A week ago, Saturday the 7th, my husband, daughter Red, and I went to San Francisco for the day. We met Ruthie J of Nature Knitter and her brothers for lunch at Castagnola's next to Fisherman's Wharf. While waiting for Ruthie to arrive, we were seated at the Captain's Table where you can get a 180 degree view of the boats docked at Fisherman's Wharf. While waiting, I could see a black-crowned night heron and a snowy egret. I took photos of both birds, but the heron pic was not very good. But you can see a very nice photo of the heron on Ruthie's blog (here). Below is my photo of the snowy egret. I sure do love those bright yellow feet!
After our lunch and conversations, Ruthie wanted to see some other sights. While we drove down The Embarcadero looking for a place to park I had noticed some photo ops, including some beautiful flowers - mostly tulips. Be sure to click on any of the photos for an enlargement. First, here is a shot of the sign for Pier 39, the largest and most commercial part of Fisherman's Wharf. Typical of weekends, it was wall-to-wall people, especially since this was the first beautiful weekend in quite a while.
And here are a few photos of the tulips we had seen. Aren't they beautiful? Mixed in to make it very colorful were other flowers such as daffodils, primroses, and anemones (I think), as well as other small flowers. They sure were colorful and quite attractive all along Pier 39.
Here is a view of Alcatraz Island from Pier 39, with one of several sailboats that were out on the bay that day.
Ice cream or yogurt, anyone?
Found on our walk were several Brewer's Blackbirds. Here is a shot of a female.
Another species seen were several gulls. This one, I think, is a Western gull carrying an old empty plastic bread bag. He/she was trying to keep it from letting the "youngster" get it. Below this photo is the "youngster." Notice how much grayer and mottled looking is his plumage which is an indication of a first or second year gull. I would think it is a first year gull.
As we were heading back from Pier 39 and toward the direction of where our car was parked, I saw this hawk perched on a fence around the pier. Enlarge the photo and take note that it has a leg missing. I am identifying it as a Sharp-shinned hawk.
If you have the extra time and are interested in more sights and history of this part of San Francisco, click on all the links I provided.
