This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Java Buzz
by Elliotte Rusty Harold.
Original Post: One Last Trip To Golden Gate Park
Feed Title: Mokka mit Schlag
Feed URL: http://www.elharo.com/blog/feed/atom/?
Feed Description: Ranting and Raving
Monday morning I had a few hours to kill before I had to get to SFO and catch my flight home so I took a quick spin up Ocean beach and then into the Western part of Golden Gate Park. Common Ravens were once again common. A couple of American Crows also called, but they were vastly outnumbered by the ravens. Song Sparrows and American Robins were common. Hummingbirds, both Allen’s and Anna’s, were almost as common. So were any number of people doing Tai Chi at various locations.
The first new trip bird I found was a Winter Wren. I think I had these on Mount Davidson the previous day, but I was never sure. This particular wren was a lot more cooperative and let me see it rather than just singing from distant bushes.
The Cedar Waxwings were back at the North lake, maybe 100 total. Black Phoebe, Mallard, Red-winged Blackbird, and Brewer’s Blackbird were also present, along with one Black-crowned Night-Heron. However the Pied-billed Grebe had disappeared. I wandered into the north woods briefly and scared up California Towhee, Dark-eyed Junco, and American Goldfinch.
However the final bird for the trip was a new California bird for me; a Brown Creeper climbing directly up a large trunk by the side of the road and calling. I’ve never heard them call in New York. In fact, a lot of birds seemed to be singing and calling out here that don’t do that a lot in New York City. (Cooper’s Hawk is another that I rarely if ever hear in New York, but that wouldn’t shut up in San Francisco.)
Total species count for the morning was 19:
Mallard
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Western Gull
Anna’s Hummingbird
Allen’s Hummingbird
Black Phoebe
American Crow
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Brown Creeper
Winter Wren
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
California Towhee
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Brewer’s Blackbird
American Goldfinch
I checked out of my hotel about 8:30 A.M. and still made my 12:30 flight out of SFO with plenty of time to spare. This definitely beats spending an extra two hours in the airport.
The total species count for the entire trip was 65, though that includes three introduced species that “don’t count”:
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Muscovy Duck
Mallard
Surf Scoter
Ruddy Duck
Pied-billed Grebe
Clark’s Grebe
Brown Pelican
Brandt’s Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Whimbrel
Marbled Godwit
Sanderling
Ring-billed Gull
California Gull
Herring Gull
Western Gull
Caspian Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-masked Parakeet
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Anna’s Hummingbird
Allen’s Hummingbird
Black Phoebe
Western Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Bushtit
Pygmy Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Winter Wren
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
Western Tanager
California Towhee
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Brewer’s Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Hooded Oriole
Purple Finch
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
That’s fewer than I was hoping for but it still included three life birds (Clark’s Grebe, Hooded Oriole, and Pygmy Nuthatch) and 13 California birds. My California total is now 141, six behind New Jersey. (New York’s still way out in front with well over 200.) Probably I could have done 10 or 12 better if I’d rented a car and brought a scope. I did miss a couple of sites that should have provided reliable life birds, but sometimes it’s nice just to walk and really see a place rather than hop from site to site trying to rack up as many species as you can. Maybe if I come back for JavaOne next year, I’ll get a car then and visit Lake Merced, Fort Funston, and Candlestick Point, or even get out of the city. But for now it’s back to New York.