Bird Journal Entry #10:

DATE: 4/21/2020

Location: 37.7710, -122.4868 approx.

Site Description: 

The place I visited this week was in Golden Gate Park. I walked from 26th ave to 48th ave on JFK drive. The skies were extremely clear and it was about 62 degrees Fahrenheit.The terrain of the park is a mixed riparian forest because there is a river that runs from a waterfall into a river along JFK. The urban park is full of angiosperms, conifers, and small lakes, so the bird species found are very diverse. Prior in the semester we went to Golden Gate Park, but in this outing I explored a new part of the park. I started birding at Spreckels lake and then continued on down JFK toward Ocean beach. The species I observed were Canada Goose (7), Mallard (14), Band-tailed pigeon (2), Anna’s Hummingbird (1), Rufous/Allen’s Hummingbird (1), American Coot (5), Double-crested Comorant (4), Black Phoebe (3), Steller’s Jay (1), Common Raven (3), Western Bluebird (5), and American Robin (11).

Species Account: 

The species I wanted to focus on this week was the Double-breasted Cormorant. Cormorant’s are large waterbirds that are noticeable by their black body and yellow beak coloring. I saw these birds in two different lakes in Golden gate Park, but both of the bodies of water resembled one another. These birds look like water dinosaurs because they have long necks and sleek black bodies that are different from other waterbirds. The have hooked bills and are known for diving under the water. Their nature on constantly diving made it difficult to spot them when I was birding, but luckily some were standing on rocks in the middle of the lake. These cormorants are the most widespread in North America and they tend to breed on the coast, which makes sense because Ocean beach is not far from where I saw them. They were floating in the center of the lake, but not swim close to one another. I found that interesting until I realized that many forage for their meals of fish and frogs and water plants alone. I found out that that the male mating ritual is to flap their wings aggressively through the water and then swim in a snake-like pattern to attract females. This ritual is very fascinating because various species of birds have different mating habits and I think this one in particular is very cool.

 

Narrative

This week I went birding in San Francisco. I came back up to San Francisco from SoCal so I could pack some of my things. I was able to go to park and explore some places with my roommates that I had not previously explored before. We went around 4 pm and started at Sprekels lake. I wanted to hopefully see some new water/shorebirds because the week prior I had heard that Muscovy ducks were seen in the park, but I didn’t identify any on this excursion. At the lake we saw a few double-breasted cormorants and they were highly distinguishable compared to the other shorebirds because of their yellow beaks and longer necks. We continued to walk around the lake and saw a pack of Canada geese glide in to the center of the lake. There were surprisingly many seagulls around the lake. Also, I saw turtles swimming in the lake which was unique because I had ran by that particular lake many times, but had never seen the turtles. As we continued to walk down the path we went behind the where the bison paddock was and saw many house finches. Then, out of nowhere there was a small group of western bluebirds that flew over. I enjoyed seeing their iridescent blue coloring illuminated by the sun setting on them. We also saw a Stellar’s Jay walking across the path, which we had seen before on our birding field trips, but I am still in awe their stunning blue and black coloring. As we finished our walk we stopped by another smaller lake snd saw a some red-winged blackbirds, which my friends were fascinated with as well as some American Robins and a couple of California Towhee’s. Overall, this birding excursion was very refreshing because I not only got to practice identifying many birds we had seen before, but also the weather was wonderful and I was glad I got to share this experience with my roommates.

https://ebird.org/checklist/S67633419

Citations:

Double-crested Cormorant Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Double-crested_Cormorant/id

Double-crested Cormorant. (2019, November 26). Retrieved from https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/double-crested-cormorant
Caption: American Coot floating in Spreckel’s Lake
Caption: Bison spotted on our birding excursion