N.B. to the OP, before you get your hopes up too high. I don't bird in the city enough, and received the following corrective information to my earlier post.
You aren't likely to find Oak Titmouse and Nuttall's Woodpecker in the city. It's too urbanized now. I'm told Oak Titmouse hasn't been seen there in decades, and Nuttall's Woodpecker might only be seen once/year there.
The other correction is Elegant Tern migrates south, and won't reappear until mid-Spring.
Darrell Lee
Alameda, CA
---------- Original Message ----------
From: Dominik Mosur <
polskatata@...>
To:
snorkler@...
Subject: Re: [BIRDCHAT] RFI - San Francisco, CA
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 2010 17:34:14 -0800 (PST)
Before you get the guy's hopes up you may want to consider that:
1. Oak titmouse hasn't been seen in SF in something like a decade, we don't have a breeding population
2. Nuttall's woodpecker is seen annually but still quite rare, definately not a bird that you can expect with any regularity
3. Elegant terns rarely show up before late May
Dominik Mosur
San francisco
On Sat Feb 20th, 2010 10:47 AM PST
snorkler@... wrote:
>Hi Dave,
>
>The answer to your question depends on what you mean by quick and close. If you're limited to an hour lunchtime, and/or an hour in the morning or evening before/after your conference, ride BART to Embarcadero station and bring a bag of French fries. You'll draw in all the gulls, with chances for Thayer's, Herring, Western, California, Ring-billed, and Glaucous-winged. Maybe even a Heerman's.
>
>#2 would be to bus or hire a cab to take you across town to Fort Point below the Golden Gate Bridge. There you might add Elegant Terns, Caspians, Bonaparte's Gulls, Surf Scoters, Common Murres, mergansers, Brown Pelicans, Pelagic/Brandt's, and DC Cormorants.
>
>#3, go to Golden Gate Park for chances at native California oak woodland birds like Townsend's Warbler, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Western Scrub Jay, Nuttall's Woodpecker, Red-breasted Sapsuckers, Oak Titmouse, and others.
>
>If you're around for the weekend, then you really could see a lot. You could rent a car and drive into Solano County for Yellow-billed Magpies, Tundra Swans. There's a Saturday-only Muni bus that takes you into the Marin Headlands (part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area). You can ride BART to Oakland 19th St. and walk to Lake Merritt to see Canvasbacks, scaup, Mew Gulls, and Barrow's Goldeneyes.
>
>Darrell Lee
>Alameda, CA
>---------- Original Message ----------
>From: Dave Liebmann <
daveliebmann@...>
>To:
BIRDCHAT@...
>Subject: [BIRDCHAT] RFI - San Francisco, CA
>Date: Sat, 20 Feb 2010 07:49:11 -0800
>
>I am traveling to SF next week, staying downtown for a conference. Any recommendations on quick birding opportunities close to public transportation and proximate to downtown?
>
>Dave Liebmann
>Southborough, MA
>
>
>
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>BirdChat Guidelines:
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