Adam Paul

Saturday was another nice Field Ornithology field trip lead by our instructor, Joe Morlan. We met up across from the nearly-done-looking California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park and started out birding the Rhododendron Dell.

Red-shouldered Hawk

Things started off fairly slowly. A group of 4′ish Western Scrub-Jays were making a racket, flying from tree to tree, but we didn’t see much else by the California Academy construction site. Walking through the Rhododendron Dell and AIDS Memorial Grove, two of the prettier places in Golden Gate Park, IMO, things continued to be pretty quiet. Some bushtits flitted about by the lake (Lily Lake?), and a few Common Ravens called hoarsely from the treetops. A couple of Townsend’s Warblers gave us nice views, and an American Kestrel zipped by overhead.

A student’s sharp eyes spotted a Red-shouldered Hawk, perched very near us, but in awful light – I managed to get an OK picture of it anyways (see above), and it was great to see this beautiful raptor up-close.

White-crowned Sparrow

In a clearing, someone had spread out birdseed, and a good number of White-crowned and Golden-crowned Sparrows, along with a few Dark-eyed “Oregon” Juncoes and a California Towhee foraged on the bounty.

Back by where we’d parked, a Hermit Thrush afforded good looks, and a couple of California Towhees foraged in the dirt. Moving on, we entered the Strybring Arboretum.

Strybring Arboretum

The Arboretum is a popular birding location, and there were two other large groups birding the area, both part of the “first Saturdays” walk series. We generally avoided the other groups, as huge numbers of people don’t make for good birding.

Mew Gull

On the lake in the middle of the lawn, 4 gulls of as many species gave us a very nice comparison. One each of Mew, Western, California, and Glaucous-winged Gulls were soon joined by another Mew Gull, this one a spiffy adult, which upon examining it, I am not sure I’ve seen before – the Mews I’ve previously seen have, I think, all been sub-adults.

Glaucous-winged Gull

We walked to the upper parts of the Arboretum, hoping to find a Red-breasted Sapsucker that frequents the area, but we struck out on this would-be lifer for me. Bird activity was good, however, with a Turkey Vulture and numerous Red-tailed Hawks overhead, mostly juvenile.

Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk

A Northern “Red-shafted” Flicker perched on a totem by the maintenance area, Chestnut-backed Chickadees made an appearance, and we saw the only Yellow-rumped Warbler of the day (odd, since this is usually an abundant bird at this time of year).

We made another go for the Sapsucker, this time in a so-labelled Giant Sequoia, which looks absolutely nothing like any Sequoia (the largest tree in the world) I’ve ever seen. Unlike the hulking 25-foot-diameter, 250+-foot-tall Sequoia of the Sierra Nevada, this was a thin, scraggly, bent-over tree of perhaps 6 inches diameter and 20 feet in height. Although one of my classmates, who volunteers at the Arboretum, swears it’s a different sub-species of Sequoiadendron giganteum, I am unconvinced that it’s not a labelling error.

Cooper’s(?) Hawk

Noon was nearing, so we made our way back towards where we’d started, but were interrupted by a low flyover by a lovely adult (probable) Cooper’s Hawk, which circled a few times, checking us out and calling loudly, before flying away. It was a good day for raptors in the park, with every expected species (Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, and American Kestrel) seen.

Although I didn’t get any life or year birds, this was a fun outing, and I look forward to next weekend’s trip!

Birds seen (38 species):
- American Coot
- American Kestrel
- American Robin
- Anna’s Hummingbird
- Black Phoebe
- Bushtit
- California Gull
- California Quail
- California Towhee
- Chestnut-backed Chickadee
- Common Raven
- Cooper’s Hawk
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Glaucous-winged Gull
- Golden-crowned Sparrow
- Hermit Thrush
- House Finch
- House Sparrow
- Mallard
- Mew Gull
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Flicker
- Purple Finch
- Pygmy Nuthatch
- Red-shouldered Hawk
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Rock Pigeon
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Sharp-shinned(?) Hawk
- Song Sparrow
- Steller’s Jay
- Townsend’s Warbler
- Turkey Vulture
- Western Gull
- Western Scrub-Jay
- White-crowned Sparrow
- Yellow-rumped Warbler