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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Beach Scene

 

Surfers at Kelly's Cove, Ocean Beach

After walking down to Barbary Coast Cyclery to pick up my newly repaired bike I rode out to check up on the Golden Gate Park hummingbird nest, where the two nestlings appear to be doing fine and have grown quite a bit in just the past few days. They will probably have left the nest by next weekend.

Next I headed down to the beach to check out the No Kings protest and was surprised to see, far from the protest, a solo biologist doing a necropsy on a beached sea lion. In addition to all the protesters, a few surfers had managed to find space in the full parking lots to get out in the water and catch some waves.

I stopped by Metson Lake on the way home, where I photographed the Queen of the Cattails, an ovipositing dragonfly, and an active gopher. A red-shouldered hawk cried out from some nearby trees, and I wondered if the gopher was about to be a goner. I didn't stick around to find out.

Growing Youngsters

I couldn't make out exactly what the "No Kings" formation depicted.

After the protest, folks who didn't head straight for their cars went for a walk on the beach and along the Esplanade, or out into Sunset Dunes Park.

Biologist in Biohazard Gear

The biologist moved the sea lion closer to the water so the tide could take it back out. Here she's just taken a swab sample from the animal's mouth.

I assume the paint lets everyone know that a necropsy has already been done.

I like to capture a frame from a wild maneuver like this, even when the next frame shows the wipeout.

Saturday Swell = Swell Saturday

Queen of the Cattails, Metson Lake

I'm pretty sure this dragonfly is sticking her eggs onto the submerged plant.

Busy Gopher

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Pescadero State Beach

 

Ice Plant on the Bluffs, Pescadero State Beach

I've been wanting to head south along the San Mateo coast for a while, and with rain in the forecast for next week I figured now was a good time to go. 

Arriving good and early, I realized I was too early. The gates don't open until 8 a.m., which is too bad. Pescadero Marsh looked good in the light before sunrise, but I saw no way to take advantage. Nowhere to park, that is.

The biting predawn cold melted away as the sun rose into a hazy morning sky. I'd hoped for lots of shorebirds, and maybe even some harbor seals, but had to settle for a small flock of whimbrels that soon got the jitters and flew north. Once they were gone, the beach was desolate except for a narrow wrack line composed of tiny crab shells, a scattering of by-the-wind sailors, and a couple of bird carcasses.

I drove a little farther south to see what I might find, pulling off the Cabrillo Highway at a random pull-out that looked worth exploring. The sandstone tafoni formations drew me in, and I kept my eyes and ears peeled for black oystercatchers as I looked for compositions. I finally spotted one flying toward me from the south, and it whistled its single-note call as it passed by. I whistled back, and the oystercatcher landed not too far away.

View of Pescadero Beach from the Bridge

Driftwood in the Dunes

Mouse Tracks in the Sand

Foraging Whimbrels

Synchronized Foraging

I guess the pickin's were nothing special -- nothing worth being spied on by a nosy photographer anyway -- so the birds kept moving north.

Small Sea Tunnel

The Mouth of Pescadero Creek

Bridge Over Pescadero Creek

Killdeer On Trail to Pescadero Marsh
(Out on the marsh I spotted a bufflehead, a great blue heron, a great egret, and a pair of Canada geese, almost all of which made haste to ditch me. The geese didn't fly away, but they were definitely "up periscope" on me until I soon left.)

Coastal Sandstone Along Cabrillo Highway

Tafoni Weirdness

Some of the sandstone was in the tidal zone where it gets sculpted by the motion of the sea.

The oystercatcher wasn't hunting; it just wanted to tuck a foot and a beak, and get some shut-eye. Much as I'd liked to have it otherwise, I had to respect its wishes and head back to the car for the trip home.

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