Ebird Checklist Location 1: https://ebird.org/checklist/S118281727
Ebird Checklist Location 2: https://ebird.org/checklist/S118289307
Date: September 7, 2022
Location 1: Muir Beach Overlook
Latitude, Longitude: 37.8627049, -122.5858114
Elevation: 489 ft (149 m)
Site Description: Immediately after crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and a long and windy road up, Muir Beach Overlook is one of the most beautiful and accessible points of view. It has an iconic staircase that leads down to a small overlook; overall, a very easy walk with a great payoff. Apparently, this overlook is one of several base station overlooks where soldiers watched the coastline for ships. There was coordination between the stations on this stretch of highway to find the distance of the boat from the coast. This was especially crucial during the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, where scouts stayed alert for future attacks.1 Now, after technological improvements, this is simply a landmark site for those who want to see the ocean and look back on history. Muir Beach is a sandy strip of coastline where Redwood Creek reaches the ocean, and it consists of high bluffs that border the beach along with wetlands and a lagoon. The overlook simply provides a spectacular panoramic view in every direction.2 This place, especially Redwood Creek at Muir Beach, contains many shorebirds, amphibians, salmon, and marshy plants. Currently, a partnership between the National Park Service and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy is restoring the network of wetlands, lagoon, and dunes by increasing the creek’s capacity, removing sediment from the creek bed, and improving fish habitat in the tidal lagoon.3 The picture below is a picture taken of the overlook.
Location 2: Road Next to Redwood Creek Off Shoreline Highway
Latitude, Longitude: 37.8669227, -122.5794320
Elevation: 82 ft (25 m) (Estimate based on location – could not find actual altitude)
Site Description: We turned off Shoreline Highway into a dusty dirt road bordering Redwood Creek. This was not the Redwood Creek Trial, but it was just a road paralleling the creek. There isn’t much to talk about the road there, but Redwood Creek itself flows free from the coastal mountains through protected redwood forests to eventually meet the Pacific Ocean near Orick. Unfortunately, through human involvement, what once was a rich and complex habitat for salmon, birds, and wildlife has become a shallow, warm and unsheltered environment.2 Conservation efforts are currently underway to try to protect and restore what was once a beautiful natural waterway.4 The forests around the road are composed of old-growth and second-growth conifer forests, which are then dominated by coastal redwoods. Through this habitat, a variety of animals, especially birds, can be seen. Examples include flycatchers, warblers, swifts, thrushes, jays, woodpeckers, ruffed grouse, and owls.5
The picture below shows the topography of location 1 and location 2.6
Species Account: Great Horned Owl – Bubo virginianus (Species name), Strigiformes (Order) > Strigidae (Family). These birds are large and thick-bodied with two feathered tufts, almost like horns, on their head, thus giving the name. Their wings are broad and rounded, and when flying, their rounded head and short bill combine to give an overall blunt-headed silhouette. These birds are between the size of a crow and a goose, and both sexes are between 18.1-24.8 in (46-63 cm) in length and weigh about 32.1-88.2 oz (910-2500 g) with a wingspan of 39.8-57.1 in (101-145 cm). These owls are a mottled gray-brown in color; they have a reddish brown face with a white patch on their throat. Overall, their color tone varies from bird to bird, ranging from sooty to pale, depending on their exact location. The color of the facial disk can also vary, and these birds have closely shaped baring underneath their tail. Similarly, the juveniles are covered in fluffy down with a white head contrasting with the yellow eyes and the darker facial disc. Like many others, these owls are nocturnal, and during the day, they usually rest and sleep by perching on horizontal branches. At dusk, they may be sitting on fence posts or tree limbs or even flying across with stiff, deep beats of their rounded wings. Their call is a deep, stuttering series of four to five hoots. These birds are usually in young woods cut between fields or other open areas. They reside in a variety of habitats, including deciduous and evergreen forests, swamps, deserts, tundra edges, and tropical rainforests, as well as cities, orchards, suburbs, and parks. This specific owl was spotted with his back turned to us, perched on the lowest horizontal branch of what I believe was a maple tree. These owls also have the most diverse diet of all North American raptors and eat anything from tiny rodents to geese and skunks. They eat mostly mammals and other birds, but also many other species, including bats and house cats, to name a few. Sometimes, they add to their diet reptiles and fish. They hunt by spotting their prey from a high perch and then pursuing by flight. Sometimes they may also walk along the ground to stalk. Great Horned Owls typically nest in trees such as cottonwood, juniper, beech, pine, and others. Their nests consist of sticks and will vary widely in size. Owls will line their nests with several other substances or sometimes nothing at all. These nests are only used once, and both males and females may choose the nest site and help with the building process. Mated bird pairs are monogamous and will defend themselves by hooting. They will also respond to threats with bill-clapping, hisses, screams, and guttural noises, eventually spreading their wings and striking with their feet if the threat escalates. Smaller birds will harass these owls with calls and even dive-bombing and pecking them. Similarly, their unattended eggs and nestlings will fall prey to foxes, raccoons, and much more. These birds are common now, and population size has remained steady through the years. Although once heavily hunted, conservation efforts have helped bring them to a steady level.7 The picture below is a high-definition picture that I took with my phone camera on top of the powerful binoculars.
A picture that I took of the binocular focused on the owl.
Picture from e-bird.
Narrative: We left campus around 8:15 am and took two vehicles, one van driven by Professor Paul and another car driven by one of the grad students. I sat in the middle seat corner of the van as we drove across Golden Gate Bridge and up a long and twisty road to our first location. We arrived at around 8:45, and I started logging birds at exactly 8:58 am. The weather was very slightly cold but eventually did become warmer as time passed. We walked over to a smaller overlook before crossing over to the main one, and although there were very few species at first, we eventually saw a Peregrine Falcon and were all extremely excited about that. We left the first location at around 9:55 am and drove to our second location. This was an extremely short ride, and we arrived at 10:03 am. We parked the car on the side of a dirt road and just walked along the creek for about a mile or so. We spotted a lot of different birds in the second location, but the birds in the first location were noticeably harder to track and iD. Our major find for location one was the Peregrine Falcon, and the major find for location two was the Great Horned Owl which caused a lot of chaos among us because we were all trying to capture it and see its face as well. We also saw a Red-Tailed Hawk and a couple Turkey Vultures as well. We left the second side at around 11:40 am and arrived back on campus around 12:10 pm or so.
Additional Media:
Picture from e-bird tracking our path for location 1.
Picture from e-bird tracking our path for location 2.
Sources:
1 Josh. (2022, March 16). Muir Beach Overlook: Beautiful vista on Pacific Coast Highway. California Through My Lens. Retrieved September 12, 2022, from https://californiathroughmylens.com/muir-beach-overlook/
2 Muir Woods National Monument. Muir Beach & Muir Beach Overlook | Muir Woods | Oh, Ranger! (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2022, from http://www.ohranger.com/muir-woods/poi/muir-beach-muir-beach-overlook
3 Muir Beach. Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. (2020, October 14). Retrieved September 12, 2022, from https://www.parksconservancy.org/parks/muir-beach
4 Redwood creek estuary. Western Rivers Conservancy. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2022, from https://www.westernrivers.org/projects/ca/redwood-creek-estuary
5 U.S. Department of the Interior. (n.d.). Birds. National Parks Service. Retrieved September 12, 2022, from https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/nature/birds.htm
6 Marin Headlands (GGNRA) topographic map, elevation, relief. topographic. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2022, from https://en-us.topographic-map.com/maps/as9s/Marin-Headlands-GGNRA/
7 Great Horned Owl Overview, all about birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2022, from https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Horned_Owl/overview