Pacific Wren & Friends

 

Pacific Wren Near Goldsworthy Spire, Presidio of San Francisco

The tiny wren chipped a delicate tweet of alarm as I slowly pedaled by on the muddy trail out near Andy Goldsworthy's Spire. I stopped and put the kickstand down, then slowly maneuvered off-trail to get an angle on the wren's hideout beneath some cut logs. The bird came out maybe a minute later, surprising me by leaping up onto this high lookout point right out in the open. I snapped a few frames and even had time to record a little video of its staccato movements and brusque chirps.

Despite my luck with the wren, it wasn't a very birdy ride overall. I was especially dismayed to find so little bird life at Lobos Dunes. I ended up having more of a fungal foray than a feathered one. A few drops of rain began to fall while I was at Baker Beach, and I ended up having to take cover for 10 minutes or so when the rain picked up. Luckily it was just a squall that soon passed, and I was able to ride home without getting very wet. 

I'm kind of looking forward to a good storm tonight. I picked my wife up at the airport last night in some absolutely crazy traffic localized right around the airport itself. The Cell Phone Lot was backed up to the freeway offramp, and the approaches to the terminals, both north and south, were bumper-to-bumper. At least it wasn't raining. I feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with that scene tonight, assuming the holiday traffic us just as heavy.

Jumbo Gym, Golden Gate Park

Herd of Deer Mushrooms Near Goldsworthy Spire

Deer Mushrooms Showing Gills

Pacific Wren Switching Stance

Tail Feathers Raised

Pacific Wren

My first thought when I saw this in the Presidio was "Deadly Amanita," but then I remembered a genus I encountered many years ago called Volvariella, which is what I'm pretty sure this is (except it's now called Volvopluteus, and this is probably V. gloiocephalus).

If you squint, you can make out the pink tinge to the gills. The deadly amanita's spores are white, not pink or brown.

You can't really resist snapping a photo from this spot. The sailboat beneath the bridge was barely moving in nearly windless conditions this afternoon.

Possibly a Psathyrella species, a pretty little grouping here at Lobos Dunes.

A look at the gills.

Nearby (watch out for the dog poop if you step off the boardwalk), a couple of possible Entolomas seemed to be frozen in mid-dance.

A pair of red-tailed hawks briefly graced the skies over the dunes before gliding off toward Baker Beach.

A tiny bit of Indian paintbrush was already in bloom at Lobos Dunes.

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