8/30/23

Golden Gate Park

McLaren Lodge/Horseshoe Pits/Northeast Entrance

37.7694° N, 122.4862° W, 233 ft

https://ebird.org/checklist/S148545427

For this field trip we visited Golden Gate Park, and walked through paths surrounded by a variety of different trees, but also flat grass areas surrounded by sidewalks and runners. The area was a mix of urban, but also secluded. We saw a variety of different bird species, such as the Pygmy Nuthatch (which we saw 15 of!), the Steller’s Jay, and many more. One bird that stood out to me was the Nuttal’s Woodpecker. I remember when we initially saw it, Professor Paul thought that it was the Red-Breasted Sapsucker because it appeared that the bird’s whole head was red. But after it turned, we realized that it was in fact not the Red-Breasted Sapsucker, but the Nuttal’s Woodpecker (Dryobates nutallii). The Nuttal’s Woodpecker is about kind of small, with a whitish-grayish front and black with spotted white wings. It also appears to have a little red mohawk. They tend to prefer to live in the oak woodlands of California, which resembles where we spotted it. We saw it working its way up a thick branch of a large tree (could be an oak), pecking on it as if it was looking for some insects. We spotted it on a tree that was around many other trees, which were on the right of a sandy path that many bikers were biking up. Apparently it likes to circle around branches in search of food (insects), nest in cavities, live in open woodlands (similar to where we found it), and forage in bark (All About Birds, Cornell Lab). It is also of low conservation concern. They tend to be found in California only, and limited parts of Oregon (National Audubon Society). They are monogamous and tend to mate from April to May, and lay 3–6 eggs on average (All About Birds, Cornell Lab). We bird watched for about two hours (10-12ish) in pretty hot weather conditions (Around 70-75 degrees). I really enjoyed it because I’ve always wanted to go bird watching but never had a chance to, and it was really cool to be able to see the birds I often hear up close using my binoculars. I’m the type of person who likes to look for birds and look around if I hear a chirping nose, so this class is the perfect opportunity for me to learn how to identify them. I kept having to adjust my binoculars because my glasses were kind of throwing me off (the struggles of being blind😅), so that’s one thing I hope to improve on! I definitely underestimated the amount of walking that we were going to do, and plan to be better prepared for the future (better running shoes and water!). Overall, this was really fun and I look forward to our next field trip!