Life In The City

 

Western Bluebirds, Sunset Parkway

That's the westbound N-Judah Muni train in the background above. The birds are perched on the roof rack of a pick-up truck. This morning's walk was a lot more birdy than usual, although my Tuesday walking route tends to be a better showcase for what's out there than my other routes.

I paid more attention than usual to Anna's hummingbirds today, starting with this one part-way down the Mount Lane steps near the start of my walk.

I heard the Nuttall's woodpecker in a nearby tree along the Sunset Parkway, and it suddenly flew down to land on this skinny tree right in front of me.

A yellow-rumped warbler also dropped in from the heights nearby.

A couple of Anna's hummingbirds were working some young cypress trees as I entered Golden Gate Park. I figure they were catching insects, although I couldn't see anything in their beaks.

A few American robins were singing their hearts out. This guy wasn't singing. He was trailing after a second robin that was foraging on the trail below, along Mallard Lake.

The Wilson's warbler only showed itself for a second, and I got lucky that my compact camera was able to quickly focus on it before he was gone.

The orange-crowned warbler was just a few steps farther down the same trail, also at Mallard Lake.

While I was waiting for an Allen's hummingbird to come down and visit the baths in a dark part of Mallard Lake's little creek, a Townsend's warbler pounced on its chance to wet its feathers before flying back up into the tree branches to preen.

The Allen's hummingbirds spent a lot of time chasing each other around, but eventually one of them would settle in for a splash.

A red-shouldered hawk was calling out as I walked past Elk Glen Lake.

This pretty plant, which is common throughout the park, is poison hemlock.

I pulled my bike to the curb when I heard the telltale cheeping of cedar waxwings flying overhead just as I was approaching a cotoneaster bush full of red berries. It was a large flock, and they landed in the trees nearby. I felt sure they were coming for the berries, but they eventually flew away to continue their journey without dropping in.

It snowed on Jackie & Shadow's nest yesterday. Temps last night were down around 20 degrees. Eagles are tough.

Shadow flies in with a fish.

Jackie gets up off the chicks to enjoy the food delivery.

Shadow (upper left) makes room for Jackie to feed the chicks.

Shadow didn't stick around very long. He dropped to the right at a steep angle, leaving the frame. I suspect he remained nearby since there was a lot of squawking from ravens soon after.

Once the chicks stopped taking the morsels of fish, Jackie settled back down to keep them warm.

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Around the Paddock

 

White-crowned Sparrow Singing From a Dead Pokeberry Bush in the Bison Paddock

I stopped at the Bison Paddock to observe the continuing fracas between western bluebirds and tree swallows. Each species kept chasing the other off the two nearby nest boxes, sometimes carrying the chase through the air like jets in a dog-fight. I wonder at what point, if any, the issue will be settled. Would they try to destroy each others' eggs? Chicks? Would a few more nest boxes help?

Resident Allen's Hummingbird

Finding the Perfect Pokeberry Perch

The western bluebirds also used the old pokeberry "snag" sometimes. 

The wasp nest survived the weekend's fairly heavy rains.

A red-tailed hawk landed on a high eucalyptus branch to escape being mobbed by ravens. Surprisingly, the ravens stopped bothering the hawk once it landed. After the coast cleared, the hawk soon took to the air once again, this time without drawing unwanted attention.

Face Off

Guardian Tree Swallow

Guardian Western Bluebird

Built for Maneuverability

Atop her disputed nest box, a bluebird keeps an eye out for dive-bombing swallows.

As soon as the bluebird leaves, the swallows try to take possession.

The swallows visited the nest boxes more often, and even went inside once while I was watching. I didn't see any bluebirds go inside either of the disputed boxes today.

Cloud Mountain

Lots of by-the-wind sailors have been washing up on Ocean Beach.

All those blue blobs are by-the-wind sailors washing ashore.

By-the-wind Agitation Cycle

Red-tailed Hawks, Murphy Windmill

Castle in the Rain, Saturday View from Grandview Park

Jackie takes a nibble from a treat flown in by Shadow yesterday.

Jackie soon got up to feed the two bald eagle chicks.

While Jackie was eating after feeding the chicks, Shadow kindly took over the brooding duties....

But Jackie gently nudged Shadow off the nestlings, and Shadow flew away, presumably to continue hunting for his mate and chicks.

Yesterday Morning in the Yosemite High Country

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Caught in the Rain

 

Dark-eyed Junco Singing in the Rain, Golden Gate Park

Here in the city, you can almost always find a dry spot to wait out a passing rain squall, should you be so inclined. Today I took refuge a few times during my walk, starting with Lily Lake, which is where I was when the rain started. I found a dry spot beneath a large oak, and then under some even thicker tree foliage nearby where the ground was still dry as dust. 

Later I arrived at the UPS Store just in time to avoid a heavier squall (and drop off an Amazon return that I'd been trying to keep dry). A block or so away I picked up a couple of things at the Andronico's and waited for the rain to ease up before setting out on the hill climb toward home. 

After scaling the 15th Avenue steps I took another break from a heavier squall, finding an overhang in front of a residence, then finished my walk in a light drizzle that ended shortly after I got home. 

Back in December I took a picture of some weird trees on the edge of the McLaren Lodge meadow. It turned out to be a grove of bald cypress, a deciduous conifer native to the American southeast. I noticed they'd finally turned green a couple weeks ago and snapped a shot this morning.

It seemed kinda nice to wake up to rain this morning. I took my usual Friday walk through Parnassus Heights, Cole Valley and the Haight before entering Golden Gate Park at the Alvord Lake stalactite underpass. It didn't rain a drop until I reached Lily Lake, where I shot a little video from beneath a large oak tree.

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