Shorebirding Hotspots in San Francisco...Chrissy Field and Heron's Head

Birding Tip #6: Take pictures of the birds you see!

This is extremely helpful, especially if you are unsure of the identification of a bird species.  This way you can load the pictures onto a computer, zoom in on the bird and examine it to make a proper identification.

Chrissy Field at sunset, photo by Kelly Wohlwend (author)

Chrissy Field is located in the Presidio National Park which is operated by the the Presidio Trust, National Park Service and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.  Presidio National Park, which includes Chrissy Field, is part of the larger Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA).  Chrissy Field is managed by the National Park Service.  Part of Chrissy Field is restored, tidal, saltwater lagoon and dune scrub habitat.  The lagoon is a fantastic place for birding, especially if you are new to birding.  Shorebirds can be rather tricky to identify, so having a wide open area with ample viewing space is ideal.  Chrissy Field has large cement benches that allow you to sit and enjoy the birding while meddling with your camera, binoculars and field guide, if you have them.  The view isn't bad either!

Below are bird counts from two outings of mine, one to Chrissy Field and the second to Heron's Head.  Heron's Head is a park located on Pier 98 on San Francisco Bay with restored saltwater marsh habitat and plenty of calm, open water ideal for shore and seabird viewing.  Both of these counts were done in one day and include all the species I was able to identify during my birding, which lasted about 1 hour at each location.

Birds that have an asterisk (*) by their name indicate a first time sighting! 

Chrissy Field Bird Count:

Long-billed curlew, photo by Kelly Wohlwend

Black-necked stilt, photo by Kelly Wohlwend

• Brown pelican
• Great blue heron
• Great egret
• Snow egret
• American coot
• Bufflehead
• Least sandpiper
• Mew gull
• Ring-billed gull
• Herring gull
• Long-billed curlew*
• Black-necked stilt*

Two other bird species I saw at Chrissy Field that evening were white-crowned sparrows and black phoebes, two birds commonly seen throughout the Presidio.  I have also seen a white-tailed kite at Chrissy Field, hovering in the air over the restored scrub habitat, looking for food.  I only saw him from the bus, unfortunately.  Then one day as I was walking through the Palace of Fine Arts I saw a bird perched on a snag above the artificial pond in front of the palace.  Sure enough, it was the white-tailed kite.  For some reason I didn't have my binoculars or my camera on me.  Regardless, even without that technology I was able to clearly see his blood shot eyes as he scanned his surroundings.

Heron's Head Bird Count:

Ironically I didn't see any herons!

Snowy egret at Chrissy Field, photo by Kelly Wohlwend

• Great egret
• Snowy egret
• Bufflehead
• Mallard
• Brown pelican
• Western grebe
• Horned grebe
• Western sandpiper
• American coot
• Long-billed curlew
• Western gull
• Whillet*
• Greater yellowlegs*
• American avocet*
• Black oystercatcher*
• Black bellied plover (juvenile)*

Other bird species I saw at Heron's Head was an American kestrel (juvenile), European starlings, western meadowlarks, white-crowned sparrows, song sparrows and a yellow-rumped warbler.

Heron's Head Park, photo from www.sfport.com

When I first got to Heron's Head, I was really surprised at how beautiful the saltwater marsh and scrub habitat was.  The walk to the end of Heron's Head is an easy, gravel path and well worth it.  Make sure to walk slowly and look on both sides of the path for birds!  The first bird I saw was the American kestrel perched on a large shrub, illuminated beautifully in the rays of the setting sun.  The black oystercatchers, western sandpipers and black bellied plover were hanging around on the seaweed covered rocks along the northeast side of the walkway.  On the south side I saw a majority of the birds, including the whillets, american avocets, long billed curlew and all the grebes and other waterfowl.  The egrets and greater yellowlegs seemed to favor the mudflats at the beginning of the path on the north side.  I was really shocked at the number of birds, there were 50+ buffleheads, at least 20-30 western grebes and countless gulls out in the open water.  Heron's Head would be a fantastic place to set up a scope because there is a lot of space for birds to hang out, including the area to the south of the Heron's Head saltwater marshes. 


So don't be intimidated by shorebirding!  It can be a very rewarding experience, even if you aren't able to identify all the species.  Even the most experienced birders can be thrown for a loop when it comes to identifying shorebirds, so just have fun and take a lot of pictures!