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| GBH at Metson Lake |
The great blue herons of Golden Gate Park seem to be out more than usual lately. I recently passed one hunting gophers in the thin grassy strip between the pedestrian path and the road, seemingly without a care about all the human activity around it. I didn't have time to stop and watch, but yesterday I was primed to stop at the first one I saw -- a beauty who flew out of one tree, sailed across the intersection of JFK and Transverse Drive, and landed in another tree.
They are definitely nesting at Blue Heron Lake, but I can't tell if any young have hatched yet. There are nests in the island trees near the boat docks, and also on the little island east of Strawberry Hill.
As I passed Metson Lake two days ago I didn't see any bird activity, but yesterday there were two great blue herons, a cormorant, a black-crowned night heron, and several turtles on the branches of the fallen tree.
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| Beautiful GBH in breeding plumage. |
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| Two pairs of red-tails in flight eluded my camera's autofocus, but this youngster was placidly on lookout on one of the Murphy Windmill blades. |
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| The California poppies, as well as the bees who visit them, are loving all the sunshine. |
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| I think this was a first for me -- a western fence lizard in Golden Gate Park. This one was basking in the road on MLK not far from the windmill. |
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| I don't know what all the ruffled feathers are about, but while the other GBH rested nearby, this one was constantly on the move and occasionally raised its head up and croaked, or pointed it down and clapped its beak. |
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| A couple of turtles basking on the Metson Lake windfall. |
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| Antsy GBH on the move... |
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| ...and striking a pose. |
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