See Ya, Summery Fall

Lion's Mane Fungus
(Hericium erinaceus)

My wife and I took a little hike in the rain on Mt. Tam today, and I'm pretty sure the mystery fungus whose pix I've posted earlier is going to turn into one of these, a lion's mane fungus. Having just been there a few days ago, when everything was still dry, I had no expectation of seeing so much fungi on today's hike (it wasn't raining at all in San Francisco). All I had was my phone camera, and of course I had no wax paper bags for collecting. However, it was such a pleasure to see mushrooms again that I didn't want to disturb anything by picking them.

I suspect these and other wood-sprouters were honey mushrooms, and later we would find a few giant fruitings that left no room for doubt.

There were many colorful russula patches like these among fallen bay leaves.

The big-leaf maples along Cataract Creek were looking about as good as they get.

I wasn't picking anything, or even looking under caps, so I won't even guess what this guy is.

Another juicy lion's mane.

Probably more honey mushrooms.

This was part of one of two patches of coccoli (Amanita calyptroderma) we found this morning. It was interesting to see so much development in the caps with hardly any stalk. 

Honey Patch

Dyer's Polypore

Again, I didn't look at the gills, so I'm not sure, but I suspect this is just a crazy-big lepiota, and not the prince (Agaricus augustus).

A pool along Cataract Creek at Laurel Dell.

Fresh greens and fading yellows next to a mostly dry Cataract Creek.

One of many grisettes (probably Amanita pachycolea) that we found in several places.

Two Short Clips from the Rainy Forest

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Summery Fall

 

Canada Geese in Coyote Creek

I've been thinking about making the long drive up to the Klamath Basin to immerse myself in millions of geese who fill the air with incessant honking and countless fluttering wings rising up like a thunderous applause, but for now I'll settle for eleven geese silently floating past Mt. Tamalpais.

It was amazingly sunny and warm today and felt more like summer than fall, although I was pleasantly surprised to find a few little fruitings of fungi. They were pretty dried out, but were a tantalizing taste of what the rains will bring.

The new trail cam location was a dud, so I moved the cams once again. When I returned to Rock Spring there was a group of CalFire and other folks at the picnic table near my bike. They'd been doing more prescribed burns. We noticed a lot of dark smoke out over the ocean that didn't seem to make sense. Where was it coming from? One guy said there's another burn going on at China Camp State Park, but it still didn't make sense until I got down the mountain a ways and could see that, sure enough, the smoke was blowing down from there and then getting whooshed out through the Golden Gate.

Just another gorgeous day for a bike ride on Mt. Tam. 

The California fuchsia are still going strong.

When this guy fluttered past me the tops of its wings seemed more intricately patterned than a cabbage white, but it never spread its wings after it landed, so I'm not sure what this is.

Just a few steps farther along, a more indulgent painted lady soaked up the sun on the Cataract Trail.

This thing has gotten a little bigger (since 10/26), but I'm still not sure if it's going to turn into anything recognizeable. It's still quite spongy, so I assume it's still growing into ... something.

A few dried russulas thought it was time to hop to it, only to have Mother Nature deliver a bit of a fake-out.

This cute littel amanita has barely cleared its universal veil. Maybe some rain will come this weekend and get things going again.

I would have thought this tipped-over madrone with the dead crown was all done with life, but the brand new leaves say otherwise. I assume this new growth is sprouting from the original tree's burl, and not from a berry that fell down in there and sprouted.

First I found the band-tailed pigeon feather, then I saw a couple of nearby madrone berries that the birds didn't get at feeding time.

California giant salamander hanging out on a rock in a relatively deep and quiet pool.

Another of those white butterflies fluttered past me and drew me out into a meadow where I found a lot of pushed-down grass and some relatively fresh deer bones. 

Smoke from a prescribed burn blows out to sea.

Black-necked stilt along Coyote Creek.

Looking very stilty!

This large and odd-looking ship is the vehicle carrier Shanghai Highway, most recently from Incheon, Korea, and before that -- where else but Shanghai, China.

The container ship YM Travel was close behind, heading for Oakland. VesselFinder doesn't show its other recent port calls.

Just down the way from the large No Dancing sign on Golden Gate Park's JFK Promenade, some cool new sculptures were being set up as I passed through on my way home.

Some kids nearby were hoping the Gillie and Marc sculptures were made of chocolate.

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For the Birds

 

Skulking Red-shouldered Hawk Being Scolded by a Scrub Jay

The Silent Partner Nearby
(being ignored by the jay)

Speckled Rocks

Pelicans & Cormorants

Having Their Day In The Sun

Pelicans Bathing at Sutro Baths

Pelicans & (Mostly) Heermann's Gulls

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The Clear Light

 

Mt. Tamalpais Reflection at High Tide, Richardson Bay

I kind of felt like hanging out around home yesterday, but it was too nice a day to skip my Thursday ride up to Mt. Tam. 

I was surprised how high the tide was (six feet) when I reached the bay along the north end of Sausalito. The water was almost up to the bike path. A couple of killdeer were foraging between the path and the bay, relatively new arrivals. The greater yellowlegs and black-necked stilts were still around too. Three guys were casting their fishing poles onto the mirrored surface of the water. On the way home I stopped when I saw the water become disturbed near the shore, wondering if a tiburon had chased its prey into the shallows, but eventually a sea lion popped its head up.

I used to bring snacks from home on these rides. I'd usually eat them beneath the big oaks at Rock Spring or out along West Ridgecrest to take in the expansive view. But last week I didn't have anything to bring, so I stopped at The Good Earth for a cheese croissant, which turned out to be such a delicious and filling treat that I did it again this week.

It was windy and a little chilly up on the mountain, so I took a short hike, ate my croissant, placed the trail cams in a new location, then turned around to head home. It was warm again by the time I got back down to Tam Junction.

Reflections Near Coyote Creek

Clear view to the Farallons, with turkey vultures soaring in the wind.

Things don't usually change much in a week, but this time a large area around Rock Spring had been burned. It's been a while since I last saw signs of prescribed burns out there, and I've never seen such a large swath of grassland get treated.

I'm looking forward to seeing what this fungal mass matures into.

A red admiral soaks up the sun while perched on the lichen-crusted bark of a Douglas fir.

A killdeer forages along Richardson Bay.

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Devil's Coach-Horse Beetle

 

Devil's Coach-Horse Beetle
(Ocypus olens)

I've been noticing a new neighbor the last few weeks and just learned the sinister-sounding name given to these little black critters (thanks, Bug Guide!). I've seen several of them scuttling across the sidewalk along 36th Avenue and Sunset Boulevard, but nowhere else. The first couple of times I tried to get a phone snap of one of these handsome devils, the beetles made it to cover before I could get the phone out of my knapsack, turn it on, and start the photo app.

Descriptions of this beetle seem to be written mainly by folks on the other side of the Atlantic, where the beetle is common. I was interested in this distribution map showing it throughout Europe and North Africa. Their Wikipedia entry says they've been introduced from British Columbia to California. I suspect they are recent arrivals along Sunset Boulevard in San Francisco because they are so noticeable that I couldn't have missed them if they'd been around last year.

The phone snaps I shot for Bug Guide weren't very detailed, so I took the FZ80 out on yesterday's bike ride, figuring I'd make a little detour to Sunset Boulevard. On the way down through Golden Gate Park, just past Spreckels Lake, an odd sight caught my eye. A woman was walking along the paved path toward the bathrooms when a dog with a chew-toy ambled past her in the opposite direction. It took a second to realize the dog was a coyote, and when it stopped to stare at me its chew-toy turned out to be a fox squirrel hanging limp in its mouth.

I scrambled for my camera and snapped a couple of grab shots while the coyote continued on its way toward the Park Stables. I followed it up the hill but didn't want to leave my bike unattended for long and quickly gave up the search. My consolation prize was a monarch butterfly that flitted past my head and took a brief rest break on a survey flag.

[UPDATE] Whatever was getting them out and about seems to have passed. I didn't see a single one on my walk yesterday (10/31). Such a great Halloween insect, too. The other update is that I finally checked iNaturalist and was surprised to see that they've been reported as far south as Escondido and El Cajon, and as far east as Riverside and Redlands. Within San Francisco they've been reported where I found them, but even more so in Golden Gate Park and the Presidio, and they have been found throughout the year, not just in fall.

The beetle has some kind of prey here, maybe a grub worm.

Here it is in its threat pose. It's said to emit a bad smell to ward off predators, and I did smell something unusual. However, given my urban location's popularity with dog-walkers, I couldn't be sure if it was coming from the beetle.

Passing coyote with fox squirrel.

The coyote lost me at the Park Stables. A horse just on the other side of that fence didn't even look up from its feed bag when the coyote passed.

Monarch season begins in October in San Francisco.

Just thought I'd toss this one in, a new sign/sculpture along JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park.

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