Jigsaw puzzles featuring nature photography; great gifts for Christmas

It's been a while since posting. Meanwhile, here in peafowl land, it's been business as usual. The babies arrived as expected over the summer, the adult peacocks have lost all their long feathers, the mother peahens are still protecting and nurturing their chicks, etc.

With Christmas and the holiday season fast approaching, we've been hard at work on products featuring our photography. We've just added jigsaw puzzles! Here are a few examples:









Jigsaw puzzles are fun any time, for people of all ages. And they make great gifts!

Baby peacocks at long last: Part 2

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As I said on 07/08/13, I was shocked, but very happy, to finally see some baby peacocks. After all, the normal time for pea chick sightings here in Arcadia is mid-May. So it was looking pretty unlikely that we'd see any chicks this season. And then it happened: Baby peacocks at LONG last!

Since then I've had the same family--a peahen and her four chicks--visit my yard numerous times.

Plus, another peahen and her two babies showed up soon after the first four. They're about the same size/age as the original four, so this mom hid her babies somewhere, too.

This morning I was outside very early [for me], and was stunned by what came walking toward me:

A mother peahen with her three older pea chicks. I have no idea where these cuties were hiding all this time, but they're here now.

So I'm busy snapping pics of this new family of baby peacocks and...couldn't believe my eyes at what I saw next:

Yep, ANOTHER mother peahen, this one with her three much younger chicks. I'm in peafowl heaven. :)

Well, that's where we stand as of right now. Who knows what tomorrow may bring?!

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Baby peacocks at LONG last!

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June, like May, came and went without one peacock chick sighted in my yard. July arrived, and one week in I had essentially given up all hope of seeing peafowl babies this year. And then, today, I was at my usual post at my patio table, Nikon at my side, admiring my flowers and fruit trees, watching peacocks and peahens, parrots, parakeets, hummingbirds, jays, sparrows, and other critters come and go. After a bit of a lull I noticed motion to my left, looked up from the game I was playing on my smartphone, and...well, see for yourself!





WE'RE HERE! WE'RE HERE! And aren't we cute?













Someday, this youngster may look as majestic as his dad:





And while he doesn't have much to fan right now, one day he'll have spectacular long feathers like his dad:







So it took a long time, and there are certainly fewer pea chicks this year than normal, but at least we finally have some. Also, these chicks are already older than the typical 'first chicks of the spring' that we see each year. These chicks are already sprouting their crowns/crests, so they're definitely not brand new. I don't know where their mom kept them hidden, but I sure wish she'd brought them around when they were smaller. There's just nothing cuter than brand new peafowl babies. But these will do just fine. I'm glad they're here!

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Probably no babies this year; where are the peacocks?

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As May approached I happily anticipated the annual parade of mother peahens and their new little chicks. Looking back at photos from previous years, I knew that this parade typically starts right at mid-May. So by the second week of May I had taken up my usual spot for peacock chick watching at my patio table, my Nikon D5100 at the ready, just waiting to start snapping pic after pic of adorable peacock babies.

I waited. And waited. Mid-May came and went. May ended. No chicks. June arrived. No pea chicks. June 5th, 10th, 15th passed...but not a single baby peacock. What the heck was up?!

The world famous Los Angeles Arboretum is only a mile from my house. It's where the peafowl population in my area originated early in the last century. I finally decided to give them a call to see if they knew of any reason for the dearth of peafowl chicks this year. To my surprise, they were not the least bit surprised. Turns out there's nothing to be alarmed about--it's just a natural cycle.

Apparently, when there's a very large number of chicks one season--as we had last spring/summer--there may be few to no chicks the following season. The folks at the Arboretum had seen a total of three babies, all of which were spotted well into June.

As I write this it's June 20th and I have yet to see even one pea chick. It's sad, but at least I know there's nothing wrong, such as a disease, to account for the lack of babies this year.

I won't give up all hope until summer is over, because there's still the chance...the slight, remote chance, that a few babies will arrive. If that should happen, I'll definitely post photos!

Meanwhile, enjoy these pictures of a family from this time last year:









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Baby peacocks FINALLY arrived!

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I was starting to get worried, as we were now two weeks beyond the usual date that peahens and their new chicks start wandering the neighborhood. Then, yesterday, it finally happened--baby chicks! The mother peahen was in my neighbor's front yard with her five little chicks. The sun was completely in the wrong spot for good photos, but I had to work with what I had, so I started snapping away. As of today I still haven't had any baby peacocks in my yard, but it's just a matter of time. Once they're here I'll get better photos, but for now here are a few from yesterday:







If you're interested in seeing a lot of photographs of peacocks in varying stages of maturity, please see our earlier post, Baby peacocks in my yard

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Baby peacocks should arrive any day now!

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Going back through photos I've taken in the spring over the years, I found that the earliest arrival [in my yard] of baby peacocks was on May 14th. Today is May 11th...so they should start showing up any minute now. I can't wait! My new camera, a Nikon D5100 with its 70-300mm lens attached, will be ready and waiting. As soon as I see the first chick(s) and their mother peahen(s) I'll be snapping photos like crazy.

Meanwhile, be sure to check out our baby peacocks post, which includes a lot of photos of peahens, peachicks at various stages of age, and young/immature peacocks and peahens.

Baby peacocks in my yard

(Please see our constantly growing selection of peacock photography on merchandise at CafePress, and/or our collection of peacock pictures on Flickr.)

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UPDATE 02/29/12: Yay! I've finally gotten around to adding some new photos...as long ago promised. Scroll down--they're below the original post.

What could be better than peacocks in your backyard? BABY peacocks in your backyard!

Spring is mating season for peacocks--and an adventure in patience for the humans in the area. As beautiful as peacocks are, their very loud vocalizations are not exactly music to the ears of humans. But when you live in an area where peacocks have become residents, it's just one of those things you accept as a trade-off for having these beautiful creatures around. (UPDATE: See our post with pics of squawking peacocks during mating season!)

Well, after mating season comes babies--and, good grief!, are they ever cute. I consider myself very lucky to have mother peahens who've become so used to me they're comfortable bringing their baby chicks around. (I was less than thrilled a few years ago when peacocks destroyed the beautiful, new flower bed in my front yard. Turns out they love various parts of various plants! They ate some of the foliage, dug up my gladiola bulbs--just for the fun of it, apparently, as they left the bulbs lying around the yard--ate seeds from some of the flowers, and tore up the soil. But, again, I accepted it as part of living with peacocks.) So after mating season's cacophony of screeching, honking, squawking sounds, along came sweet little chicks.

I've taken hundreds of pictures of the babies, documenting their growth and changing appearance over time. I haven't had a chance to put up any merchandise featuring the peacock chicks yet, but I will! In the meantime enjoy a few of my favorite photos; I'll add some later on that show the chicks as they get older. If you're looking for peacock photography on assorted merchandise, please visit our web site CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com.


A mother peahen eating with her chicks.




The next six photographs show a mother peahen brooding her six chicks. It was taken on a chilly morning and she was keeping them warm. Watch as one of the babies comes out from under mom, then all of them do as she stands up.




















This chick's crown is just starting to emerge from his head.




PS I know that female peafowl are called peahens, and that peacocks are male peafowl. I've used "peacock" in a rather loose way here!

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UPDATE 02/29/12: Added more photos.

Tender moments shared between two moms and their babies, one a younger chick and one a bit older.






Mom...the umbrella!







Those of you who--unlike me--eat animals, I'd kindly like to ask that you consider this FACT, assuming you're touched by the sweetness of these photos of mothers and babies interacting: Chickens, turkeys, ducks...and cows, pigs, and all other sentient beings, would also share moments like these with their parents/offspring, if not for the fact that they're separated at birth, confined to cruel, inhumane cages where they can't even stand up, and are then inhumanely slaughtered. Just because peacocks are "cute" doesn't mean they're any more capable of bonding with their mother/babies than other animals that are commonly thought of as food, or that they should have more right to do so.

A very young male chick already fanning his feathers.




Young chicks from one family, including one in a water fountain








Older chicks.









Younger and older immature males, fanning their feathers as they attempt to impress some young females.










An older, but still immature, male.




Older, but still immature, female (left) and male (right)








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