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| Leucistic Anna's Hummingbird, San Francisco Presidio |
I ran into several other folks hoping to spot the leucistic hummingbird reported near One Letterman Drive. After waiting a while for it to show up I decided to stroll around the grounds to look for likely nectar-producing flowers where the hummer might be holed up. There were plenty of regular Anna's hummingbirds in attendance, but I searched in vain for the white one.
I'd been talking with another photographer when I looked toward the bare-branched tree in which the hummer has previously been seen and was excited to spot a white blotch on the tree that could be only one thing. I told the other photographer it was there, and we made a bee-line for it. The unusual snow-white bird didn't stay long, but I think everyone was happy to have fired off a few frames. I know I was.
It was after noon by the time I got back on my bike to head home, making a brief stop at El Polin Spring despite my stomach rumbling for lunch. El Polin was full of birds, and the sun was coming out, but I needed to get going.
It turned out the rain really arrived as forecast the other day, and it looks like much more is in store. I see the sun shining through our living room window this afternoon and know I'd better enjoy it while it lasts.
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| I spotted this red-shouldered hawk as I coasted down Pacific Avenue adjacent to the Presidio. It was hanging out on the retaining wall and pouncing into the leaves on the ground below. |
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| The hawk did this several times but never seemed to catch anything. |
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| Caught with its nictitating membrane shut over its eye. |
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| After giving up on the leaf litter, the hawk casually swooped across the road and landed on a low branch. |
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| I could hardly have asked for a more picturesque branch for it to pose on. |
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| I spotted some shaggy parasol mushrooms (Chlorophyllum brunneum) while poking around near the tree where the white hummer would later show up. Note the likely slug-munched square rasped from the cap. |
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| According to California Mushrooms, they are "edible and choice," although some people are allergic to them. |
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| Bushtit Gets a Caterpillar |
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| An orange-crowned warbler also snagged something. The background is a building next to the tree. |
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| Female Anna's Humminbird |
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| The White Hummer In Its Tree |
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| Apparently leucistic hummers can be even whiter than this. |
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| Some pygmy nuthatches were working the bottlebrush flowers along with several other bird species (including two or three regular-colored hummingbirds). |
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| Yellow-rumped Warbler |
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| White-crowned Sparrow |
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| Anna's Hummingbird |
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| I went back to the tree in time to catch a second sighting of the leucistic hummingbird. |
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| A second, ordinary, hummingbird perched in the same tree, sending this one deeper into cover. |
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| Ruby-crowned Kinglet on Oak Branch, El Polin Spring |
Leucistic Hummer & Yellow-rumped Warbler
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