Field Journal Entry 11
Date & Location
November 21, 2023
Crissy Field | 37°48’22.1″N 122°27’01.4″W | 20 ft
Site Description
Crissy Field is a park, located on the Northern edge of the Presidio of San Francisco, and it was formerly a military base. It is generally flat with some gentle sloping and gradual inline from the bluffs overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. Crissy Field is a great site for birding and there is also a beautiful view of the Golden Gate Bridge! The area is fairly large and it has a variety of habitats including glasslandss, beaches, marshes and forests. There is a vast number of birds that are seen here but the common key bird species are a variety of shorebirds, waterfowl, raptors and songbirds.
Species Account
European Starling | Sturnus vulgaris
European Starlings are medium-sized songbirds with a short tail and a long, pointed yellow bill. These birds are sexually dimorphic where the males have a glossy black plumage with iridescent purple-green hues while females are more drab-looking with a brown plumage and white spots on its body. They are native to Europe and Asia but they have been introduced around the world and they are now one of the most common birdss in North America. European Starlings feed on fruits, berries and intervebrates and can be found in habitats such as woodlands and urban areas. They are both monogamous and polygynous birds and both sexes take part in parental care for their chicks. As learned in Ornithology and Evolution, European Starlings have played a significant part on native bird populations as they are invasive species and a prime example of dispersal.
Narrative
For my at-home Thanksgiving field trip, I went to Crissy Field at the Presidio. I wanted to get it done before break started so I drove there early from my house before my classes started for the day. I left at 6 am from Fremont and got there at around 7:20 am. It was a very chilly day — I almost felt like I was getting hypothermia. I started walking along Crissy Field East Beach, then the marsh and finally, the promenade before making my way back. There were a lot of birds around especially at marsh, which is where I spent majority of my time at. At the small marsh, there were a lot of different kinds of shorebirds and waterfowl, which was good practice for our upcoming field quiz! I was able to identify most of them but I saw two new species, which were Royal Terns and Elegant Terns. They look so similar to each other except Royal Terns are slightly smaller and they have a more narrow tail. After spending almost an 1 1/2 hour at the marsh, I started walking along the trail and I saw a Peregrine Falcon fly over! Merlin was even able to pick it up since it was vocalizing. I made my way around the promenade and back to my car afte birding for 2 hours!
Sources
¹ Crissy Field. Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. (2023, May 8). https://www.parksconservancy.org /parks/crissy-field
² European starling – ebird. (n.d.-b). https://ebird.org/species/eursta
³ European starling overview, all about birds. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/
guide/European_Starling/overview
