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| Pygmy Nuthatch, San Francisco Botanical Garden
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Other than a handful of sparrows and juncos, I hardly saw any birds as I made my way through the SFBG this morning until I reached the Succulent Garden and, farther back, the Children's Garden. Not that there were lots of birds anywhere, but it was fun to encounter a pair of Wilson's warblers, one of whom sang while the other responded with simple chit calls, and a pair of pygmy nuthatches, one of which foraged and kept a lookout while the other excavated a nest cavity.
There were lots of familiar flowers, though (including one that looks like a toy accidentally dropped on the ground by a child), and I wouldn't have been too disappointed if I hadn't encountered any interesting birds at all.
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| Nothing brightens up the somber, fog-shrouded early morning light like a colorful bloom of azaleas. |
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| Iris On A Pond's Edge |
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| Some of the camas in the California Garden was just about done already, but some other nearby plants were still blooming nicely. |
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| Things are always changing in the California Garden, and I don't recall ever seeing this color of iris there before. |
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| Flannel Bush |
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| Bleeding Heart in the Redwood Grove |
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| Phacelia Among Wild Radish |
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| Several bumblebees were working a patch of sage near the Succulent Garden. |
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| I couldn't tell if she was trying to collect spider webs or what down there, and she nervously flew away before she filled her beak. |
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| This hummer's coloration is so drab, I wondered whether it was an immature bird, recently fledged. |
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| Lupine Flying Solo |
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| Aquatic plants in the frog pond (still no frogs out yet). |
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| Singing Wilson's Warbler |
Clips of singing Wilson's warbler and pal. The one who sang flew away before I could record it in action, but you can hear it singing in the background while its pal hogs the camera.
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| This pygmy nuthatch was busy flitting around some pine logs and trees while its partner excavated a nest hole nearby. |
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| Nuthatch Keeps A Lookout |
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| Pygmy Nuthatch Excavating A Nest Cavity |
Clips of the excavation work.
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| Allen's Hummingbird in Succulent Garden |
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| Occasionally it would chase off an interloper, then quickly return to its perch. |
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Monkey Hands
(Chiranthodendron pentadactylon)
(It's in the mallow family, but this native of Guatemala and southern Mexico looks nothing like our typical California mallows!) |
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