Another Nest

 

Hummingbird Nest, Golden Gate Heights

It's still kind of a bummer to walk past the empty Inner Parkside nest, as I did this morning for the second time. My Wednesday walk had reverted to the mean -- meaning nothing much to photograph, nature-wise. So when a mama hummingbird squeaked in alarm and flew out of a small tree as I walked under it this morning, I felt grateful for the chance to observe another nest.

The only problem was, I couldn't find it. The tree is small, with limited potential for hummingbird real estate, and it seemed I had looked in every nook and elbow with no luck. So I began to slowly circle the crown, and just as I was about to close the loop, there it was. So small! It barely seems to hold the mother as she incubates her eggs, yet it will still be big enough to support a pair of growing nestlings.

On the bike portion of my morning I stopped by the big pride-of-madeira on Middle Drive West, where a light spray of drizzle was falling, when I saw that the resident Allen's hummingbird was there. It's actually been awhile since it was in a visible spot as I rode past. It spends a lot of time chasing off interlopers, and it also has a perch that's out of sight. 

The little guy kept moving onto perches ever closer to where I was standing, caught here in mid-blink.

A female Anna's hummingbird kept sneaking in, going for the flowers deep inside the patch instead of the more obvious ones on the edges. Nevertheless, the Allen's hummingbird kept catching her in the act and chasing her out.

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The Single Helix

 

Red-shouldered Hawk Near Elk Glen Lake

I never know what I'll find to photograph when I set out on my morning walk, or even if I will find anything. Today's first photo was of a lesser goldfinch that was one of several that I spotted foraging along the Sunset Parkway. After that came the garden snail, Helix aspersa, a Latin name I still recollect from a biology class I took around 40 years ago at Santa Barbara City College. Naturally, the Latin name has changed (to Cornu aspersum), but the common name remains the same.

The thing that surprised me about the snail was that it was descending a blade of barley-like grass. How it got up there in the first place, I didn't see. Maybe it traversed from another nearby blade of grass. I looked around the area and couldn't see any other snails, which also surprised me. Why would such a lush jungle of grass be supporting only a single Helix?

Looking more closely at the grass I also spotted a few other critters -- a few flies and a plant bug. One of these days I'll have to go out with my full-frame camera and a macro lens to try to better capture some of those tiny fellas that skulk in the grass jungle.

Lesser Goldfinch Collecting Seeds

Descending Garden Snail

Snail-in-the-Grass

Greenbottle Fly

Life on a Dewy Blade

This robber fly was so tiny I wondered if it was a mosquito.

A Very Random-looking Stinkbug

The brown creeper is tiny, but it was a giant compared with the other critters I'd been finding until this guy dropped in to hunt insects in a nearby tree.

I couldn't tell if I was seeing more than one bird, but this one appeared to be gathering nest material.

I wondered if it could simultaneously carry the nest material and hunt for insects, but it soon flew off toward the Polo Fields with its prize of wood fibers.

Miner's Lettuce in Bloom

Pacific Forktail Damselfly, Mallard Lake

Giant Yellow Iris
(Many more of these are in bloom at Blue Heron Lake.)

I had to find a view through the foliage to keep from spooking the hermit thrush from its perch.

Anna's Hummingbird at Mallard Lake

Allen's Hummingbird at Mallard Lake

Creek Dancer #1

Creek Dancer #2

The Townsend's warbler had just been bathing in the creek, then leaped up to the branch, perhaps to make sure I wasn't a threat.

Deciding I was far enough away, it re-entered the creek to splash a bit more before ascending into the crown of the tree that shades the creek.

I've been calling these "banana-like" leaves, and it turns out the plant is called Red Abyssinian Banana (Ensete ventricosum).

As with the hermit thrush, I didn't dare go into the open to try to photograph the red-shouldered hawk, which was actively hunting.

The little Anna's hummingbird appears to be examining the nearby inflorescence, but I think its attention had actually been drawn by a red-winged blackbird that flew overhead.

Making Some Noise

Salvia Guardian

A Slightly Disheveled Golden-crowned Sparrow

I'd seen a coyote ambling along a dirt path near North Lake, but it spotted me and another person looking at it and ditched us. I went looking for it to no avail, but was surprised to find a small fruiting of shaggy mane mushroom (Coprinus comatus), which I'm not sure I've ever seen in the park before it had deliquesced into black goop.

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Little Buddies

 

Flock of Resting Sanderlings, Ocean Beach

Monday's walk down Ortega to the beach, then up Noriega to get back home, rarely results in any nature photos. The best chance to see anything interesting to photograph is down at Ocean Beach, but even that's not a given. This morning I was surprised to see a fairly large gathering of sanderlings about midway up the beach -- out of range of most dog-walkers, and plenty of space between them and the humans on the Great Highway. 

Later, I stopped by the Golden Gate Park hummingbird nest on my bike and found the nestlings had become fledglings, leaving just another empty nest sitting on a branch. Up at Blue Heron Lake I was surprised to see three black-crowned night herons. I haven't seen any at their old haunts at North Lake in a while and hope these charismatic birds stick around their new spot.

A Crescent of Sanderlings

Adult Black-crowned Night Heron
(The long white plume indicates this might be a male. Otherwise, adult males and females look alike.)

Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron

Sanderlings on the beach, and great blue herons in their nest, with both the adult and juvenile exhibiting "gular fluttering" behavior.

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Pipevine Swallowtails

 

Pipevine Swallowtail, SF Botanical Garden

Numerous pipevine swallowtails were going nuts laying eggs last week when my wife and I walked past the above patch of sparsely growing pipevine plants in the botanical garden. Naturally, I did not have a camera with me. I went back this morning to try to catch them in action again, but it wasn't happening. In fact, I even saw two small swallowtail caterpillars already munching on pipevine leaves, evidence that some of the eggs have already hatched (incubation takes 4-10 days).

Next I checked up on the great blue heron nests at Blue Heron Lake and was surprised to find one with two young chicks in it. I might not have spotted the tiny critters at all if not for an observant woman with binoculars who pointed them out.

I arrived at the Botanical Garden so early that dew was still on the flowers and the butterflies were still layed up somewhere.

As I walked around the garden I eventually began to see some of the pipevine swallowtails fluttering around.

I also noticed that some naughty creature had been munching on nopalitos in the Succulent Garden.

Umber Skipper Sunning on Wild Rose

Pipevine Fruit

This guy just clung to the tree with its wings folded up, making it very nicely camouflaged.

Every now and then the red admiral would reveal itself by opening its wings to catch a little sunshine.

Monarch With Tattered Wings

Variable Checkerspot

Variable Checkerspot on Rose

Variable Checkerspot on Pipevine

Litte Pipevine Swallowtail Caterpillars

Going Up!

Double-crested Cormorant Airing Its Wings at Blue Heron Lake

If you look closely you can see one of the two youngsters beneath the adult on the right.

The adult on the left soon absconded, maybe to find lunch for the chicks.

Two chicks look around on a hot day, reportedly 76 degrees, with little opportunity for shade. As I was leaving, the adult held its wings out somewhat to cool itself (as in this picture from 3/18) and provide a little respite for the chicks.

Black-crowned Night Heron

I noticed the Casting Pools being drained and scrubbed clean last week, and yesterday the pool area was being used to shoot a skateboarding video.

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