Len Blumin's photostream  

This Pied-billed Grebe is perhaps starting to transition into alternate plumage.

This shot of an Eared Grebe in basic plumage shows most of the important field marks that distinguish it from the Horned Grebe, including the steep forehead, peak of crown above and in front of the eye, dusky or "dirty" neck, dark auriculars framed by a white crescent behind, and a bill with a flat culmen. Photo taken at Garrettson Point, MLK Regional Shoreline Park, Oakland, CA.

Same bird that was eating the apple. The mostly red malar stripe is shaded here, but we get a good view of the red crescent or chevron shape on the nape, indicating as least some genes of the Yellow-shafted race.

Most Northern Flickers in the western U.S. are of the Red-shafted race, Colaptes auratus cafer. However it's not unusual to see an intergrade between the Red-shafted and Yelow-shafted races, as with this individual. The malar stripe looks red, but a more careful exam shows that it has a black medical border. The nape of this bird sports a red nuchal chevron. Both races have the same striking yellow undertail.

Flickers eat mostly insects (ants and beetles), feeding mostly on the ground, but in winter they will eat fruit if they find it.

The female Ring-necked Duck is to my eye the most beautiful of our Aythya hens. Here the reflected colors on the water go well with the soft browns of her plumage. Taken at Lloyd Lake, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. You will need the "hybrid" view of the map to see the lake, which is unlabeled.