February Recap
In case you missed it you can find last month's newsletter here: february newsletter
February bird walk
In February we returned to Middle and North Lakes in GGP.
This time I remembered to submit an ebird checklist.
The highlight was the allen's hummingbird that followed us around north lake.
May and Chad took the following photos:
Taylor took the following photos:
Thank you to everyone who came out and thank you to May, Chad, and Taylor for the photos :)
March Bird Walk
So far we've almost exclusively birded different parts of the presidio and golden gate park,
but after receiving suggestions from multiple people I think it's time we finally hit
heron's head park and the pier 94 wetlands.
It should be a good opportunity for some shorebirds and other water birds.
The birding walk will be on the saturday morning of march 7th.
Head to the partiful link
to rsvp.
Spotlight Bird: Allen's Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin)
After the sightings on the last walk it seemed fitting to make this month's bird of the month the allen's hummingbird. They have returned to the city.
Fun Allen's Hummingbird Facts:
-
they spend breeding season here but arrive super early in the "spring" season.
really as early as jan or feb
sightings chart for sf from ebird - they are tiny little guys. if you're used to seeing the anna's then these should look noticeably smaller. according to allaboutbirds they are 9cm and 2-4 grams compared to an anna's 10cm and 3-6 grams
- they look super pretty when they reflect their gorget to make that bright orange color. i don't really understand the science but they're not actually that color it's something to do with light reflection. it helps the males attract mates and tells other dudes to back off.
- apparently there is a nonmigratory population in southern california that colonized the area after previously being an endemic subspecies on the channel islands. here's a relevant study
-
like other hummingbirds they have forked tongues to help them consume nectar.
i snagged a pic of the one on our bird walk and you can make out the fork
this one was flicking its tongue even though it wasn't feeding. apparently there are many reasons to do this including tasting the air, cooling, or cleaning/maintenance
Member Submissions
Thank you to everyone who sent me photos of the birds they saw!
Starting us off Jette shared some important news:
a recent study
found that birding is good for the brain. hell yeah
see this news article news article for a summary
Sangeeta shared some birds from India
Katie did some birding while in puerto vallarta, mexico
Lindsay spotted an american robin up in Washington
Kelly and baby John are back at it again birding the ponds and streams in the east bay
Dom did some birding down in santa barbara
Adam did some birding around panama.
I didn't capture many bird photos outside of the bird walk. But a few of us did extend the walk and were able to see this barn owl
Closeout
That's all; happy birding