Going to the Sun

 

Pine Siskin Drinking at Rock Spring Water Tank, Mt. Tamalpais

Okay, multiple days of cold and fog finally got to me. In addition to getting some sun on my face this morning, I also wanted to do some photography with the full-frame cameras, so I drove rather than biked up to Mt. Tam. Inspector Brocken wasn't around, so I just kind of poked around the Rock Spring area after swapping SD cards in my trail cameras.

Slippin' Siskin

Contemplative Siskins

Female (or Young Male) Lazuli Bunting

I can't remember the last time I saw turkey vultures perched on anything on the upper part of the mountain. There were four altogether. The acorn woodpeckers seemed to take them in stride, and a pair of ravens landed on a nearby branch to check them out for a couple of minutes before continuing on their way.

Sun Bums

Nearby, some acorn woodpeckers were hawking after insects.

They'd take off, try to snag their prey (which I couldn't see at all), then return to the branch, usually empty-handed as far as I could tell.

This one came back and seemed to be choking on whatever he'd caught. That's his tongue sticking out.

Portrait of a Chipmunk

The little fella let me get pretty close. Suddenly though, even though I didn't move, it shot into cover. I recently saw an Instagram video of a great blue heron sneaking up on and snagging a chipmunk. 

Although Ebird shows lots of spotted towhee sightings within San Francisco, I have yet to see one in the city.

They have a very recognizable territorial call, so I'm surprised I have yet to see one. I'll have to try a little harder. Although they have been seen in Golden Gate Park, the Presidio seems to be a hot spot for them. 

If you recognize the sign from a recent post, you might know what comes next.

Bugs in the oxeye daisies, that's what. Judging by all the scattered moth fur on the petals, I suspect the moth didn't go down easy for the little crab spider.

Mating Stink Bugs

Coyote Mint

Gumweed

Rosin Weed

Skipper Nectaring on Gumweed

Propertius Duskywing Nectaring on Rosin Weed

Even honeybees got in on the rosin weed. I'm surprised critters don't get all gummed up by the rosin.

It's not that often I get a catchlight in a lizard's eye. This one is perched in a serpentine area.

Heading down Pantoll Road I stopped the car after seeing a few mama quail running across the road with their impossibly cute, tiny chicks comically following in a line. I hung around for a while but never saw the quail again.

But the Steller's jays seemed to be up to something, and I soon found out what it was.

They had a hungry youngster to feed.

Seeing this camera trap shot of a passing bobcat triggered my biggest groan of the day. I have two trail cameras at this location. The other one should have caught this bobcat from the other side, and in a much wider view. But for some still-unknown reason, that other camera didn't have any shots on it. I can only imagine I accidentally left it set on "Setup" instead of switching it to "On." Argh.

First time I ever saw a robin snag a salamander.

Another ugh moment as a gray fox approached this cam but was not picked up by the non-working cam.

The bobcat was out of the frame after triggering the still photo, but you can still see him a second or two later in the upper right corner of the video frame (and also hear a spotted towhee scolding the cat).

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