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| Downy Woodpecker in Oak Tree Near Lily Pond |
Three species of woodpecker seemed to be chasing each other through the trees around the Lily Pond this morning. There were downy, hairy, and Nuttall's, and it was hard to tell who was chasing whom. No one seemed able to feed in peace for very long before being chased into flight, or getting the irresistable urge to chase someone else into flight.
The morning started with a surprisingly brilliant sunrise, and my second surprise of the day was seeing a fox sparrow sing its song. I made a little recording of it that shows how much noise competition it faced. Ditto for a song sparrow later on. I'd never heard a fox sparrow's song before, and another interesting first for me this morning was hearing the song of a ruby-crowned kinglet. Unfortunately, it liked to sing while hopping around as madly as usual, so I never got a shot, much less a recording.
Down in Golden Gate Park's Fuchsia Dell, about a dozen squirrels were noisily chasing each other around and around the trunk of a redwood tree.
I guess the spring-like weather is supposed to take a turn this weekend, and I'll be interested to see if the bird- and critter-action remains as dialed up as it has been the last few days. Hopefully it won't get too cold and wet for any newly hatched band-tailed pigeons in the Forest Hill nest.
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| Big Sky, San Francisco |
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| Sutro Tower & Twin Peaks |
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| Nostalgic View of 1960s San Francisco Architecture |
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| Quite a few of these old houses around the neighborhood have been sold and remodeled to look more modern. Others continue to be well-maintained by older folks who still have the money to keep them up. But elsewhere you'll see what I like to call the "ghost houses" that show their age to such a haunted-house degree that you wonder if anyone still lives there. (I don't say that to poke fun at anyone; these houses just show a remarkable contrast and are a good reminder that not every homeowner in San Francisco is wealthy.) |
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| Singing Fox Sparrow, Windsor Terrace |
The fox sparrow's song was soft and sweet, and not a great match against jet airplanes, passing cars, talking humans, or even white-crowned sparrows singing across the street.
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| This is probably the best patch of miner's lettuce I've seen yet. |
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| Turkey Tails in the Oak Woodland |
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| Ready to Launch if Necessary |
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| Song Sparrow Between Songs |
The song sparrow seemed to be waiting for a chance to be heard.
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| Hairy Woodpecker |
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| Red-flowering Currant |
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| Black Phoebe |
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| Nuttall's Woodpecker |
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| Downy Woodpecker |
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| Nuttall's Woodpecker |
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| Raven Collecting a Branch for its Nest |
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| Bermuda Buttercups at Whiskey Hill |
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