Earlier, I posted part one of our day at Mile Rock Beach. This is part two, more or less. While we were out, we saw lots of birds and a rodent or two.
Here are the critters we saw along the trail to Mile Rock Beach at Lands End.
Our hike left us hungry, so we went off to Stow Lake at Golden Gate Park for a bite to eat.
My last post was from Stow Lake at dawn. This time we went in the late afternoon, before the fog rolled back in. The geese posed nicely and the water was reflections were pretty.
We paused to sit at a table and enjoy a cup of coffee. We had a visitor who sat at the other end of the table watching.
After our coffee we went for a walk around the lake.
And here is my ultimate goal. In my last post I had a pic of a young girl ducky who was molting. I had taken pics of her and her siblings, but that was the only one that came out clear. I got lucky and got a cute pic of all three together.
We went to Stow Lake at dawn to see what critters were lurking in the fog. It’s very peaceful, but not exactly quiet. The birds were noisy.
And now for the bonus pic from Lastech. This was also taken at dawn, so it fits the theme. 🙂
Summer has arrived in San Francisco and with it comes Karl The Fog. I got all the sunshine I needed after spending more than half my life in the desert. Now I just relax and enjoy the fog. Karl hangs around on Twitter and to quote him:
Summer has officially arrived in San Francisco. Don't leave home without your pea coat, scarf, and memories of sunshine.
— karl the fog (@KarlTheFog) July 15, 2013
Here are some photos from a recent trip to Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park.
San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park is where we go when we want to relax a bit.
I had just taken the fog photo when I saw it. It was a belligerent seagull. It was yelling at its reflection in the car. It was a riot. Even the people who owned the car got a laugh.
After that, we started to drive around to the other side of the lake when I saw it. It was another belligerent creature.
He was a feisty critter and he was just strolling down the sidewalk. We patiently herded him back to the lake as the gulls began to gather ominously. He made it back in one piece.
The Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) is one of the most elegant and beautiful birds to grace our wetlands. The largest of the herons, they stand around 4 ft (122 cm). tall with a wing span of around 6ft (183 cm). They range from Mexico and the United States up through the West Coast of Canada into Alaska. These amazing birds have been living and nesting in San Francisco since 1993.
San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park is home to more than just bison, raccoons, and coyotes. It’s home to at least one nesting pair of Great Blue Herons. They live here year round have a nest high in the top of a Monterrey Cypress. They hunt fish in the ponds and lakes in the park. I once saw a heron next to an intersection with a large gopher in its mouth. I couldn’t get a photo, darn it.
I looked them up on the intertubes and discovered that San Francisco Nature Education has a heron watch every year. The herons lay their eggs between January and March and the chicks hatch in April. Volunteers meet at Stow Lake with spotting scopes and spend time educating the public about these beautiful birds. This year, the last one is May 19th. I didn’t find out about it soon enough to go this year. Nest year I’ll try to go.
Here is a great video by the California Academy of Sciences, which is located in Golden Gate Park.
Please forgive the abominable purple fringe in the photos. I adore my San Francisco fog, but it does make some photos difficult with a point and shoot. I’ll have a good DSLR eventually.
One of our favorite spots in the city is Stow Lake. Located in the middle of Golden Gate Park, Stow Lake is definitely one of the nicer features. Lastech took some nice photos last time we strolled around it.
Continue reading “Golden Gate Park, Stow Lake and a Waterfall”
