The Dragon & The Damsel

 

Cardinal Meadowhawk & Bluet, Metson Lake

I was about to pass Metson Lake, wondering if I should stop to check things out on this warm and sunny (and windy) day, when a red-eared slider made the decision for me. Normally these turtles are swimming in the lake or basking on a log or rock that's either in or very near the water. This one was on dry land among the little grass flowers, the English daisies and buttercups. I think she was trying to dig a hole to lay eggs in, but she gave up after finding the soil too dense and compacted.

Nearby I found a cardinal meadowhawk dragonfly perched on a slender stick. A bluet damselfly seemed to be harassing it, turning the tables on the usual dragon-vs.-damsel story. On each of the bluet's forays, it would chase off the dragonfly, only to see the red dragon almost immediately return to the tip of the stick. Eventually, the bluet gave up trying for the high ground and settled for a lower spot on the totem pole.

Look Ma, No Fog!
(Ocean Beach at 9:09 a.m. today.)

See if you can spot the red-tailed hawk in this picture.

Hint: It isn't flying.

The hawk had been perched on a light pole when it took off toward the beach and surprised me by landing on the ocean-facing cliff. It hadn't caught an animal. It appeared to be sunning itself. By and by, it flew off its perch to land nearby, only to return to a different spot on the cliff.

Ah, much better.

I left the red-tail to check out the beach below the back of the Cliff House and found this snowy egret shaping itself like a bullet as it faced strong headwinds. When I returned by way of the red-tail, it was still sunning itself on the cliff face, 23 minutes after it first landed there.

Dancing Through The Daisies

Slider on the Move

Damsel & Dragon

The Canada goose mama at Blue Heron Lake seems to be feathering her nest quite a bit. The pied-billed grebe mama was on her nest as well, with no sign of more babies.

These three juvenile great blue herons almost look like adults now.

I recently encountered a strange situation in the back yard. The water in the bird bath, which mostly gets used by juncos, was a weird gray color for a couple of days, and then for a couple more days it had a weird residue at the bottom. I decided to put a trail camera back there to see what was going on. And while I was at it, I put out another trail camera to see who was messing up the little mats of moss growing back there.

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Burt & Sally

 

Burt & Sally, Blue Heron Lake

I was snapping shots of the blue heron nest when I took my eye away from the viewfinder and was surprised to see a raccoon walking past my feet. I immediately recognized them as the same youngsters I encountered a few Sundays ago, who I'm calling Burt and Sally (after Burt Reynolds and Sally Field in the movie Smokey and the Bandit).

Foxgloves at Garden for the Environment

Cole Valley

Not a Polecat, but a Colecat.

A couple of women walked past me here, and one said to the other, "I can't see what he's looking at," meaning me. The scene above is what I was looking at. Yellow flowers in the meadow below the giant solo eucalyptus at the head of Sharon Meadow, with the morning sun trying to break through the fog.

Bloom in Lily Lake
(But still no green heron.)

I saw, but was unable to photograph, an evening grosbeak in the Oak Woodland. It flew away just before I could snap the shutter. I saw no other interesting birds during the rest of my walk through the Oak Woodland, the Fuchsia Dell, and Lily Lake, and thought I was going to be skunked today, until I came across this pygmy nuthatch in an oak tree on Whiskey Hill.

The nuthatch nabbed a couple of small caterpillars.

I was watching a chestnut-backed chickadee when I noticed this downy woodpecker moving through the branches of a small oak in the background.

Downy Woodpecker, Whiskey Hill

Downy Woodpecker with Oak Leaves & Flowers

Cormorants, Pelicans, and Gulls at Seal Rocks

Looks like by-the-wind sailors are still blowing ashore.

Low Tide View Below The Cliff House
(The pelicans and cormorants were on the sea stack in the upper right.)

Snowy Egret in Wind-rippled Waters

Great Blue Heron at Metson Lake

Gopher at Metson lake

Great Blue Heron & Gopher at Metson Lake

Lucky for the gopher, a couple walking their dog chased off the heron.

The heron was chased by the resident red-winged blackbird as it circled back over Metson Lake.

Great Blue Heron at its Namesake Lake

Raccoon Staredown, Blue Heron Lake

Burt spent most of the time on land.

Sally spent more time in the water.

It's easy to tell Burt from Sally, but I have no idea of the actual gender of the two raccoons.

Canada Geese Keep An Eye Out

Both raccoons like to feel under rocks for submerged critters.

Burt crossed the road to check out this tree stump, then re-crossed back to join Sally at the lake.

I was glad to see there are still three juveniles in the nest. Last time I looked I only saw two. Again today, an adult dropped by to check in but didn't offer any food.

I was surprised when Burt stuck his paws into the gopher hole. That would have been something to see if he'd caught one.

Sally appeared to catch something a couple of times, but I couldn't make out what they were.

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Downy Woodpecker

 

Downy Woodpecker, Mallard Lake

The woodpecker above remained in that position for a few seconds, so still that I wondered if she had gone to sleep. In the image she has her eyes closed and her beak pressed against the branch. I can only wonder if she was trying to "hear" movement beneath the bark with the aid of her beak capturing minute vibrations.

I returned to Mallard Lake this morning in the hope of photographing the mama duck with her ten ducklings again, but saw no sign of them. A red-shouldered hawk hunted from perches on the lake's edge, making me wonder if it could snag a duckling off the water.

On the way home I stopped by Blue Heron Lake, where Mrs. Grebely was snoozing comfortably on her nest, her beak partially tucked under her wing. If there are any more little ones since yesterday, they had to be snuggled warmly beneath her. It was unusually chilly around here this morning.

A small group of cedar waxwings had paired off to play the berry-passing game on the edge of the lake.

The woodpecker worked its way up this skinny branch.

I hadn't realized the branch was dead until the bird reached the end of the line. Soon after it flew away I heard it drumming in a nearby tree.

Red-shouldered hawk in a lakeside maple tree.

This pied-billed grebe hangs out a lot at Mallard Lake, but I've never seen him with company. He does like to call out with an interesting song sometimes, evocative more of someplace wild than within a city. I tried to record it but there was too much truck traffic on the road. Unfortunately, because there's no way for motorists to make a left turn onto 19th Avenue from Lincoln Way, a lot of traffic cuts through Golden Gate Park instead.

At Blue Heron Lake, an adult flew in and landed above one of the nests, apparently just to check up on the young ones. I only noticed two juvenile herons in the nest, where there were three just a few days ago.

The youngsters were hoping it was lunchtime, but the adult only stayed for a minute before flying away.

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