Yet Another Hike at Shoreline

It sounds like I'm in a rut, and maybe I am, but I really tried another venue.  I got up a little late this morning (7:10-ish), but in this case that's OK. The skies were quite overcast. I shoveled a bowl of cold cereal down my neck, bundled up in layers (it was 40F out back), and headed off to Rancho San Antonio Park.

I have now issued myself an edict: Forget Rancho San Antonio! This is not the first time I've gotten there BEFORE the stated opening hour of 8 AM only to find the OFFICIAL "LOT FULL" sign already deployed. And they weren't kidding. The lot was FULL. And, contrary to the notation on the LOT FULL sign, many cars were parked in undesignated spaces.  And there was a stream of people heading out as I was heading in and a stream of people heading in as I was heading out.

So, I headed for Terminal Ave for some Shoreline birding. I parked at the far end because (a) I wanted to try something slightly different and (b) I wanted to try to see the American Bittern that lives in/near the culvert at that end of Terminal Ave. 

I'm sad to report, no bittern. *sigh* BUT! While I didn't get an ID on the bird of prey at the time, I'm totally stoked in retrospect to say that I got a [crappy] photo of a Peregrine Falcon in the top of a dead conifer.

These bad boys were down to less than a handful of mating pairs in the US back in the 60s and 70s, but aggressive intervention has brought them back in a big way.  Woohoo!

I also made a stop by the hummingbird nest I posted about earlier, but the nest is now empty.

On the other hand, there was this one male Anna's hummingbird who kept leap-frogging me on the trail doing the whole posing thing.

He cocked his little head to flash his gorgette at me...

He gave his wings a little stretch...

And he found an itchy eyebrow to scratch.

And the Surf Scoters were on the lake...

The tide was a-way out in the Charleston Slough and this Marbled Godwit was out drilling in the mud for breakfast, thickly coating his bill (and face) in fine, thick, gloopy mud.

I had been hoping for some wildflowers at Rancho San Antonio, but I probably would have been sad. The only things that I saw blooming at Shoreline were invasive aliens. (No, not the kind with probes.  :-)

The mallows (aka cheeseweed) have a pretty, though tiny, purple flower.

The field mustard was imported from Europe and used as a "green manure" crop in the orchards that once dominated the valley.

Then there's the tiny purple flowers of the Crane's Bill -- named for the seed head.

When I first arrived and was getting myself pulled together, a lovely white-haired lady arrived and asked if I was part of "Freddy's group." (No, I wasn't.) Well, it turns out that Freddy car-pools a gang of birders out to various places for bird hikes from her Wild Bird Center in Los Gatos. I met up with them farther along the trail (they went one way, and I the other) and Freddy's a nice, knowledgeable, friendly lady. The Santa Clara Valley chapter of the Audubon Society also has frequent bird walks. If you're interested in learning about the birdies, there are opportunities a-plenty!

Oh, and if you want to learn about the wildflowers, try the California Native Plant Society.