Getting Squirrely

 

Bonding Squirrels
(Oak Woodlands of Golden Gate Park)

I thought it would be easy to tell if these two were Eastern gray squirrels or Eastern fox squirrels, and if I had to guess I'd say they are the former since there isn't all that much red/rust coloration in their fur. However, the two squirrels are known to interbreed when they share the same area, so there you have it.

When I first spied these two squirrels I thought they were just chasing each other around a tree, getting "squirrely" as they often do. But I was mistaken. They actually appeared to be a bonding pair who were getting busy, at least part of the time, producing the next generation of squirrels.

The squirrel on the back was nibbling the fur of its mate, like a sort of grooming gesture.

However, it appeared they were doing more than just grooming.

Frisky Squirrels

The tree swallows (like this one atop its nest box) were very busy above the fields of the Bison Paddock today despite the cool and foggy conditions. Presumably the insects they catch were active despite the weather.

While I was watching the swallows I was surprised to see a cedar waxwing flutter into the nearby pokeweed bush. It zipped away as soon as it saw me, so I backed away from the fence and waited for them to return. I could hear them chiming way high up in some nearby pines, but the call of delicious pokeweed berries eventually drew them back down.

There weren't many ripe berries left on this bush.

Pokeberry Plucker

Until today I hadn't noticed any red-winged blackbirds in the cattails at little Metson Lake. This appears to be a sub-adult with still-developing epaulets, but he belted out his song just the same.

Despite being young and alone at the lake, he gave it his best shot and sounded convincingly adult to my untrained ear.

Scratch That

Great Blue Heron, Lord of the Lake

This was apparently the mate of the other nearby adult heron in the only heron nest to be found on the small island east of Strawberry Hill. I was surprised to see (and hear) that the nest had at least two young fledglings begging for food.

Fledgling Heron

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Lobos Dunes

 

White-crowned Sparrow, Lobos Dunes

I swear this place used to be called Lobos Dunes, but apparently it is now called Lobos Creek Valley. You've probably passed right by this place many times, as I have myself. The entrance is just across the street from the Baker Beach exit. There's really no good place to leave a bike, so I walked mine up the plastic boardwalk a ways before finding a good spot to lock it up, right next to the chain-link fence that blocks access to Lobos Creek itself.

It's too bad there's no trail winding down among the oaks closer to the creek. It was musical with birdsong in there and looked verdant and inviting. 

I believe I last visited the area in 2008, and it doesn't seem to have changed much since then. A photo I shot back in March 2007 looks a lot like one I shot today. I guess I expected it to have come along a lot more since then. There's a lot of new planting in the area, almost as if the park staff are just getting started.

Chamisso Bush Lupine, Lobos Dunes

Lobos Dunes in March 2007

Green Hairstreak at Lobos Dunes, March 2007

It's a lush time of year to visit Lobos Creek Valley.

Resident Hummer

A northern flicker was preening itself on one of the several standing dead trees left for wildlife. There was a hole in the tree below the flicker, but I didn't notice any nest activity.

Lupine & Miner's Lettuce

Sticky Monkey Flower

Fiddleneck

Lupine & Fiddleneck

I was interested in the song of the white-crowned sparrows at Lobos Creek Valley, as they were significantly different from the dialect heard across town in my own neighborhood, while still being distinctly recognizeable as white-crowned sparrows.

Beach Strawberry

Numerous variable checkerspots (Euphydryas chalcedona) could be found fluttering around the dunes, but only after the sun warmed things up.

I was impressed to see spotted towhees in the dune/valley habitat.

This one is perched in an oak with a beakful of nesting material.

While missus ducked into some shrubs to build her nest, the mister perched at the top of a toyon to sing his heart out.

Vivid Dancer Damselfly

Quite a few of the checkerspots were nectaring in a patch of San Francisco wallflower.

Can you guess what kind of flowers this bumblebee is pollinating?

How about now?!

This was one of the largest, most flowery stands of poison oak I've seen in a long time.

After Lobos Dunes, I rode through Seacliff and past the Legion of Honor Museum to Clement Street, where I rode west towards Sutro Baths. On the way I wondered if I would see a red-shouldered hawk at 38th Avenue, where I spent some time watching one on my last trip through the area. Sure enough, the hawk was there. Another cyclist stopped to say she often looks for the hawk when she rides by the same place but hadn't seen it in weeks.

While I was watching the hawk, a coyote sauntered into view, then turned into the golf course. When I went to check it out, a golfer was on his way toward the coyote to throw something at it in an attempt (thankfully futile) to haze it out of the area.

Coyote on the Links

The coyote's body language was wary and kind of submissive and pitiful. It seemed to perk up a bit when it realized I wasn't coming after it, then continued on its way.

I'd like to have followed him around awhile, but I didn't want to leave my bike unattended on Clement Street too long.

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Take-Off!

 

Flying Touch-and-Go's at Blue Heron Lake

Back in my Navy days aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower I would sometimes watch flight operations, and one of the maneuvers the pilots practiced was called the touch-and-go, where instead of using the tailhook to catch one of the three arresting cables upon landing, they would touch the deck and then gun the engine to take off again. (They also gun the engine during normal landings so they can take off again if the tailhook misses the arresting cables.)

Anyway, I'm sure great blue herons have their own lessons to learn about landing in the treetops. I was interested today to watch one come in with a twig in its beak, then pass by the nest and circle around so it could land into the wind and with the sun at its back. It handed off the twig to its nest-mate, then almost immediately took off again toward a stand of eucalyptus.

I had just coasted past the Queen Wilhelmina Garden toward the beach when a squirrel casually bounded across the road in front of me, making its usual squirrely stops and starts. It picked up its pace and got off the road as I closed in, then changed its mind as if to head back into the road. Then, as if it hit an invisible wall, it suddenly made a twisting, acrobatic about-face and propelled itself like a furry missile through the small opening of a chain-link fence. The squirrel had to push and wiggle, barely fitting through. A moment later I realized it was not I who had been the cause of its panic, but a hawk that swooped right in front of me.

The red-tailed hawk (possibly Bando) pulled up and landed on the fence, but the squirrel had gotten away.

Take-off!

A beautiful little snowy egret tempted me off my bike at Metson Lake, especially when it strolled down next to a patch of cattails. You probably can't tell what it has caught in its beak in this frame.

But maybe this cropped version helps. Nice catch!

Oops, almost fell in.

I hadn't realized dragonflies were out yet until today.

Cardinal meadowhawks are usually pretty accommodating to photographers.

When I first saw the water strider I couldn't recall if I'd ever noticed them before in this or any other pond/lake in Golden Gate Park. This guy was the only one I saw, and it attacked a small black beetle that it presumably tried to eat.

After grasping it for a while, the strider abruptly pushed it away, then acted as if it had been sprayed with noxious liquid. It made several jerky movements and even flipped a couple of times.

Great Blue Heron With Nesting Material

Handing Off the Branch

Interestingly, this pair is still working on its nest while another nearby nest already has three gangly young herons carrying on within it.

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