orioles (species #250) and at the creek I found a Townsend’s solitaire (species #251)...

2) I spent the afternoon doing rather mundane chores and then had a nap…

3) Since I saw in eBird that lesser nighthawks have returned to their local spots, I went to the Big Tujunga Wash at sunset this evening hoping to see some. Just a couple of minutes after I arrived just as the sun dipped below the horizon I saw six lesser nighthawks come out swarming around fairly close to me but they were so fast and it was starting to get too dark to get good photos. Still, there were cool to see. Lesser nighthawk was species #252 on my county year list…

Friday, April 5

1) The security guard in my office told me to wish her a happy birthday, so I did…

2) My department at work was given permission to leave early today since we had to work so late last week…

3) I took advantage of the extra free time this afternoon by going hiking at Placerita Canyon State Park and at Little Tujunga Canyon (see the collage of photos I took)... I was able to add four more species to the list of birds I have seen in Los Angeles County in 2013 which included purple finch (species #246), Hammond’s flycatcher (species #247), Nashville warbler (species #248) and black-chinned sparrow (species #249)... 1 month ago

Gyps africanus... This was a tough one because of the lighting in the photo, but the only other reasonable possibility, Cape Vulture, should be lighter in color than these birds are and also larger… 1 month ago

Terathopius ecaudatus... This is a really cool bird… Your entries make me want to book a trip to South Africa!

Check out this guide to the raptors of Kruger Park that I found online:
http://birding.krugerpark.co.za/birding-in-kruger-raptor-guide.html 1 month ago

Ceryle rudis... The two breast bands indicate that this is a male. The female only has one incomplete breast band. 1 month ago

Mycteria ibis... Pilanesberg seems like an amazing place to see birds! 1 month ago

Thursday, April 4

1) Running this morning… Just as daylight was coming along at points along the trail I saw a pair of ducks copulating (it is springtime after all) and a coyote in the field eying from afar the little dog that a man was jogging with…

2) During my lunch break walk in the Miracle Mile area, I saw a homeless man compliment a woman on the dress and the hat she was wearing. The woman awkwardly nodded in acknowledgement and seemed very uncomfortable and walked away as quickly as possible…

3) Dinner at the Korean mall tonight… There was a baby in a high chair at a nearby table that kept staring at me eating…

Wednesday, April 3

1) Running this morning… This was my “long” run for the week…

2) Traffic, especially during the morning commute, is still somewhat lighter than normal… I guess some people must still be on spring break…

3) Birding at Bette Davis Park near Burbank after work in hopes of finding the summer tanager that had recently been seen there. I ran into Joshua, the guy who had reported the bird there the other day, but neither of us had luck finding it today…

Tuesday, April 2

1) Running this morning… I was tired, but recently I’ve been better at being consistent even despite the tiredness…

2) A less stressful day at work now that the bulk of the quarterly work is done…

3) I went to the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve after work and was able to add two more species to my county year list, black-chinned hummingbird (species #244) and white-faced ibis (species #245)...

Monday, April 1

1) Finishing up the last of the significant work relating to the quarterly financial analysis on time for a meeting this afternoon…

2) I stopped at Malibu Lagoon after work (see the collage of photos I took)... Most of the reconstruction project seems to be done, but vegetation hasn’t grown back yet. Though I initially opposed the project I’m actually excited about what it will be like when things come back to life. Today, however, there were not many birds or people around…

3) Watching a couple of Korean dramas I’ve been following, “Here Comes Oh Ja Ryong” and “Horse Doctor”...

Happy April, by the way… 1 month ago

Sunday, March 31

1) Running this morning… A guy I’ve seen periodically jogging with his dogs waved hello and asked me about the Five Fingers shoes I was wearing. I told him that I couldn’t go back to anything else since I’ve switched. He said he hasn’t been brave enough to try them yet…

2) I had breakfast with Andrew at More Than Waffles in Encino. It’s always crowded there but I think more so today because it was Easter. We hadn’t been there in at least a couple of years or more, so the wait to get in was tolerable. Also, they have good homemade jams…

3) I went for a short hike at O’Melveny Park near Granada Hills late this afternoon (see the collage of photos I took). There was off-and-on rain showers that were heavy at times. It surprised me that there were still quite a few people having Easter picnics there even in the rain as Southern Californians are usually wimpy when it comes to any sort of weather… In any event, I was able to add black-headed grosbeak (species #243) to the list of birds I’ve seen in Los Angeles County in 2013… 1 month ago