October 5 - San Francisco Birding

This was my first free day in San Francisco after attending the Oracle Open World Conference all week. Edith and Austin had travelled with me, but they left for the airport in the morning to return to Vancouver.

I decided to walk from our hotel down to the Ferry building; located on the bay at the foot of the Embarcadero. Back in 2015 we'd visited this location and I'd seen Western and Heerman's Gulls up close. I felt this was my best chance for seeing them again.

The Ferry Building is a landmark on the waterfront, it is the terminal for the San Francisco Bay Ferry system, and als has upscale shops and restaurants. I borrowed this shot from Wikipedia.



The first bird I spotted was a Gull near the fountain on the right side of the tower. It wa a Western Gull, a darker version of our local Glaucous-winged Gull.

  Western Gull - Ferry Building, San Francisco CA - 2017 Bird # 199

I made my way to the pier on the left (south) of the Ferry Building and got a terrific look at a Heerman's Gull. We get the occasional stray of this species at Point Roberts, but they are common in Coastal California. This Gull features a bright Red/Orange bill with a black tip and black feet. It is smaller than the Western and has a dark gray appearance.

Heerman's Gull - Ferry Building, San Francisco CA - 2017 Bird # 200

There were quite a few Western Gulls in the area including this one. I don't know if this was a yawn or a threatening gesture towards the camera.

Western Gull - Ferry Building, San Francisco CA 

One more look at this species, this shows the field marks quite well.

Western Gull - Ferry Building, San Francisco CA

I also expected to see Brown Pelicans somewhere during my birding excursion and was not disappointed. These birds came in from the south passing under the Bay Bridge as they flew to the north.

Brown Pelican - Ferry Building, San Francisco CA - 2017 Bird #201

One last look at a pair of Western Gulls before I headed north towards Pier 39 and then west to the Presidio. These two look like they've been together for a long time.

Western Gull - Ferry Building, San Francisco CA

Offshore there were a few Double-crested Cormorants in the water.

Double-crested Cormorant - Ferry Building, San Francisco CA

My plan had been to get to the Presidio, the park that looks across the water to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a nice sunny day so I decided to walk. I headed north towards the famous Pier 39, and then turned west. I had an uphill walk, but this route offered the gentlest climb. Eventually I started downhill again and reached a small grassland area. There was some bird activity there, which turned out to be a bird I'd see quite frequently in the following days.

White-crowned Sparrow - San Francisco CA

This is a first year bird, it will have the adult black and white crown by next spring.

The local birding websites had praised the Presidio as a great place for birds, but I must have been there in the wrong season. The only bird I was was this Song Sparrow.

Song Sparrow - San Francisco CA

However there was a Harbor Seal quite close to the beach.

Harbor Seal - San Francisco CA

There were good views of the Golden Gate bridge to the west and to Alcatraz Island to the east.

It turned out that this was Fleet Week in San Francisco. There's a tradition of the Blue Angels putting on an Air Show on the weekend. This was Thursday and they were practicing over the skies of San Francisco. They were right overhead our location at the Presidio.

Also involved were the Canadian Snowbirds.

The Blue Angels were constantly disappearing over the city and then returning with a tremendous roar. I took a few videos of them with the Nikon and IPhone. This one from the Nikon turned out the best.

I now made my way back the way I came, about a 90 minute walk back to the Hotel. As I neared the Ferry building I spotted a bird in a Palm tree on the Embarcadero boulevard. It was a Starling, looking quite striking in this setting.

European Starling - San Francisco CA

I returned to the hotel. Tomorrow I'd be checking out and heading south for two days of birding before coming home.

October 6 Part 1 - Coyote Point Recreation Area, San Mateo County CA

I was up early to have a quick breakfast and check out of the Hotel in San Francisco. I had arranged for a town car to take me to the Airport where I'd rent a car. So much more civilized and safe compared to the cab we'd taken into town.

I had some experience from previous visits and a tremendous resource with this website:
San Mateo County Birding Guide

I came to the conclusion that Coyote Point was the best choice for my morning, it had three different habitats and was in a safe area close to the airport. It also had a marina and a golf course, which allowed me to have a quick brunch.

The official name is Coyote Point Recreation Area, I'll just use Coyote Point for brevity.



The nearest habitat to where I'd parked was the freshwater marsh.

The very first bird I saw was a White-crowned Sparrow. I saw them most places I visited on the trip.


White-crowned Sparrow - Coyote Point, San Mateo CA

Next I spotted a Black Phoebe, maybe my favourite California bird. Unlike our flycatchers, this bird is common and always on display.

Black Phoebe - Coyote Point, San Mateo CA

2017 Bird #202

There were some goldfinches in the treetops and I hoped they might be Lesser's, but the photo post-mortem proved them to be American.

American Goldfinch - Coyote Point, San Mateo CA

I was on a path that had a salt-water marsh on the left and a fresh-water one on the right. I heard and then saw a bird that liked both environments:

Belted Kingfisher (F) - Coyote Point, San Mateo CA

Next were a group of Black-necked Stilts in the salt water. They are more plain looking in Basic plumage compared to when I saw them nesting in Alberta in June.

Black-necked Stilt - Coyote Point, San Mateo CA

I was expecting to see Egrets and was not disappointed. I see the Snowy Egret frequently in the San Mateo area.


Snowy Egret - Coyote Point, San Mateo CA - 2017 Bird #203

I made my way through the marina over to a short jetty. There wasn't a lot of activity in the water, but overhead the Pelicans were active.


Brown Pelican - Coyote Point, San Mateo CA

I took a short video of them in flight.

And a close-up of a single one coming in for a landing.


Brown Pelican - Coyote Point, San Mateo CA

I headed for the forest environment. It was pretty quiet and dark, which made photography difficult. I saw a few Juncos and the bird below. When I took the photo I thought it might be a Brown Creeper. After seeing the photo at home, I realized it was a Pygmy Nuthatch. I normally see this bird in the Okanagan, but missed out on it this year.

Pygmy Nuthatch- Coyote Point, San Mateo CA

2017 Bird #204

I returned to the marshes before leaving and saw the other Egret I was hoping for: the Great Egret. It's all white like the Snowy but much larger with a longer neck. 

Great Egret- Coyote Point, San Mateo CA - 2017 Bird #205

One last shot of a Snowy Egret and it was time to make my next stop, which is detailed in the next post.

Snowy Egret - Coyote Point, San Mateo CA

October 6 Part 2 - Holbrook-Palmer Park in Atherton

I've been visiting this park since 2013 and have recorded a few life birds here. It's a guaranteed place to see the California Jay and Black Phoebe. This is a city park that has a nice mix of grassy and treed areas.  In Autumn, there's an abundance of leaf litter on the ground.



Back in 2015, I saw my first ever Oak Titmouse, a small crested bird somewhat related to Chickadees. I saw one again this year but had bad luck getting a photo. I'd just walked from bright sun into a heavily shaded area and had not set my camera accordingly. The shot below shows the results.


Oak Titmouse - Holbrook-Palmer Park, Atherton CA - 2017 Bird #206

Just as I reset my camera, a commuter by went screaming by just outside the park. The bird flew and I did not see it again. I took this photo in the same area in 2015.


Oak Titmouse - Holbrook-Palmer Park, Atherton CA - October 2015.

There's a baseball field in the park and it has a famous name:



Along the back part of the park I encountered my first ever California Scrub-Jay. However, it was not a lifer as I'd seen many before when they were named Western Scrub-Jay.

The Western Scrub-Jay was split into two species in 2016. The more common one is the California Scrub-Jay, which I've seen quite a few times. The other species is called Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay and is seen from Nevada east to Texas.


California Scrub-Jay - Holbrook-Palmer Park, Atherton CA - 2017 Bird #207 

Here's a couple of shots of Juncos in the same area of the park:


Dark-eyed Junco - Holbrook-Palmer Park, Atherton CA

Dark-eyed Junco - Holbrook-Palmer Park, Atherton CA

And one more Scrub-Jay in a different part of the park.

California Scrub-Jay - Holbrook-Palmer Park, Atherton CA

Finally, one of the best photos I took on the day was this Black Phoebe.

Black Phoebe - Holbrook-Palmer Park, Atherton CA

It was time to go check into my hotel and plan the next day's birding activities.

October 7 Part 1 - Pescadero State Park, CA

I wanted to do something different with my last birding day before going home. In 2013 and 2015, I birded only on the East Bay. This year I decided to visit the West Coast and try to see some different birds. There was species one in particular that was reasonably common over on that side that I'd never seen.

Getting from east to west sounds easy but there are limited options for doing so. There are two available routes that both involve crossing the Santa Cruz mountain range. These are two lane highways with lots of traffic on the weekends.

Google gave me two options and the GPS elected to send me on the grey route through Half Moon Bay.






From there I turned south and first stopped at Pescadero Beach.



As mentioned in previous posts, the first bird of the day was a White-crowned Sparrow.


White-crowned Sparrow - Pescadero State Park Beach, Pescadero CA

There were some large rocks on the beach which were accessible by foot. On top of them I found some Black Turnstones, a common Pacific shorebird.

Black Turnstone - Pescadero State Park Beach, Pescadero CA

Usually when you see one of these birds there are others nearby.

Black Turnstone - Pescadero State Park Beach, Pescadero CA

Further out on the shore there was a huge rock formation that was home to numerous Pelicans, Cormorants and Gulls.

Brown Pelicans, Pelagic Cormorants and Heerman's Gulls -
Pescadero State Park Beach, Pescadero CA

There was one other rare species on the rocks, the Rock Pelican!

One of the main reasons I made the trip west was the chance to see a White-tailed Kite. This is a smallish raptor that is mostly white with black shoulders and a pure white tail. This and similar species are called Kites because of their hunting technique; they hover in one spot and then pounce on their unsuspecting prey.

I went inland following directions I'd printed. After parking I walked along an entrance road into a forested area in a creek valley. As I neared the valley bottom I spotted the bird in flight.

White-tailed Kite - Pescadero State Park, Pescadero CA

Life List #423 - 2017 Bird #208

Here's the kiting behaviour.

   White-tailed Kite - Pescadero State Park, Pescadero CA

My only regret is not getting clearer photos of this bird. It was only present for a few minutes and quite far away. 

When I got to the valley i met a couple of local birders and we swapped stories about the kite and other local birds. The only other bird we saw was a Black Phoebe.

Black Phoebe - Pescadero State Park, Pescadero CA

We parted company and I headed back to the East Bay for some afternoon birding. This had been a colourful outing with White-tailed Kite, White-crowned Sparrow, Brown Pelican, Black Turnstone, and Black Phoebe.

October 7 Part 2 - Redwood Shores

It took quite a while to get back from Pescadero, so I only had time for two more stops.  I decided to first visit Redwood Shores, an upscale waterfront community that is also home to a number of technology companies, including Oracle and Electronic Arts.

I had some good luck around the Oracle headquarters in 2015, but first went to see if the Radio Road Sewage ponds had been restored. I'd visited there in 2013 but the ponds were drained in 2014 due to avian infections. This year, they were still dry.

I did see one bird in a canal where I'd parked, a good shot of a Cormorant.

Double-crested Cormorant - Redwood Shores, CA

I then drove over to Oracle headquarters and parked in a small park just across the street. Here's a shot of the Oracle Campus.

I'd taken a great shot of a Black Phoebe in the park in 2015 and took this one in pretty much the same location. It could even be the same bird as two years ago.The phoebes sit in a high perch and sally out when they spot prey. This one came back with an unsuspecting dragonfly.

Black Phoebe - Redwood Shores, CA

The Belmont Slough is just behind the Oracle campus and there's usually some shorebirds in there. I did see a few species but this Egret was the only one that photographed well.

Snowy Egret - Redwood Shores, CA

I circled the Oracle campus as a Turkey Vulture flew over.

Turkey Vulture - Redwood Shores, CA

Oracle is still celebrating winning the America's Cup yacht race back in 2013. Their winning craft is displayed in the large pond at the front of the campus.

The pond is home to a few water birds such as this Pied-billed grebe.

Pied-billed Grebe - Redwood Shores, CA

And another cormorant:

Double-crested Cormorant - Redwood Shores, CA

The last notable birds of the day were a pair Eurasian Collared-Doves.

Eurasian Collared-dove - Redwood Shores, CA

I visited one other location that was devoid of birds, and then headed back to my hotel for dinner and sleep. I'd be flying home the next morning.