Mount Davidson
Mount Davidson had had a fallout earlier in the week while I was at JavaOne. I didn’t know if the winds were favorable for Sunday, but the sun was shining, and I wanted to get up there at least once. If nothing else, I could check it out as a potential site for a future Birding BoF at JavaOne. Unfortunately the birding gods were not with me this morning. The buses were slow and confusing. The 36 goes right to the trailhead, but runs very infrequently. I eventually gave up and took the third 43 to come by while I was waiting for the 36 instead.
The 43 goes around the other side of the mountain and does not stop at the park. I guessed the best place to hop off, and pulled the cord. I then used my GPS to figure out how to get to the actual park. (Most of Mount Davidson is covered in houses.) As the crow flies it wasn’t very far, but the roads around there are extremely steep. I found one Dark-eyed Junco in somebody’s backyard as I walked by. I did however, eventually find my way into the back end of the park.
A woodpecker was wrapping on a Eucalyptus tree, but I could never spot it. Wrens were singing everywhere. However I’m not great at identifying wren songs. I think they were Winter Wrens, but they could have been House Wrens instead. I did identify the American Robins, Common Ravens, and Mourning Doves; but those are easy. A Cooper’s Hawk was also calling, and driving all the robins, hummingbirds, and House Finches crazy. The finches were strange. For whatever reason, most of the ones I saw that morning were the uncommon yellow morph. I only saw one normal red male House Finch.
Once in the park I wasn’t sure where I was going, but I just kept turning uphill whenever I had the chance, figuring that would eventually bring me to the summit, and it did. The summit was good for Hummingbirds (both Allen’s and Anna’s), Red-tailed Hawks, White-crowned Sparrows, and Northern Mockingbirds. The view of San Francisco was OK, but the day was really too hazy to make the most of it.
From here the actual bus stop was apparent. I just missed one bus and had to wait more than 30 minutes for the next. While waiting, though, I added Western Scrub-jay and House Sparrow to my day list. I also amused myself by taking macro pictures of this soldier beetle until it flew away:
Total avian species count for Mount Davidson Park, a meager 17 in two and a half hours:
- Cooper’s Hawk
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Mourning Dove
- Anna’s Hummingbird
- Allen’s Hummingbird
- Western Scrub-Jay
- American Crow
- Common Raven
- Chestnut-backed Chickadee
- American Robin
- Northern Mockingbird
- Wilson’s Warbler
- Song Sparrow
- White-crowned Sparrow
- Dark-eyed Junco
- House Finch
- House Sparrow
I didn’t find any of the three birds I was specifically looking for there: Pygmy Nuthatch, Black-headed Grosbeak, and Lazuli Bunting. Maybe I’d have better luck in Golden Gate Park.
