Bird Life

 

Great Blue Heron, Mallard Lake

When the big heron wanted to fly across the pond to a new hunting spot, it took little notice of the young black-crowned night heron that stood in its path. The smaller heron saw what was coming, and for a moment the two birds seemed to collide in a confusion of ruffled feathers as the smaller heron figured out how to get out of the way before returning to its perch among the turtles sunning themselves on the edge of the little island at Mallard Lake.

I'd gone down there after spending some time at the SF Botanical Garden to check up on the nesting downy woodpeckers. All was quiet beneath the nest tree, though. The baby birds had fledged. Earlier in the week I'd watched a Nuttall's woodpecker being followed by its hungry fledgling at Elk Glen Lake. (Minutes earlier I'd spooked a coyote who kept an eye on me as it trotted through tall dry grass toward the cover of nearby brush; a red-shouldered hawk swooped down from a eucalyptus branch to hurry the coyote on its way.)

It's been an interesting week without bringing the compact camera along on my walks and rides. There's a little bit of withdrawal pang there, but I look forward to using my full-frame cameras more exclusively. I don't know if the difference comes across in these blog posts, but it's the richness of detail recorded by the larger sensors that keeps me in love with nature photography.

Black Phoebe, SF Botanical Garden

A little yellow Wilson's warbler darted into the tree in front of me and quickly sprang through the branches before continuing its southward trajectory.

Singing House Finch
(I've been hearing lots of singing purple finches too, lately.)

Hummer in the Nasturtium Patch

Exiting the Patch

Check out the scrub jay's hooked beak.

West Coast Lady Butterfly

Pygmy nuthatches were busy feeding their fledglings in the back of the Children's Garden.

Hummer in the monkey's hand tree (Chiranthodendron sp.).

Allen's Hummingbird at Rest

Buckeye on the Buckwheat

Pinpoint Flying for Manzanita Nectar

A young black-crowned night heron moves to a more comfortable perch.

An adult night heron flies to a new perch.

Full Landing Gear

Graceful Landing

Licking its Chops

Great blue heron moves to a new hunting spot.

A mallard mama takes her kids out for a paddle in the sun.

Another young night heron.

The adult was doing all the hunting, here catching one of several minnows it would nab over the next few minutes.

A blue-eyed darner hovers briefly along the pond's edge.

Preparing to Strike
(Note the young night heron in the background.)

Like the night heron, the blue heron was catching tiny minnows.

A guy I talked with at the botanical garden said a wood duck was still around at Blue Heron Lake, so I dropped by on my way home to look for it. It appears to be a sub-adult, not yet fully feathered out yet in its future wood-duck glory.

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Fancy Fliers

 

Allen's Hummingbird Nectaring On Blackberry Blossoms, SF Botanical Garden

I made my first post as a retired person on May 29, four years ago. In pretty much every way, it seems like not that long ago. I can still recall the deep sense of release I felt as my wife and I began our hike on Mt. Tam that day, and I continue to cherish the daily freedom to experience the beauty and challenge of nature, from its warmest solace to its coldest indifference.

I've also enjoyed exploring the nature we find right here in San Francisco, but as I recently mentioned, I'm ready to take a break from the blog for awhile. Believe it or not, it isn't unusual to spend six to eight hours walking, biking, watching, photographing, processing images, and writing up a blog post. It's all good, but I look forward to tackling other projects.

In the meantime, I hope the blog remains a living resource even without new posts. I often enjoy browsing posts from years past, partly to reminisce, but also to compare and contrast what I found then and what I see now.

I returned to the Forest Hill hummer nest this morning, but the nervous mama bolted before I could lock focus. When she didn't return after a few minutes I figured I should try again another time so she could get back to brooding her eggs. Before I left I quickly reached up and took a phone snap, only to get home and realize there were no eggs in the nest. It took a second to notice what was in there.

The little hummers are coming along (6/3). Mama wasn't home when I walked by, so I stuck my phone up there to snap a shot. 

There were still a few pipevine swallowtail caterpillars munching bare stems just north of the new plant nursery. As I feared, the formerly abundant pipevine has been all but extirpated from that area. Despite the many caterpillars I've seen, I have yet to find a chrysalis, but I'll keep looking.

Using Her Feet

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Nice Weather We're Having

 

Going Gonzo at Ocean Beach

I'd given up on the morning's rain showers letting up anytime soon, but maybe half an hour after I'd settled into spending the morning on the couch with a hot cup of tea and the latest issue of Scientific American, the rain stopped. It was two hours after I usually set out in the morning, but I knew I had to get outside. 

I hate to say "at my age" about anything, but I was surprised how quickly and fully inertia had settled into my bones and muscles after sitting on the couch! I felt like I could more easily have gone back to bed than headed out for a walk. A few days ago, my wife's brother sent us an article from the NY Times about a Costco parking lot where middled-aged skateboarders like to hang out. There was talk of getting too old to do certain tricks anymore, and the likelihood of eventually having to give up the sport altogether. Just not today.

I could relate. Despite lots of crazy clouds passing overhead I was able to walk and bike my usual routes for a few hours without getting wet. But even if I had gotten soaked it would have been okay. Eventually I'll have to quit the strenuous walks and bike rides. Just not today.

Back Yard Beauty

I don't notice turtles at Lily Lake all that often, and I liked how this red-eared slider came out for a sun bath with duckweed all over its carapace. Virtually the whole pond is covered with the stuff, and I hope the park hasn't decided to leave the pond in such a sorry state.

Storm clouds began to move in as I headed up Whiskey Hill, but they never let loose with more than a few tantalizing drops.

More interesting cloud cover greeted folks at the coast. Nice views from Beach Chalet, no doubt.

I haven't seen any big surf at Ocean Beach in a while and was surprised to look out there and see a little black dot on a big green wall.

I don't know if this was the same gonzo surfer I saw at that first glance, but he kept charging right into the hollow of the eventual close-out.

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