This post-rain morning found the Golden Gate Audubon Beginning Birding class walking from the parking area up to the old sanitarium. Swallows were conspicuously absent with the exception of a single tree swallow. Also oddly missing were TVs and black phoebes. To make up for this, nature provided us with great looks at (singing) male and female black-headed grosbeaks. and a male western tanager, all from the lower parking lot. From further up we counted 23 band-tailed pigeons roosting in two tall conifers (redwoods?) across Park Rd. The only warblers were many orange-crowned and a single singing Wilson's. The old snag tree at the "entrance" to the sanitarium, serving up a pair of western bluebirds, starlings, singing house finches, lesser goldfinches, and scrub jay. A pair of chestnut-backed chickadees repeatedly entered a knothole in a tree, carrying nothing. Raptors were red-shouldered hawk (heard) and a high-soaring red-tail. Full list below.
The sun came out for us, and we even got our shoes muddy!
