Ruffled Feathers

 

Red-tailed Hawk Ruffling Its Feathers, Sunset Parkway

A guy in an ugly gray Tesla rolled through his stop sign this morning (I didn't have a stop sign), forcing me to brake to avoid getting splattered on his windshield. Later, a woman in an ugly beige Subaru nearly plowed me into a grease spot while speeding through Golden Gate Park. And oh yeah, earlier in the day, a guy's ugly dog suddenly went psycho on me. I guess two potentially fatal motor vehicle crashes and a mad dog (at least it was leashed) ruffled my feathers a little bit, but it's the kind of thing pedestrians and cyclists deal with every day in San Francisco, so we learn to take in stride, nothwithstanding the occasional fantasy involving rocket propelled grenades....

Anyhow. Such a beautiful day! I watched a red-tailed hawk land in a pine tree right in front of me as I was walking along the Sunset Parkway and decided to get the camera out. Instead of immediately flying away, the hawk simply hopped to new branches to get out of my line of sight. I followed, no doubt ruffling its feathers, and just as it seemed about to take its leave for good, I noticed it had a thin branch in its beak, and instead of flying far away, it fluttered to the top of the next pine over, sending a second hawk flying off toward the park. I guess it's safe to say there's a nest being built up there. I noted my location and look forward to keeping tabs on the nest, hard as that might be from the ground.

Still trying to get away from that pesky photographer.

Branch Dancing

Have Stick Will Travel

Very brief video clip of the red-tail in its presumed nesting area.

Tree Monster of Mallard Lake

The hummer refused to look toward me and flash his gorget colors, but he's a handsome devil anyway....

There were only about three flowers on this Brazilian bellflower (Callianthe megapotamica) last week.

A red-shouldered hawk was calling out from a piney area as I approached Elk Glen Lake, and then it suddenly glided into view and landed at the top of a pine right in front of me.

It put up with me for a while, but I was hoping to get a "burst mode" photo of it taking wing, and it eventually obliged.

Red-shouldered Hawk Taking Flight

I was trying to photograph a Townsend's warbler when I noticed this hermit thrush in the corner of my eye. I was surprised it didn't fly away as soon as I pointed my camera its way, but I think it had other things to worry about. A couple seconds later, another hermit zipped in and chased this one off its branch.

Nobody chases the Townsend's warblers -- except maybe Anna's hummingbirds.

Townie Gets Gymnastic

It appears to have caught a moth or something (which, unfortunately, is not in focus).

Looking for bugs in a clump of hanging lichen.

The yellow-rumped warblers took advantage of the backlight from the north side of Elk Glen Lake. Any insects that flew by were lit up like a glowing "Eat Me" sign.

I had been trying again to photograph a bumblebee nectaring on some gooseberry flowers when the mad dog went psycho earlier in the morning, and I tried again (and again in vain) to catch one on these flowers at Elk Glen Lake. I'm surprised the bumblebees are so skittish.

There were two great blue herons in the pines at Blue Heron Lake today, but this one chased off the other one soon after I arrived. Note the raven in the upper right, yanking on some strands of lichen with its beak.

You gotta love it when a GBH ruffles its feathers.

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Skittish Coyote

 

Red-breasted Sapsucker at North Lake

The coyote was already getting off the road when I saw him. A young woman appeared to have seen him even though he was behind her. My impression was that she had stopped to get a phone snap, sending the coyote for cover. I got off my bike and quietly tried to intercept the coyote, though I was worried about my very loud, bright yellow bike windbreaker.

I soon saw the coyote moving toward me, following an animal trail through heavy undergrowth. There was no way I was going to get a shot of the moving animal through all that interference, so I pointed my camera at a small opening and got one frame as he passed through. 

I wasn't ready to just let him go, so I tried to intercept him again farther along, and sure enough I was in the right place at the right time, but the coyote spun right around as soon as we saw each other. No frozen moment of curiosity on the coyote's part at all, which was disappointing for me, being the first glimpse I've had of a healthy coyote since November. 

Sapsucker #2

Sapsucker #3

Brief Video Clip of the Sapsucker

Coyote on the Move

I've been checking the pines at Blue Heron Lake for any sign of nest-building getting started, and today I saw my first-of-season GBH in one of the nesting trees. It was alone up there, though, and soon flew away.

Double-crested Cormorant, Blue Heron Lake

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In the Aloe

 

Townie in the Aloe

The sun is shining now, but it was cold and windy when I biked down to the SF Botanical Gardens early this morning. As I roamed around to enjoy the blooming magnolia trees and look for birds, a long and narrow bank of clouds remained cleverly placed to block the sun, hour after hour. There wasn't a whole lot of bird activity in there, but orange-crowned and Townsend's warblers foraging among some colorful aloe flowers up near the Children's Garden took my mind off the cold.

I made a quick pass of Blue Heron Lake and was surprised to see a pair of greater white-fronted geese in there. They were hanging out with a couple of much larger Canada geese, patrolling close to shore where someone had just been tossing bread to the birds. From there I rode past Lily Pond once again, and once again struck out on the green heron.

Pink Magnolia

Looking Up

Aloe Flowers

Hummer at Rest Among the Aloe Flowers

I was interested in the rapid breathing of this hummer while it rested on a branch, but the little bit of preening was a bonus.

Orange-crowned Warbler

The orange-crowned warbler soon flew out of range, but this Townsend's warbler stuck around for another minute or so.

These were shot with the FZ80D at ISO 3200 (1/1000th sec. @ f/5.6), then run through Denoise in Lightroom.

Golden-crowned Sparrow in the Willows

Golden-crowned Sparrow Munching Willow Flowers

Red-shouldered Hawk, Out On A Limb

White Magnolia Blossoms

Ring-necked Duck (Female)

Ring-necked Duck (Male)

White-fronted Goose, Blue Heron Lake

Canada and White-fronted Geese

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Dry January

 

Today's Sunset After Another Rainless Day

So much for our 30 percent chance of rain today. All the talk of having a "Dry January" -- meaning no alcohol consumption -- must have been picked up by Mother Nature. The current forecast shows the next chance of rain to be next Friday, the last day of the month. If it happens (and who doesn't have their doubts?), it'll be the only rain in all of 2025! [UPDATE: We got a light rain in San Francisco on the 31st, but the better news is that February appears to be getting off to a good start, with rain forecast all week.]

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Beach Light

 

Interference Patterns, Ocean Beach

I went looking for another couple of birds that had been reported on recently, the first of which was a Swinhoe's white-eye on Waller Street in the Haight. The reporter said he heard a strange bird while biking to work and stopped to investigate. Apparently these unusual and photogenic birds have been expanding their range beyond Southern California (where they may have been introduced through the pet trade, like red-masked parakeets). Anyway, between the garbage truck groaning a block away and the stream of automobile traffic, I wasn't able to hear any birds.

I figured the second bird would be a cinch to find, but I struck out again. A green heron has been reported at Golden Gate Park's Lily Pond a couple of times. The reports were spaced out by more than a week, so I figured the heron might be a resident. But if it was in residence today, I couldn't find it. I was a little surprised to see a lone female hooded merganser in the pond with the mallards (and a teeny patch of lilies).

The bird life visible from the Cliff House had picked up a little today. I could hear black oystercatchers chattering out at Seal Rocks. And besides the half-dozen or so surf scoters in the surf zone, I saw a fairly large raft of them floating out by the northernmost Seal Rock. The first willets I've seen at the beach in a while were feeding within view of the Cliff House. While watching the birds I also enjoyed watching the the waves washing up the sand, their rippling interference patterns shattering winter's mid-day sunlight and creating intricate and mesmerizing, glistening textures.

I was surprised to see Townsend's warblers, as well as orange-crowned warblers, since I haven't seen any in quite a while. I saw this one on 8th Ave. between Lawton & Moraga, which Google Maps identifies as still being Golden Gate Heights, but there are local plaques calling it Windsor Terrace. Ooh, fancypants.

Fancypants Orange-crowned Warbler, Windsor Terrace

Sir Townsend's Warbler, Windsor Terrace

"Oh, it has a white eye," I thought. "Maybe it's the Swinhoe's white-eye." Nope. Orange-crowned warbler (in alder) at the Lily Pond.

Convergence: X Marks the Spot

Textured Beach With Standing Waves

Willets Hunting Mole Crabs

Fisherman Casting A Line

Pair of Willets with Shadows & Reflections

The three willets were in flight almost immediately after I pressed the shutter release. A nearby flock of gulls that spooked into flight must have frightened them. Whatever spooked them remained a mystery. Maybe gulls just enjoy taking flight together from time to time to stretch their wings.

Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron in Redwood, South Lake

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