Date: 7/1/26 11:00 am From: Brian Fitch via groups.io <fogeggs...> Subject: [SFBirds] El Polin Grosbeaks
I finally got out to the Presidio this morning, and started with trying to get my eyes on the Rose-breasted Grosbeak found by Emily C last Friday. Around 6:15, the bird was singing out of view from eucs above several homes near the spring parking lot, then moved up to the next street end houses, then onto the hill below Inspiration Point, then into the willows above the spring, all without me seeing the slightest sign of it.
For twenty minutes it sang sporadically from the willow patch, and I waited on the Lower Ecology Trail expecting to eventually spot it. Somewhere in the twenty plus minute mark, the bird appeared in all of its glory at the top of a willow, giving single song phrases and gleaning in between.
I had seen multiple reports of Rose-breasted/Black-headed on the other venue, but assumed they were based on a single bird and the reporter's or app's inability to differentiate the nearly identical voices of the two species. So I was surprised when another grosbeak flew in and joined the Rose, at one point sitting on the same branch with it. The second bird was a female/immature type, with white supercilium and malar and a notable orange-rufous breast. It was too far off and screened to discern whether any streaking was present. At this time of year, I'm assuming it's a female Black-headed, though it could also be an early fledgling. The Rose stopped singing while number two was in its personal space, and as I prepared to witness possible genetic mixing, the Rose chased off the second bird, and after some minutes began to sing again. And the second grosbeak returned, but kept a little more distance in the willow patch. They were still feeding in adjacent trees when I finally left.
Whatever is going on in their relationship, there are definitely two pheucticus grosbeaks at El Polin, so it bears watching as long as they remain findable. Brian Fitch
