Coyote in the Dell

 

Resting Coyote, Rhododendron Dell

I went for the birds but stayed for the coyote. (Hi ho, the derry-o, coyote in the dell.)

I'd been walking my bike through the dell for maybe fifteen or twenty minutes with no luck on any bird action. The most interesting thing happened out of sight -- a bunch of dogs were going crazy, barking as if they'd seen a chupacabra down on JFK Drive. I wondered if they'd run into a coyote.

I was looking in the tree canopies for birds the whole time the dogs were going insane, and when the ruckus stopped I walked over to a guy with binoculars who pointed out the coyote ambling into the dell when I asked if he'd seen any interesting birds. 

I enjoyed watching the coyote relaxing and grooming until it wandered off a short ways to find a resting spot with less foot traffic, where I left it alone. As the coyote sauntered toward its new resting place, an unaware squirrel took off like a bolt of gray lightning when it suddenly realized the coyote was right behind it. The coyote was obviously not hunting, but the squirrels were making alarm calls from all over the place. 

I did see my first-of-season hermit thrush and yellow-rumped warbler today, and I also had a good sighting of a black-throated gray warbler. So the bird action was okay too. I also spotted some dragonflies laying eggs in the little lily pond next to the de Young Museum.

I brought the compact camera on my walk again this morning and couldn't resist this pretty housecat resting on some Forest Hill steps (connecting Sotelo and Pacheco).

At Golden Gate Heights Park, a handful of pygmy nuthatches was gathering seeds from the ground, where they were occasionally (and only temporarily) chased off by larger, bossy juncos. I also heard but did not see a red-breasted nuthatch at the top of the park.

A nearby squirrel alarmed just as I was leaving the park, and I looked up just in time to see this young red-tailed hawk land on a tree branch just outside the tennis courts.

Coyote wets its nose to keep its sniffer working right.

Coyote looking for a place to rest.

Coyote finds a place to rest. Here, its head was lying on the ground.

It wasn't a position the coyote kept for long, with so much going on around it.

Some folks paid the coyote no mind; others turned around and took a different route to avoid passing it.

Back in the sun, coyote does some grooming.

And more resting.

Thinking about finding a new place to nap (with a redwood twig stuck to its haunch).

Gnawing at fleas, I suppose.

There were some stairs leading to the top of a small rise, which the coyote evidently knew well. It climbed half-way up, then lay down to rest in the shade to be out of the limelight for a while.

A pair of hermit thrushes flew into the same cotoneaster that recently hosted a juvenile rose-breasted grosbeak, then dropped to forage on the ground. They didn't forage long before one of them gave chase and both flew out of the area.

I can never resist trying to photograph these tiny Townsend's warblers.

It had to flare out its wing to catch itself as it almost slipped off the branch.

At the time I snapped the photo before it quickly flew away, I didn't know what bird it was. Only when I opened the image in Photoshop did I see that it was a yellow-rumper.

I'm glad I was able to photograph a black-throated gray warbler with the full-frame Nikon this time instead of the compact Lumix.

Like Townsend's warblers, these guys aren't shy about getting close, but they do move quickly from branch to branch.

I watched the female lazuli bunting to see if a male would show up, but it flew away as the lunch crowd started walking through.

Same species in the shade. (There were two or three lazuli buntings feeding together.)

Tandem-flying variegated meadowhawks. Presumably they have already mated, as the female (in back) appeared to be depositing eggs in the pond.

Dynamic Duo

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Coyote on the Greenbelt

 

Coyote, Sunset Parkway

I like the way a coyote can be ambling along toward whatever goal it might have, if any, then completely change direction to sidestep an obstacle like a human. A coyote really does "walk the earth," like Jules dreams of in Pulp Fiction. 

The first coyote I saw this morning was heading south and stopped just as I looked up and spotted her. She stayed put for a minute or so, but decided to ditch me when I didn't continue on my way. She started walking north along the lower path next to Sunset Boulevard but soon had to drop that plan when she spotted another human pedestrian moving toward her, camera phone at the ready.

I was surprised she didn't continue south along the lower trail, and even more surprised when she crossed four lanes of traffic to head west on Moraga Street where she soon had to dodge a guy walking his small dog.

I'd brought the compact camera along on my walk in case I might spot any rare birds, but I was glad I had it for the coyotes. Of course my nemesis bird, the Common Yellowthroat, showed itself at Mallard Lake, but the compact camera couldn't really handle the low light. I was just about to leave the park and put the camera away when I heard crunching in an oak tree, looked toward the sound, and spotted a raccoon eating acorns. And then, near the very tippy-top of the tree, a second raccoon.

Coyote on the Greenbelt

She pauses her forward motion, takes in the local scents, and waits to see what I'm going to do.

After a while she realizes the numbskull human isn't going anywhere.

Nemesis Bird

I ran into the second coyote of the morning just past Mallard Lake. This one  doubled back as soon as it saw me, then crossed MLK Jr. Drive and continued heading west.

I tried to tag along, but the coyote, who no-doubt knows every inch of this territory, easily ditched me. 

A tall eucalyptus near Elk Glen Lake was popping with bird life, including Western tanagers.

But the real owners of the bounty were hummingbirds. I couldn't keep track of them individually, but there were several zipping around.

Yellow Warblers were also busily feeding among the flowers.

Just past Elk Glen Lake I was surprised and delighted to spot raccoons eating acorns.

Junior was near the very top of the oak.

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Elegant Terns

 

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.

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.

Note the tiny tern feet.

There were numerous pelicans out this morning. Seal Rocks also had a lot more birdlife than I've seen in a good while.

Graffiti on the breakwater added color to the background.

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.

The whole mass of terns and gulls lifted off for the one dog, then circled overhead until the coast was clear.

One of the terns took a little bathroom break while it was up there.

Heermann's Gulls

Gulls & Graffiti

A couple of wise old Western Gulls didn't bother to rise up.

Heermann's Gull

Birds of a feather flocked together, but did not mix.

As this raging gull was reminding the terns.

This tern seemed to be playing a joke on the gull by flying away with a stick that the gull evidently wanted for itself.

Elegant Hair-do

Brown Pelican Trio

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