Date: 9/24/25 12:30 pm From: Brian Fitch via groups.io <fogeggs...> Subject: [SFBirds] Eight Warbler Sp. & Cont. Gallinule
The Common Gallinule found by Keith some days ago was on the same little snag on which he photographed it, as well as gleaning from the scummy surface with its cousin coots, at the southeast corner of the concrete bridge at South Lake Merced. I passed the spot three times during my wanderings, and it was present each time between 7:30-8:30. A Greater Yellowlegs was flying around calling, and it landed on several different patches of pond weed, though not very successfully. Up at North Lake in GG Park, the northern island was active with migrants, including multiple Western Flycatchers, Warbling Vireos, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray, Townsend's, Wilson's Warblers, plus C. Yellowthroat. A first year Blackpoll was in the pines, showing some side and back streaks and gray neck. I was observing from the little beach below the paved path when I heard a sharp call and found the/a Northern Waterthrush in the reeds nearby. It closed the gap between us to within 6 feet, looking directly at me while calling rather urgently. I moved back up to the pavement and the bird took over my spot, calling much less often as it bobbed along the water's edge. This is one of the darkest I've seen, especially on the throat, and certainly the first to place an apparent request for me to move along now. Brian Fitch
