Night at the Museum

Keeping watch for the Palace of Fine Arts Barn Owls you invariably encounter the Racoons who haunt the trees and rocks ringing the lagoon. They roam the edges carefully reaching into submerged cracks seeking out food.

I've had a few close encounters with them but they generally shy away from coming too close. Earlier on this particular evening I'd seen a gull sitting alone on the rocks in the dark. It struck me as strange but the lure of the owls kept my focus skyward and I soon forgot about the bird. Twenty minutes later I heard a raucous sound and ducks scattered in all directions. I guessed the foraging racoons had scared up the mallards and kept watching the owls. The chattering slowly faded and silence returned to the palace grounds. After a while I was surprised at the lack of racoon activity and took a look across the water to find the cause of the commotion.

The racoon had found and killed the gull. My guess is the gull was weak or sick and the racoon was fulfilling its roles as generalist, omnivore, predator, and cleanup crew.

It ate its fill and 30 minutes later another racoon that had been waiting arrived for its share.

I often show mammals getting the short end of the stick in their interactions with birds of prey. It certainly goes both ways. It is amazing what goes on in a familiar landscape once the sun sets and the balance of power shifts.

Great Horned Owls

Spring seems to be the time for seeing Great Horned Owls in and around the city. Tennessee Valley has always been a reliable place to spot them. I had walked to the beach and back with no luck last week when this owl finally appeared just as I was getting back to my car.

It seemed to know the area around the stables very well and flew with practiced ease from perch to perch as it hunted. I was glad to find the owl behaved naturally even as I approached with the camera. It rarely gave me a second glance as it scanned the hillside below.

Here it is perched atop the main barn which affords a commanding view of the surrounding area. Moments later it silently leapt off the barn and dropped to head height, gliding within 5 feet of my friend's face, only to perch again on a low fencepost behind him.

A fearsome predator descends in the night. I love the strangeness of this image and the star shapes created by the owl's tucked in talons.

I've also spent a little time at Stow Lake where 4 chicks have fledged and are exploring Strawberry Hill. It is amazing to be in San Francisco sharing a hilltop with 6 owls.

Once darkness falls you can hear their incessant begging calls as they hop from tree to tree honing their flight skills.

Palace of Fine Arts Barn Owls

After months of seeing evidence of owls at the Palace of Fine Arts, on April 12th Siobhan Ruck and I found the first recorded breeding Barn Owls in San Francisco in nearly a century.

There is a pair nesting near the top of some columns north of the rotunda. Begging calls were heard coming from the nest.

There is another pair that roosts in the rotunda, bringing the total to 4 owls plus the unseen juvenile(s).

This is one of the breeding pair. It seemed to be half-heartedly stalking these pigeons.

One of the rotunda owls takes a long stretch after a preening session. It quickly retreated into the columns as a Great Horned Owl flew through the rotunda and disappeared into the night.

Leaving the nest to hunt. The owl's eyes look particularly menacing because of the camera flash.

This one settled into a nearby pine to preen. I will be keeping an eye on our nocturnal friends and will post more images as I get them. I'm hoping to see the youngster soon.