Nature Where I Live: San Francisco: Feelin' Fall

Singing Pacific Wren, Golden Gate Park

Getting two beautiful days in a row on Wednesday and Thursday made for some excellent post-equinoctial bliss. So much that my mind wrote a check my body couldn't cash. I had planned to ride up to Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands on Thursday, but I figured I might as well make a couple of birding stops along the way.

I filled my water bottle, packed a snack of dates and nuts, installed the stronger of my two bike batteries, and rolled out the gate into a clear and mild morning. My first stop was going to be North Lake, but on my way down the JFK Promenade I was so taken with the beautiful Pioneer East Meadow that I made what turned out to be a quick stop at the Pioneer Log Cabin. And since I was making a stop there, I figured a quick stop at Mallard Lake would also be a good idea.

And then I realized it would probably be best to start the Chain of Lakes at South Lake, then mosey through Middle Lake before finally getting to North Lake. I was starting to get hungry as I finally left North Lake for my next stop at Sutro Baths to hopefully find interesting shorebirds to photograph.

As I looked down at the beach, though, I saw no sign of bird life, and the tide was too high to be able to walk the beach in front of the Cliff House. Finally, almost four hours after I set out, I was ready to head out to Hawk Hill....

Such a long way to go, though....

Yep, you guessed it. I turned around and rode home.

One of Mallard Lake's two resident pied-billed grebes seemed to be enjoying the sunny morning.

Fall Color at Mallard Lake

Redwood Reflection at Middle Lake

Yellow Warbler in a Sycamore, North Lake

My first Fox Sparrow of the season. Not a rare bird by any means, but still a favorite. I like to watch them kicking in the forest duff to turn up insects, and the sound they make when doing that is as distinctive as a bird call for making an ID by ear alone.

Perched Black-crowned Night Heron

Speaking of making an ID by ear, I had to use my Merlin app for a new sound I heard in the dense cattails at North Lake, which turned out to be a Sora (that never showed itself).

This Pacific Wren was tweeting its heart out, repeatedly answering a rival on the other side of the lake.

It wasn't long before the one on the other side of the lake flew over to this side, where the two tussled in a maze of branches before zipping out of sight.

The distinctive call of the Western Flycatcher was also prominent at North Lake.

I'm going to say I got very lucky to finally be able to photograph a Common Yellowthroat with my full-frame camera. However, I still want to get a chance from much closer and in brighter light.

I knew if I tried to get closer, the bird would abscond, so I took what I could get. I did move closer after it continued deeper into the marsh in the hope it would come back that way, but my hope was in vain.

Fox Squirrel Sploot

A pair of female rose-breasted grosbeaks were feeding on the fruit of this Ngaio Tree (Myoporum laetum) at North Lake. The plant is a New Zealand native and member of the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae.

Although I gave up on my big journey across the Golden Gate, I did stop at Metson Lake on the way home, where the Blue-eyed Darners are known to hover on a sunny day.

Blue-eyed Darner, Metson Lake

Continuing past Metson Lake, I stopped again when I heard a juvenile red-tailed hawk calling out as an adult circled overhead. The adult rose higher and higher, then shot away to the northeast.

I waited a while to see if the adult would return with a gopher or something. At one point Junior appeared to be either pecking at bark or trying to eat ants, and then it flew away to a new tree.