Little Angels

 

Killdeer, Richardson Bay

As I pedaled through Sausalito I could hear terns screeching, and I even saw one make a dive for fish, so I hoped I'd see even more bird life when I got past town and out onto the Mill Valley Sausalito Pathway. Nope! I got all the way to the other side, near the float plane company, before I saw any birdlife at all: a snowy egret and two killdeer. I guess whatever the terns were going after was concentrated in a small area on the Sausalito waterfront.

I did see a group of black-necked stilts working a shallow pond in the marshy area along the north side of Coyote Creek. They were out of photography range, but I was glad to see them still in the area. What a shame that wildlife is so rare these days. If I could ever go back in time, it would be back to "indigenous time," before the arrival of Europeans, to see this part of the world when it was still teeming with wildlife.

I love the killdeers' orange eye-ring.

Hazy Atmosphere, View from Mt. Tamalpais

There was a large hawk on a bare tree where I've never seen a hawk before. My first impression from seeing its back was that it was a red-shouldered hawk, but it flew away before I could get my camera on it. These mourning doves were on a nearby branch and were probably glad to see it leave the area.

As were a group of California quail hiding in the shade of a nearby tree next to the little arroyo between the Cataract and Simmons trails.

Most of the leather root growing near the trail cams has been browsed to oblivion by deer, but a plant growing among a bunch of chain ferns appeared to be out of reach. These are its seed heads.

I guess half an acorn is better than none. The acorn woodpeckers were very busy today.

I'm surprised this little branch was viewed as a good place to stash an acorn.

This hummer showed up while I was watching the woodpeckers, and I couldn't resist snapping a shot of the handsome little angel.

This guy's got the goods.

Acorn Woodpecker Pantry in Douglas Fir Snag

I heard a familiar tweet and was excited to see a yellow-rumped warbler nearby.

The woodpeckers gathered acorns directly from the oak trees, despite numerous acorns already lying on the ground. The Steller's and scrub jays also stuck to plucking acorns directly from the tree.

Woodpecker Flyaway

While I was watching the woodpeckers from beneath the big oak next to the interpretive signs in the Rock Spring parking lot, this gopher was busy snagging morsels of food to drag back into its hole. Every now and then, it would dare to exit its hole almost entirely.

Luckily the coast was clear of hawks, coyotes, and bobcats.

Mountain Fur

Some of the haze in the air looked like smoke. Signs placed on the side of the road indicated there were prescribed burns going on.

A variegated meadowhawk soaks up the sun.

It was clinging to a grass stalk on a hillside, in a position that was impossible for me to get the whole dragonfly in focus, from head to tail.

Watching TV

The Hong Kong-flagged container ship Seaspan Rio de Janeiro, recently arrived from Fraser River, Canada, was heading to the Port of Oakland. It steamed directly toward Angel Island before turning to starboard and heading for port. The strange heading probably had something to do with...

...these guys, the Blue Angeles getting in a practice session.

The first time the jet blasted over our heads as we stood next to the breakwater adjacent to the Warming Hut, a nearby child broke out in tears. The three our four times after that, he didn't even flinch.

The Brown Angels

The YM Upsurgence, flagged in Taiwan, sails beneath the Golden Gate Bridge on its way to the Port of Oakland. A woman standing with her family next to me commented that it was probably full of the stuff they get at Costco....

Tower & Power

A flock of gulls descends on a sea lion that was thrashing its prey down to pieces small enough to swallow.

* * *

Black-Throated Gray Warbler

 

Black-throated Gray Warbler, Forest Hill

When I first saw it foraging among the leaves of a street tree I was excited because I thought it might be a mountain chickadee. When I got a better look and saw that it was a GBGB bird, I prayed ISO 800 would be enough to get a sharp image of it. Out of the eight frames I was able to get before it flew into someone's back yard, only the one above was decent. However, I'm not above posting "indecent" shots too, so there's one more shot below.

The fog finally rolled back in last night. I could hear the trees dripping outside. Note the wet feathers on the bird above, after foraging among wet leaves.

Ripening Figs

Haunted Fire Alarm

Haunted Forest

I'd tried and failed to get a shot of a hermit thrush during my walk through Golden Gate Heights Park, but I saw one bathing in our back yard when I got home. A smaller junco was perched nearby, waiting for the hermit to finish.

The World's Most Laid-back Bison

Bathing Finches

The Giant Camera was open during those sunny days, but I don't think it got much action even with the warm weather. Makes me wonder how long it will remain in this spot.

Pelicans outnumbered surfers about a thousand-to-one today....

* * *

Elk Glen Lake

 

Yellow-rumped Warbler, Elk Glen Lake

I did my new walk through the park today without seeing any coyotes in the general area of where I saw a male and a female last week. I was a little disappointed, but I figure I'm unlikely to see them every week. At 25th Avenue I walked over to Elk Glen Lake to see what birds might be around, and I soon saw a black phoebe tangle with a yellow-rumped warbler that might have been going after the same moth.

Once I got the camera out, I ended up spending more than an hour observing birds, and I even got a quick coyote encounter. 

The heat wave seems to have passed, and it was a beautiful day to be out and about.

Yellow-rumper on a rush stalk.

Reflections on Elk Glen Lake

Pygmy nuthatches are one of the more ubiquitous birds I encounter in the park. They tend to travel in noisy groups, almost like bushtits, and they are not as afraid of people as many other common birds like sparrows and finches.

Which isn't to say they love having camera lenses pointed right at them.... 

I wondered if this was the same GBH who caught the mouse last week.

Lots of red-winged blackbirds have been signing around the lakes lately. Most of the birds were lost in the tules, but this one had taken up a perch at the top of a bare tree, the better to broadcast his song.

A Townsend's warbler with a freshly caught moth.

The bottoms of oak leaves seemed to be a good place to find insects to eat.

At first I thought she was someone's dog ambling along the trail.

She made a quick, short pounce but came up empty.

She also decided to get off the trail right about here.

Yellow warbler with oak leaves.

Townie

Yeller Feller

Townie in brighter light.

I was excited to spot a brown creeper working its way up the oak tree.

They tend to be in the shade, and well-camouflaged.

I was a block from home when I stopped to watch another group of pygmy nuthatches. This one appears to have a seed in its beak, but earlier I watched one of the nuthatches use a pine needle to probe into crevices of tree bark, presumably hoping to dislodge insects.

Looking out back before getting on my bike, I spotted two of our neighborhood squirrels hanging out together on my neighbor's lilly pilly tree. The vines are from a fuchsia that he's got climbing around his yard (some of which I've also planted in mine since hummers like the flowers).

Lots of bird action on and around Seal Rocks today.

A few pelicans were even diving for fish, but I wasn't able to catch one in the act. Groups of gulls would surround each diving pelican, hoping to get a morsel for themselves.

Dog Walkers

* * *