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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