Feast of Poison Hemlock

 

Pygmy Nuthatch on Poison Hemlock, Elk Glen Lake

I've been taking a break from using the compact camera, so when I rounded Elk Glen Lake on my walk the other day and encountered a raucous flock of pygmy nuthatches feeding on poison hemlock seeds, at eye level and just a few feet away, I could only admire the scene in a state of wonder. These tiny birds normally operate high in the tall pines and sometimes in ordinary trees, but I'd never seen them going nuts for poison hemlock before.

It took another half-hour or so to finish the walk and get back home, but the whole thing was interesting enough to take a chance on going back there with my bike and the Z8. I figured they wouldn't be in the same patch of poison hemlock, but I did manage to find them in another nearby patch, cheerfully going about their business.

Poison hemlock seeds are deadly poisonous to people and other mammals, and even to some birds (like California quail), but pygmy nuthatches and a few others are able to eat them with impunity.

In a tree just behind me, a juvenile junco (bigger than a pygmy nuthatch) waited on a branch for its parents to bring it some food.

A couple of chestnut-backed chickadees joined the feast.

Once the nuthatches had moved out of range I rode down to Mallard Lake since I was already so close. The great blue heron and black-crowned night heron that had been there during my morning walk were gone, but I noticed hummingbirds and pygmy nuthatches coming down to drink from the little creek. 

Allen's Hummingbird

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Rockin' Brocken

 

Brocken Spectre, Mt. Tamalpais

Coming back from Mt. Tam yesterday I heard the radio report that the Supreme Court reaffirmed that money is speech. Does that mean embezzlement is plagiarism?

I lucked out with my arrival on the mountain, where a surprise display of brocken spectre was peaking at about the same altitude as a favorite pull-out. Seems like it's been a few years since I was treated to such a fine display. The last time glories and spectres landed on my blog was July 3, 2021.

My next surprise was unique in my experience -- a tourist couple off-road in their pick-up truck above the Rock Spring parking lot, surrounded by dry grass, with their motor running while they took pictures. I know they were tourists because they finally drove down the hill and asked me how to get to East Peak. I told the driver he was lucky he didn't start a fire with his hot tailpipe. He was also lucky no rangers passed by while he was up there.

Spectral Portal

After photographing the brocken spectre in front of me, I turned around and noticed this Douglas fir sporting a blaze of god beams behind me.

Finely Weathered Signs

I've been wanting to return to this little meadow across from the Mountain Theater entrance to photograph the insect life among the oxeye daisies. The cucumber beetle was my first find. Note the bite marks on several of the petals. It's hard to make out, but the beetle is munching another such bite mark in this shot.

Spotted Cucumber Beetle (Diabrotica undecimpunctata)

Earlier in the morning I'd been walking through tall grass, thinking tick season was behind us. I always seem to get ticks in the spring. This one appeared to be snoozing on the back of the flower petal, not yet sticking its legs in the air to snag a passer-by.

Tumbling Flower Beetle

False Blister Beetle (Nacerdes centralis)

Red-shouldered Stink Bug (Thyanta pallidovirens)

Ruby-winged Plant Bug

Riders on the Ridge

Driving Down the Hill

The chipmunk was pretty far away, but I liked that it was munching on the seeds of dogtail grass. The slight haziness is probably due to out-of-focus grass in the foreground that I didn't notice when I was shooting the picture.

I was surprised the chipmunk eventually let me get so close.

At one point it ducked into that hole in the background, which is at the base of a bay laurel tree, but it soon came back out.

I was glad to be able to photograph a hummingbird working a native pink honeysuckle (Lonicera hispidula) that was using an oak to weave itself toward the sun.

The hummer kept hitting other blossoms that were on the other side of the tree, or in very deep clutter and/or shade. This bunch was the only one that was placed well, and I waited a good while before it finally got visited.

Queen of the Honeysuckle Patch

Acorn Woodpecker

Hopping To It

Peek-a-Boo

While I was watching for acorn woodpeckers, this little guy flew into view. I was pretty sure I'd never photographed this species before, and I didn't know what it was.

The bird caught a small spider but appeared to drop it instead of eating it.

It worked the tanoak for a few seconds, giving me good views of its bottom, and I wasn't sure the Merlin app would be able to identify the bird without a better view of its head and wings.

Amazingly, the app apparently saw enough: Western Warbling Vireo. 

There wasn't a whole lot of action at the trail camera. The raccoon showed up twice with a floating "raccoon hamburger" that I later surmised to have been honeycomb. The camera trap is set over a small pool, but with plenty of water still in the creeks, the pool isn't anything special yet. I've set cams on that tree in the background before. I noted a change on the log where it looked like a pileated woodpecker had made a big hole in it -- big enough that the hole now hosts a nest of honeybees.

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