Over The Bridge

 

American Avocet, Mill Valley

One of the funny things about being retired is knowing that you don't really have to do anything. You could just get up for breakfast and crawl back into bed after stuffing yourself with waffles smothered with butter and blueberries. But in nearly three years of retirement, I have yet to actually do that. I'm worried it would be habit-forming.

In lieu of waffles today, I decided to ride out over the bridge to check out the bird life along Richardson Bay, then continue on down to the beach at Tennessee Valley. The trip took about five hours as I stuffed myself with an all-natural smorgasbord of scenery and wildlife.

Wigeon in a Calm Pool Near High Tide

American Avocet Working on Its Breeding Plumage
(Both males and females have rust-colored breeding plumage.)

Several black-necked stilts were foraging in the salt grass.

Star Lily

Short Clip of Waves Washing Ashore

Feathering Beast

Making Sand

Making Sand II

There used to be hole-in-the-rock here.

Tennessee Cove Earth Portal Before Landslide, December 2007

Making Sand III

Edge of Tennessee Cove

Layers of Solidified Flows

Nature's Rock Tumbler

Erratic Chert
(If we have glacial erratics, can't we have ocean erratics?)

Obviously, I love watching the power of the ocean....

Spring Velvet

If Willets Could Talk

Snowy in the Salt Grass & Pickleweed
(There's an article about cultivating pickleweed and other salt-tolerant plants for food in the March 2025 Scientific American.)

The avocet had just raised its bill after a dip, and the surface tension of the water was still holding between the upper and lower parts.

American Avocet in a Moment of Reflection

Greater Yellowlegs

There were about a dozen of them foraging along Richardson bay.

The daring ones came pretty close despite my incandescent windbreaker.

Not tucking that foot all the way in, just in case....

Reflecting Killdeer

* * *

Tree Swallows

 

Tree Swallow Sounding Off Inside The Bison Paddock

The tree swallows have been back at the Bison Paddock for a while now, but today they were really going crazy, perhaps juiced up on the warm, sunny weather. Whether there are just more of them, or they are getting closer to nesting, I don't know, but the activity level was way up from yesterday.

I'd like to thank whoever thought of putting the nest boxes close to the fence, where people can easily view the birds. The nest entrances are all facing south, which is great if you're on the south side of the paddock. However, I tend to skirt along the north side (which is actually sunnier in the morning this time of year due to shade cast on the southern edge), so the action right at the nest holes (and there was lots of it) was out of my view. 

Western bluebirds could often be seen perching on top of the nest boxes, but I couldn't tell if they were interested in using them for anything but a perch.

I was glad to see the band-tailed pigeon nesting site in Forest Hill was still occupied this morning. I hope to see hatchlings the next time I pass by. The view of the nest is opening up a bit, probably due to the comings and goings of the adults.

Tree Swallow Preparing for Flight

"Sunny" Allen (as opposed to "Shady" Allen at Mallard Lake) was in his usual spot on a pokeweed plant.

After nearly being knocked off his perch by a speeding tree swallow, Sunny Allen perched briefly on a fruiting branch.

Tree Swallow Near Nest Box

Who is that masked bird?

Short Clip of Vocalizing Tree Swallow

A little bit of rainbow in the spindrift today....

Surf Scoter in the Clear

Surf Scoter in the Suds

You-know-who is still you-know-where....

At Metson Lake, the great blue heron seemed content to groom despite a nearby snowy egret, but only until the snowy nabbed a fish. That drew the ire of the much larger GBH, who stalked toward the snowy until it fluttered away to a more distant hunting perch.

The snowy egret rested on the log for a moment before disappearing behind it to continue hunting for fish. Right about that time, several red-eared sliders emerged from the water to climb up on the log and sun themselves (but the light made it too harsh to photograph).

After vanquishing the little snowy egret, the GBH returned to its grooming and preening.

* * *

Allen's Hummingbird

 

Allen's Hummingbird Inside The Bison Paddock

I was lucky enough to spot the Allen's hummingbird again at Mallard Lake this morning, but I still hadn't seen one anywhere else until today, when I spotted one inside the fence of the Bison Paddock. The light wasn't ideal, but neither was trying to shoot between the holes of a chain-link fence.

Allen's hummingbirds migrate north from Mexico to breed, typically arriving in San Francisco in mid-February and leaving in mid-June. Observing the two birds today I noticed the Allen's hummers are smaller than Anna's. A typical weight for an Allen's is just 0.11 ounces, and 0.14 to 0.16 ounces for an Anna's. Another thing I noticed is the different buzzing sounds the two species make when flying. Even with your eyes closed, you could tell which species buzzed by.

As the fog burned off, I was better able to see that the waves were bigger than usual at Ocean Beach. NOAA was forecasting waves of 9-12 feet, which doesn't seem that big considering how far out the waves were breaking.

The Allen's hummingbird at Mallard Lake had just been bathing in the little creek, then perched in this small tree to preen.

This was the only shot I got of it in a brief moment of stillness.

After another quick dip, it returned to the same tree but landed a little bit closer.

A golden-crowned sparrow was munching on the watercress leaves.

Here's another mallard with unusual coloration.

I couldn't tell if this female Anna's hummingbird was gathering cobweb for nesting material, or eating insects too small for me to see. Very nearby I watched another Anna's picking off tiny winged insects that were flying in the warm rays of sunshine.

Red-eared Sliders at Mallard Lake

Inky Cap Mushrooms at Elk Glen Lake

Red-shouldered Hawk In the Open Near Elk Glen Lake

Liftoff!

And Away She Goes

Sound of Red-shouldered Hawk Calling Out

House Finch in a Plum Tree

Another View of the Allen's Hummingbird at the Bison Paddock

This monarch butterfly was at North Lake, very near the place I recently photographed my first one of the season. With so few monarchs these days, I wonder if it could be the same individual.

I suspect the white-crowned sparrow was nibbling on the nutritious pollen of these cherry blossoms at South Lake.

This guy was the last of several sparrows in the tree to take cover after I approached with my camera.

* * *