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| Killdeer, Richardson Bay |
As I pedaled through Sausalito I could hear terns screeching, and I even saw one make a dive for fish, so I hoped I'd see even more bird life when I got past town and out onto the Mill Valley Sausalito Pathway. Nope! I got all the way to the other side, near the float plane company, before I saw any birdlife at all: a snowy egret and two killdeer. I guess whatever the terns were going after was concentrated in a small area on the Sausalito waterfront.
I did see a group of black-necked stilts working a shallow pond in the marshy area along the north side of Coyote Creek. They were out of photography range, but I was glad to see them still in the area. What a shame that wildlife is so rare these days. If I could ever go back in time, it would be back to "indigenous time," before the arrival of Europeans, to see this part of the world when it was still teeming with wildlife.
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| I love the killdeers' orange eye-ring. |
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| Hazy Atmosphere, View from Mt. Tamalpais |
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| There was a large hawk on a bare tree where I've never seen a hawk before. My first impression from seeing its back was that it was a red-shouldered hawk, but it flew away before I could get my camera on it. These mourning doves were on a nearby branch and were probably glad to see it leave the area. |
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| As were a group of California quail hiding in the shade of a nearby tree next to the little arroyo between the Cataract and Simmons trails. |
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| Most of the leather root growing near the trail cams has been browsed to oblivion by deer, but a plant growing among a bunch of chain ferns appeared to be out of reach. These are its seed heads. |
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| I guess half an acorn is better than none. The acorn woodpeckers were very busy today. |
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| I'm surprised this little branch was viewed as a good place to stash an acorn. |
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| This hummer showed up while I was watching the woodpeckers, and I couldn't resist snapping a shot of the handsome little angel. |
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| This guy's got the goods. |
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Acorn Woodpecker Pantry in Douglas Fir Snag
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| I heard a familiar tweet and was excited to see a yellow-rumped warbler nearby. |
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| The woodpeckers gathered acorns directly from the oak trees, despite numerous acorns already lying on the ground. The Steller's and scrub jays also stuck to plucking acorns directly from the tree. |
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| Woodpecker Flyaway |
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| While I was watching the woodpeckers from beneath the big oak next to the interpretive signs in the Rock Spring parking lot, this gopher was busy snagging morsels of food to drag back into its hole. Every now and then, it would dare to exit its hole almost entirely. |
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| Luckily the coast was clear of hawks, coyotes, and bobcats. |
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| Mountain Fur |
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| Some of the haze in the air looked like smoke. Signs placed on the side of the road indicated there were prescribed burns going on. |
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| A variegated meadowhawk soaks up the sun. |
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| It was clinging to a grass stalk on a hillside, in a position that was impossible for me to get the whole dragonfly in focus, from head to tail. |
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| Watching TV |
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| The Hong Kong-flagged container ship Seaspan Rio de Janeiro, recently arrived from Fraser River, Canada, was heading to the Port of Oakland. It steamed directly toward Angel Island before turning to starboard and heading for port. The strange heading probably had something to do with... |
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| ...these guys, the Blue Angeles getting in a practice session. |
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| The first time the jet blasted over our heads as we stood next to the breakwater adjacent to the Warming Hut, a nearby child broke out in tears. The three our four times after that, he didn't even flinch. |
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| The Brown Angels |
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| The YM Upsurgence, flagged in Taiwan, sails beneath the Golden Gate Bridge on its way to the Port of Oakland. A woman standing with her family next to me commented that it was probably full of the stuff they get at Costco.... |
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| Tower & Power |
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| A flock of gulls descends on a sea lion that was thrashing its prey down to pieces small enough to swallow. |
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