Crissy Field Marsh & Presidio Tunnel Tops
November 22, 2023
(37°48’10″N 122°27’21″W)
Elevation = 30 ft & Sea Level
https://ebird.org/checklist/S154992359
Site Description:
Presidio Tunnel Tops is an urban area with a mixture of urban buildings and playgrounds with a lot of grass fields and trees as well. Just by walking around you can hear a large variety of birds. There were also a lot of children and dogs present, as it does have quite a few playgrounds and open areas for them to enjoy. It is walking distance from Crissy Field Marsh, which is home to a variety of shorebirds and aquatic birds. We saw a great egret preening and looking for food in the water, and 200+ gulls just chilling (see featured image). Honestly I wasn’t expecting to see that many birds so I was shocked that we did.
Species Account:
Common/European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
I chose to do the European Starling as there were SO MANY of them here and they were literally terrorizing people for their food. The European Starling, also known as the Common Starling, are found all over North and South America year-round. I was surprised to learn that they were first brought to North America by Shakespeare enthusiasts in the nineteenth century. They’re found in urban areas, and tend to nest in cavities. The males start building the nest before they even mate, and can be built in 1-3 days. Both male and female birds incubate the eggs. They tend to eat insects, and are ground foragers which makes sense based on their diet. The starling in the photo I attached above is a non-breeding adult/immature, which you can tell by its dark beak, and more brownish features. I was sad to find out that they only live 2-3 years, as they’re really cute birds and its sad that they have a short lifespan.
Narrative:
Fiza and I went birding together for this At-Home Thanksgiving Field Trip! We chose to go to the Presidio Top Tunnels, and and from there walked down to the Crissy Field Marsh. When we arrived the first thing we noticed was the large amount of gulls. At first I thought there were only Western Gulls, but I was surprised to learn that there were Ring-billed and Glaucous-winged gulls as well. At the Presidio Top Tunnels there was a huge amount of European Starlings, and they were not afraid of humans at all. Some were coming up to people and singing, and even stealing food from them. I saw a few try to snatch fries out of a women’s hand! I actually ended up feeding a few some leftover lettuce and mushrooms I had so that the folks sitting near us would be able to enjoy their food. After this we made our way down to the Crissy Field Marsh, where we saw many birds that we’ve seen before at our past field trips. For example, the Great Egret and Great Blue Heron. We were shocked at the amount of gulls that were present, there were well over 200. Overall it was a successful birding trip and we got to see a lot of cool birds!
Sources:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/European_Starling/lifehistory