TNT to PNP

 

California Towhee in Salvia Patch

This was one of those days where I started out like TNT (cue the AC/DC song) but ended up PNP seven hours later. Pretty Near Pooped. Although I ran into a group of birders looking for a local rarity at Elk Glen Lake, I didn't get to see it myself and was content to watch and photograph a lot of the more usual suspects.

I forgot to post these awesome dreds a couple days ago.

Pork Truck on Noriega Street

A large flock of cedar waxwings was winging it around the Sunset Parkway this morning. A good bunch flew out of this tree as I approached. Just below it was a small, berry-clad cotoneaster bush. I waited in vain for them to come back. This guy was one of a handful of newcomers that only stopped by for a moment.

Hardly any yellow on this young Lesser Goldfinch, but he's singing his heart out just the same (video below).

Preening Allen's Hummingbird Near Mallard Lake

While I was watching the hummingbird, a red-shouldered hawk flew by with a gopher in its talons, looking for a good perch to consume it on. Dissatisfied with this one and the next one, it finally absconded into the tall branches of a eucalyptus.

Still watching the hummingbird to see if it would start feeding on some nearby purple flowers, one of the two singing Wilson's Warblers around the lake popped onto this branch and let loose (video below).

This is the hummingbird I was watching, and when it finally did return to feeding on the purple flowers, it chose a group of them beyond my field of view.

I don't often see female Allen's hummingbirds.

At Elk Glen Lake I contented myself with the likes of red-winged blackbirds while several birders were more single-mindedly seeking a Yellow-throated Warbler that is way out of its usual range.

Here's another Anna's hummingbird working a patch of white ramping fumitory.

I photographed a few mourning doves at Elk Glen Lake, but I liked this one best because of the lichen-crusted branch.

The resident purple finch was devouring seeds at the Salvia patch.

No "nectar robbery" here....

I saw this red-tail as I was biking past Lindley Meadow (near Spreckels Lake in Golden Gate Park) and wondered what it was doing until I noticed the wet feathers (video below).

Pygmy Nuthatch in Bison Paddock

The wasp nest was attacked yet again, leaving little for the remaining hornets to work with.

There was a nice patch of yellow-staining agarics beneath some redwoods at North Lake.

Mama and Papa Bookending the Goslings

I stopped carrying my camera microphone because I almost never actually use it. Today I shot three videos (a lesser goldfinch and Wilson's warbler singing, and a bathing red-tail) and wished I'd had it. 

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Another Velella Stranding

 

Beautiful Morning at Ocean Beach

It was a joy and a relief to wake up to sun and clouds this morning instead of another day of heavy fog. I couldn't believe it was already 64 degrees when I headed out the door at 8:30.

As I visually scouted the shoreline at Ocean Beach I didn't see any shorebirds to capture my interest, nor did I see any sign of another stranding of by-the-wind sailors. Only when I later biked down to the Cliff House was I sort of shocked to see the long, sinuous wrack lines of countless dead animals. 

Apparently May and June are peak times for Velella strandings, especially when El Niño conditions are brewing. When they're in their element, floating in the open oceans of tropical and subtropical waters, Velella eat plankton and are in turn eaten by sea snails and sea slugs (and occasionally by gulls).

Looks like the wasp nest was attacked again. Despite the repeated attacks, the wasps diligently keep on truckin'.

Bison Enjoying the Sun

I was surprised to see a raven feeding on a dead gopher on the west side of North Lake. I wondered how the raven managed to take possession of it. Did a hawk drop it while being mobbed by crows and/or ravens? Did it simply die in the open? Or could a raven could actually catch and kill a gopher on its own?

Wrack Lines of By-the-Wind Sailors

Another odd bit of feeding behavior that I saw recently was in the neighbor's oak tree -- a squirrel stripping and eating tree bark.

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Insect Life

 

Stiletto Fly on Blackberry Leaf, San Francisco Presidio

I've been thinking about photographing the diversity of grasses I find around the city, but I quickly realized when I tried to get started this morning that it was virtually impossible to get good shots in the field. When I last photographed grasses (from Mt. Tam), I collected them and set them up at home where I could have better controls. Luckily, I've also been thinking about photographing insects, so that's what I ended up doing today.

It didn't seem like I was seeing many insects -- and then a light rain started, sending me under some trees for cover -- but I came home with a decent assortment, all shot around the Andrew Goldsworthy Spire and across the street between Inspiration Point and El Polin Spring. Much of the latter area is fenced off, so I was only hunting along the edges of the trail (which is bike-legal).

It's been a long time since I photographed insects, and I ended up using an aperture of f/11 which serves well for tidepools. Now I see that I really should have used an even smaller aperture to increase depth of field for these tiny subjects. Next time.

I uploaded these to iNaturalist and got some preliminary IDs, but too preliminary to post here.

Variable Duskyface Fly (Melanostoma mellinum)

Western Aphid Eater (Eupeodes fumipennis)

Gray Buckeye (Junonia grisea)

Variable Checkerspot (Euphydryas chalcedona)

Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis)

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