The Beaked Tribe

 

Black Oystercatcher Foraging Below Cliff House

What would nature in San Francisco be without birds?! For me, at least, it would mean far less variety and far less to motivate my photography even though I'm interested in pretty much all biodiversity, from insects and fungi, to flowers and wildlife, to seascapes and landscapes. Thankfully, I live in a city that has it all. 

Also, I'm a "variety is the spice of life" kinda guy, whereas someone else might be more interested in going all-in on something more specific, like urban coyotes. Given that I only photograph what I encounter on my daily walks and bike rides, being into variety without having to be too picky about what constitutes a good subject is the only way to go. 

I'd just started my walk when this Nuttall's woodpecker flew across the street to land on a telephone pole. I got my camera out just as it flew back across the street to land on a strawberry madrone, which would have made a great photo backdrop if only the bird would have come out in the open. Instead it flew across the street yet again and landed in a sycamore tree.

Coming up from West Portal through Forest Hill I encountered this chestnut-backed chickadee in a bottlebrush eucalyptus just a few feet away and was surprised it didn't immediately fly away.

That flattened thing in its beak is a squashed mole crab.

Three snowy egrets for the price of one.

A black oystercatcher was prying for barnacles on the rocks below the Cliff House as the tide was going out this morning. Presumably this is the mate of the other one that was still sitting on its eggs out at Seal Rocks.

Black Oystercatcher on Seaweed

Sometimes you just want to take a break from wandering and tattling.

Bando's feathers have been kind of a mess for the last week or so, hopefully because he's molting into his adult plumage.

Although I still saw the red-necked phalarope yesterday at Blue Heron Lake, I did not see it today. The Canada goose that was on its fluffy nest has been gone the last few days, and there's virtually no sign that its nest was ever there. The pied-billed grebe chicks continue to stick close to home, although a second home nest has been constructed near the first one, but in a spot more concealed from my view. Meanwhile, I was surprised to see an adult black-crowned night heron, which I photographed through a tree with multiple trunks.

This is what happened when I stepped to the side to get a clear view. I watched where it flew to, though....

"What, you again?"

"Well I guess I am beautiful, so go ahead and snap your picture."

Late March vs. Late May on the Sunset Parkway

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Surprise Visitor

 

Red-necked Phalarope, Blue Heron Lake

I was watching the great blue heron nest when I noticed a strange, small bird on the lake. As it got closer I recognized it as a red-necked phalarope, which I've only seen before at Stump Beach (Salt Point State Park). These birds often forage by spinning in circles, but this one mostly preferred to keep its beak facing into the wind.

One of the three great blue heron nestlings has semi-fledged. That's him at the top of the tree.

The other two seemed like they were in a little bit of awe of their brave sibling. Unfortunately, I was watching the phalarope when the brave one finally floated back down to the nest after testing its wings several times.

Red-necked Phalarope

Video clips of the phalarope and the three great blue heron nestlings.

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Pipevine Swallowtail

 

Pipevine Swallowtail Feeding on Buckeye Nectar

There were lots of pipevine swallowtail butterflies in the San Francisco Botanical Garden again today, and this time they were landing on the California Garden's buckeye flowers, finally giving me a chance to photograph them. There were also a few pipevine swallowtail caterpillars, the first I've seen this season.

Also first-of-season were a few red-legged frog tadpoles back in the Children's Garden. I didn't see any adult frogs, and I can't help wondering where they go in their off season. I'd even wondered if raccoons ate them all, so I was glad to at least see the next generation coming along.

The Bay-to-Breakers race was going on today, so I stuck close to home even though I'd like to have gone for a longer ride across town. I shot a lot of short video clips in the botanical garden, thankfully managing to avoid catching all the background sounds of honking horns from impatient folks stuck in heavy race-day traffic. I can get so engrossed in the subject of my video, sometimes, that I don't even notice crazy urban background noises until I play the clips back at home.

The peonies were huge, bigger than softballs, and even attracted hummingbirds.

There was still lots of Western azalea in bloom. A pipevine swallowtail butterfly and a mosaic darner each landed on the flowers, but too briefly to get a photo.

Pipevine Swallowtail Caterpillar on California Pipevine Leaves

Taking the Central Vein Route

I don't know where they were going or why they were trying to get there. It didn't seem like any of the handful of caterpillars was keen on eating leaves just yet this morning.

I'd about given up waiting for one of the butterflies to land, until I reached the buckeye and saw a few stop by to gather nectar from the profusion of flowers.

Pipevine Swallowtail Warming Its Wings

Short video clips of the pipevine swallowtail caterpillars and a butterfly.

I saw one Pacific wren gathering nest material in the Redwood Grove, then heard this guy singing nearby.

Tweeting Pacific Wren

The wild honeysuckle is coming into bloom just as the wild cucumber is going into fruit.

Red-legged Frog Tadpole
(and freshwater snail that I didn't notice at the time)

I couldn't be sure if this dragonfly instar was occupied or not. I couldn't reach it to get a better look. Note the fly on its back. 

I suspect this is a female cardinal meadowhawk.

Here's the male cardinal meadowhawk.

A little bit of pond life in video.

Here's a pretty beat-up pipevine swallowtail taking a break in an oak tree.

I stopped by to check out the grebelets and caught them paddling around and diving in open water.

I'm not sure if their mama thought it was a good idea, though, especially with all the weekend paddle-boaters out there.

Grebelet on the Move, Blue Heron Lake

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Local Color

 

White-crowned Sparrow in Lupine Bush, Grandview Park

Whenever I don't have time to get out for a longer jaunt, I can at least stroll over to Grandview Park to stretch my legs, take in the views, and maybe even compose a photo or two. Even a half-hour out on a beautiful day is tremendously rejuvenating. 

Lupines & Chert Outcrop

White-crowned Sparrow

This bumblebee had much bigger pollen sacs on its legs than any of its nearby fellows. I guess honeybees don't especially favor lupines, but I was surprised to see none at all. I've noticed surprisingly few honeybees in relation to bumblebees in various other spots around the city as well.

A moment of stillness on a windy afternoon (aided by a fast shutter speed).

White-crowned Sparrow on Coastal Sage

The adult had just flown in with a small fish, which the one nestling kept for itself.

A lot of people are waiting for the youngsters to take their first flight. It will be any day now.

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No Ugly Ducklings

 

Pied-billed Grebe & Grebelet, Blue Heron Lake

So much sunshine in San Francisco this week. I'm feeling spoiled, and loving it. 

I've been surprised that I haven't seen the mallard hen with her ducklings at Mallard Lake since that first time more than two weeks ago. Today I spotted another hen with fewer ducklings at Metson Lake. The straight-line distance between the two lakes is around 730 feet, but I wouldn't be surprised if the hen and ducklings at the two different lakes were actually the same bunch. That there are only half as many now wouldn't surprise me either, especially after seeing a raccoon eat a duckling at Blue Heron Lake.

The first Nuttall's woodpecker I've seen in a while, here in a eucalyptus at the south end of the Oak Woodlands Trail.

When I got up near the Horseshoe Courts I wondered if the sunbathing red-tailed hawk would be in the same tree as last time -- and surprisingly, it was. 

The Steller's jay has a sundial on its head. The sundial reads, "Amidst the flowers, I tell the hours." Interestingly, the picture was taken at 9:36 a.m. (DST), but the sundial read an hour later.

This was one of several Steller's jays in the area, which often seems to host a lot of them. Someone occasionally puts rice out for them on a log in the Fuchsia Dell, and there can be a dozen of them gathered around the bounty.

A pair of hawks tries to get some altitude over the Bison Paddock while being harassed by a raven.

The bison were out in the big field again, for the first time in a long time.

A robin landed near me as I was poking my camera lens through the fence to photograph the bison. I think we were both surprised by the close encounter. But instead of flying away, the robin fluttered over to the pokeberry bush.

There aren't a lot of berries left, but the robin was getting its share.

The ducklings are definitely bigger than the ones I saw a couple of weeks ago at Mallard Lake, which lends credence to the possibility that the ones now at Metson Lake are the same ones.

Pondside Iris

The hen got out of the water in a couple of places, but the ducklings stayed afloat to keep nibbling algae. Eventually, mama gave up trying to get some rest and returned to the water to follow her brood.

The grebelets were out of their nest again today, with one of the adults staying close while the other was out hunting.

With a few contortions I was able to get a view through holes in the foliage a couple of times.

Begging for Food

The other adult was swimming briskly toward the nest with what I thought might be a crayfish to feed the youngsters, but it turned out to just be a branch. I did see a new, second nest near the first one, and I wonder what's up with that. Are they going to have another brood?

At first I thought this was one of the adults, but I'm pretty sure it's one of the nestlings. This one watched with apparent interest as an adult flew by between the nest and Strawberry Hill. It can't be long now before they make their first flight.

The Big Bear eagles are said to be close to making their first flights as well. A tiny white-breasted nuthatch landed on the edge of the nest while I was watching, but quickly flew away when the eaglet on the right raised its head to look at it.

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