Nature Where I Live: San Francisco: Bay Trail

Black-necked Stilt & Willet Foraging Together, Hunter's Point Shoreline

I've been hemming and hawing about carrying my Z8 on a longer bike ride (from home to India Basin to Fort Mason to Crissy Lagoon then back home), so today, graced with perfect weather, I finally bit the bullet and strapped on the camera backpack, which weighed exactly 11 pounds. I was out for a little more than four hours, and the verdict at the end of the trip was that it had gotten pretty uncomfortable in the shoulders. New and bigger bike saddlebags (my ThinkTank Glass Limo fits in my wife's large Ortleib bags) are probably the next step, and I've been thinking about upgrading my ebike as well (the Spanish-made Orbea Kemen ADV 10 is at the top of my wishlist for now).

I was disappointed but not surprised to find very few birds out at India Basin and Heron's Head. Even so, there was one black-necked stilt, one semipalmated plover (that I saw) and one whimbrel. I couldn't get close to the black-bellied plovers, of which there were just a few mingling in the strongly backlit mud with a bunch of least sandpipers.

I spotted a red-throated loon just offshore as I passed by Chase Center and two more in Mission Bay, just across from Oracle Park where folks were converging for the Giants vs. Dodgers game.

The Fort Mason Community Garden didn't have a lot of bird variety, but I could photograph hummingbirds there all day if I didn't watch out.

Near Crissy Lagoon I was summoned to the Quartermaster Reach by a vociferous kildeer. If those were alarm calls, I couldn't tell what it was upset about. The calls were continuous, whether any humans were nearby or not. There was one other, silent, killdeer in the same area, so maybe they had a nest nearby. I also spotted my first barn swallows and Canada goose goslings of the season there.

Least Sandpiper

Frisky Snowy
(It had just chased off an interloper.)

Black-necked Stilt

Semipalmated Plover

Whimbrel

Stilt Catches a Minnow

It looked like the stilt might have been playing with its food, as it took quite a while (and even dropped it once) before finally sending it down the hatch.

Willet Trudging Across the Mudflat

Willet & Stilt

Snowy Egret on the Wing

I loved the beautiful coloration on those least sandpiper feathers.

I usually think of willets as being gray birds, which they are until they don this more marbled breeding plumage.

I don't know if these are male and female willets, but the bird in front wanted nothing to do with the bird that was following it.

Hummingbirds at Ft. Mason Community Garden

Anna's Hummingbird

Nectar Guides

The western bluebird was perched near a tree with holes in it, but I never saw it enter one of the holes. If there is a nest in there, it's very stealthy about it.

Killdeer at Quartermaster Reach

Making Noise

The adults seemed surprised to be noticed, and they soon moved the youngsters into the water to put some distance between us.

I don't recall hearing any sound coming out of the little fuzzball. It might have just dipped its beak to drink some water.

Cliff swallows had been reported to be building mud nests nearby, but I didn't see any sign of them. The colorful barn swallows were a good find though.