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| Red-naped Sapsucker, Elk Glen Lake |
Unless I'm mistaken about the ID, this is my first sighting of a red-naped sapsucker. It was in the same oak tree that hosted a similar-looking yellow-bellied sapsucker back in November. This guy was quite small and eager to elude my lens, so I only got a couple of decent shots, and at some point I completely lost him. As I circled the tree I never knew if he was well-hidden or if he'd already flown away.
Another first, but just first-of-season, on Monday's hike was an Allen's hummingbird hovering over the little stream on the east end of Mallard Lake. I only got a couple shots off before the only other person anywhere near me burst on the scene and frightened off the hummer. I waited in vain for it to come back to give me another chance, but gave up to continue my walk after about ten minutes.
The next surprise was finding what I believe to be a couple of ripening papaya fruits. I used to climb our backyard papaya tree to pick the fruit when I was 4 or 5 years old, living on Oahu. Papaya trees were so much taller back then....
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White-crowned Sparrow & California Lilac, Sunset Parkway
(The sparrow climbed the blooming Ceanothus bush from the ground up, but in this shot he is actually perched on a well-placed wooden stake.) |
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| It seems like the red-shouldered hawks have been busy lately, frequently calling out to each other and gathering nest material. Back when The Birds of Golden Gate Park came out in 1930, these guys were called red-bellied hawks and were said to be very rare. |
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| A well-camouflaged mallard hen at Mallard Lake. |
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| By the time I remembered to increase the shutter speed from its 1/250th-sec. setting, someone came along and frightened the hummer away. I only include this shot to recall my first Allen's hummingbird of the season. I believe that's all watercress in the stream. |
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| I'll be looking forward to seeing if they ripen all the way to yellow before being snatched by someone or some critter. |
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| Red-shouldered Hawk in Cypress, Elk Glen Lake |
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| He's definitely got red on his nape, but I didn't see any other pictures showing that red swash behind the eye. |
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