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| Golden-crowned Kinglet, S.F. Botanical Gardens |
I knew this was a new species for me as soon as I saw the bird through the viewfinder, but it took a few beats to realize not only what it was, but that it was a bird I've been waiting to see for weeks. I've seen them on Flickr and read email reports about them, but a golden-crowned kinglet finally showed up in my own neck of the woods. I think there were two, in fact.
That was definitely the highlight of my morning, but back in the Children's Garden I was excited to find a fresh coyote scat right in the middle of the paved path down by the pond. No sighting of the coyote though. Still no red-legged frogs in the pond, but a pair of mallards was resting in the sun on the wooden walkway.
Elsewhere in the Garden, the Pacific wren nest looked pretty much done, but there was no bird activity on or around it. I had a brief sighting of a pipevine swallowtail nectaring on the red-flowering currant that is draped with pipevine plants (which are still in flower) on the edge of the California Garden.
From the Garden I biked over to the spot in the Oak Woodlands where I saw so many birds on Friday, and there was almost no activity at all. Not even a junco. But I did see Mr. Green at the Lily Pond -- my first sighting of the green heron in quite a while.
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| Lesser Goldfinch on California Lilac |
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| The goldfinch flew off the Ceanothus bush a second after I snapped the picture, then began feeding on seeds dispersed on the path. |
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| Dewy Spurge |
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| The golden-crowned kinglets were foraging on the tall fir on the edge of the Redwood Grove. |
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| The feeding was fast-paced, and I cursed to myself many times at all the shots I saw in the viewfinder but missed on the snap. |
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| Like ruby-crowned kinglets, the golden-crowns weren't terribly shy, but they didn't exactly pose at their leisure either. |
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| Here's a typical missed shot where, through the viewfinder, I saw the bird in full profile with a beautiful catchlight in its eye, but ended up with this on the snap. |
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| The golden-crowns eventually got too high in the tree, so I moved on, enjoying some of the new growth, like these slim solomons, in the Redwood Grove. |
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| Redwood Sorrel |
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| Ruby-crowned Kinglet in the Aloe Patch |
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| California Towhee on Coyote Brush |
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| California Towhee Showing Its Long Tail Feathers |
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| Pipevine Swallowtail Fluttering Among the Red-flowering Currant Blossoms |
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| There was some gorgeous birdsong down by the pond in the Children's Garden, and it took me a second to realize it was a robin. It even stuck little hermit-thrush-like trills on the ends of its runs. This one was splashing in the bath behind the Garden Library. |
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| Green Heron at the Lily Pond |
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| While it was preening it suddenly seemed to take an interest in something up above. |
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| Whatever it was up there... |
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| ...Mr. Green wanted no part of it, and strolled into cover behind the cattail reeds where he became invisible. |
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| Can't help myself. More eagles! The third chick has hatched. |
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| Papa came by, but mama didn't want to get up, so papa ate from the bird carcass... |
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| ...then took his leave. |
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| Nice day for eagle-watching.... |
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