Getting Squirrely

 

Bonding Squirrels
(Oak Woodlands of Golden Gate Park)

I thought it would be easy to tell if these two were Eastern gray squirrels or Eastern fox squirrels, and if I had to guess I'd say they are the former since there isn't all that much red/rust coloration in their fur. However, the two squirrels are known to interbreed when they share the same area, so there you have it.

When I first spied these two squirrels I thought they were just chasing each other around a tree, getting "squirrely" as they often do. But I was mistaken. They actually appeared to be a bonding pair who were getting busy, at least part of the time, producing the next generation of squirrels.

The squirrel on the back was nibbling the fur of its mate, like a sort of grooming gesture.

However, it appeared they were doing more than just grooming.

Frisky Squirrels

The tree swallows (like this one atop its nest box) were very busy above the fields of the Bison Paddock today despite the cool and foggy conditions. Presumably the insects they catch were active despite the weather.

While I was watching the swallows I was surprised to see a cedar waxwing flutter into the nearby pokeweed bush. It zipped away as soon as it saw me, so I backed away from the fence and waited for them to return. I could hear them chiming way high up in some nearby pines, but the call of delicious pokeweed berries eventually drew them back down.

There weren't many ripe berries left on this bush.

Pokeberry Plucker

Until today I hadn't noticed any red-winged blackbirds in the cattails at little Metson Lake. This appears to be a sub-adult with still-developing epaulets, but he belted out his song just the same.

Despite being young and alone at the lake, he gave it his best shot and sounded convincingly adult to my untrained ear.

Scratch That

Great Blue Heron, Lord of the Lake

This was apparently the mate of the other nearby adult heron in the only heron nest to be found on the small island east of Strawberry Hill. I was surprised to see (and hear) that the nest had at least two young fledglings begging for food.

Fledgling Heron

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