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| Elegant Tern, Ocean Beach |
It took awhile to decide not to bring my camera on the bike ride today. It was just a bit too wet, which meant I was going to wear my bird-frightening, bright green rainproof bike jacket. But of course I wished I had the camera when I saw my first-of-season Marbled Godwits down by Sutro Baths, and then again when I saw the Elegant Terns south of there, in front of the Beach Chalet.
Realistically, though, I'm not sure I'd want to leave my bike and panniers unattended on the Ocean Beach Esplanade, where I fear it could disappear into someone's van or the nearby homeless encampment. Instead I rode home and drove back in the car.
I heard the terns before I saw them, which makes me wonder if they are recent arrivals at the beach. I bike past that area a few times a week and haven't heard any terns until today.
I had walked to the beach earlier in the morning and saw a group of maybe a dozen pelicans fishing in the shorebreak south of Ortega Street. They waited on the beach and waded in, or flew a short distance, to make a quick spear into the water. Maybe the pelicans and terns are finding good numbers of fish lately.
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| The terns on the beach were mostly relaxing and preening. Every now and then a few would return from hunting trips to the south to join the crowd. In the background, the Cliff House looms in its torpid state of decay, surrounded by ugly fencing and showing no sign of renovations being done. |
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| Note the tiny tern feet. |
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| There were numerous pelicans out this morning. Seal Rocks also had a lot more birdlife than I've seen in a good while. |
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| Graffiti on the breakwater added color to the background. |
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| Sometimes a clueless off-leash dog-walker shows up and scares all the birds into flight. I was actually grateful to be able to get some photos of them taking off. |
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| The whole mass of terns and gulls lifted off for the one dog, then circled overhead until the coast was clear. |
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| One of the terns took a little bathroom break while it was up there. |
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| Heermann's Gulls |
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| Gulls & Graffiti |
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| A couple of wise old Western Gulls didn't bother to rise up. |
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| Heermann's Gull |
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| Birds of a feather flocked together, but did not mix. |
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| As this raging gull was reminding the terns. |
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| This tern seemed to be playing a joke on the gull by flying away with a stick that the gull evidently wanted for itself. |
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| Elegant Hair-do |
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| Brown Pelican Trio |
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