California Birding
From May 31 to June 6th, I went on a family trip to San Francisco! I saw many famous sites, such as Muir Woods and the Golden Gate Bridge. I got 12 life birds, saw numerous other interesting animals and plants, and took a ton of pictures. I will now share them with you!
Day 1 - Traveling, but I did get a few good aerial shots.
A canyon from the plane
Day 2
We started by going to Ocean Beach.
I think this bird is a Common Raven. This was my first bird picture on the trip!
This is my first view of the Pacific Ocean! All along the beach (Ocean Beach) were sand dollars, shells, and seabirds.
Lifer 1: California Gull! There were a lot standing and flying.
From Ocean Beach, we went to Land's End. Lands End was one of the best places we went to on the trip. There were colorful wildflowers everywhere, and lots of birds.
Lifer 2: Black Phoebe! I thought this flycatcher species looked very cool!
A House Finch yellow variant.
White-crowned Sparrow - These birds were so calm, and hopped right up to us!
Flower scenery.
Orange flowers. I'd love identification help - post in the comments section of the home page!
More flowers.
Even more flowers!
Succulent plant flowers.
Lifer 3: Brewer's Blackbird! These birds were really tame. I believe people had been feeding them.
Another Brewer's Blackbird shot (same individual).
Land's End became sunnier as the day went by! It looked even more spectacular.
My first shot of the Golden Gate Bridge!
Scenery and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Lifer 4: Allen's Hummingbird! California Hummingbirds are very colorful, so I was excited to see one.
Another shot of the Allen's Hummingbird. I got better pictures later on!
Lifer 5: California Towhee! These birds were very quiet and passive.
Lifer #6: Chestnut-backed Chickadee! He was screaming about something, I believe another bird.
We walked to the Golden Gate Bridge from Land's End, and walked along the bridge (not all the way)!
San Francisco view.
Another White-crowned Sparrow.
Day 3: I went to Muir Woods and the town of Sausalito!
Interestingly enough, Muir Woods doesn't have many birds. The reason is that the tall Redwood trees block the sun, preventing a lot of vegetation from growing. So, birds don't have much to feed on. Still, I saw a couple of interesting species, including one life bird!
Brown Creeper! I saw two of them, getting my best views of the species yet.
Redwood Trees
Another view of the Redwoods.
Redwood tree trunk.
I also saw Lifer #7, a Wilson's Warbler! I took some blurry shots of it, but I got better ones later on.
After going to Muir Woods, I went to Sausalito.
We went on a boat to get back to San Francisco from Sausalito. This is a view of the town. On the left you can see the Golden Gate Bridge.
Lifer #8: Brandt's Cormorants! They were flying by the boat. I had seen some cormorants at Ocean Beach, possibly Brandt's.
Day 4: We went to Golden Gate Park! There were LOTS of birds and I got many life birds on the trip here!
American Coot - There were a bunch at the lake.
A Hooded Merganser? These are pretty unusual in California at this time (according to ebird), and I am still working on identifying it. It seems to be a juvenile or younger bird.
Lifer #9: Anna's Hummingbird! This is a bird I badly wanted to see for its spectacular pink gorget and head!
When the iridescent scales aren't in the correct direction, you can't see the color on the Anna's Hummingbird.
Lifer #10: Steller's Jay! I think this jay is much cooler than our Blue Jay.
Anna's Hummingbird feeding.
This is my favorite Allen's Hummingbird picture! I love the composition of it.
Lifer #11: Nuttall's Woodpecker! I saw a male and a female, and they were drilling a nesting cavity.
The female Nuttall's Woodpecker.
Wilson's Wabler! There was a pair of them, although I could not tell the difference between the male and female. They were carrying nesting material!
Shot of the same Wilson's Warbler.
Allen's Hummingbird.
California Towhee
Lifer #12: Pygmy Nuthatch! It flew right down to a fallen log near me!
Day 5 - We visited Ocean Beach, Land's End, and Golden Gate Park again!
Chestnut-backed Chickadee!
A Western Grey Squirrel - different from our Eastern Grey Squirrels. They are timid and also physically different.
Steller's Jay.
This Raccoon (hiding behind the grass) walked on the trail in front of us!
Red-shouldered Hawk being mobbed by American Crows and Brewer's Blackbirds (The hawk is the lowest bird in the picture).
Day #6 - Leaving San Francisco. I got a cool mountain shot on the plane.
A view of mountains overhead! Perhaps the Rocky Mountains.
Note to readers: Sadly, I had to leave many of my pictures out because I didn't want too many pictures in the article. These pictures include various scenery, some bird pictures, and several landmark pictures such as images of the Crooked Street.
Thank you for reading!
