Yellow Toes

 

Townsend's Warbler Showing Yellow Foot Pads, Mallard Lake

When I first viewed the photo above I assumed the yellowish coloration on the bird's foot pads was from mud it had picked up from the bottom of the little stream. Only when I viewed it larger did I see that the color was from its foot pads.

For me, the beauty of nature photography is partly about allowing myself to look more closely at the world, but it's also about the surprise details captured on the sensor that I couldn't have noticed in the field.

I was checking up on the old hummingbird nest to see if it's being re-used (it's not), when a Townsend's warbler flew into view. In this shot, he's just caught a crane fly.

Townsend's Warbler in Karo Tree, Sunset Parkway

Lesser Goldfinch, Sunset Parkway

The goldfinch appeared to be eating miner's lettuce flowers, or maybe seeds that I can't make out. It has a couple of black seeds stuck to its bill, and the seeds of miner's lettuce are indeed black.

I like the way yellow bush lupine changes color as it ages. 

Both shots are from the same plant along the Sunset Parkway.

California Towhee in Bright Morning Light

Chilean Rhubarb Leaves, Mallard Lake

This mallard hen, snoozing next to a normally colored drake, had unusually black-and-white feather coloration.

The two juvenile black-crowned night herons I saw this morning were the first I've ever seen at Mallard Lake.

Ole Orange-Eye

Bathing Townsend's Warbler I

Bathing Townsend's Warbler II

Yellow-rumped Warbler, Mallard Lake

I'd expected to see hummingbirds hitting these flowers for nectar, but instead a song sparrow showed up and appeared to eat the pollen.

Song Sparrow Eating Pollen

View Toward Marin Headlands

White-crowned Sparrow, Grandview Park

I like how the sparrow has its feathers fluffed, taking in the warmth of a sunny morning.

Mt. Shasta This Morning

Mt. Shasta This Afternoon

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Morning Frizzle

 

Red Trumpet Vine, Golden Gate Heights

It was one of those mornings. The weather radar was clear of rain, but the streets were wet. There were no raindrops falling, but there was lots of frizzle (fluffy drizzle) going sideways. You might think you don't need a rain jacket, but your clothes will get wet if you're outside very long. And if you're on a bike, the faster you ride, the more quickly you saturate. Frizzle is actually great for flower photography because of the way it gradually builds up deposits of water droplets to coat leaves and flowers (and pixie cup lichens).

Bathing Golden Crowned Sparrow

The house finch wanted to share the bathing puddle near the Bison Paddock, but the sparrow kept trying to run it off. The finch's patience finally paid off when the sparrow flew into some nearby Ceanothus bushes.

Since I'd already stopped to check out the bird bath, it was easy to get sucked into a little photo session with a patch of California poppies.

Red-shouldered Hawk Calling Out

Scarlet Paintbrush, Balboa Natural Area / Sutro Dunes

Silver Lupine, Balboa Natural Area

Sand Verbena, Balboa Natural Area

Snowy Egret, South Lake

Great Blue Heron at its Nest at Blue Heron Lake

I was surprised to see ravens building a nest of their own in the nearby pine just out of the frame to the right.

Frizzle on Mt. Tam created the conditions that let these water droplets gently build up within the cups of the pixie cup lichens.

Shadow & Jackie with Two Growing Chicks

Mt. Shasta Yesterday

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Raccoon Encounter

 

Young Raccoons on Patrol, Blue Heron Lake

My wife and I headed down the hill to take a stroll through the SF Botanical Garden and Blue Heron Lake, and I only brought my camera so I wouldn't have to kick myself if we saw something unusual. We continued our walk after watching the raccoons for a while and stopped to let another photographer know they were coming his way. The photographer turned out to be RaphaelXOX, who showed us some of his brilliant shots of bird action around the lake.

This pair of red-tailed hawks were hanging out at the top of a tall pine in the SFBG, and I wondered if they had a nest. Then they flew a short distance to hang out at the top of this tall cypress. No nest there either. Just bonding, I guess. We'd see them riding a thermal together a little later.

We had just reached the lake when I heard a guy not too far away say the word "raccoon," and he was pointing across the lake. We walked over for a closer look and saw that it was two young raccoons hunting for snacks. This one has its paws feeling around beneath whatever ledge exists on the edge of the lake.

We followed them for a little while, and it was fun to see people react with surprise when the raccoons strolled past them.

They were checking out the lake in a clockwise direction, at one point being hissed at by one of the two white-fronted geese that have been calling the lake home for a while.

The smaller of the two raccoons seemed to take to the water more than the larger one.

Raccoons Working the Lake

I was wondering if the raccoons had found, or would find, the pied-billed grebe nest, but the grebe was still there, floating next to her nest. It looked like she'd covered the egg with leaves. Especially on the weekends, the number of paddle boats going past her nest is probably a cause for caution.

When we got home, I noticed something odd in the Mt. Sutro eucalyptus trees.

It looks like a huge sheet of plastic wrap that fell off Sutro Tower. It's probably going to be tough to get the garbage off the tree, so I'm curious to see how long it stays put.

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