25: Mallards, Great Blue Heron, Black Phoebe, White-crowned Sparrow: Birds Frequent Filled Frog Pond

Visitors 85

Modified 30-Nov-25

Created 29-Nov-25

18 photos

November 2025 in Portola Valley: though we are in the heart of the wet season, it rains little this month. Dense fog, coming and going and coming again, and overnight dew keep the ground moist. Buckeyes fall! Frog Pond, full to overflowing, hosts birds of many sizes, many feeding strategies: Mallards, Great Blue Heron, Say’s Phoebe, and White-crowned Sparrow. Nearby, California Scrub Jay grabs an acorn; Spotted Towhee surveys the grassland; American Crow wheels around leafless oak.

Evanescent fog, backlit, manifests spreading God’s eyes, refracted light pointing to the its solar origin. Moist ground sprouts mushrooms.

Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) Ready to Fly

Say's Phoebe (Sayorenis saya) Hunting in Frog Pond

Say's Phoebe (Sayorenis saya) Hunting in Frog Pond (Detail)

Say's Phoebe (Sayorenis saya) Hunting in Frog Pond (2)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) in Frog Pond

White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophyrs) (?)

Wheeling American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) (?)

Categories & Keywords

Category:Animals

Subcategory:Birds

Subcategory Detail:

Keywords:

Dan Quinn