Date: 1/30/20

Location: 37°46’28.5″N 122°27’17.8″W

Site Description:

We visited Golden Gate Park. The park consists of various landscapes, but the area where we mostly traveled was a sparse mixed coniferous forest. The coniferous trees were not densely packed and there were large bushes and logs around the ground floor. The key bird species are Anna’s hummingbird, the Bushtit, the Dark-eyed Junco and the Golden-crowned Sparrow. Anna’s hummingbirds are generally found above the bushes around 20 feet up. Bushtits, Dark-eyed Juncos and Golden-crowned Sparrows generally stay low to the ground to forage for food.

 

Species Account:

Common name- Anna’s Hummingbird

Scientific name- Calypte Anna

Physical appearance- Vibrant green body with gray wings and reflective magenta head.

Microhabitat- Found in generally open areas on tips of branches in low elevation trees. It was found on the corner of Golden Gate Park that is located right next to St. Ignatius Church. The bird were seen right at the beginning of the trail on that corner.

Mating Ritual- The mating ritual is actually quite interesting as the males court the female by doing an intricate dance. They fly up into the air and then suddenly zip back down in a U-shaped path. This continues until the female accepts or declines.

Sources: E-bird, Professor Paul

 

Narrative:

We left the school at around 10:10am. We arrived at the park around 10:20 and only walked in the same corner of the park that was closest to St. Ignatius Church. For the total two hours we were there, we probably didn’t even walk a quarter of a mile from the corner of the park. We saw a plethora of birds in such a condensed area. The weather was actually quite sunny and clear. It was quite amazing to see how many birds are just all around us all the time. This experience was like one of the times where you don’t really know how much stuff is out there until you experience it.

Link to E-bird:

https://ebird.org/checklist/S64100748