Hairy's Spider

 

Hairy Woodpecker Nabs A Spider, Golden Gate Park

Well, it was 41 degrees when I began my walk this morning. A light breeze likely put the wind chill at around 39. Definitely one of the coldest mornings I've experienced here. Nevertheless, it felt great to be out and about after enduring a week of frequent rain and howling winds. 

I'd left the house on Thursday only to greatly shorten my route when I saw a dark band of rain clouds that stretched across the whole horizon. I knew there would be no escape from that thing, and I was glad to have at least gotten in a short walk while making it home with five minutes to spare.

I'd briefly flirted with the idea of going up to Yosemite to be in the snow, but it's just as well that I nixed the idea. Rangers closed the gates on Thursday afternoon and required visitors who were still there today to leave.

It was great to get out and do my usual thing today anyway. Encounters that made my day were a singing house sparrow in the Haight, a mating pair of red-shouldered hawks near the Fuchsia Dell, the return of the Bison Paddock's Allen's hummingbird, and encounters with a flock of feasting robins (with no cedar waxwings joining them), a Hutton's vireo, and both a hairy and a downy woodpecker.

House Sparrow Goes Full Urban Jungle, Haight Ashbury

At first I ignored the red-shouldered hawk squawking in a nearby tree, but when I finally looked up I saw that there were two of them and they had just copulated. The female is on the right.

Tiny Yellow Papaya Flower, Lily Lake

Head-scratching Hummer

This Anna's hummingbird dive-bombed the Allen's a few times but never scared it off its branch.

It looked up when the hummer dove from above, but never really flinched. (Here it's just fluffing its feathers, not responding to the other hummer.)

It's in the same pokeberry bush as last year, but so far the bush remains just a skeleton. Maybe its taproot is waiting for warmer weather to send up a new season's shoots.

Hutton's Vireo Near Murphy Windmill

Vireo Snags A Caterpillar

Pose in Repose

Dozens of robins had descended on this large patch of Persian ivy along MLK Jr. Drive west of Chain of Lakes.

I watched and listened for the sound of cedar waxwings (small flocks of which I've seen around my neighborhood lately), but the robins had the place all to themselves.

Spider Goes Down The Hatch

The pied-billed grebes were back at the nest, adding a few leaves and twigs, and sitting pretty. No eggs yet.

The downy woodpecker was back in the willows near the grebe nest, and this time it gave me a much nicer pose.

Couldn't resist stopping for another look at the buffleheads. The Northern shovelers and ruddy ducks are also still around.

I ride past this loquat tree on 10th Avenue pretty much every day, but today was the first time I'd heard our neighborhood red-masked parakeets in it.

A couple of crows were keeping them company.

This was the view toward Carrizo Plain this morning.

Shasta This Morning

Yosemite Valley This Morning

And three shots from the High Country this morning.

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Sun Dog

 

Coyote Lounging In The Sun, Pioneer Meadow

My wife checked her weather app this morning to help her decide whether to bike to work or take the car. The app said it was unlikely to rain until tonight, so she took the bike. When I left on my walk later on, I didn't give the rain any thought all. It was only 44 degrees, putting the temperature front and center on my mind.

It was cold but manageable with little wind. As I descended into Forest Hill, I spotted a spotted mushroom -- maybe a panther amanita, my first sighting of the species in the city. By the time I reached West Portal's commercial district, the horizon to the west looked suspiciously dark, and sure enough a brief sprinkle soon forced me to duck under an awning for cover. The darkest clouds were north of me, so I figured they were past me since rain usually comes up from the south. 

Usually, but not this morning. Thankfully I was able to duck under a bus shelter when the real rain came. Just a sprinkle at first, but it soon grew into a full-on shower that would have soaked me had I been caught in the open. When it finally let up, I was eager to check up on the nesting hummingbird I first encounterd on Feb. 11. She was still there, still sitting on her nest with no apparent hatchlings. 

The rain didn't start again until about one minute after I got home. I downloaded the morning's pictures and waited for the rain to stop so I could head out on my bike. But the rain kept coming, and maybe an hour later I decided to make lunch and give up on the bike. Then the sun came out, and off I went. 

Near the Bison Paddock I watched a Townsend's warbler and a pygmy nuthatch eagerly feeding in the branches of a couple of pine trees, no doubt making up for lost time during the rain. I checked out the barn owl -- still snoozing peacefully. 

Up near Blue Heron Lake I saw a guy who appeared to be staring at something. I followed his stare and saw a lump near a log, too far away to make out any details. I was just about to get moving again when the lump finally raised its head.

Roadside Amanita

Winter Crow

Tree-trimmers

This hummingbird is one tough cookie, keeping her eggs warm through days of cold and stormy weather. At least the crows were gone from the pine across the street.

Townsend's Warbler & Camellias

Cedar Waxwing, West Portal

Cedar Waxwing, Golden Gate Heights

Townie in the Sun

This pygmy nuthatch looked like it just got out of the bath.

The coyote was in no hurry to run away when it realized it was being watched.

I moved around a bit to try to get a better angle.

Oops, she didn't like the next angle.

She got up and put some distance between herself and her admirers, stopping to scratch, stretch, and yawn.

Then she finally loped off to find a more secret place to rest in the warm sun while it lasts.

Coyote Video

I noticed the pied-billed grebe was off her nest at Blue Heron Lake, with no eggs in sight. I figure the storm was too much to deal with. While I was there, this downy woodpecker flew into the willow.

Yosemite on 2/14/26

Yosemite This Morning

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Cloud Drama

 

President's Day Sunset From Grandview Park

I was watching the 5 o'clock news yesterday when they showed the sunset view from Pier 39, surprised to see a bit of color and some cloud definition. I'd have figured the sky would be more of a uniform slate gray (like it is this morning). Anyway, it was enough to get me off my butt and out to Grandview Park, where a cold wind was blowing. 

I've been thinking about replacing my 2014 Mazda 3 with a Subaru Outback, but I'm waiting for the hybrid version to come out. In the meantime I feel like I'm missing out on the snow in Yosemite Valley this week, and I'm disappointed that I'll miss another great bloom in the mountains around Carrizo Plain this spring. Hopefully I'll have many more chances in the future, but you never know when one of those multi-year droughts is going to put the kibosh on such things.

Squalls Moving Across The Ocean

Last Light

Earlier in the day I'd strolled over to the park after the rain let up. There was lots of wild cucumber twining itself all over the place.

Dark-eyed Junco

In addition to the footsteps-of-spring, a little bit of San Francisco wallflower was also in bloom at the top of the hill.

I took cover from a rain squall at the base of a big cypress when this white-crowned sparrow paused nearby carrying a twig for its nest.

This was Yosemite Valley this morning before it went into whiteout mode.

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