Flies and Newts in Point Reyes

In July I was up in San Francisco for a few weeks and only now am I getting around to posting a few photos. The stand-out memory was these flies. They weren't particularly pretty, but they were on a tree stump and they were all facing the same direction. I would estimate it was high 50s/low 60s, damp and foggy a few hundred feet higher on the hill, with a very slight breeze (~5-10 mph) coming from the direction the flies were facing). Are there any entomologists who can enlighten me about this behavior? It's quite striking, but I can't even speculate as to why they would do this.




Also check out these pictures of a very cooperative California newt. It was practically making love to the camera with its eyes.