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« “The Song of the Dodo” by David Quammen
Birding at Lake Merced and Chain of Lakes (SF) »

Birding @ Sutro Baths and Sutro Heights Park (SF)

2 September, 2007 by Adam R. Paul

After birding hardly at all in August, I finally made it out this morning to see what was a-wing in northwestern San Francisco.

It was a typical early September day, warm and sunny, without a cloud in sight. For those of you who don’t know SF’s somewhat unique weather patterns, the coast is socked in with fog for most of the summer, blanketing roughly the western half of the city, and keeping temperatures mild (mid-60s) in the rest of it. September is typically our most summery month, with a good two solid weeks of warm’ish weather, almost, but not quite warm enough to get the shorts out of the back of the closet, where they live for 11 months of the year.


Brown Pelicans, Heermann’s Gulls, Brandt’s Cormorants and Western Gulls on Seal Rocks

I parked at the lot at Sutro Heights Park, and made my way down to the terraces at the Cliff House to see what was on the offshore rocks, collectively called “Seal Rocks,” although a more apt name would be “Brandt’s Cormorant Rocks.” There were very few birds on the water, but numerous Brandt’s Cormorants, Western Gulls, and Brown Pelicans, and a half-dozen Heermann’s Gulls perched atop the rocks.


Brown Pelican (Pelicanus occidentalis)

The terraces at the Cliff House feature nice views south along 4-mile-long Ocean Beach, which today had a few hardy souls swimming in the surf, along with the usual cadre of surfers and kayackers.


Camera Obscura at the Cliff House

The Camera Obscura on the lower terrace was closed and appears to be in disrepair – a shame since I’ve never been in it, and it’s an interesting-looking building.


Western Gulls (Larus occidentalis)

A pair of obliging alternate-plumaged Western Gulls posed for me on a ledge, but even they weren’t enough to make me stay, so up the hill, past Louie’s, and down to the ruins of Sutro Baths I went.


Sutro Baths ruins

Sutro Baths, once the largest indoor pool in the world, burned down in the 1960s, and is now a nice set of ruins, with very good birdwatching sometimes, and lovely views anytime it’s not socked in with fog.


Western Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens)

 

On the path down, I saw little other than Brewer’s Blackbirds and a single Western Scrub Jay – the area was recently completely cleared of invasive brush, and much bird habitat was lost, although it will be much better once the newly-planted native species grow up.


The Cliff House’s 5th incarnation, this one a touch modern for my liking.

In what’s left of the former main pool was a single juvenile Red-necked Phalarope, being mercilessly harassed by a nearby flock of Brewer’s Blackbirds, and some Western Gulls came and splashed, and went.


Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus)

Walking along the edge of the pool, where I’ve often found Black Turnstones and Surfbirds turned up nothing at all, so I turned around and hoofed it up to the observation deck at the northwest end of the ruins.


Heermann’s Gull (Larus heermanni)

Here again I saw little, mostly more of the same save for a single Common Murre far off in the water. Although I didn’t have my scope, a scan with my bins showed a very empty ocean by and large.


Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)

 

I walked up the newly-refurbished stairs leading from the terrace up to the Coastal Trail. Hummingbirds peeped and popped, but remained out of sight, but a curious Black Phoebe came close to check me out.


One of the pair of lions guarding the entrance to Sutro Heights Park

I crossed the Great Highway and entered Sutro Heights Park, one of my favorite parks in the city, once home to Adolph Sutro’s mansion and statue garden. He built a train from downtown to his mansion so the public could enjoy the art in the garden, but sadly little of it remains, and that which does isn’t in great condition.

Parapet ruin of Sutro’s mansion

Much like the baths, I saw little at the park other than a Cooper’s(?) Hawk that did a brief fly-by, a few Anna’s Hummingbirds, and Common Ravens overhead. I enjoyed the lovely view south for a few, then walked back, seeing few birds indeed.


View south from Sutro Heights Park

Although not a very birdy excursion, it was still great to be outside enjoying the San Francisco summer – hopefully I’ll have better luck tomorrow at Lake Merced.

Birds seen:
– Anna’s Hummingbird
– Black Oystercatcher (heard)
– Black Phoebe
– Brandt’s Cormorant
– Brewer’s Blackbird
– Brown Pelican
– California Towhee
– Common Murre
– Common Raven
– Cooper’s(?) Hawk
– Great Egret
– Heermann’s Gull
– Red-necked Phalarope
– Rock Pigeon
– Swallow sp.
– Turkey Vulture
– Western Gull
– Western Scrub Jay
– White-crowned Sparrow

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Posted in Birding, Nature, Photography | 7 Comments

7 Responses

  1. on 2 September, 2007 at 21:28 montucky

    Seems to me you had a very productive day. Lots of excellent photos! I really enjoy seeing them! I love the shot of the Black Phoebe! That’s really cute!


  2. on 3 September, 2007 at 07:43 Bernie Kasper

    Great images Adam, the Pelican in flight, the Black Phoebe, and I especially like the Western Gulls, very nice photography here. Wonderful scenery, lots of birds and some nice images… must have been a great time.


  3. on 3 September, 2007 at 14:18 Mary Carlson

    Great photos, Adam. My fave has to be the black phoebe. It looks as if it posed for you. 😉 My second fave would be the brown pelican. I think I should look into getting myself a digital camera with a 20-400x (or something like that). My little point and shoot is only a 10x zoom – not enough power for birds flying over the bay or ocean. Your scrub jay looks a little “raggedy” – guess it’s that time of year when they begin to lose their breeding plumage. Thanks for sharing. I look forward to your Merced trip. Hope you got lots of pix!


  4. on 3 September, 2007 at 14:47 Adam R. Paul

    Montucky: Thanks, I was especially pleased that the Phoebe sat for me as long as it did 🙂

    Bernie: Thank you! Especially on a perfect sunny day, this is a very fine area for enjoying nature in an urban environment.

    Mary: Unless you’re going to spend the money on a digital SLR and a decent super-telephoto lens, you’re better off buying a good pair of binoculars, spotting scope, and tripod and just enjoying the view. I don’t know of any compact ultra-zoom cameras that could be expected to give good results for bird photograpy – speed and low-light performance are just too important, and those are exactly what digicams do _not_ excel at. Nothing against P&S cameras – in fact, all of the non-bird photos above were taken with my little Pansonic DMC-FX01. At any rate, keep shooting! And thanks – Lake Merced was OK, but I had a great birdy day today – more on that soon 🙂


  5. on 3 September, 2007 at 16:53 mon@rch

    Great post and I love your photos! That one with the Phalarope shot is top notch for sure! I would have had 8 lifers on that trip!


  6. on 4 September, 2007 at 12:26 aullori

    I’m a big fan of both your phoebe shot and your scrub jay – and that close up of the gulls is amazing. Really for not being really a birdy excursion I have to say you did an amazing job. I’ll look it up but I really hope to run into the scrub jay one day. (This view is a first for me.)


  7. on 4 September, 2007 at 13:06 Adam R. Paul

    Monarch: Thanks! Phalaropes are tough to photograph since they’re so darned tiny and usually don’t like to be near people, but this one was in a smallish pool and didn’t have a choice.

    Aullori: Western Scrub Jays and Steller’s Jays are the common Jays throughout much of California. Looks like you’ll have to head south to find them, though – according to Sibley, their northernmost range is southern Washington.



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    I am an avid nature lover and amateur photographer, living in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury. On this blog, you will find photos and narratives from birdwatching outings, hikes, as well as any other random travels. For more information, see here.
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