58 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {due west} RABBIT PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF: PEXELS and oak titmouse kindly demonstrate. Along the outer Edgewood Trail, we spy a cluster of black-tail deer grazing just off the path. We approach within yards, but they give us no mind. So Rick takes aim—and shoots. Unperturbed, the deer munch on, while Rick cheerfully shows me his camera’s viewfinder. He’s caught them mid-chew. The terrain gives way to grasslands on the Serpentine Trail and a flash of feathers catches our attention. A kestrel—a compact little warrior less than a foot in size—hovers mid-air, wings beating fast. With a plethora of pocket gophers, meadow voles and brush rabbits about, there’s plenty on the menu for a ravenous raptor. We marvel as this hunter, equal parts dainty and deadly, swoops again and again—the perfect finale for our walk on the wild side. Seeking more hikes where you can come face-to-face with the fauna? ROLLICKING RABBITS AT SAN BRUNO MOUNTAIN For hippity-hoppity friends, hike San Bruno Mountain State Park’s Saddle Trail, where brush and jack rabbits abound. With beautiful rugged ridges traced by trails, this open space is also dotted with coastal scrub and sweet wildflower blossoms, truly a bunny’s buffet. You’re also likely to spot creatures who dine on the rabbits, including coyotes, bobcats, red and gray foxes, and a range of raptors. Beneath your hiking boots, pocket gophers, ground squirrels, Trowbridge’s shrews and meadow voles burrow, while birds pinwheel through the skies. Among San Bruno’s overwintering and permanent residents are indigo and painted bunting, rosebreasted grosbeak, scarlet tanager and nine different species of warblers. For your own bird’s-eye view, make sure to appreciate the park’s many sweeping vistas spanning the San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean, from Salesforce Tower to Mt. Tamalpais. Birds aren’t the only winged things around here. Come spring, 30 species of butterflies flutter about the park, including endangered and threatened varieties like the San Bruno Elfin, Mission Blue, Callippe Silverspot and Bay Checkerspot. DAINTY DEER AT SAN PEDRO VALLEY PARK Hello deer! Pacifica’s San Pedro Park is a lush sanctuary where you’ll spot Bambi and his pals bounding through the brush. You’re most likely to spot them grazing along the grassy
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