Sutro Baths - bathing for Sparrows

Sutro baths, high noon, sun blazing high in the sky. My wife and I went for a short walk to restore our constitutions. I brought my camera along just in case some bird-life appeared, though the conditions couldn't be less birdy. Along the coast path we walked, staring out to sea. The odd crow and red-tailed hawk drifted by a mile away - too far for pictures. The occasional hummingbird clicked up in Cypress tree's, but other than that all we had to work with was the ocean.

We made it to a lookout that faces Golden Gate bridge, complete with happy selfie-taking groups eager to capture the glorious day. The intense red of the bridge playing off the sparkling azure sea certainly was a scene. My attention however quickly diverted to the dirt path, where a more scandalous scene was developing... a bath party for birds! The White-Crowned's had their fill frolicking in a thumb deep dirty puddle. Tossing their luxuriant white feathered heads in the stagnant stew, whipping their manes to and fro in the wind. They were loving it. Now here was a photo shoot. As if in the reply, the universe gave me a stiff gust of wind, lifting the sparrow's tail feathers up to reveal the whites of their body. The look in the eyes of this individual screamed "get the fainting couch!", though I'd left my bird-sized one at home.