The other night I was startled by an unexpected creature walking the same path in the Marin Headlands. It was getting dark and I just had seconds to get an image before it slipped further into the tall grass.
Redtail in the Sunset /
The Park Service has cut down a lot of trees at Crissy Field that were once frequented by hunting hawks. Thankfully the few that remain have still got some hawk attracting properties. The other evening I saw a Red-tailed Hawk bank in the setting sunlight and land to survey the gopher strewn grass below. Above, it leaps into action when it spots something moving in distant taller grasses.
Tough hunting that evening sent the hawk towards the Golden Gate Bridge and out towards the Presidio, presumably to roost and try again in the morning.
Cute but Ferocious: River Otters /
A word of warning... this is a post about predation and the pictures reflect that.
River Otters moved into Rodeo lagoon in the Marin Headlands about 4 years ago and the resident birds were ill prepared.
They became instant celebrities and many people went to the lagoon to try and catch a glimpse of the group. They started out seven strong but have since become a quartet.
Like lions on the Serengeti, they carefully stalk their prey. In this instance they were after mallards on the shore. Their main technique seems to be:
1. Locate prey floating in the lagoon
2. Submerge and close the distance underwater
3. Grab the prey from below and asphyxiate with a bite to the neck or drowning
Cute huh?
A juvenile gull snatched from mid-lagoon.
A Heermann's Gull too slow to react gets caught and brought to a nearby dining spot.
After the hunter gets its fill the meal gets shared with the other otters waiting their turn. The number of feathers stuck in the vegetation nearby is evidence of many meals eaten here. The otter is working on the gull's head (which, if you decide, you can see by clicking on the image).
One of these otters is an experienced hunter who seems to take on large prey the others pass up.
On rainy morning the gang sees a Great Blue Heron resting on shore and they all submerge and disappear.
30 seconds later the water around the heron boils and an otter lunges at the heron who leaps to safety just in time.
This Pelican wasn't so lucky. It was one of many that the otters caught as they landed on the lagoon to rest during their meanderings down the coast. As the months went on, fewer and fewer Pelicans spent any time on the water and otters switched to other prey.
Angry Birds /
Snowy Egrets can often be seen foraging together in scattered groups but there is inevitably some tension and competition. When an egret decides it has had enough it isn't shy about showing its displeasure.
The egret on the left was busy preening and looked up just in time to see the aggressor arriving.
Dancing over the water in a fit of rage.
The chase becomes relentless when the message doesn't seem to sink in.
Prepared for anything, it leaves its landing gear down, dragging its feet in the water preparing for a change of direction.
A Great Egret watches the chase unconcerned.
Leaving the scene in style.
Tule Elk at Sunset /
Photographed yesterday in Point Reyes, California.
