Birding Chain of Lakes

April 24, 2010:

For the first time in way too long, Sarah & I went for a short birding walk, my first since breaking my foot mid-March. Since my foot is still tender and rather weak from being off of it for 5 weeks, we decided to check out the Chain of Lakes in Golden Gate Park.

Dragonfly

We parked at the south end of North Lake and after an odd conversation where a stranger was trying to convince me that my Subaru Outback Sport is not a “real” Outback, began our walk.

California Towhee - Pipilo crissalis

Heading west, birdsong filled the air on this beautiful spring day, and a fair number of people were out enjoying the sunny weather. A California Towhee ‘cheek’ed from the underbrush, a small group of Mallards floated placidly in the lake, joined by a lone American Coot.

Black Phoebe - Sayornis nigricans

Red-winged Blackbird song dominated the chorus, with several males trying out-call each other. Allen’s/Rufous Hummingbirds whirred by in a blur of brown, flashing copper when the light caught them just so.

Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird - Selasphorus rufus/sasin

A pair of spiffy alternate-plumaged Ruddy Ducks were splendid with their robin’s egg blue beaks, but remained well out of photography range the whole walk.

Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus

We rounded the north end of the lake and headed back, not seeing very much on the eastern shore. My foot was feeling fairly good, so we decided to continue our walk and check out South & Middle Lakes.

Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia

South Lake was a complete bust; it’s completely covered in a blue-red plant of some sort, and signs around its perimeter warned that herbicides are in use. Uggh. Unsurprisingly there were no birds whatsoever here.

Flowering tree

The path around Middle Lake was strewn with flowers; Poppies, asters, “wild” onions, and oxalis provided a punch of color, but we saw few birds save for an adult Red-tailed Hawk – entirely expected, as a pair has nested at/near Middle Lake for a few years now.

Bumblebee & California Poppy

We soon arrived back at the car, and although we’d only been out about an hour, my foot was ready for a break. Although we didn’t see anything unusual, it was lovely to be out again after being cooped up for over a month!

Location:     GGP - Chain of Lakes (S., Mid., N.)
Observation date:     4/24/10
Number of species:     13

Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos     6
Ruddy Duck - Oxyura jamaicensis     2
Pied-billed Grebe - Podilymbus podiceps     2
Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis     1
Rock Pigeon - Columba livia     10
Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird - Selasphorus rufus/sasin     3
Black Phoebe - Sayornis nigricans     2
Common Raven - Corvus corax     1
Tree Swallow - Tachycineta bicolor     2
California Towhee - Pipilo crissalis     2
Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia     4
Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus     6
American Robin - Turdus migratorius 1
Western Gull - Larus occidentalis 1

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)