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| Red-tailed Hawk and Waning Moon |
I saw the red-tail on Golden Gate Park's Murphy Windmill and, though I always enjoy seeing hawks up there, and though the blades were facing east instead of the usual west, there was nothing particularly striking about the scene. But when I biked past it and took a backward glance, I saw the moon and had to stop. I figured the hawk would be at "infinity" on my lens and that it would be a trivial matter to get both the hawk and the moon in focus. However, it didn't work out that way, so the image above is basically a focus-stack of two images.
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| Today's walking route took me past the scene of a fatal pedestrian accident that occurred the day after my recent post about the hazards posed by motor vehicles. |
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| Last week this area near the south end of the Oak Woodland was taped off with a warning about a nearby wasp nest. At the time I figured the nest was in the tree stump, but I saw only honeybees going in and out that hole in the side. But today it looked like park staff burned the bees out of a subterranean nest. There were still a few honeybees poking around today, and I never saw any wasps. |
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| Farther up the trail was a birdy little area where I was able to photograph this hermit thrush on an uncluttered branch and with an unobtrusive background. Hermits often make a little "chip-chip" sound, but today I heard two different sounds, including a loud, one-note whistle that I was surprised to track back to such a little bird. The other sound preceded chasing off an interloper. Neither was anywhere near the song the hermit thrush is famous for. |
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| A townsend's warbler was also in the birdy tree, along with juncos and sparrows, and another of those Bewick's wrens I saw earlier this month (which eluded me today). |
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| Black phoebe on its hawking perch. |
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| The chicken-of-the woods on Whiskey Hill is coming along. I'll update it on the original post as it grows. |
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| Although it looks like the raven is saying "Caw!" it's actually using raven click-language by snapping its beak. |
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| A snowy egret was hunting like a shorebird in front of Sutro Baths today. |
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| I watched it at work for quite a while, and I might have stayed longer if not for my belly insisting it was my own lunch time. |
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| Salty Snacks Near Sutro Baths |
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| Today's light offshore wind brought out droves of surfers. |
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