Date: Thursday (January 30th, 2020)

Location: Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA.

Latitude and Longitude: (37.773860, -122.455811)

Elevation: about 92.0 m

Site Description: We mainly visited the northeast corner of Golden Gate Park. The area was at different elevations as there were various inclines and hills. The site had dirt trails and many trees along the sides of the trails, along with some shrub areas. Some areas were shaded by trees, while others were widely open and birds could be seen clearly soaring in the sky. It is a common tourist attraction and the noises of people and cars can be heard throughout the park. The key bird species that were seen included: Bushtit, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Common Raven, Anna’s Hummingbird, Gull, Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon), Red-tailed Hawk, Black Pheobe, Steller’s Jay, California Scrub-Jay,  American Crow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and the rare find of a Red-naped Sapsucker.

Species Account: Dark-Eyed Junco was one of the main species that was commonly seen in the park during this trip. Juncos are one of the most common birds in North America. Junco adults typically have gray heads, necks, and breasts, gray or brown backs and wings, and a white belly. They can show a large amount of variation in their coloration. The white outer tail feathers flash distinctively while the bird is moving. The male adults tend to be darker than females. Juncos are small birds– typically the size of sparrows and larger than other birds like hummingbirds. Their habitat includes coniferous areas or mixed forest areas throughout North America. Juncos forage on the ground and mainly eat seeds and some insects (All About Birds). Juncos tend to be monogamous and defend their territory during the nesting/breeding season. Males do a bow, quiver their wings, fan their tail in display in the attempt to attract the female (Wild Bird Watching). Juncos build their nests in a depression in the ground that is hidden by vegetation or shrubs (All About Birds).

Narrative: The class walked to Golden Gate Park for this field trip. We left around 9 am on Thursday morning. It was a sunny day with little to no cloud coverage. It was warm weather and there were many birds visible in trees, shrubs, on the ground, and in the sky. There were a few other birders who were also out during the day and they were able to identify a rare find (Red-naped Sapsucker) for our class and also explained why it is a unique find in the area. This was a very informative field trip as it allowed me to get a better idea of how to use the binoculars to observe birds along with seeing the vast diversity of birds that can be present in such a little amount of land.

Additional Photos or Media: https://ebird.org/checklist/S63954108