Melanistic Squirrel

 

Black Squirrel Near Bison Paddock

I was sad to see that the black oystercatcher nest had been abandoned since yesterday. Having those big gulls nesting so close by seemed to spell trouble. I heard the chattering of a couple of black oystercatchers today but couldn't spot them. Hopefully they have time to start a new nest somewhere less desirable for gulls.

Shortly after I rode past Spreckels Lake I spotted my first-ever black squirrel. It was foraging for human garbage behind the San Francisco Model Yacht Club Boathouse.

Farther west, I was surprised to see eight or so black-crowned night herons at North Lake. That's up from zero seen in the same tree yesterday. Down at the beach, there were still quite a few snowy egrets hunting, but the new thing was an uptick in nesting activity for the Western gulls. That one gull's nest I saw yesterday will have company very soon. There were lots of pelicans flying past the Cliff House today as well, and a lone sea lion probably heading toward Pier 39.

Hairy Woodpecker, Forest Hill

Black Beauty Nibbles on a Bone

Shadow Squirrel

Black-crowned Night Heron, North Lake

I often see those sapsucker holes in trees, but I don't recall ever seeing a sapsucker actually making those holes.

Most of the night herons were snoozing, like this one with its beak tucked into its feathers.

An Allen's hummingbird landed nearby while I was looking at the herons.

The tide was still going out while I was there, and a larger swell occasionally put an egret between the rocks and wet place.

Western Gulls Gathering Nesting Material

After plucking a mouthful of plant material, the gulls would fly their nesting booty out to Seal Rocks.

A gull inspects the area where the black oystercatchers lost their two-egg nest.

Pelicans Under Foggy Skies

Camera Obscura with Pelican Flyby

Snowy Egret Gets a Bite

Video Clip of Snowy Egret

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Purple Finch

 

Purple Finch Near Elk Glen Lake

This finch is purple the way some prose is purple: both are elaborately ornamented. I wasn't very familiar with purple finches, and when this one, so much bigger than a typical house finch, flew into some nearby bushes to feed on the seeds of scarlet hummingbird flowers, I wondered if it was something exotic. It is definitely a handsome bird.

Brown Creeper at Mallard Lake

This lesser goldfinch was singing up a storm, so I tried to record some of it on video. Unfortunately, there was a lot of background noise from traffic and, in the distance, a wood-chipper....

Struggling to be Heard

The red-winged blackbirds are still very active at Elk Glen Lake.

Red-tailed Hawk at Elk Glen Lake

This Allen's hummingbird was the king of a big patch of scarlet, tube-shaped flowers -- garden ornamentals that I'm not familiar with. 

I only saw a hummer actually nectaring on the flowers for a fraction of a second before it was chased off. It's such a bounty that it's guarded more than it's used, like a miser's wealth.

While I was watching the hummers chase each other off the flowers, the purple finch winged in and took advantage of the seeds.

The seeds are down in the bottom of those calyxes, but presumably the finch is able to eat more than just the chaff.

Purple Finch

Something darted low to the ground in front of me, moving so fast I wasn't sure I'd really seen anything. I went to look for it, thinking it was probably a sparrow or maybe a speedy California towhee, and was pleasantly surprised to see it was a Nuttall's woodpecker.

I was surprised again when it landed on some nearby poison hemlock to hunt for more insects to stuff into its beak.

Another surprise was catching this mourning dove on a branch instead of pecking around for seeds in a patch of dirt. Unfortunately, it was very skittish and quickly turned around and took off.

I wondered if the gulls were in any way harassing the black oystercatcher, which continues to brood its eggs on the side of Seal Rocks, but I never saw any sign of it.

A couple of times the oystercatcher even got up off its eggs (circled in red) to stretch out and preen its feathers.

Meanwhile, very near the oystercatcher nest, this gull also had a nest. I wonder how that will go if both species have chicks at the same time in such close proximity.

The gull's nest, the oystercatcher's eggs, and the oystercatcher.

There were ten snowy egrets hunting on the beach near the Cliff House, where they got to enjoy a brief period of time with no dog-walkers in the area (and I do mean brief; they were soon disturbed by dogs and flew away). 

This one egret was catching things almost constantly.

Num-nums on the Beach

Snowy Egrets at Ocean Beach

Both of the Big Bear bald eagle siblings hung out in the nest for part of the day today.

Dancing in the Rain and Thunder

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Field Bison

 

Bison Hosting Brown-headed Cowbird, Golden Gate Park

With so many critters having babies, I wondered about the bison. I don't think I've ever seen bison calves out there, but apparently the park's bison do procreate. Five calves were introduced to the paddock in March 2020 for the park's sesquicentennial (150-year) celebration (and, as it happened, just in time for the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic).

I stopped by the paddock today to check up on the nesting tree swallows. It appears there are hatchlings now, but they are still too small to be poking their heads out for feeding, so the adults fly into the nest box with whatever bugs they've caught.

Bison Meadow

Traffic Jam

A tree swallow exits like a torpedo through the nest hole.

It was a beautiful, fog-free day for bug-hunting.

These might be the last two great blue heron nestlings at the lake, although I couldn't tell if there were more on the other side of the island (in front of the boat house). There was definitely one empty nest nearby, and the nest east of Strawberry Hill has been empty since Friday.

The baby eagle called Sunny has fledged, leaving her sister Gizmo behind. The adult here had brought a fish back to the nest, mostly for Gizmo.

Shortly after finishing off the fish, Gizmo stretched her wings in the wind and hopped a few times -- almost ready to commit. Her sister Sunny was in a nearby tree of her own.

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Wood Duck

 

Wood Duck at Blue Heron Lake

I felt like Friday's visit to Blue Heron Lake had gone really well, checking out the grebes' raccoon adventure and being surprised by a half-dozen golden goslings cropping grass under the protection of their hissing parents (and despite their protection, the six chicks of Friday had been reduced to five by Sunday). But when I got home and checked email I found out I'd missed a wood duck that had been reported that very day.

I was too busy to get down there yesterday when it was warm and sunny, but today I bundled up and biked down there in the wind and fog ("feels like" 49 degrees, according to my wife's weather app). Thankfully I found the duck almost immediately. However, it was preening itself while standing on a submerged branch behind a tangle of skinny branches. 

Eventually, a large Canada goose swam up with is entourage and forced a mallard off its perch on a submerged branch. The mallard then swam over and forced the wood duck off its perch, and I finally got to see it in the open.

Not for long, though, as it wasn't done preening. By this time I was practically shivering, so I took a ride around the lake to warm up, and when I circled back, the duck was out in the open again, and again just briefly.

The first time I ever saw a wood duck was at Blue Heron Lake (formerly Stow Lake), back in November 2009.

Wood Duck at Stow Lake, November 26, 2009

Wood Duck Video Clips

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