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| Coyote in Hellman Hollow, Golden Gate Park |
I thought I was going to be skunked today after looking in vain for interesting bird action in spots from North Lake to Land's End, but on the way home I encountered a kingfisher and, soon after, a coyote.
I've been hearing a kingfisher's chattering for the last couple of weeks as I've biked through the park, but I haven't stopped to try to find it since kingfishers tend to be skittish about being watched. I've figured it would be unlikely that I could find and photograph one without investing more time than I was willing to commit to.
Today, as I was slowing down to check out Metson Lake, which hasn't shown any sign of bird life since before the Outside Lands Festival closure, I spotted a kingfisher perched on the tip of a branch. I stopped the bike and got my camera out without even daring to look toward the bird, but when I got the lens cap off and the camera turned on I saw that he'd already flown to another branch. I snapped a long shot, and he immediately took off again, but he circled over the lake and ended up landing much closer to me. I quickly grabbed a shot through some cattail leaves, and that one shot was all I got. This time the kingfisher took off for good, heading west toward Chain of Lakes.
I was getting hungry anyway and looked forward to getting home to fix lunch, but I soon began to hear the yipping of a coyote. From a distance it sounded like one or two dogs straining at their leashes and yipping, either in distress or excitement, but as I went to investigate, the sound's coyote nature became clear. Lunch could wait.
While I was out at Lands End, I was surprised to see how much change there is from day to day in the number of birds that gather on Seal Rocks, with today's numbers being relatively sparse. Even the gulls were gone from around Sutro Baths, and there wasn't a surf scoter in sight.
Quite a few people were checking out the scene of the deadly car crash that happened at the Cliff House late yesterday afternoon, several hours after I'd been there. While I was there today, a fire truck pulled up and even all the firefighters wanted to check out the scene, as did a couple of U.S. Park Police officers. Everyone remarked on the incredible trajectory taken by the out-of-control vehicle. Apparently, the speeding car hit a parked Tesla at an angle and sent it flying up the curb, across the sidewalk, through the fence, and over the edge, while launching itself into its fatal flight.
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| Wall of Bougainvillea |
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| Scene of Fatal Crash at Cliff House |
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| Kingfisher at Metson Lake |
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| Coyote in the Grass (I first saw the coyote from Middle Drive, then turned around and rode back to the Polo Fields to pick up the path that skirts Hellman Hollow -- where Hardly Strictly Bluegrass will take place next month -- so I could get closer.) |
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| Yawn |
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| Snooze |
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| Okay, not really snoozing. |
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| The coyote got up and headed for the woods when a woman walked toward him, apparently curious to see how close she could get. |
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