Bay Island Nature

The weekends have been starting slow this month. The birdsong outside promising a bright morning, only to open my eyes to yet another dreary start. The birds don't seem to mind. In fact, the Coopers hawk family seems to be thriving. We've had several "incidents" on my back fence involving a sparrow and dove who entered the hawk food chain. One of them while I was watering the flowers nearby. That was quite stunning as I turned to try and identify what large bird flew into the plum tree, only to watch a small bird jet out the other side. The hawk proceeded to chase it down then alight on the fence not 10 feet from me with the still form in its talons. One of our local hawk watchers keeps a nest count in our city and let me know we've had at least five Coopers hawk nests successfully fledge young this year. So, though I love the towhees, hummers, and sparrows, there's nothing quite as thrilling as Coopers hawks in the neighborhood!

The wildlife is quieter along the shore these days. The shorebirds have migrated away for the summer to nest and raise their young in the far north with its longer days. Terns have taken up some of the slack. They nest nearby on islands and points around the Bay spending daylight hours hunting for fish with spectacular aerial displays. We have three species including the tiny California least tern. The least tern is an endangered species that migrates from its northern-most nesting area at Alameda Point all the way to the southern end of South America. When they hunt in the Bay they rise and dive like delicate sky dancers. On the people side, we've gotten through the last frantic field trips, graduation and rites of passage and it's time to settle into the longer days of summer. At home our backyard is BBQ ready and the hammock invites some quiet afternoons. At Crab Cove, we celebrated the summer Solstice with a fun exploration of our place in the solar system. Pacing o...

From my humble, suburban backyard I get a nightly serenade from a rock star. He's amazing -- colorful, flamboyant, pipes out quite a tune, and keeps me anticipating his next performance. He started showing up at least 5 years ago, probably drawn to the area by the tall palm trees (also fine nesting for the local barn owls from whom I occasionally collect pellets ). Once in a while I spy his mate, much drabber than his schoolbus yellow with inky black throat and black & white streaked back. This hooded oriole pair comes from southern Mexico every spring to set up house. Their nest, not seen by me, is woven suspended from a branch of a palm or other tree somewhere nearby. They glean the trees and bushes for insects and I just saw the male piercing our neighbors passion flowers for nectar. I can only imagine the stir this bird creates among our much more sedate residents. The towhees scuffling on the ground probably hunch a little lower and trill a little softer. "Th...

My youngest fledgling had his wisdom teeth out this morning. He was such a trooper, getting himself up, following doctor's orders to have only apple juice 2 hours before the appointment, and remembering to bring his retainer. So different from his older brother. Now comes the tending with hauling water, juice, soup, yogurt and smoothies to the invalid and watching for signs of trouble. It reminds me of the California towhee family who just fledged their young outside the boys' window. Days of intense scurrying and scuffling for enough insects to keep the vociferous hatchlings fed. Nights crouched over them, keeping them warm and protected in the smooth, dusty covering of feathered wings and body. The babies took their first flights out of the nest to the ground a week ago. One hid precariously out in the open on a thin branch of feverfew, freezing motionless when I came near. It made it through the week, predated upon by no dog, cat, or raccoon. I saw it yesterday foll...