San Francisco offers many fine birding sites besides its large parks. Virtually any park with a wooded edge can be expected to yield birds at one time of the year or another. Here are a few neighborhood sites. In a addition to these you can bird such parks as Buena Vista, Mt. Davidson, Golden Gate Heights, Walton Square, Twin Peaks, and Sutro Heights; or other spots-Pier 98, The Embarcadero, the Russian Hill Steps, Fort Mason, the unused reservoir across the street from City College of San Francisco and the grounds of the Laguna Honda Home.
The Zoo is located in the southwest corner of the city on Sloat Boulevard, has some potential as a birding site. Officially known as the San Francisco Zoological Gardens, it is most productive on weekdays and in the early Morning. Don't even think about it on pleasant weekend days or on the first Wednesday of the month (free day) when large crowds are attracted. Just walking the paths, particularly by the many paddocks, will provide a rich variety of birds at almost any season. Most breeding species found in the city's Parks can be found here as well. Winter provides an opportunity to pick up vagrant or two. A spot that is particularly interesting is the untended area to the east of the Grizzly Bear enclosure. A Black-and-White Warbler and an Ovenbird have been found here. And there are usually a few more common, but interesting, birds in this unique little spot. Wintering ducks, gulls and other waterbirds often use the ponds that are home to a number of exotic species. Waders-including Cattle Egrets-often invade the zoo's water habitats. The blackbird flocks should be checked for Tri-colored and Yellow-headed Blackbirds.
The Sigmund Stern Grove and Pine Lake Park are located at 19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard and continue west to about 34th Avenue. A Parking lot at the end of Vale Avenue (off Sloat Boulevard) is the best place to park. Winter and spring are the preferred times to bird these parks. The steep terrain of the canyon walls and the tall eucalyptus trees that dominate the areas make birding in the wood sections very difficult. Winter birds can usually be found feeding on the ground, in lower branches of blooming eucalyptus trees or feeding on fruiting shrubs. Breeding birds are much harder to find since many inhabit the forest canopy that is often not visible from the ground.
From the parking lot at the foot of Vale walk west though the meadows. The shrubs on the left (south) edge of the meadow are good for all local sparrows and usually a wintering White-throated Sparrow can be found there. The eucalyptus to the right bloom in winter and are an excellent winter habitat for insectivores which have included a Dusky-capped Flycatcher, a Summer Tanager and large numbers of warblers. Red-tailed Hawks usually winter here and Red-shouldered Hawks and Great Horned Owls are permanent residents. Flickers and robins are sometimes numerous on the meadow. At the west end of the meadow a walk around the pond may yield a duck or two. (Be sure to watch for insectivores in the willows around the lake.) Stop at any blooming eucalyptus and expect just about anything. The grasses at the lake's edge can be a good spot for sparrows including Lincoln's (winter).
East of the parking lot it is necessary to bird most of the area by ear. You can find Winter Wrens along the south side of the road in the dense underbrush and warblers near the edges of the meadows in small feeding flocks. One spot that frequently seems to have an interesting bird population is the roadway at the base of the hill beyond the outdoor stage. The eucalyptus blooms here during the early winter and a number of fruiting shrubs add to its attraction. A path through the redwood grove leads to a meadow that should be checked. From there go back to the building (the Tracadero House). Bird the hill behind this for a nice variety of wintering birds. Take any of the various trails back to the parking lot.
Glen Park is located at O'Shaughnessy Boulevard and Elk Street. This little canyon combines a eucalyptus stand and a riparian woodland at the canyon bottom. A trail follows both sides of the creek and offers interesting spring and winter birding. Watch for Red-tailed hawks, Downy Woodpeckers, Tree Swallows, Pygmy Nuthatches, Brown Creepers, Warbling Vireos, Orange-crowned Warblers, Wilson's Warblers, Song Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows, and Lesser Goldfinches, all of which breed there. Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeaks and Lazuli Buntings are recorded in most years. Other migrants, and even a few vagrants like Back-and-White Warbler and American Redstart have been observed. If the park were birded more frequently it is likely it would produce some very interesting birds.
McLaren Park is a little birded area that can provide some interesting birds. This is one of the parks which is best not birded alone. Try the riparian area and ponds off Shelly Boulevard for the widest variety of birds. It is one of the surest places in the city to find Western Meadowlark, Lesser Goldfinch and American Goldfinch. Expect most of the same species as elsewhere in the city. The wooded areas near the open grasslands make this a pretty good park for raptors, particularly in winter. Loggerhead Shrikes were once a sure thing here but they have disappeared from then open areas of this park as well as from other parks in the city. Redwood groves should be check for wintering Hermit and Varied Thrushes. Eucalyptus groves often have winter blooming trees and can be expected to provide habitat for a wide variety of insectivores.
Aquatic Park, located at the foot of Van Ness Avenue, provides a window on the Bay. It is best birded by first checking the little park at the end of van Ness. Check for many of our woodland species. Hummingbirds are usually around. Parrot-escaped caged birds and their offspring-can often be found in the trees above this area. Check the tall buildings in the neighborhood for a perching Merlin or Peregrine Falcon. The trees by the fast food stand provide day roosting sites for Black-crowned Night-Herons. When that area has been checked walk the length of the fishing pier. Look form gulls and terns, particularly Bonoparte's Gulls and Forster's and Caspian Terns. Brandt's and Double-crested Cormorants are most common, but Pelagic Cormorants can usually be seen flying over the bay or sitting on a nearby pier. Loons, Western and Clark's Grebes, Brown Pelican's, White-winged and Surf Scoters and quite a few other species can be seen from here as well.
Candlestick State Park is located at the southeastern corner of the city and is accessible from Highway 101. Be sure not to waste your time trying to bird this area if there is a football game at 3COM Park (the stadium). Special events scheduled for the off season are a problem too. This area is best not birded alone.
At low tide between September and April it is possible to see most of our local shorebirds on the mudflats along the entrance road and in the protected cove north of Candlestick Point. The open water is usually good for diving ducks including scaups, scoters, Common Goldeneyes, Buffleheads and Red-breasted Mergansers. Watch for Western, Clark's, Horned and Eared Grebes, all of our loons and all our cormorants. There is also an effort to establish a population of Burrowing Owls here.
Birding the stadium is pretty slow, but a list of half a dozen or so is likely. White-throated Swifts appear from April through July. A Red-tailed Hawk usually soars over the park at least once during a day game. During Migration expect an Osprey to check out the game and look for a Barn Owl passing by during a night game.
Sunset Reservoir is bounded by Quintera on the north, Ortega on the south, 24th Avenue on the east and 28th Avenue on the west. This is a prime winter gull watching spot. The reservoir is covered with a blacktop roof and the birds roost on it in large flocks. It should be birded with a scope from 24th Avenue and Quintera or down either street for about a block. During winter expect to see hundreds of Killdeer and Black-bellied Plovers. There is usually a large flock of Mew, California, Ring-billed, Glaucous-winged, Western, Herring and Thayer's Gulls. Even though the flock most frequently numbers a few hundred, it sometimes grows to over a thousand. During a December Herring run on San Francisco Bay. As many as 96 Thayer's Gulls have been counted resting on this reservoir. Of interest may be the fact that this is the only site in San Francisco at which Snowy Owl has ever been recorded. Other blacktop reservoirs around the city can be expected to yield similar species.
© 1985, 1996 Sequoia Audubon Society, used by permission