Fort Mason, San Francisco, Apr 2014

An early flight home limited my options again this morning and another cop-out to Fort Mason was the soft choice. I hoped to find the Wandering Tattler and get a flight shot to add a bit of spice to an up-coming 10,000 Birds post, but had no luck in that respect. The tattler was in its customary roosting spot on the disused pier, but was distant and still. It was accompanied by a second bird today.

The tide was high and they were resting in the morning sun, so I took myself off to the Community Gardens up the hill at Fort Mason. It was a very quiet morning. The warblers have moved on, leaving a vacuum that will soon be filled by the migrants which are probably, even now, racing northward. 

White-crowned Sparrows were singing lustily from the tops of bushes, but very few species were seen here today. A young House Finch had left the nest and was waiting for its parents in an apple tree.

The same apple tree held a House Sparrow and an Anna's Hummingbird that was eyeing up the blossom.

This “sweet” sparrow showed a yellowish wash on its face. I might be going mad, but surely it is a Song Sparrow?

At the battery, where once was woodpeckers, wrens and warblers, only wobins were seen today.

Back on the pier, one of the tattlers had already gone in search of rocky shores, but had not chosen one close by. The remaining bird was looking more animated, hopping from one foot to the other and preening. Eventually, it dropped down behind some large posts and flew out towards the bridge.

A curving pier protects the harbour and affords a great view out into the bay. Western Gulls rested on the wall of the pier, Brown Pelicans flew over Alcatraz and Clark’s Grebes hunted in the open water.

A couple of birders had had a sniff of a Northern Gannet. It had been reported in the bay and they had been scanning “the rock” where it was said to roost. They had singled out a potential candidate from the Western Gulls and Snowy Egrets, but even with a look through their scopes, I would not have been brave enough to say yea or nay. When I saw them later, they had dismissed their original candidate, but were still looking.

Bird list for Fort Mason;

Canada Goose 2, Clark’s Grebe 1, Double-crested Cormorant 4, Brown Pelican 10, Snowy Egret 1, Wandering Tattler 2, Western Gull 30, Pigeon Guillemot 2, Anna’s Hummingbird 5, American Crow 5, Pygmy Nuthatch 1, American Robin 5, Yellow-rumped Warbler 1, California Towhee 1, Song Sparrow 5, White-crowned Sparrow 3, Brewer’s Blackbird 5, House Finch 15, House Sparrow 2.

Street car ‘F’ runs along Market Street and on to Fisherman’s Wharf. It costs $2. It is a short walk from its turn-around stop at Jefferson and Jones to Aquatic Park and Fort Mason. Walk along the water’s edge and past the piers. The road goes up a hill. Take the first left turn and pass the hostel to the Community Gardens beyond. The Battery is close to the hostel and steps in the far corner lead back down to the piers.

A previous post from Fort Mason can be seen at the links below;

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/fort-mason-san-francisco-feb-2014.html

There are also a couple of 10,000 Birds posts, inspired by the birds here;

http://10000birds.com/wandering-tattler.htm

http://10000birds.com/a-red-naped-sapsucker-and-a-townsends-warbler.htm

Visit the dedicated USA and Canada page for more posts from San Francisco, including;

AT&T Stadium, Coyote Point and a foggy combination of Mount Tamalpais and Point Reyes.

Birding, Birdwatching, San Francisco, California,

Fort Mason, San Francisco, Feb 2014

It came as a shock to hear from Wikipedia that Fort Mason covered 1200 acres. The green area on the map gave no indication of such scale, but I have since learned that much of this area encompasses the piers, wharves and warehouses that make up Lower Fort Mason. Upper Fort Mason, which was to be the focus of my attentions today, covers (this is just a guess) probably less than 50 acres. Even more restrictive than this, I barely wandered beyond the area marked as West Battery, which can be seen at Google Earth ref; 37 48 27.85N 122 25 40.71W.

First bird of the day was an exotic parakeet which I believe may have been the Red-masked Parakeet.  This was closely followed by a couple of Pygmy Nuthatches, a single Townsend’s Warbler and large numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers. The Yellow-rumped Warblers were feeding from the lawns by Quarters 1, beneath the General’s gum trees. It seemed as though their frontal feathers had been matted together; perhaps the ground gets greasy from the gum trees.

I followed the road around and quickly found myself at the West Battery. This was a pleasant, quiet spot on a Monday morning and proved to be the most productive area of the outing.

Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Anna’s Hummingbirds, White-crowned Sparrows and American Robins were all seen in a very small area close to the canons. Western Scrub-jays, Fox Sparrows and a Hermit Thrush were seen in the ivy by a flight of stairs that led down to the piers.

I was intending to wander out towards the lawned area, but workers in hi-viz vests, brandishing leaf blowers, put me off that idea. Instead, I took the steps that led down from the park and onto the waterfront. I was stopped near the bottom by a Red-breasted Sapsucker that was maintaining its sap wells in a tree close to the steps.

Each time it set off from the nearest grid of wells to inspect its territory, a Townsend’s Warbler flew in and drank at the gouges in the bark. A 10,000 Birds post will deal with this in more detail soon. 

As I was watching, a birder who introduced himself as Bob, happened by. He was familiar with the sapsucker and knew the area well. He told me of some likely spots nearby, but most interestingly, mentioned the possibility of a Wandering Tattler at one of the piers in the immediate vicinity.

We took a stroll down to the bottom of the steps and stopped for a Common Loon and a scan across the harbour before walking out onto the hook-shaped pier. Bob knew exactly where to look, but no tattlers could be seen. We checked from different angles as they sometimes tuck themselves in behind the fence, but still we had no success. We were just cursing our luck when a short-legged yellowlegs flew up onto one of the supports and teetered briefly before settling down to preen.

The sweep of the beach in front of Aquatic Park held a few gulls, notably an accommodating Mew Gull and a young Heerman’s Gull that was obviously full on handouts and couldn’t be bothered to fly away.

Fort Mason Bird List;

Red-breasted Merganser 2, Red-throated Loon 1, Common Loon 1, Western Grebe 1, Double-crested Cormorant 25, Wandering Tattler 1, Heerman’s Gull 1, Mew Gull 3, Eestern Gull 15, Anna’s Hummingbird 10, Red-breasted Sapsucker 1, Nuttall’s Woodpecker 1, Northern Flicker 2, Western Scrubjay 4, American Crow 25, Ptgmy Nuthatch 6, Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3, Hermit Thrush 3, American Robin 12, European Starling 35, Yellow-rumped Warbler 80, Townsend’s Warbler 4, California Towhee 6, Fox Sparrow 4, Song Sparrow 5, White-crowned Sparrow 20, Dark-eyed Junco 1, House Finch 12.

I caught bus no. 30 from 3^rd St, just south of Market. It cost US$2 and took around 25 minutes to reach the stop at Van Ness Ave and North Point St. If you prefer to do the tourist thing, the San Francisco Trolley Car that starts from Market and Powell terminates at Aquatic Park, very close by.

I did not see any indications that access is denied at any time. There are a few private residences and a hostel on the site, so I guess they will need access at all reasonable times.

Visit the dedicated USA and Canadapage for more posts from San Francisco, including; Golden Gate Park and HalfMoon Bay.

Birding, Birdwatching in San Francisco, California.