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| Anna's Hummingbird Nest in Kohuhu Tree, Sunset Parkway |
As I was walking along the Sunset Parkway toward Golden Gate Park I noticed some kohuhu bushes that were growing on their own, rather than being mingled with my neighbor's red trumpet vine. I took some pictures, then continued my walk, only to discover one more kohuhu after another, and each one a little bigger than the last, until I came to an actual kohuhu tree.
The tree was being visited by a Townsend's warbler, a singing ruby-crowned kinglet, some house finches, and a few bumblebees. In addition to the visitors, there was a resident Anna's hummingbird with two large offspring in her nest.
The Townie appeared to be feeding on the flowers' nectar and/or pollen. I tend to think of Townies as insectivores, so that was new to me. The finches appeared to be eating the small flowers whole.
As I continued my walk I noticed kohuhu bushes on pretty much every block. Given the many times I've passed by them without giving them a thought, it was interesting to suddenly "see" this plant just a day after learning what it's called. The local birds and insects certainly knew all about it, although the smaller bushes didn't seem nearly as attractive to them as the tree.
Shortly after I headed up the trail in Golden Gate Park I spotted an odd object in the grass a ways off the trail and was able to identify it only after I zoomed in with my camera. It was a dead animal for sure, but I couldn't tell it was a raccoon until I walked over to it. The grass around the carcass had been pressed down, no doubt during its struggle for survival with what I would guess to be a coyote (and would hope not to be an off-leash dog). I was surprised by the amount of decomposition, given that the kill must have occurred since I passed by last week.
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| Kohuhu growing all by itself. |
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| Townsend's Warbler in Kohuhu Tree |
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| Mama Visits the Nest |
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| Baby hummers probably gave sword-swallowers the idea that it could be done. |
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| The finches appeared to be using their heavy seed-eating beaks to pull off a whole blossom to consume at once. |
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| I'm always glad to see flowers that our native bumblebees can take advantage of. |
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| Townie Probes a Kohuhu Blossom |
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| Townie with Pollen on Its Beak Prepares to Reach for a Taste |
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| Raccoon Carcass & Area of Struggle |
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| The carcass is no more than a week old. |
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| Someone (probably a gardener) set up this little tripod of sticks to make a lost pair of eyeglasses a little easier to find. |
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| Fish Convention at Mallard Lake |
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| Allen's Hummingbird at Mallard Lake |
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| When the hummer went to bathe in a relatively dark nook, I tried out the FZ80D's built-in flash. I wasn't sure what the sync speed was, so I tried 1/100th sec. here... |
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| ...and 1/250th here. Turns out the FZ80D can sync at 1/250th sec., which is slightly better than the FZ80's 1/200th. |
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| A few days ago I spotted a mourning dove as it ducked into the very small crown of a tree in someone's front yard on Ortega Street. I took a picture today from the sidewalk, even though the view looks more open on the other side. To view it from the other side I would have to walk up the entrance stairs right under the residents' window, and I don't want to risk tipping them off about the nest just yet. |
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| This California towhee was hanging out beneath a tree swallow nest box in the Bison Paddock. The swallows might have settled who gets the rights to what box, as they have not been especially active around them lately. |
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| The Murphy Twins atop The Murphy Windmill in Golden Gate Park |
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| Just before there was enough light to get a color image from the trail cam this morning, the eagle rested over its chicks, covered in new snow. |
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| About 15 minutes later, it was wakey-wakey, time to feed the chicks. |
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| I checked the cam again just before posting, and mama was feeding the three chicks while papa fed himself. A couple of minutes later, mama settled back over the chicks and papa flew away. Although the big storm is set to arrive in the Bay Area tonight and tomorrow, it looks like Thursday is the big day for SoCal. I can't even imagine being exposed to the kind of harsh weather they just take in stride, day after day. |
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