Date: 11/25/25 4:38 pm From: Brian Fitch via groups.io <fogeggs...> Subject: [SFBirds] Sutro and Battery G
I spent two early hours at the Sutro Baths, where the waterfowl flight was
visible in the form of many duck flocks coming into the Gate from the
Pacific. Fog banks and poor light made ID tough, but scoters and shovelers
were the most evident, with some pintail, wigeon and Greater Scaup, as well
as a few Bufflehead and a close flyby Lesser Scaup. A Red-necked Grebe was
west of the terrace, and some Golden-crowned Kinglets were calling from the
trees north of the parking lot.
When the fog began to lift I drove over to Battery Godfrey, where geese and
ducks were moving in varying directions, and no other birders were present
for awhile. Shovelers and Cackling Geese were prominent at first, but the
mix shifted to white-fronts and wigeon later on as other birders showed
up. During my watch, there were roughly 600 white-fronteds, including a
single flock of 200 spotted by Emily, 200 Cacklers, a single Snow, a single
Gadwall, triple digit wigeon and shoveler, and double digit pintail,
Green-winged Teal, and Surf Scoter.
The odd sighting of the day was a small flock that flew low over the Gate
at some distance, swirling around over and over, and eventually coming
close enough to show three Avocets and seven Willets. They continued
flying in circles and loops for a minimum of 45 minutes before I finally
lost track of them.
Finished the day with Emily’s Gray Catbird, as we found it in the same
place reported by Calvin yesterday, in front of 419 Washington in the
Presidio.
Brian Fitch
