Varied Thrush

 

Varied Thrush, San Francisco Botanical Garden

The first one I saw was on the ground and was so unexpected that I just caught myself before possibly scaring it away with any rapid movements. I'd heard a couple of buzzing calls from Varied Thrush earlier in the morning near the Fragrance Garden but had left that area without a sighting. 

The one on the ground did eventually fly away into the nearby Redwood Grove, but as I continued my walk I got another nice surprise. Varied thrush and robins were going after some berries nearby, including some purple barberries that were in fairly good light. Mostly, though, the birds were going after some other orange berries in deeper, denser foliage, well out of camera range, and I waited quite a while before either returned to the purple berries.

The rest of the morning was filled with the usual suspects, and a lively lot they were. The other day at Heron's Head I was enjoying all the bird life so much I didn't want to go home until hunger intervened. Today was much the same, with lots of birds to try to photograph. A mid-day lunch break seems to work out well anyway since the birds get more scarce around that time too.

Orange-crowned Warbler

The many Yellow-rumped Warblers were a scream.

The orange-crowned warbler(s) kept presenting opportunities, so I took advantage since I only photographed my first one of the season very recently. I wondered if this one was eating the insect larvae within leaf galls.

Several Ruby-crowned Kinglets were also active in that area near the Fragrance Garden.

In addition to the orange-crowned warblers and ruby-crowned kinglets, several Townsend's Warblers soon joined the ruckus. This one appears to be nabbing an ant.

A couple of squirrels were yanking out dried vegetation to build a new addition to their existing nest in a nearby tree.

Some cotoneaster bushes with berries just as ripe as any others are unaccountably left alone while others are pounced on. 

Bushtit!
(It's been a while since I was able to photograph one.)

This little Nuttall's Woodpecker looked so clean and fresh, like it just got out of the shower.

While, on the other hand....

Actually, being covered with rhododendron pollen isn't the same as being dirty.

Speedy Little Fella

Showing just a tiny bit of its namesake ruby crown.

Some yellow-rumped warblers were spending a lot of time on these Chilean rhubarb fruit spikes, but I couldn't catch one with a little orange berry in its beak.

Whenever one bird was chasing another one this morning, the culprits were these guys -- Hermit Thrushes.

Life on the Edge

Anna's Hummingbird

I hear Red-breasted Nuthatches quite often, but I haven't actually gotten to see one up close in quite a while.

While the nuthatches and Townsend's warblers worked the foliage, a Brown Creeper did its foraging on the trunk.

Varied thrush, feeding on the ground.

Varied thrush with barberry.

An Anna's hummingbird sipped nectar from the flowers on the same tree.

Barberry host: When the coast is clear, a robin swoops down to shanghai a berry or two.

Northern Flicker

Black Phoebe

I didn't notice the berries behind the Swainson's Thrush until I saw the picture. Had I seen them I'd probably have waited to see if it would snag one for the camera.

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