The Burlingame Voice

Mom, where are we going?

This mother doe and her fawn were cruising down Costa Rica Ave. near the Barriolhet intersection this week.  I stopped for the photo and Mom stopped to watch me watch her and let the little one catch up.  I have seen bigger cats in the neighborhood than this fawn.  It must have been no more than 18 inches tall.  Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Coyote Alert: Middle of town

I'm guessing the B'gamers and H'boroughers who live up the hill or near Mills Canyon are much more familiar with coyote sightings than us flatlanders.  Even though I am a flatlander, I'm more familiar with them due to spending a good amount of time in Tahoe.  I think this guy, who was photographed yesterday morning walking down the middle of Central Ave., is a juvenile.  Central Ave is a block west of ECR and right at the southern edge of B'game--on street north of the Barriolhet border.

Watch your pets as they are reported to easily jump an eight-foot fence.

 

Bgame is for the birds

A friend turned me onto an app that has brought a lot of enjoyment lately.  Cornell Lab's Merlin uses your phone's microphone to record bird calls and references their database to identify the bird.  Thus far, in my very bird-friendly yard it has identified:

Dark-eyed Junco        Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Oak Titmouse            Nuttall's Woodpecker

Bewick's Wren            Lesser Goldfinch

Canadian Goose         House Finch

Steller's Jay               Bushtit

American Crow

I haven't bothered to record the Mourning Doves that have been around for several years and mating seasons or the random Seagull that flies by.  And while you are looking up in the sky, another app to enjoy is Flightradar24.  It maps the aircraft in the area, and you can click on any of them and see the flight number, origin, time en route, altitude, etc.  All of the airliners that fly south over Bgame and make a U-turn in the South Bay to land on 28 L & R show up nicely.

Stinky Red Tide in B'game

The Chronicle is running a second story today as the "algal bloom" spreads throughout the Bay.  In yesterday's print edition there was a photo of a dead sturgeon at Coyote Point.  It was about two feet long.  The Chron notes

While scientists can’t yet pinpoint an exact cause of the bloom, which first began in late July, the fish kills are a sign that it has grown in intensity. It’s also become very noticeable, with the bay’s maroon-brown tint visible to motorists from the Bayshore Freeway or Bay Bridge and an estimated thousands of dead fish piling up near shore.

An intrepid Voice reader sent along a much better photo of the bloom on our bayfront and reiterated how much the whole thing stinks.  Check it out.

Visiting Hawk: Calm, Cool and Collected

I was surprised when this hawk swooped in and landed on my patio umbrella last night.  He was calm, cool and collected as he surveyed the yard for dinner for about five minutes.  A true bird of prey.  Even when I walked out the door and stood about 20 feet away, he just stared me down for more than a minute.  I kept the Dachshund inside while I snapped the photo!

Destructive Masked Neighbor

We haven't had a wildlife post in a couple of months, so here is a photo of my destructive masked neighbor, Mr. Raccoon.  If you look closely, you will see where a bistro light socket used to hang just to the right of him.  That is one of three that he was able to chew off the string of lights.  He looks like he is thinking "I wonder if I can reach the fourth one without falling off the cable?"

Hungry Mouths

What better way to lighten things up for a bit here at the Voice than a photo of three hungry baby robins taken in my yard.  We thought it was an old nest since it was empty for awhile, but Mom filled it up with these three hungry kids.  The nest is somewhat hidden in a rose bush, but I still worry about the hawks taking notice.

Quacking Downtown

I've enjoyed seeing more different wildlife downtown as the people thin out after about 7pm.  Several people have noticed a pair of ducks walking around the neighborhoods and downtown.  I thought it was just a male and female pair that I have seen before, but last night as "The Birdman" was feeding all of the birds in Lot J behind the Landmark I noticed four male ducks joining the feeding frenzy.  I'll bet there are more hanging around.  They bring a smile to my face and I hope yours as well.

Caught Red-handed

I caught this little fellow red-handed munching away on our pumpkin.  It has become an annual feast for the squirrels. The photo was taken two days ago and this morning, the pumpkin is completely gone--he and his buddies ate the whole thing!

Newly Born Doves in B'game

It's been 10 months since my last Wildlife post, but we've just witnessed a lovely event that has been in the making for several months.  We've been pleased to host a set of nesting mourning doves in the eaves right above where we sit on our patio.  It's a pretty safe spot although not that secluded.  The two of them came and went regularly all summer and now, just as summer ends, two fledglings have arrived.  Having sat only 10 feet from the nest waiting for the young'uns to appear for so long, their arrival brought a smile to our faces.  Here is the proud dad sitting watch over us as the little ones figure out how to fly--which happened yesterday.