North Lake Raccoons

 

Notch-eared Raccoon, North Lake

This morning I photographed my first GBGB bird of the season (a.k.a., black-throated gray warbler) in my late neighbor's oak tree. At first I mistook the bird for a chickadee, but even without my glasses on I soon realized that wasn't right. After taking a better look through binoculars I grabbed my camera to try to photograph it through the double-paned window. The shots I got are terrible, but they do clearly show the GBGB's distinctive markings.

The morning sighting got me excited enough that I decided to carry my compact camera on my morning walk since I would be passing through the Oak Woodlands and the Lily Pond. Although both those areas were surprisingly free of bird life, I spotted a small sparrow-sized bird foraging on the ground in the Fuchsia Dell and managed to get one shot that was clear enough to get an identification. It was my first ovenbird, well outside its usual range.

Later, instead of taking my usual bike ride I brought my full-frame camera to poke around North Lake, where the highlight for me turned out to be a family of six raccoons that were coaxed into the open by a guy who tossed them a handful of food, then walked away. A group of preschool kids got excellent views of North Lake's largest four-legged mammal.

Another guy showed up who the raccoons seemed to recognize. He told the kids that raccoons are related to dogs, bears, and pandas, which sounded fishy to me. Although all are members of the order Carnivora, raccoons are Procyonids, in the same family as ringtails, coatis, and kinkajous.

Although I didn't see any rare birds at North Lake, it's always good to see the black-crowned night herons when they're in town.

This one flew into some flowery bushes as I watched from the other side of the lake.

At first I assumed the heron was hunting, but then it looked like it might just have wanted a drink of water.

Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron

I didn't notice this other juvenile until it flew out of some reeds, apparently to get away from me.

It wasn't very birdy when I was there, late in the morning, but I enjoyed trying to capture photos of what birds I did see, like this northern yellow warbler.

The house wren faked me out at first. Its chipping sound made me think it was a common yellowthroat.

The western warbling vireo is one of my favorite new species of the season since I suddenly seem to see them everywhere.

The coot was closing in on a morsel of food that someone had tossed into the water. Most people have learned not to feed the wildlife anymore, but there are always going to be hold-outs.

The pied-billed grebe chicks are the noisiest critters on the water at North Lake.

Ovenbird

I wondered why it was called the black-throated gray warbler, and apparently the females have white throats.

I often see birds in the crown of the oak next door and wish I could get a clear view of them from our bedroom window, but the window has a screen. (Before we got the screened window, we had mosquitos.)

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Rose-breasted Grosbeak

 

Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Female), Golden Gate Park

California is far west of the range map for rose-breasted grosbeaks, so I dropped down the hill before breakfast this morning after reading a sighting report. Once again, the berry-filled autumn olive bushes near the National AIDS Memorial Grove was the scene of action.

Coasting down the hill in the chill, slightly foggy morning air, I hoped I wouldn't be too early, wondering if the birds wouldn't be active yet. However, my concern was immediately put to rest when I arrived. Northern yellow warblers, Wilson's warblers, western tanagers, robins, western warbling vireos, and black-headed grosbeaks were all over the autumn olive, some eating its berries, others just foraging among its branches. (Red-breasted nuthatches called from nearby conifers.)

Thankfully another photographer soon arrived on the scene who was able to point out the rose-breasted grosbeak when it arrived, as I might have missed it. As a bonus, the rare bird came into perfect view near the front of the bush.

Moments later I noticed an Anna's hummingbird fly up in alarm near the back of the bush. As I peered into the branches I soon saw the source of its alarm. A Cooper's hawk had swooped into the heart of the bush.

Western Tanager in the Autumn Olive

Black-headed Grosbeak

Western Tanager Gets a Berry

Rosie Munches a Berry

The Cooper's hawk didn't have much of a chance to hunt. With three of us (and one dog) peering into the bush to get a look at him, the hawk soon flew away.

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El Polin Spring

 

Red-breasted Nuthatch, El Polin Spring

An article in SFGate claimed this morning that a bunch of elegant terns had arrived at Crissy Marsh. I'd seen birding reports of the terns being there some weeks ago, but I haven't seen the birds on any of my recent visits. I don't really trust SFGate, but I figured I'd go down there anyway since it was a beautiful day to be out and about. 

Sure enough, there wasn't a single tern anywhere to be seen. Even the lone long-billed curlew who's been at Crissy Marsh for weeks was gone. 

Like I said, though, it was a beautiful day to be out on the bike, so I pedaled over to nearby El Polin Spring. A birder there told me a scarlet tanager had been reported, but we didn't see it. Maybe it was scared off by the red-shouldered hawk that was trolling the area for a while. The hawk flew right over my head three times. The third time I even saw it coming as it hopped from branch to branch in the understory before spotting me and flying away. 

West Coast Lady

Lesser Goldfinch

Western Tanager

Western Warbling Vireo

Lazuli Bunting

Pygmy Nuthatch Drinking Water

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Western Tanager Drinking Water

Western Flycatcher

From El Polin Spring I worked my way through the Presidio, dropped by Baker Beach and Lobos Creek, then past Land's End and the Legion of Honor Museum, and finally crossed the Richmond District to North Lake in Golden Gate Park.

Northern Yellow Warbler, North Lake

The raccoon was by itself, casually sloshing through the duckweed-covered shallows and groping for goodies along the lake's edge.

Wilson's Warbler

Northern Yellow Warbler

Hutton's Vireo

White-crowned Sparrow

I took a couple of phone snaps at El Polin Spring, the first to identify the "weed" I'd recently photographed as a hummingbird was feeding on its nectar. Turns out it's a native plant called Tall Annual Willowherb.

And this freaky stuff coating some poison oak leaves is from a gall mite called Aculops rhois.

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Culture Clash

 

9/11 Feathers

I'd just learned feather-wrapping somewhere, maybe at Headwaters Outdoor School or out at Kule Loklo in Pt. Reyes, and in my shock after the 9/11 attack I found myself wrapping a trio of red-tailed hawk tail feathers in red, white, and blue. I wondered why anyone would attack us like that, seemingly right out of the blue, using the tools of our own culture against us, but my soul-searching mixed with a desire for revenge.

Twenty-five years later, it doesn't seem like we got our revenge despite decades of war. Back then we had a budget surplus; now we're $40 trillion in debt. Atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased 15% while we still hear "Drill, baby, drill." Religious fanaticism is up; humanism is down. On and on. Earthly civilization seems like one big culture clash. The wheels of history grind through their cycles and I hardly know whether to laugh or cry.

I recently finished reading The Nerd Reich by Gil Duran and have followed it up with his recommendation of The United States of Oligarchy by Casey Michel. "Garks, grifters, and goons, oh my!" Important stuff, for sure, but I'm also glad to be thumbing through The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America and getting outdoors to put things in perspective. Nature's got her narratives, too.

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Tobacco Nectar

 

Anna's Hummingbird & Tobacco Flowers, Middle Lake

Apparently there's a trace amount of nicotine in the nectar of tobacco flowers. Thinking about animals that could benefit from a stimulant (I'm looking at you, koala bears), hummingbirds don't even make the list.

I didn't know the plant was tobacco (possibly Nicotiana tomentosa) as I watched several hummingbirds bickering over the flowers this morning. I'd have looked it up on the spot if I hadn't accidentally left my phone (plus money clip of cash and cards, and a pair of reading glasses) in a fanny pack at home. If I'd known, I'd have snagged a leaf or two to dry and burn, just to see what it smells like. (I quit smoking cigarettes thirty-eight years ago, which is probably why I'm cancer-free and can still go for walks and bike rides without an oxygen tank.)

Looking for somewhere new to go today, I rode out to Lake Merced to see if I could spot a rare bird recently reported in the area. Not only did I not find the rare bird, I wondered how anyone had spotted it in that location -- in a strip of plants and garbage along a canal next to the Olympic Club golf course.

A few Northern Yellow Warblers worked the tree line adjacent to the canal and golf course.

Northern Yellow Warbler, Top View

Over at Lake Merced's concrete bridge I was greeted by another bird I hadn't realized we hosted in San Francisco -- a grackle.

There are signs asking people not to feed the wildlife, but this guy was quite comfortable around people.

Great-tailed Grackle (Male)

Quiscalus mexicanus (Female)

I figured the Western grebe on the right was a youngster since it seemed to be begging from the other bird.

Biking back along the coast via the Great Highway Extension, I thought I saw whale spouts. Only when I pointed my lens out to sea did I see that the splashes were from diving pelicans.

Nicotine Patch

Despite the profusion of tobacco flowers, the hummers also took advantage of the adjacent eucalyptus.

It's nice to be able to get your nectar reward without needing to hover.

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