Christmas Chickens

 

Putting on the Ritz at Bay Natives Nursery Near Heron's Head Park

There wasn't a whole lot of wild-bird activity at Heron's Head Park this morning. Across the street, however, the colorful chickens at Bay Natives Nursery were a-crowin', a-cluckin', and a-struttin'. Next door, the goats (the greatest goats of all time) were butting heads and shuffling their hooves, dreaming of having room to roam.

I made my way from there along the coast to the Fort Mason Community Garden where to my surprise I actually got to photograph the Bullock's Oriole that had been sighted there recently. The oriole was mostly interested in pulling at some string, as if it were trying to gather nesting material. Isn't it too early for that?!

Not much happening at Crissy Lagoon, so I continued to Fort Point to get the obligatory selfie with the Golden Gate Bridge, and to watch the surfers. It was a beautiful day to be out around the city.

The sun briefly broke out a time or two today, but I was glad to have worn the cold-weather bike jacket.

Chicken-on-the-Prowl

All Dressed up

Arster Shells

Awaiting Gentrification

Fierce Female

She couldn't quite get the string to let go.

Bullock's Oriole

About to Take Off

This hummingbird would fan his head feathers forward and back as he perched on the branch and looked left and right, then occasionally fan out his throat feathers to belt out a mad line of chirping.

I wondered if these parrots over at Fort Mason are ever the same ones that fly around Golden Gate Heights. Do they tend to stick to their own neighborhoods, or are they more cosmopolitan?

Surfing at Fort Point

Video Clip of this Morning's Eruption.

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Great Blue Heron

 

Feathers Flared for Landing, Golden Gate Park

I suspect this is the same great blue heron I recently photographed catching a gopher in practically the same place (just south of the Polo Field). I watched it fly in, then land, only to be frightened into a nearby tree by a guy and his dog. I got the shot above when the heron flew down from the tree.

The heron picked up on a noise pretty quickly, and I waited quite a while to see what would happen. Despite stalking two different noises, it never plunged in. I wondered if the noises had been made by mice rather than gophers. Mice are speedy and travel from hiding place to hiding place, whereas gophers often pop their heads up in exactly the same place, making them both easier to catch, and a more substantial meal.

Above the Dog

The heron was looking toward a noise on the right when it suddenly heard a better noise to its left.

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Wild in the Weather

 

Red-tailed Hawk in Light Rain, Great Highway

I only stopped briefly to photograph the red-tail in the rain. I didn't want it to have to fly away just to escape my gaze, as often happens with these hawks. I might be cold and wet for a few hours at most, and then I go home and make lunch, take a hot shower, and change into dry clothes. I have so much respect for all the wild creatures that have to deal with whatever weather comes, all day, every day.

Yesterday I finally got around to trying out a feature on the FZ80D that I figured was too good to be true -- the burst mode. I assumed burst mode would reduce the file sizes, or automatically limit them to JPEGs, but it did neither. The burst-mode shots were full-sized RAW files, and the viewfinder blackout after firing a burst wasn't appreciably longer than for single shots.

What I also just noticed after getting home today were a couple of different ISO modes, an Auto-ISO and an iISO -- the second of which might be just what I've been looking for. I don't know how I've missed it all this time, but I look forward to trying it out.

By the way, National Geographic rates the FZ80D as the "best point-and-shoot digital camera for beginners," but I would call it a very good nature/wildlife camera for anyone wants to travel light and is shooting only for the web. If I want to make a great 24x36 print, I'll stick with my D800E. But for posting to the internet, the FZ80D is brilliant.

Burst, First Frame

Burst, Second Frame
(Both 1/1300th sec. @ ISO 3200)

ISO 3200 RAW File, Processed Normally

Same frame, processed through Lightroom's AI Denoise feature.

Even with "burst mode" on, the black phoebe was gone by the second shot. Guess I was framing too tightly.

I was surprised to see this Say's phoebe in my own neighborhood this morning.

Waterfall at Strawberry Hill, Blue Heron Lake

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Grounders

 

Kinglet Taking Wing

I was catching nothing but grounders in the botanical garden this morning. Before I went there I'd stopped by Lloyd and Blue Heron lakes and watched the ducks without breaking out my camera, although a cute little pied-billed grebe did tempt me.

I was a little disappointed that it only rained on me a little bit in the beginning of the ride. I was decked out in rain gear, ready and willing, but all I got was a sprinkle that just left droplets all over my glasses. No matter. I'm sure I'll get more chances over the next few days. In fact I ordered a new pair of rain pants (my current pair leaks) that are supposed to arrive tomorrow.

Anyway, almost as soon as I entered the garden a very cooperative little ruby-crowned kinglet bopped around over a semi-cleared area covered with wood chips, often coming so close that I couldn't fit the whole bird in the frame. The little Panasonic FZ80D still impresses me despite its limitations. All these shots were made at ISO 3200 and run through Lightroom's AI Denoise feature.

A fox sparrow pauses ever so briefly to make sure the coast is clear before resuming kicking in the duff to reveal a morsel of a meal.

I hoped the song sparrow would pose on the mushroom, but it did something even more surprising when it nibbled a few pieces of the cap.

Closer Crop

Hermit Thrush

Even at ISO 3200 I could only get a 1/200th sec. exposure here, a tad too slow for a bird that moves its head a lot, even when standing still.

* * *

Mushies & Mergies

 

Iteration of a Honey Mushroom, Golden Gate Park

It was another cold and foggy morning to head out the door, and headwinds that seemed to be coming out of the north made a significant contribution to the "brisk factor." Somehow, by the time I was returning home, the wind seemed to be brisking out of the south! 

In "reality" (whatever that is), the wind was blowing out of the east. I figure it's just a quirk of the built environment. Wind swooshes out of the east into a row of houses arrayed north-to-south, then swishes up or down the street. I recall it being even worse downtown, where the built environment was much more canyon-like, and where it often seemed as if headwinds blew in every direction.

Fortunately, the middle part of the walk was through Golden Gate Park which had more windbreaks (and mushrooms) and was noticeably warmer.

Later, as I was biking to the beach (exacerbating the natural wind chill by adding speed), I hit the brakes when I noticed a group of hooded mergansers who were back in Lloyd Lake. 

Down by the beach I noted once again that very few birds were occupying Seal Rocks, and it made me wonder whether it's just a seasonal thing or a bird-flu catastrophe. Apparently the new strain is killing not just wild sea birds, but also seals and sea lions.

Lucky Honeys

Fungus Gnat Condos

Honey River

I wonder why there aren't any chanterelles to be found in Golden Gate Park's Oak Woodland. Unfortuntely, the mushrooms above are false chanterelles.

Skinny Troopers

Plum Leaf in a Ginkgo Sea

Fish Toss

The male tried to keep close to the female, but did not try to steal her fish.

The female merganser downs another fish...

...then rises up for a celebratory wing-flap.

The "biker gang" of Lloyd Lake.

There was lots of fishing going on. You could always tell when a merganser was about to dive underwater because it would fold back its hood beforehand.

Another Fish Toss

This morning's view from the Mt. Tam Cam...

...and from the Shasta Cam.

* * *

Golden Hour

 

Resting Bison, Golden Gate Park

It was 59.3 degrees at my computer desk around noon today -- seven-tenths of a degree colder than it was this morning despite the sunny day. The strong and chilly wind must have countered the sunshine's warmth. (We don't use the heat overnight, and in the morning only on weekends.)

As we close in on the winter solstice, I've been enjoying the almost "golden hour" light that lasts all day due to the sun being so low in the sky. From Bolinas Ridge on Mt. Tam, you can see sundown color in the sky even at noon this time of year.

As I watched this red-tailed hawk near the Bison Paddock, it fought gusty winds to keep its balance on the thin branch near the top of this tall eucalyptus tree, then finally gave up and went back to soaring.

The small group of bison looked great in the slanted light as they lay among the verdure of new plant growth, much of which was poison hemlock.

As I was checking up on the black-crowned night herons at North Lake (yep, they're still there), I noticed the coots were fanning their fantails.

I only noticed after I caught them being slightly aggressive with each other, so I suspect this is some kind of dominance game.

"The American Coot is highly territorial in behavior, perhaps more so than most other birds, and must constantly fend off the invasion threats of other coots. Among resident birds this is true even during the winter season. Displays and calls constitute the aggressive behavior which serves to establish and maintain territorial security."

This is the Say's phoebe on one of her favorite perches. A black phoebe was also in the area while I was there today, but for the most part the two species kept their distance from each other.

Beach Phoebe

Speaking of individual birds, I suspect this beach red-tail is the same one I often see perched on light posts and such along the Great Highway. 

I like all the yellow bits of lichen matching the warbler's colors.

Although I recently photographed a yellow-rumped warbler in this same tree next to South Lake, I've noticed several of the species working the area, so no claims of being the same individual here.

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