Wild in the Weather

 

Red-tailed Hawk in Light Rain, Great Highway

I only stopped briefly to photograph the red-tail in the rain. I didn't want it to have to fly away just to escape my gaze, as often happens with these hawks. I might be cold and wet for a few hours at most, and then I go home and make lunch, take a hot shower, and change into dry clothes. I have so much respect for all the wild creatures that have to deal with whatever weather comes, all day, every day.

Yesterday I finally got around to trying out a feature on the FZ80D that I figured was too good to be true -- the burst mode. I assumed burst mode would reduce the file sizes, or automatically limit them to JPEGs, but it did neither. The burst-mode shots were full-sized RAW files, and the viewfinder blackout after firing a burst wasn't appreciably longer than for single shots.

What I also just noticed after getting home today were a couple of different ISO modes, an Auto-ISO and an iISO -- the second of which might be just what I've been looking for. I don't know how I've missed it all this time, but I look forward to trying it out.

By the way, National Geographic rates the FZ80D as the "best point-and-shoot digital camera for beginners," but I would call it a very good nature/wildlife camera for anyone wants to travel light and is shooting only for the web. If I want to make a great 24x36 print, I'll stick with my D800E. But for posting to the internet, the FZ80D is brilliant.

Burst, First Frame

Burst, Second Frame
(Both 1/1300th sec. @ ISO 3200)

ISO 3200 RAW File, Processed Normally

Same frame, processed through Lightroom's AI Denoise feature.

Even with "burst mode" on, the black phoebe was gone by the second shot. Guess I was framing too tightly.

I was surprised to see this Say's phoebe in my own neighborhood this morning.

Waterfall at Strawberry Hill, Blue Heron Lake

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Grounders

 

Kinglet Taking Wing

I was catching nothing but grounders in the botanical garden this morning. Before I went there I'd stopped by Lloyd and Blue Heron lakes and watched the ducks without breaking out my camera, although a cute little pied-billed grebe did tempt me.

I was a little disappointed that it only rained on me a little bit in the beginning of the ride. I was decked out in rain gear, ready and willing, but all I got was a sprinkle that just left droplets all over my glasses. No matter. I'm sure I'll get more chances over the next few days. In fact I ordered a new pair of rain pants (my current pair leaks) that are supposed to arrive tomorrow.

Anyway, almost as soon as I entered the garden a very cooperative little ruby-crowned kinglet bopped around over a semi-cleared area covered with wood chips, often coming so close that I couldn't fit the whole bird in the frame. The little Panasonic FZ80D still impresses me despite its limitations. All these shots were made at ISO 3200 and run through Lightroom's AI Denoise feature.

A fox sparrow pauses ever so briefly to make sure the coast is clear before resuming kicking in the duff to reveal a morsel of a meal.

I hoped the song sparrow would pose on the mushroom, but it did something even more surprising when it nibbled a few pieces of the cap.

Closer Crop

Hermit Thrush

Even at ISO 3200 I could only get a 1/200th sec. exposure here, a tad too slow for a bird that moves its head a lot, even when standing still.

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Mushies & Mergies

 

Iteration of a Honey Mushroom, Golden Gate Park

It was another cold and foggy morning to head out the door, and headwinds that seemed to be coming out of the north made a significant contribution to the "brisk factor." Somehow, by the time I was returning home, the wind seemed to be brisking out of the south! 

In "reality" (whatever that is), the wind was blowing out of the east. I figure it's just a quirk of the built environment. Wind swooshes out of the east into a row of houses arrayed north-to-south, then swishes up or down the street. I recall it being even worse downtown, where the built environment was much more canyon-like, and where it often seemed as if headwinds blew in every direction.

Fortunately, the middle part of the walk was through Golden Gate Park which had more windbreaks (and mushrooms) and was noticeably warmer.

Later, as I was biking to the beach (exacerbating the natural wind chill by adding speed), I hit the brakes when I noticed a group of hooded mergansers who were back in Lloyd Lake. 

Down by the beach I noted once again that very few birds were occupying Seal Rocks, and it made me wonder whether it's just a seasonal thing or a bird-flu catastrophe. Apparently the new strain is killing not just wild sea birds, but also seals and sea lions.

Lucky Honeys

Fungus Gnat Condos

Honey River

I wonder why there aren't any chanterelles to be found in Golden Gate Park's Oak Woodland. Unfortuntely, the mushrooms above are false chanterelles.

Skinny Troopers

Plum Leaf in a Ginkgo Sea

Fish Toss

The male tried to keep close to the female, but did not try to steal her fish.

The female merganser downs another fish...

...then rises up for a celebratory wing-flap.

The "biker gang" of Lloyd Lake.

There was lots of fishing going on. You could always tell when a merganser was about to dive underwater because it would fold back its hood beforehand.

Another Fish Toss

This morning's view from the Mt. Tam Cam...

...and from the Shasta Cam.

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Golden Hour

 

Resting Bison, Golden Gate Park

It was 59.3 degrees at my computer desk around noon today -- seven-tenths of a degree colder than it was this morning despite the sunny day. The strong and chilly wind must have countered the sunshine's warmth. (We don't use the heat overnight, and in the morning only on weekends.)

As we close in on the winter solstice, I've been enjoying the almost "golden hour" light that lasts all day due to the sun being so low in the sky. From Bolinas Ridge on Mt. Tam, you can see sundown color in the sky even at noon this time of year.

As I watched this red-tailed hawk near the Bison Paddock, it fought gusty winds to keep its balance on the thin branch near the top of this tall eucalyptus tree, then finally gave up and went back to soaring.

The small group of bison looked great in the slanted light as they lay among the verdure of new plant growth, much of which was poison hemlock.

As I was checking up on the black-crowned night herons at North Lake (yep, they're still there), I noticed the coots were fanning their fantails.

I only noticed after I caught them being slightly aggressive with each other, so I suspect this is some kind of dominance game.

"The American Coot is highly territorial in behavior, perhaps more so than most other birds, and must constantly fend off the invasion threats of other coots. Among resident birds this is true even during the winter season. Displays and calls constitute the aggressive behavior which serves to establish and maintain territorial security."

This is the Say's phoebe on one of her favorite perches. A black phoebe was also in the area while I was there today, but for the most part the two species kept their distance from each other.

Beach Phoebe

Speaking of individual birds, I suspect this beach red-tail is the same one I often see perched on light posts and such along the Great Highway. 

I like all the yellow bits of lichen matching the warbler's colors.

Although I recently photographed a yellow-rumped warbler in this same tree next to South Lake, I've noticed several of the species working the area, so no claims of being the same individual here.

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Sick Coyote

 

Mallard Lake, Golden Gate Park

Weird morning. It started out cold and sunny, but a wind came out of the east and pushed a mass of fog out my way. Suddenly it was cold and foggy, and I could better appreciate the dire straits of the sick coyote I'd run into near home. All the rough weather -- the cold, the wind, the rain -- that we've been enduring seemed sadly evident in that one pitiable animal -- which I can only hope wasn't G-dog.

Later in my walk I stopped to check out the decaying carcass of a raccoon I've been keeping an eye on for a few weeks, but a mower had gone over it. Any thoughts of eventually collecting the skull had been zapped into oblivion. 

A little farther along I encountered a senate gallery of pigeons looking down upon a lone member of their tribe standing in the road below. The lone pigeon was either sick or wounded, and the gallery was there to bear witness. It was only a matter of time before a car would come along and put an end to its suffering.

Next up was a great blue heron that swooped in to hunt gophers. It eventually caught one, and the poor creature struggled in the heron's beak until the heron was able to stab it for the kill.

There was so much of Nature in her brutal aspect today. But then the fog finally blew out and the sun shone warm and bright. Pied billed grebes floated lazily on pretty Mallard Lake. Robins snapped up red cotoneaster berries. A hairy woodpecker worked its way up a tall pine, occasionally whistling while it worked. Near the beach, the Say's phoebe was still in her place, as was the yellow-rumped warbler. Surf scoters dove beneath the surf. Gulls rested on sun-warmed sand.

Looking east at sunset last night.

The waning moon heading for the western horizon this morning.

Coyote in Need of a New Coat

As the coyote shivered from its cold and windswept perch on the Rocky Outcrop, I wished I could help in some way. I wasn't prepared to call Animal Control, or whatever we have here in San Francisco. I didn't think I could keep track of it until they would arrive, and I was also worried that my presence was keeping it from moving on to a warmer spot somewhere else.

This short clip of the sick coyote shows it was basically staying put, perhaps waiting for me to leave.

The last time I photographed pigeons arrayed like this, other groups of pigeons were doing the same thing in several of the other arches beneath the bridge. This time, only this group was staring down, with a lone pigeon, either sick or injured, waiting for death on the road below.

I'd never seen a pigeon suffer in this way. When it tried to walk, its gait was very wobbly, and then it tipped forward onto its heavy, muscular breast and couldn't recover. As the next pulse of vehicle traffic approached, I turned and slowly continued my walk, listening for the inevitable, which was provided by the very last car in the line.

More Honey Mushrooms!

The heron first landed on the south side of MLK Drive, then strode into the deeper grass toward a sound it might have heard. Nothing panned out, though, so it lifted off and flapped over to the other side of the road.

It very quickly appeared to be zeroing in on a likely suspect.

The heron got a mouthful of dried grass stalks along with its prey.

Since it caught the gopher by clamping down on it, the gopher was not immediately killed and struggled to free itself. The heron set the gopher back down a couple of times to spear it...

...and finally succeeded.

Only when the gopher was dead did it go down the hatch.

A pied billed grebe floats in the reflections at Mallard Lake.

Underwater Foliage

Robin Gets A Berry

The Singapore-flagged Ever Mega (left, heading to Oakland) meets the Liberian-flagged Ever Fast (heading to Busan, Korea) off Ocean Beach. Interesting that ships owned by the same company (Evergreen Marine Corporation with 200+ vessels) fly their "flags of convenience" in a variety of countries.

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