The past couple days I birded around Westside SF in the Presidio, Golden Gate Park, and Lake Merced region in search of migrants and the first vagrant passerines of the fall season. Migrant numbers were shockingly low, with large chunks of good habitat hosting not a single warbler, vireo, or flycatcher. The concentrations I did find seemed to be associated with food-rich regions: willows, red flowering eucs, and fruiting trees like mulberries. It seems likely many of the birds present have been present for a while, and that turnover with all this weird weather has been somewhat minimal.
9/1
I started my morning by birding various spots in the eastern Presidio. The highlight was a single TENNESSEE WARBLER in the willows around Morton Field. Other migrants noted in the various spots checked in the morning were: Western Wood-Pewee-1 Western Flycatcher-6 Willow Flycatcher-1 on Simonds Loop House Wren-2 Warbling Vireo-6 Hooded Oriole-2 on MacArthur ave (perhaps lingering breeders?) Bullock's Oriole-1 on MacArthur ave Yellow Warbler-14 Wilson's Warbler-10 Common Yellowthroat-2 in dry vegetation where the sp does not breed or winter Orange-crowned Warbler-2 Townsend's Warbler-3 Western Tanager-5 Black-headed Grosbeak-1
I then went to Golden Gate Park where I birded with Joaquim Gonzales for the rest of the day. We hit a few select locations in the central portion of the park (Elk Glen Lake, Lloyd Lake, the Arboretum, and the Log Cabin trail). At the log cabin there was a female/immature AMERICAN REDSTART flitting over the trail. However the real bird that caught our attention was a calling warbler in the same general area as the redstart. It sounded interesting to me and I thought it may be a Kentucky Warbler, or possibly an Ovenbird or something else. The bird was heard only for one bout of calls midday. That evening the bird was heard calling again at a nearby spot, and this morning it was found and confirmed to be a KENTUCKY WARBLER. This represents the second city record and the first since Alan Hopkins found one in singing in Land's End in the 1980s. More details about finding it below. Other migrants noted in Golden Gate Park were:
Western Wood-Pewee-1 Willow Flycatcher-1 Western Flycatcher-8 Warbling Vireo-1 Red-breasted Nuthatch-1 House Wren-1 Orange-crowned Warbler-1 Yellow Warbler-17 Townsend's Warbler-2 Wilson's Warbler-8 Western Tanager-8
9/2
Several birders looked for the mystery Warbler this morning and were eventually treated to good looks of the Kentucky Warbler. Some tips on seeing the Kentucky Warbler: it is extremely skulky. The bird calls a lot, primarily in the early morning and late evening, so get there early if you want a best shot at encountering it. It calls persistently but is exceptionally hard to see. This morning, it appeared only as a couple very fleeting glimpses before finally revealing itself for an extended period of time at 8:20am, when it bathed on the leaves of some deciduous trees for a few minutes. After that, it seemed to go back to its normal skulky behavior for the rest of the day. Patience is key for seeing and hearing this bird, but the call is loud, so listen to recordings that folks have uploaded into eBird before chasing it.
I then split off with Caitlin Chock and Jonah Benningfield to check the Rhododendron Dell and the Lily Pond area. The highlight was the continuing EASTERN KINGBIRD that Jonah spotted immediately south of the LIly Pond. This bird was first found by Eli Gross several days ago but went AWOL for the past few days. The bird is eating berries with a flock of tanagers and is in very fresh juvenile plumage. Pretty fun sight.
From there I headed south to Lake Merced, where I birded around the south end on both sides of the Concrete Bridge, the Wooden Bridge, and the willow thickets on the east end of the northern lake. The highlights here were two seperate RED-EYED VIREOS almost a mile apart: one at the north end of Gun Club Marsh in the tall eucs there, and one in the willows by the west side of the Wooden Bridge. Both appeared to be immatures.
Other migrants noted around Lake Merced included:
Willow Flycatcher-1 Western Flycatcher-6 Warbling Vireo-1 Red-breasted Nuthatch-1 House Wren-1 Orange-crowned Warbler-2 Yellow Warbler-22 Townsend's Warbler-1 Black-throated Gray Warbler-2 Wilson's Warbler-13 Western Tanager-2
Anyways, it seems that many of the birds that presumably summered in Northern California and Oregon this year (highlighted by extra-large numbers of Yellow-throated, Hooded and Kentucky Warbler and White-eyed and Red-eyed Vireos) are migrating south now, so it's a great time to get out and see what might be skulking around your local patch!
