 |
| Bison Paddock, Golden Gate Park |
I recently wondered if the bison were being kept out of the main meadow because it's full of poison hemlock, but that theory went out the window when I rode by on Thursday.
The fog was so thick near the paddock that I could hear a susurrous of droplets striking my nylon windbreaker as I coasted downhill, and a little later, as my glasses became layered with mist, I smelled the petrichor that accompanies the first rain on a dry day. (My wife and I were treated to the same smell, a rarity in San Francisco, in Lee Vining earlier this week.)
As I began the return trip I saw no red-tailed hawks on the Murphy Windmill blades, but almost as soon as I passed the windmill, a red-tail swooped across the road right in front of me and snatched a baby bird from some tree branches, then winged it back (chased by a pair of hummingbirds) to a nearby perch to enjoy its feast.
Farther up the hill, I stopped to photograph a great blue heron resting at Metson Lake. I hadn't been seeing any GBHs there for a while until late last week. I suspect I'm seeing the same one, as it's resting in the same spot. (I haven't seen a night heron there since April.)
 |
| The bison are shedding their coats despite their coldest winter being summer in San Francisco. I was glad to have put on a longjohn top beneath my windbreaker on Thursday's ride. |
 |
| Red-tail with baby bird. |
 |
| Does the red-tail look fierce, or just happy? |
 |
| Resting Great Blue Heron at Metson Lake |
 |
| A few mallards were also resting on the lake's fallen tree. |
 |
| The lake's cattails are looking good. |
 |
| Some of the older stalks have already been harvested. |
 |
| A slider's-eye view from the nearly fluorescent lake water. |
 |
| A double-crested cormorant that had been feeding on minnows intruded on a couple of ducks when it hopped onto a branch to dry off. |
 |
| Yawning GBH |
 |
| The cormorant moved to a branch of its own to gently flap and air-dry its outstretched wings. |
* * *
