Towheeblog

 SAN FRANCISCO

A four hour walk in the park netted an even 50 species of birds today plus numerous red tree squirrels and three monarch butterflies. Nesting birds were large and small; Great Blue Herons had three well grown young on a nest at Stow Lake.  Later I saw a Pygmy Nuthatch nest hole, two young were fledged and on nearby perches while the adult birds ferried food to at least one laggard nestling still inside.

Best bird of the day: a White-throated Sparrow at north end of North Lake, consorting with California Towhees and three white bantam roosters.  One such towhee below:

Anna’s hummer male. Brown Creeper, creeping up. Note the foot size on this relatively tiny bird.    Above:  only Lesser Goldfinch I saw in four hours. Below: gull needs molt.

Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, US-CA
Apr 9, 2015      6.0 mile(s). 50 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  X
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  80
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)  1
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris)  20
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)  2
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)  1
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  3
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)  8
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus)  1     Spreckels Lake
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  5     nesting, Stow Lake, three nestlings
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  1
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)  1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  2
American Coot (Fulica americana)  50
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)  60
California Gull (Larus californicus)  2
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)  1
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens)  2
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon))  X
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  2
Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna)  4
Allen’s Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin)  2
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)  1
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)  6
Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)  2
Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)  1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  6
Common Raven (Corvus corax)  20
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  40
Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina)  5
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens)  1
Pygmy Nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea)  15
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)  2
Pacific Wren (Troglodytes pacificus)  2
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  25
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)  20
Wilson’s Warbler (Cardellina pusilla)  3
California Towhee (Melozone crissalis)  9
Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca)  2
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  30
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)  1     north  end of North Lake
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)  8
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla)  4
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)  12
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  20
Brewer’s Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus)  5
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)  30
Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus)  12
Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria)  1
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)  X