Sutro Heights and Land's End
by Harry Fuller and Myra Ulvang

Spring ***
Summer **½
Fall ***
Winter ****

This may be the only place in the world where you can spend a couple of hours in May and see Hooded Oriole, Pygmy Nuthatch, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Allen's Hummingbird, Black Phoebe, Black Oystercatcher, a Brandt's Cormorant nesting colony and, with a little luck, a few hundred thousand Sooty Shearwaters--all within a few minutes walk.

This area is easily reached by public transit or private car from other parts of San Francisco. For birders visiting for the first time from far away, this is a must. Bring a scope for ocean birds. In addition to the birds, the area has postcard views of cliff, rocks, Pacific Ocean and wind-sculpted trees.

THE AREA
The area is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It includes the open space of Sutro Heights Park and land north of Cliff House and west of 48th Avenue in San Francisco's northwest corner. It is adjacent to Ocean Beach and close to Golden Gate Park, Lincoln Park and the Presidio if you are planning a full day of birding in San Francisco.

SPECIALTY SPECIES AND SEASONS

SOME MORE BREEDING BIRDS NOT ALREADY MENTIONED
Mallard, Red-tailed Hawk in Sutro Heights, Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Tree and Barn Swallow, Winter Wren, American Robin, Northern Mockingbird in nearby residential areas, Song Sparrow near Sutro Baths, Brewer's and Red-winged Blackbirds, Dark-eyed Junco and House Finch which be quite yellow-headed in spring.

COMMON WINTERING BIRDS INCLUDE

MIGRANT TRAP
An added fall enticement: Merrie Way and the surrounding brush and trees are a decent migrant trap in September. It is the last refuge of birds on passage as they come in from the ocean, or face the crossing of the Golden Gate. Some of the San Francisco RARITIES that have turned up at Merrie Way and in Sutro Heights include: Tropical Kingbird, Lucy's, Prairie, Palm, Blackburnian and Blackpoll Warbler; Philadelphia Vireo, Clay-colored Sparrow, Northern Saw-Whet Owl. San Francisco's only recorded sightings of Gila Woodpecker and Mountain Bluebird come from this area.

TYPICAL FALL MIGRANTS HERE INCLUDE
Ash-throated, Pacific-slope, Olive-sided and Willow Flycatchers, all the western swallows plus Vaux's Swift, Lincoln's Sparrow, Black-headed Grosbeak, Western Tanager, Hutton's and Warbling Vireos, western warblers such as Orange-crowned, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow, Black-throated Gray, Nashville and Wilson's. Occasional locals show up here, out of their normal range: Acorn Woodpecker, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow-billed Magpies (who seem to come here in February-March), Spotted Towhee, Belted Kingfisher.

OCEAN BIRDING
Finally, if you have a scope, the season and clear weather can provide very rich birding over the ocean...a variety of shearwaters are possible with Black-vented regular in the fall, Fulmars, Black-legged Kittiwakes, unusual gulls or shorebirds are possible during migration or bad weather. A wide variety of alcids are found offshore and occasionally drift into sight. And waterfowl from Brant to puddle ducks sometimes drift or fly by. Check the feeding flocks on the ocean for the locally scarce Red-necked Grebes, Long-tailed Duck and other possible treats.

HAWKS SEEN IN THE AREA
Red-tailed, Red-shouldered, Cooper's, Merlin, American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Osprey.

A GOOD NOVEMBER DAY
And a good day in November could net you a list including 3 loon species, six gulls, Bushtit, Wandering Tattler, Surfbird, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Townsend's Warbler, California Towhee, two or three scoter species, three cormorant species, an Anna's Hummingbird on a nest and both kinglets.

HOW TO BIRD THIS AREA
Show up early, of course. The parapet north of Sutro Baths, west of Merrie Way is a good place to start. Merrie Way is a large unpaved parking lot with a glorified name. It comes off the north side of Point Lobos Boulevard east of Louie's Cafe and the Cliff House. From this parapet you can scope for seabirds, check the offshore rocks and the onshore rocks, plus you will have good view into Sutro Baths. The Baths are the ruins of a once-grand indoor swimming pool complex. Here you should check the NEARSHORE WATERS for seasonal birds like Pigeon Guillemot, Brown Pelican, Heermann's Gulls, scoters, loons, Western Grebe. Year-round you can find cormorant, Black Oystercacther on the rocks, Western Gull and possibly Common Murre (further out). Terns may go past, spring through fall. Pelagic birds are possible any time of year in the scoping distance.

The rock-loving SHOREBIRDS should be found on either on the breakwater along the Baths' western edge, directly beneath the parapet or on the offshore rocks--Black Oystercatcher, turnstones, Surfbird and Wandering Tattler. Check the little beach bewteen the Baths and Fisherman's Rock just offshore for sand-loving shorebirds(Willet, Marbled Godwit, Whimbrel, Sanderlings,etc). During migration, shorebirds may turn up on the mud next to the baths. Occasional Phalarope will swirl around in the Baths.

The CLIFF HOUSE and OCEAN BEACH are just south of this area and an easy walk. The Cliff House's west side has a fine viewing deck for more scoping. Also, there you can spot the more common sand-loving shorebirds on Ocean Beach from August through April. A pair of Common Ravens nest on the cliff just south of Camera Obscura which is between the Cliff House and the ocean on this viewing deck.

During MIGRATIONS there are several good spots
to check for birds on the move, including some rarities. Both west and north of Merrie Way check the albizia, a locust-like exotic shurb that grows into large bushes with many small leaves and bean pods in the fall. Down the slope from Merrie Way you should see a small cluster of willows which demark a freshwater spring feeding into Sutro Baths. These trees and the bushes on the slope often shelter migrant flocks.

Across Point Lobos Boulevard in Sutro Heights Park, check the un-cultivated area around the small paved parking lot. Up in Sutro heights park check the cypress trees, and the eucalyptus along 48th Avenue near Geary if they are in bloom. Sometimes migrant flocks will move down into the lower trees on the south side of cultivated part of Sutro Heights and further south into the brush and cypress on the slope which has no formal trails.

FINDING WINTER BIRDS:
During the winter,expect to find Golden-crowned and Fox Sparrows in the shady, brushy area just west of 48th Avenue uphill from Merrie Way. Often there is a mixed flock of Golden-crowned and White-crowned Sparrows around the highest mound of sand in Sutro Heights Park just off 48th Avenue near Anza. Check for vagrants, especially in the fall.
Wintering gleaner flocks can attract rare or vagrant birds. They are often best located by listening for the chatter of the Pygmy Nuthatches who are rarely silent. Learn their call if you don't already know it. Another vocal group in the flocks is usually the Chestnut-backed Chickadee gangs which will sound much like any tit or chickadee you've heard elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere. In these winter flocks will also likely be Yellow-rumped Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a Brown Creeper or two, a few Townsend Warblers, a Downy Woodpecker and possibly a Northern Flicker, some Golden-crowned Kinglets and any seed-eaters attracted by the activity. Bushtits may gravitate to the gleaner flocks but rarely get above 20 feet in elevation. Hutton's Vireo do winter in San Francisco but are not common this close to the ocean. Try Middle Lake in Golden Gate Park. The gleaner flocks will usually be in cypress or the winter blooming bushes and eucalyptus scattered around the park.

MISCELLANEOUS BIRDS:
Black Phoebes nest in the cement box between the spring and the Sutro Baths. On windy days and in winter they often hunt in protected open spots with a low perch. The California Towhees are ground feeders and prefer small open areas near heavy brush. They are up early and one of the last birds to stop feeding at night. They are often in pairs. Check above the small paved parking lot at Sutro Heights, the wilder area west of the end of Anza Street or the brushy patch behind the bus stop at Pt. Lobos and 48th Avenue.

The Anna's HUMMINGBIRDS tend to be abundant in fall and winter, nesting even during rainy season. The Allen's are around from February until August and will often next in low, dense cypress branches. Watch for either species around blooming plants. The male Anna's in the fall may be seen flying straight up and then making his straight-down dive with a sudden swoop up and wing-snap just before he reaches earth.

The resident Red-tailed Hawks have been nesting in a pile of sticks on the west side of a tall Norfolk Island Pine just about twenty yards east & uphill from the small Sutro Heights paved parking lot.

The Hooded Orioles nest in Sutro Heights Park. The female uses threads from the fingers of the fan palms to weave their nests. In spring listen for the soft whistle note of the calling male. He usually perches high in a tree but not at the top.

TRANSPORTATION TO THE AREA:
You can reach Sutro Heights/Baths and Land's End from the Financial District or Union Square via the Muni bus line 38 Geary.

CLIMATE:
Be prepared for wind, fog, cool temps or bright sunshine. Bring sun screen from April to October. Also carry water. There are some places to get food or sit down for a meal in this area. Louie's is a classic Amwerican cafe with a billionaire's view of the Pacific and Sutro Baths.

SOME HISTORIC POINTS OF INTEREST:
The nearby Cliff House is one of the oldest centers of dining and entertainment in San Francisco. The first Cliff House building was erected in the 1850s. Adolph Sutro, millionaire engineer and developer and mayor of San Francisco, once owned this entire area. He designed & built the Baths in the 1880s which were once the largest indoor swimming pool complex in the world. Louie's has a poster in the window showing what the Baths were like. There are many more historic photos inside the Cliff House restaurant. The Baths were burned down in 1962.

Sutro himself lived on the heights. His home stood near the largest big cypress tree and fire hydrant at the southwest corner of the lawn area, just east of the stairway that goes up to that end of the Sutro Heights viewing parapet (not the one at the Baths). His garden at the Heights was once full of sculptures and Victorian out buildings...few still exist but Diana, the stag and the well house give you a small flavor. Sutro put in a railroad to bring people to his Baths and Cliff House. If you follow the trail north from the northwest corner of 48th and Point Lobos, then keeping going after it turns east, you will be following the old railroad bed. That path will eventually take you to Lincoln Park and the Palace of the Legion of Honor art museum.

At the northwest corner of the Sutro Heights parapet you will find the remnants of a World War II gun emplacement, preparation for a Japanese invasion that never happened. One other military relic--part of the bullet-riddled bridge of the "USS San Francisco" looks over the ocean from its permanent berth at the north end of 48th Avenue/El Camino del Mar. The ship was involved in one of the bloodiest naval battles in the Pacific during WW II.

The western cliff face of Sutro Heights drops almost straight down to the Great Highway opposite the Cliff House. From there you can look up and see that cliff face is almost entirely artificial, to prevent erosion and rock falls onto the roadway.

There is an ancient midden from the feasts of Native Americans. It sits in a fenced-off area atop the hill above the parapet north of the Baths. They hauled their shellfish up the cliff face, then dined while sitting on a ledge that still affords one of the greatest ocean views you can find anywhere.

Finally, nearly all the PLANT LIFE in Sutro Heights and on Land's End is the result of deliberate or accidental introduction from elsewhere. The willows and the yellow bush lupine are among the few natives. Even the Monterey pine and Monterey cypress were transplanted from further south. Many other salt-tolerant exotics were brought from Australia, South Africa and other areas with similar climate.
This whole area is under the jurisdiction of the Golden Gate National recreation Area. There is no admission charge, no closing times.