Ruckus of Robins

 

American Robin Gathering Blackberries Near Mallard Lake

I encountered a family of robins making a ruckus as I approached Mallard Lake from the west, with adults gathering ripening blackberries to feed to their young progeny. Most of the fledglings remained hidden behind a thick canopy of California buckeye leaves. The adults would dart in with a berry, then dart right back out to get more. Eventually the fledglings came out into the open, and the whole group kept moving west in their tireless search for sustenance.

Lefty was out in his hunting area again this morning. Something in the nearby foliage got his attention a few times, but he never pounced. I'd thought the snipped left ear was due to a fight with another animal, but apparently it's what vets do after they catch a feral cat, which they sterilize and vaccinate before returning it to the wild. The clipped ear serves notice that the cat doesn't need to be caught again.

Anna's Hummingbird Nectaring On Karo Flowers

Bumblebee Napping on Wild Radish

Allen's Hummingbird Nectaring on Wild Radish

Song Sparrow in Wild Radish Patch

Every time I see a hummingbird in the mustards and radishes, it's an Allen's.

American Robin With Blackberry for Junior

Junior, The Fledgling Robin

Allen's Hummingbird Ruffling Its Feathers

Here she is unruffled, but still looking a bit ruffled anyway.

I had a little better luck with a brown creeper today.

Brown Creeper, Golden Gate Park

Brown Creeper With Caterpillar

I haven't been seeing black-crowned night herons very much lately at North Lake, and I've been pleasantly surprised each rare time I do see one or two.

I wondered if they are actually there almost all the time, but tucked away in more concealed locations.

Looking out my bedroom window, I spotted a pair of fledgling crows hanging out on my neighbor's roof (the same neighbor with the chickadee nest box). The crows were born in a small pine tree that I can see from our back yard.

They were very relaxed as long as I was behind a window, but they flew away as soon as I actually stepped outside.

While I was out there I stopped to check out the red-masked parakeets in my neighbor's oak tree.

Some brilliant eruptions going on at Kilauea the other day....

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Chickadees

 

Chestnut-backed Chickadee in Oak Woodlands, Golden Gate Park

When I recently found out one of my neighbors had put up a nest box for chickadees, I immediately decided to do the same thing next year. My neighbor's first nest box was installed in his oak tree, where it was taken over by squirrels, so I'll have to consider that. Just yesterday I watched as four different squirrels chased each other through my neighbors' yards and my own. I think it will be tricky to find a place the chickadees will like that the squirrels won't be able to commandeer.

This week is the anniversary of the death of our cat, Fuzzy Girl (aka Coco), so my wife got us a reservation later today at KitTea Cat Lounge. I'm sure it will take a great effort of will to keep from adopting one or more of the rescue cats there. It wouldn't be very good timing anyway, as we're going to be caring for my wife's mother soon and will have little or no spare time for either cats or nature photography. I'll have to put a pause on posting for likely the rest of the year, beginning in mid-June. In lieu of new work, I might post pages from my Mt. Tam book, and maybe a couple of other ongoing book projects that I look forward to working on again eventually. 

There was one or two noisy baby chickadees in the woods begging for food, but the adults were chirping too, and I can't recall if this one on the dried stalk of an old bee plant is one or the other.

I liked how the lichen was draped as if wind-blown behind the chickadee.

The one on the left is being fed by the one on the right.

Not very good shots of the brown creeper I saw on Whiskey Hill, but I include them anyway since I see these birds so rarely.

Apparently they do nest here in the city, at least in places like the Presidio.

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The Beaked Tribe

 

Black Oystercatcher Foraging Below Cliff House

What would nature in San Francisco be without birds?! For me, at least, it would mean far less variety and far less to motivate my photography even though I'm interested in pretty much all biodiversity, from insects and fungi, to flowers and wildlife, to seascapes and landscapes. Thankfully, I live in a city that has it all. 

Also, I'm a "variety is the spice of life" kinda guy, whereas someone else might be more interested in going all-in on something more specific, like urban coyotes. Given that I only photograph what I encounter on my daily walks and bike rides, being into variety without having to be too picky about what constitutes a good subject is the only way to go. 

I'd just started my walk when this Nuttall's woodpecker flew across the street to land on a telephone pole. I got my camera out just as it flew back across the street to land on a strawberry madrone, which would have made a great photo backdrop if only the bird would have come out in the open. Instead it flew across the street yet again and landed in a sycamore tree.

Coming up from West Portal through Forest Hill I encountered this chestnut-backed chickadee in a bottlebrush eucalyptus just a few feet away and was surprised it didn't immediately fly away.

That flattened thing in its beak is a squashed mole crab.

Three snowy egrets for the price of one.

A black oystercatcher was prying for barnacles on the rocks below the Cliff House as the tide was going out this morning. Presumably this is the mate of the other one that was still sitting on its eggs out at Seal Rocks.

Black Oystercatcher on Seaweed

Sometimes you just want to take a break from wandering and tattling.

Bando's feathers have been kind of a mess for the last week or so, hopefully because he's molting into his adult plumage.

Although I still saw the red-necked phalarope yesterday at Blue Heron Lake, I did not see it today. The Canada goose that was on its fluffy nest has been gone the last few days, and there's virtually no sign that its nest was ever there. The pied-billed grebe chicks continue to stick close to home, although a second home nest has been constructed near the first one, but in a spot more concealed from my view. Meanwhile, I was surprised to see an adult black-crowned night heron, which I photographed through a tree with multiple trunks.

This is what happened when I stepped to the side to get a clear view. I watched where it flew to, though....

"What, you again?"

"Well I guess I am beautiful, so go ahead and snap your picture."

Late March vs. Late May on the Sunset Parkway

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Surprise Visitor

 

Red-necked Phalarope, Blue Heron Lake

I was watching the great blue heron nest when I noticed a strange, small bird on the lake. As it got closer I recognized it as a red-necked phalarope, which I've only seen before at Stump Beach (Salt Point State Park). These birds often forage by spinning in circles, but this one mostly preferred to keep its beak facing into the wind.

One of the three great blue heron nestlings has semi-fledged. That's him at the top of the tree.

The other two seemed like they were in a little bit of awe of their brave sibling. Unfortunately, I was watching the phalarope when the brave one finally floated back down to the nest after testing its wings several times.

Red-necked Phalarope

Video clips of the phalarope and the three great blue heron nestlings.

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Pipevine Swallowtail

 

Pipevine Swallowtail Feeding on Buckeye Nectar

There were lots of pipevine swallowtail butterflies in the San Francisco Botanical Garden again today, and this time they were landing on the California Garden's buckeye flowers, finally giving me a chance to photograph them. There were also a few pipevine swallowtail caterpillars, the first I've seen this season.

Also first-of-season were a few red-legged frog tadpoles back in the Children's Garden. I didn't see any adult frogs, and I can't help wondering where they go in their off season. I'd even wondered if raccoons ate them all, so I was glad to at least see the next generation coming along.

The Bay-to-Breakers race was going on today, so I stuck close to home even though I'd like to have gone for a longer ride across town. I shot a lot of short video clips in the botanical garden, thankfully managing to avoid catching all the background sounds of honking horns from impatient folks stuck in heavy race-day traffic. I can get so engrossed in the subject of my video, sometimes, that I don't even notice crazy urban background noises until I play the clips back at home.

The peonies were huge, bigger than softballs, and even attracted hummingbirds.

There was still lots of Western azalea in bloom. A pipevine swallowtail butterfly and a mosaic darner each landed on the flowers, but too briefly to get a photo.

Pipevine Swallowtail Caterpillar on California Pipevine Leaves

Taking the Central Vein Route

I don't know where they were going or why they were trying to get there. It didn't seem like any of the handful of caterpillars was keen on eating leaves just yet this morning.

I'd about given up waiting for one of the butterflies to land, until I reached the buckeye and saw a few stop by to gather nectar from the profusion of flowers.

Pipevine Swallowtail Warming Its Wings

Short video clips of the pipevine swallowtail caterpillars and a butterfly.

I saw one Pacific wren gathering nest material in the Redwood Grove, then heard this guy singing nearby.

Tweeting Pacific Wren

The wild honeysuckle is coming into bloom just as the wild cucumber is going into fruit.

Red-legged Frog Tadpole
(and freshwater snail that I didn't notice at the time)

I couldn't be sure if this dragonfly instar was occupied or not. I couldn't reach it to get a better look. Note the fly on its back. 

I suspect this is a female cardinal meadowhawk.

Here's the male cardinal meadowhawk.

A little bit of pond life in video.

Here's a pretty beat-up pipevine swallowtail taking a break in an oak tree.

I stopped by to check out the grebelets and caught them paddling around and diving in open water.

I'm not sure if their mama thought it was a good idea, though, especially with all the weekend paddle-boaters out there.

Grebelet on the Move, Blue Heron Lake

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Local Color

 

White-crowned Sparrow in Lupine Bush, Grandview Park

Whenever I don't have time to get out for a longer jaunt, I can at least stroll over to Grandview Park to stretch my legs, take in the views, and maybe even compose a photo or two. Even a half-hour out on a beautiful day is tremendously rejuvenating. 

Lupines & Chert Outcrop

White-crowned Sparrow

This bumblebee had much bigger pollen sacs on its legs than any of its nearby fellows. I guess honeybees don't especially favor lupines, but I was surprised to see none at all. I've noticed surprisingly few honeybees in relation to bumblebees in various other spots around the city as well.

A moment of stillness on a windy afternoon (aided by a fast shutter speed).

White-crowned Sparrow on Coastal Sage

The adult had just flown in with a small fish, which the one nestling kept for itself.

A lot of people are waiting for the youngsters to take their first flight. It will be any day now.

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