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« EA 110 – Field Ornithology – Class VII
To Chicago! »

Birding at Chain of Lakes (SF)

22 October, 2007 by Adam R. Paul

Saturday was the 3rd field trip w/my fellow Field Ornithology students, led by our instructor, Joe Morlan, and we had a good outing, although no rarities were seen.

A banded Red-tailed Hawk at Middle Lake

A cancer fundraising run was also in this area of the park, and while I certainly support any and all efforts to find a cure for any and all cancers, it did make for quieter birding than usual, since there were several thousand more people in the area than on most other days.

We met up at the parking lot between South Lake and Middle Lake on Chain Of Lakes Drive in Golden Gate Park.  Since there were so many people afoot, South Lake, not very birdy in my experience on the best of days, had only a few Mallards in it, so we headed to Middle Lake.

A clearing by the lake, at which I’ve often seen Chickadees, Creepers, and various Warblers was eerily quiet, with a Great Blue Heron standing sentinel in the reeds, and little else.  A Red-tailed Hawk perched on a tree by the lake, and through a scope we could almost, but not quite, read its band numbers.

 
Crossing guard for the cancer walk/run

Some American Coots and a Pied-billed Grebe foraged at the lake’s edge, and a female-type Northern Pintail swam alone by the south shore, and that being about that, we continued to North lake.  The south end of North Lake was also quiet, with Mallards and Coots and a(nother?) Great Blue Heron.  Things picked up on the northwest side, though, with a Hairy Woodpecker, many flycatching Yellow-rumped Warblers, a spiffy male Common Yellowthroat, and the usual myriad Black Phoebes.


Neat orange’ish spider at North Lake

We took a short break from birding to admire some large spiders that had congregated along the path – I don’t know my arachnids, but these were pretty.  Someone suggested a detour to the forest west of North Lake, and this proved the most productive spot of the day.

 
Northern “Red-shafted” Flicker

The sparse coniferous forest (human-planted, like everything else in Golden Gate Park)  is great habitat, and in short order we saw Norther Flickers, Common Ravens, a Red-tailed Hawk (possibly the same one from Middle Lake) a small flock of Cedar Waxwings, Brown Creepers, Pygmy Nuthatches, and yet more Yellow-rumped Warblers.   A little walking turned up both White-crowned and Golden-crowned Sparrows, along with a Hermit Thrush and a California Towhee.  A Turkey Vulture soared overhead, and several American Robins foraged in the pine duff.

 
Cedar Waxwings

We made our way back to North Lake and walked around the east side, not seeing much at all, although an obliging Anna’s Hummingbird did hang around long enough for photo ops.

 
Anna’s Hummingbird

Next we walked around the equine area west of Middle Lake, a part of the park I hadn’t visited before.   It’s not especially scenic, with some equipment storage sheds and horse corrals, but we did get a great look at a Lincoln’s Sparrow, which came uncharacteristically close before running off into a shady wood tangle.


Lincoln’s Sparrow

It was nearly noon by this time, and so we returned to the lot and went our separate ways.  This was a fun outing, and considering the crowds in the park, was still pretty birdy.

Birds seen (37 species):
– American Coot
– American Crow
– American Goldfinch
– American Robin
– Anna’s Hummingbird
– Black Phoebe
– Brown Creeper
– California Towhee
– Cedar Waxwing
– Chestnut-backed Chickadee
– Common Raven
– Common Yellowthroat
– Dark-eyed “Oregon” Junco
– Downy Woodpecker
– Golden-crowned Sparrow
– Great Blue Heron
– Great Egret
– Hermit Thrush
– Lincoln’s Sparrow
– Mallard
– Northern “Red-shafted” Flicker
– Northern Pintail
– Pied-billed Grebe
– Pygmy Nuthatch
– Red-shouldered Hawk
– Red-tailed Hawk
– Ruby-crowned Kinglet
– Ruddy Duck
– Song Sparrow
– Steller’s Jay
– Townsend’s Warbler
– Turkey Vulture
– Western Gull
– Western Scrub-Jay
– White-crowned Sparrow
– Yellow-rumped “Audubon’s” Warbler

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Posted in Birding, Nature, Photography | 5 Comments

5 Responses

  1. on 23 October, 2007 at 10:46 mon@rch

    I just love all your photos, even the crossing guard! LOL! great birding day for sure!


  2. on 23 October, 2007 at 23:10 aullori

    WOW your Red-tailed Hawk is so amazingly clear. These are really gorgeous shots. I have to say of all the birds I had photo’ed the cedar waxwing was the toughest. You did a fabulous job here… and so many! And I love the moxie *smile* of your sparrow! that boy has attitude! Beautiful shots.. wow, it’s so nice to see a bird again. I think thru the winter months I’ll be totally reliant on your site to give my birding fix!


  3. on 24 October, 2007 at 18:36 Bernie Kasper

    Great shots Adam, love the hawk, the spider is pretty cool as well.

    The crossing guard scares me a little though 🙂


  4. on 29 October, 2007 at 21:55 nouveaufauves

    Cne of my favorite birds. Thanks for this shot for all of us bird lovers to be thrilled by. I like to see this bird in flight. Amazingly graceful. We have a raptor center here in Charlotte where injured birds are cared for and returned to the wild. There is a strict ban on killing them but other injuries occur.


  5. on 31 October, 2007 at 10:23 Adam R. Paul

    Monarch: Thanks!

    Aullori: Yeah, I haven’t had a lot of luck getting close photos of Waxwings. I will do my best to bird’ify your winter, as we have quite a lot of wintering birds in these parts, and I have a half-dozen or so field trips lined up for the rest of the calendar year.

    Bernie: I’m not sure if the spider or crossing guard’s outfit is scarier!

    Nouveau Fauves: Glad you enjoyed!



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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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