Cruisin' With Mr. Blue

 

Great Blue Heron Cruising Over Middle Lake

I was riding past Spreckels Lake when a great blue heron flew past me and landed in a nearby cypress tree. It looked like a photogenic spot, so I wheeled into position and snapped a photo. The tree seemed to be a waypoint for the heron, not a final destination, so I decided to stick around for a minute. I brought up my camera after seeing him poop, since birds often lighten their load before taking wing.

When the heron glided to a nearby patch of lawn in front of the boathouse and restrooms, I figured I'd hang out with him a little longer. He was remarkably casual about all the nearby vehicle and pedestrian traffic, and instantly became single-minded when he discovered a gopher moving nearby.

Over the course of about 40 minutes I cruised along with Mr. Blue from Spreckels Lake to the west end of the Bison Paddock, over to Middle Lake, then back to the Bison Paddock, and watched him catch three gophers in all.

Looking Regal

Going to Lunch

Just this morning I watched someone congratulate their dog for chasing the wildlife into flight along the shore at Ocean Beach, but this little pooch didn't give Mr. Blue a second glance.

Mr. Blue Strikes Deep

First Gopher Caught: 10:37 a.m.

Satisfied to have gotten a meal, Mr. Blue took wing as a group of adults and children came on the scene.

After checking to see if there was any swallow action around the nest boxes on the edge of the Bison Paddock (there wasn't), I caught up with the heron again a little farther west. Second gopher caught: 10:53 a.m.

The same group that he'd flown away from up near Spreckels Lake approached again, and again Mr. Blue took wing, this time heading for Middle Lake in the Chain of Lakes.

With two gophers down the hatch, it appeared that Mr. Blue was ready to relax awhile, although he did take an interest in a passing fish at one point.

With the fish playing hard-to-get, Mr. Blue's taste for gophers might have reasserted itself.

It was nice to be able to photograph him spreading his wings without a distracting background.

He glided over to the lawn at the north end of Middle Lake, then walked all the way to the road (JFK Drive), probably keeping a lookout for gophers along the way, but not pausing anywhere for more than a couple of seconds.

I suspect he was eager to get back to where he'd scored his second gopher. There was quite a bit of vehicle traffic on this sunny day, and I was glad when Mr. Blue decided to fly over it instead of continuing across the road on foot.

Another large group stopped to observe him, and he moved off the grass to this perch on a stump.

When a gopher presented itself, he wasted no time heading toward it and quickly scored a capture. Third gopher caught: 11:19 a.m.

After spending a fair amount of time and effort to make the kill on his first gopher, he was able to kill and swallow his second and third gophers very quickly, perhaps after piercing them with his beak.

I was tempted to continue trying to follow this prodigious hunter, but I was starting to feel hungry for lunch myself and continued with my ride.

Mr. Willet says: The solution to pollution...

...is dilution.

I could tell that a willet had caught a mole crab before I arrived because it regurgitated its empty shell. Neat trick. Here, a whimbrel nabs a mole crab and is set upon by another whimbrel who tries (and fails) to take it away.

Whimbrel Escaping to Eat in Peace

On Friday I noticed a couple of starlings hanging out on the Bison Paddock fence and hoped it wasn't an ominous sign for the tree swallows using nearby nest boxes.

Sculpture at Noriega Street This Morning, Sunset Dunes Park

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