Kohuhu

 

Pittosporum tenuifolium

I noticed a sweet smell as I walked past a neighbor's privacy screen of mostly red trumpet vine yesterday morning. A few of its large flowers were in bloom, so I sniffed some but didn't really notice much of a scent. 

It happened again this morning. Same sweet smell. But this time I noticed another plant intertwined with the trumpet vine, and it had very small maroon flowers. A sniff of these new flowers didn't yield as much scent as yesterday, but enough to confirm that it was the plant of interest. By the time I returned from my walk about 90 minutes later, the scent was completely absent.

I ran a phone snap of these mystery flowers through Plant Net and came up with its name, kohuhu (Pittosporum tenuifolium), a New Zealand native. I also set it up for a macro shot (posted above) with the Nikon D800E. The plant emits its scent at night, which is why its fragrance lingered in the early morning but dissipated later on.

When I cut a piece to bring home to photograph I had to unwrap it from all the tendrils twined around its branches. I thought the plant itself was a vine, but it turns out the tendrils belonged to the red trumpet vine which is using the kohuhu as a brace for its own climbing.

Kohuhu Branch With Flowers

These Adirondack chairs get around, which appears to be the point. Part of the Golden Mile Project, 100 of them were set out to be used. Unfortunately, this chair's seat has been vandalized, with a slat broken out of it (and possibly burned, as there was fire debris nearby).

Ocean Beach Breakwater Near Noriega Street

Beach Ravens
(They were gathered beak-to-beak before they noticed me and broke up their little plot, like a raven version of a Gary Larson moment.)

* * *

Golden-crowned Kinglet

 

Golden-crowned Kinglet, S.F. Botanical Garden

I knew this was a new species for me as soon as I saw the bird through the viewfinder, but it took a few beats to realize not only what it was, but that it was a bird I've been waiting to see for weeks. I've seen them on Flickr and read email reports about them, but a golden-crowned kinglet finally showed up in my own neck of the woods. I think there were two, in fact.

That was definitely the highlight of my morning, but back in the Children's Garden I was excited to find a fresh coyote scat right in the middle of the paved path down by the pond. No sighting of the coyote though. Still no red-legged frogs in the pond, but a pair of mallards was resting in the sun on the wooden walkway. 

Elsewhere in the Garden, the Pacific wren nest looked pretty much done, but there was no bird activity on or around it. I had a brief sighting of a pipevine swallowtail nectaring on the red-flowering currant that is draped with pipevine plants (which are still in flower) on the edge of the California Garden.

From the Garden I biked over to the spot in the Oak Woodlands where I saw so many birds on Friday, and there was almost no activity at all. Not even a junco. But I did see Mr. Green at the Lily Pond -- my first sighting of the green heron in quite a while.

Lesser Goldfinch on California Lilac

The goldfinch flew off the Ceanothus bush a second after I snapped the picture, then began feeding on seeds dispersed on the path.

Dewy Spurge

The golden-crowned kinglets were foraging on the tall fir on the edge of the Redwood Grove.

The feeding was fast-paced, and I cursed to myself many times at all the shots I saw in the viewfinder but missed on the snap.

Like ruby-crowned kinglets, the golden-crowns weren't terribly shy, but they didn't exactly pose at their leisure either.

Here's a typical missed shot where, through the viewfinder, I saw the bird in full profile with a beautiful catchlight in its eye, but ended up with this on the snap.

The golden-crowns eventually got too high in the tree, so I moved on, enjoying some of the new growth, like these slim solomons, in the Redwood Grove.

Redwood Sorrel

Ruby-crowned Kinglet in the Aloe Patch

California Towhee on Coyote Brush

California Towhee Showing Its Long Tail Feathers

Pipevine Swallowtail Fluttering Among the Red-flowering Currant Blossoms

There was some gorgeous birdsong down by the pond in the Children's Garden, and it took me a second to realize it was a robin. It even stuck little hermit-thrush-like trills on the ends of its runs. This one was splashing in the bath behind the Garden Library.

Green Heron at the Lily Pond

While it was preening it suddenly seemed to take an interest in something up above. 

Whatever it was up there...

...Mr. Green wanted no part of it, and strolled into cover behind the cattail reeds where he became invisible. 

Can't help myself. More eagles! The third chick has hatched.

Papa came by, but mama didn't want to get up, so papa ate from the bird carcass...

...then took his leave.

Nice day for eagle-watching....

* * *

The Shy & The Bold

 

Northern Flicker, Golden Gate Park

The oak woodland around the Horseshoe Courts was very birdy today, as was the Fuchsia Dell across the street. I was surprised to see so many flickers and varied thrush. It felt ridiculous at one point where every step I took flushed another unseen flicker from wherever it was feeding on the ground. They are very shy birds.

The new growth of grass, miner's lettuce, fumitory, oxalis, manroot, and other groundcover was tall enough to completely obscure the presence of the flickers, which are as big as robins. You expect little juncos and other sparrows to be unseen down there (my first-of-season white-throated sparrow was "the one that got away" today), but not their much larger kin.

There were also quite a few varied thrush in the same area as the flickers. I walk by that area once a week and have never seen it so busy. When the brown creepers flew onto some nearby trees I felt an embarrassment of riches, having to choose which bird to aim for.

On a side note, I've been feeling like my collection of field guides has been relegated to the nostalgia bin by sources available on the internet. With apps like Plant Net, Merlin Bird ID, and iNaturalist, who needs to thumb through field guides anymore? Also, our small bookcase of field guides is right next to a larger bookcase of CDs, which I also rarely pull off the shelves anymore since it's so easy to play music off a smartphone. And when I want to re-read a regular book from our shelves, I often check to see if it's available as an ebook from the library, and read it on my tablet instead. 

Still, there's something nostalgic about all those books and CDs. I moved so often in my life before I met my wife that I never accumulated much stuff. I used to be such a minimalist that I'd always be throwing unnecessary things away (and occasionally having to re-buy them later!), but now I'm surprised to find myself comfortable with all our stuff. 

Even though it's easier to get identifications online, it's still enjoyable to thumb through one of these old things once in a while.

A Townsend's warbler doesn't usually seem so well-camouflaged.

Varied Thrush in Dappled Light

I was surprised to see the varied thrush snag an acorn and fly off with it.

It was kind of dark beneath the oaks, so I popped a flash on this relatively close brown creeper.

My shutter speed had to be low enough for the flash, but I forgot to increase it when I switched my aim toward a flicker, resulting in a slightly soft disappointment.

Brown Creeper on Oak Trunk

Flicker on an Oak

Varied Thrush in the Oak Woodland

Looking Both Ways Before Flying Away

The varied thrush were generally very shy, but occasionally one would risk exposure to resume feeding.

With so much activity, I wonder if the varied thrush and flickers are nesting here in the city.

Steller's Jay with Sprouting Acorn

I didn't see this hairy woodpecker break into any of those round black cramp balls, but it looks like somebody did.

The other side of the hairy woodpecker.

Clip of the hairy woodpecker in motion.

It was surprisingly un-birdy at the Lily Pond this morning. I haven't seen the green heron in the last two or three weeks. I liked how the red-eared slider above showed its plastrom as well as its carapace. It seemed interested in something above it and to the right, but I couldn't tell what it was.

I've become addicted to the Big Bear Eagle Cam. I checked in last night when I saw on the news that SoCal was getting a storm, and found this incredible scene of the nest full of snow.

The sitting eagle was taking it all in stride, seemingly completely unperturbed by the cold snow and wind.

When the other adult flew in to trade places, the resting adult stayed put.

The other guy stuck around for just a bit to make sure its services weren't needed yet...

...then exited, stage right.

I've usually got the web camera open on another browser window when I'm working at the computer. If I hear eagles calling out, I switch over and get the screenshot clipper ready.

This time, the eagle who'd been sitting on the chicks immediately got up and flew away when the other adult arrived. Note the two chicks are getting close to having their sibling emerge from its egg. It seems to be quite a long process -- more than a day -- for the chick to break out after opening the first pip.

Just as I was about to post this entry, the other adult returned.

Feeding the chicks from a bird carcass as well as a couple of fish carcasses.

* * *