BIRDING IN SAN FRANCISCO
BIRDING BLOG
Well, maybe not so much a blog as a collection of San Francisco birders' accounts of particular occasions. They appear in reverse date order. See end of page for links to older entries.
Wednesday September 27
This morning between 8:15 and 9:15 I birded the Ocean from the north parking lot at Fort Funston.
Most interesting were 3 male Black Scoters. There was also a single American Avocet flying south and 5 male Surf Scoters. Maybe most unexpected were about 8 Eared Grebes in a tight feeding flock. I can't recall seeing them feeding on the ocean before. Elegant Terns numbered fewer than 50. There were a couple of cormorant flocks with over 150 Double-cresteds, mostly immatures.
-- Dan Murphy
Sunday September 24 - Land's End and Sutro Sunday
Slow start: the heavy fog kept most of the birds down until 9.30... and even then warblers were scarce, we had no confirmed tanager and only a sound from one vireo (Hutton's)... but nobody noticed. It was perhaps our best walk yet for the Golden Gate Audubon group at Land's End.
Lark Bunting was first seen feeding along the north/south path just west of the Diana statue, a bird nearly as large as the nearby Black Phoebe. The white wing slash clear and bold. I have to admit I kept saying to the birders, pointing to their bird books: "That can't be a Lark Bunting. It must be something else in strangely molted wing feathers." Then the bird flew west into the cypresses. Twenty minutes later we were chasing the sparse migrants along the dirt path that heads downhill to the south of the gardened part of Sutro Heights park. There, perched in clear sunlight (some of the first of the day) was the (a) bunting perched about twenty feet up in a pine. Clear views of the facial markings inc. the pale stripe below the beak, and much closer scope looks of white line on the wing. No worn feathers, just white ones. The bunting perched there for all twenty of us to study then flew uphill to the east and out of sight.
Arnold Small indicates in CALIFORNIA BIRDS, the Lark Bunting is a rare but expected migrant in California and has been seen as far north as Oregon and Washington. In SPARROWS OF US AND CANADA, James Rising says, "Migrates through California (commoner in fall.)" Also the bird is a ground forager, which is what it was doing when first seen.
Later we had a fly-over Vaux's Swift just as the sun was getting bright. It was so low (about 50 feet up) I suspect it spent the night in one of the Sutro Hts. trees and was just taking off.
At the Land's End Parapet the flat sea showed us no fishing birds nearby, just seemingly empty seas. With some scoping we found Elegant Terns far offshore with a lone Par. Jaeger harrying them. Common Murre. Western Grebe. All the usual seasonal birds plus fly-by Surf Scoter and LB Curlew. (Saturday night I had one RT Loon and one Pac Loon at Parapet.) A Kingfisher circled Sutro Baths. Then a chubby brown bird fluttered silently beneath our position heading around the parapet toward the baths. First the owl perched on the wall between the baths and the sea, then went out to Fisherman's Rock until waves drove it ashore. Then it landed near the trail to the parapet where it spooked an Am. Pipit we'd missed. Then it landed on the cement near the cement box uphill & east of the baths where the phoebes nest. Everyone had lengthy scope views of the Burrowing Owl and I doubt any of us shall ever again see this grassland bird dodging waves as we did when they broke over its head on Fisherman's Rock.
Other birds of interest:
Cooper's Hawk--Sutro
Yellow Warblers--Sutro
calling Hutton's--Sutro
Purple Finch--Sutro
Winter Wren--Sutro
House Wren--Sutro
Fox Sparrow--LE (Fri); Sutro(Sat)
Harb. Porpoise--LE
Blue Heron perched on Seal Rock #3--LE
Mark Eaton reported he refound the Blackpoll when he looked for the bunting.--Sutro There were also reports of Tenn. Warbler in the gleaner flock which is dominated by Pyg Nuthatches.--Sutro
Other Sutro notes:
The white-cheeked Robin remains, having been resident for a full year, not migrating Myra Ulvang confirms she has no previous record for Steller's Jay at Sutro, one was seen there by Katy and me on the round-up last weekend.
One of the GGAS ace birders has pictures of the owl and bunting which I will forward after I get them, sorry we missed the swift swift.
--Harry Fuller
Wednesday September 20
These last late summer days are turning out to be great for lazy birders here in San Francisco. It's not necessary to get out at dawn or brave the cold and fog to see some interesting migrants, if today is any indication.
I finally got out for a mid-to-late morning stroll, planning just to enjoy the sun and warm weather, but I got lucky with a few choice sightings as well. There isn't much good habitat at Alta Plaza Park but, to my delight, at about 10:30 this morning I saw a gorgeous Nashville Warbler gleaning whatever it could find in the branches of the large Monterey cypress at the northeast corner. It was accompanied by both bright and drab Yellow Warblers, a male Townsend's and the usual gang of Pygmy Nuthatches.
The upper reaches of Lafayette Park were positively frenetic with birds from about 11-11:30am - at times I didn't know which way to turn to try to take in all the action! First off was a contingent of Western Tanagers (at least four), mostly hanging out high up in the eucalyptus, where there were also numerous Yellow Warblers (at least 10) and the ubiquitous Pygmy Nuthatches. Fortunately, I pulled myself away from the treetops and turned my attention to the flowering shrubs where the large contingent of Anna's and Allen's Hummers continue to fight it out. In flew a host of insectivores, trying with various degrees of success to get food without being driven away by the hummers. In addition to yet more Yellow Warblers there was a Tennessee Warbler, the brightest yellow example of this species that I have yet seen (no doubt a first fall show-off). Providing good contrast was a Warbling Vireo (a rather dull individual, alas). I was able to get really good views of both, at or below eye level and from as close as about five meters, a real treat after straining to see everything way up at the tops of the trees!
A single male Wilson's Warbler made a brief appearance, as did both male and female Townsend's and a 'Western' Flycatcher in the trees above. Not to be left out, a House Wren made quite a variety of squeaks and buzzes but, as usual, remained mostly out of sight (I suspect this individual is the same bird that I first saw in the shrubs above the tennis courts about ten days ago - hope it sticks around). With the arrival of a bit of wind the flock was off to the treetops again and I took a few looks at the intimacies of the resident parrots and watched one of the Black Phoebes catch a few various flying creatures, then decided to call it a (pleasantly successful) morning.
-- Richard Bradus
Sunday September 17
Had visiting birder from New Mexico and Colorado in the morning... she only had 90 minutes to spare so we did Land's End. It was a remarkably warm day for San Francisco, about 75 degrees, no wind, bright sun.
Highlight was newly arrived Merlin unsuccessfully chasing a House Finch. Our other sightings:
Red-necked Phalarope arrived on Sutro Baths and began swirling while we were there.
Also:
Black Oystercatcher
Black Turnstone
Brandt's Cormorant
Marbled Godwit
Elegant Terns pursued by Parasitic Jaeger
Common Murre
Brown Pelicans
Blue Heron+Mallard
Black Phoebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
House Finch
Song Sparrow
Western Gull
California Gull
Heermann's Gull
Wandering Tattler
Western Grebe
Red-Tailed Hawks
--Harry Fuller
San Francisco Bird Blitz, Saturday September 16, 2006
Highlights from the SF Rare Bird Round Up today included:
Common Tern - North Lake Merced - confirmed in the afternoon - (Brian Fitch, Bob Hall)
Red Phalarope - South Lake Merced (Joe Morlan and Robbie Fischer)
Gray Catbird - Middle Lake (Kathy Robertson and ?) - yes still there
Dusky Flycatcher - Kobbe and Upton - afternoon (David Armstrong, Dorothy Reinhardt)
Northern Waterthrush - South Lake Merced - Concrete Bridge ( Joe Morlan, Robbie Fischer)
Prairie Warbler - Vista Grande Canal (Fide Joe and Robbie)
Blackpoll Warbler - Sutro Heights Park ( Harry Fuller, Kathy Robertson)
Tennessee Warbler - behind Crissy Warehouses - (Josiah Clark)
Chestnut-Sided Warbler - Middle Lake - (David Armstrong, Dorothy Reinhardt, JR Blair)
Other birds included first records for the event - Eurasian Collared Doves, Bufflehead.
I also heard the Blackburnian continues at Fort Mason and that another Tennessee Warbler was at Kobe and Upton in the Presidio ( Ed DeBelview (sp.?))
Thanks to all who participated- the full list will be issued later.
-- Hugh Cotter
Sunday, September 10
Over 30 birders joined Joan and me for our Coastal SF trip. We had 62 species and a few surprises. We picked up an American Redstart by the bridge at North Lake. Back at we found a Chestnut-sided Warbler at the north end of Middle Lake. We had a Black-throated Gray Warbler at the SE corner of the lake and a Red-necked Phalarope on the lake. Over at the Buffalo Paddock we watched a coyote stalk a Great Blue Heron. The heron outsmarted it by taking a few short flights, then flying off. One new thing for everyone in the group was seeing about half a dozen Brown-headed Cowbirds on top of various buffalo. There were lots of western migrants around the Chain-of-Lakes. The catbird wasn't found until after our group left the area.
At the Presido some of our group spotted 3 Eurasian Collared-Doves. At Quail Commons there were no fewer than 8 Red Crossbills in the trees at the intersection of Washington and Battery Caulfield. We had lunch in the parking lot at the end of Langdon Ct., just west of the bridge. There is a major trail redevelopment project underway and almost all the trees have been removed from the edge of the cliff. The area is open and you can actually see the hawks come in. Just as we got there the fog lifted enough for raptors to appear. Red-tails and Coops came through and on buteo we didn't immediately identify. It wasn't a Red-tail and it wasn't a Harrier - therefore it may have been a Swainson's Hawk I figured. We ran into Hugh Cotter about 15 minutes later and found out he saw the same bird and our guess was right. Well, it doesn't count for our list because we lost the bird in the fog before we were sure of it. Oh well. We added a Say's Phoebe at Fort Scott and an Olive-sided Flycatcher on Kobbe.
At the south end of Lake Merced we found no fewer than 7 Tri-colored Blackbirds, 2 Green Herons and finally 2 Eurasian Collared-Doves. The Ring-necked Duck remains on the Impound Lake and a couple of Ruddy Ducks turned up for the first time in about a month.
Fort Funston was totally dead. We did see a few expected odds and ends from the observation deck, but there wasn't a single bird at Battery Davis or at the Y Grove. We heard a single Downy Woodpecker call in the Skyline Grove and there was a small flock of White-crowned Sparrows there, but that was it.
Conservation note: I've birded Fort Funston 3 times this year and haven't seen or heard a single Bewick's Wren. Seems they might be extirpated there. [Editor's note: another birder leter reported several Bewick's Wrens in that area on another day.]
Good birding,
Dan Murphy
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