Pier 94, San Francisco, CA

Another day out with the California sea blite (Suaeda california) monitoring at Pier 94 is always a good day. Today was particularly good because I spotted a couple Red-necked Phalaropes (Phalaropus lobatus) that had come to the north basin. One of the smallest seabirds found their way into the San Francisco Bay on their migration north.

There were at least two nesting birds at the site, too. An American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana) was nesting near the rip rap, which is how I spotted the first phalarope swimming in fast circles.

Later, while we were trying to complete our monitoring, we discovered an angry Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) that was very happy when we were out of her way. Those birds can live up to their "vociferus" species name! She had 4 eggs, but the nest was very low so I'm not hopeful that they'll not get washed away by the tide.

Heron's Head Park, San Francisco, CA

After doing an interview at Pier 94 with the San Francisco Examiner, I headed over to Heron's Head Park down the road. It's a great birding location that never fails to be a good time. Before leaving Pier 94, there were a pair of American Kestrels and a pair of mocking birds flirting on the fence.

The best part of the trip was seeing the HARLEQUIN DUCK again that I saw first at Pier 94 around October, then again at Heron's Head Park during the December 27th Christmas Bird Count.

Also out at Heron's Head today included:

1. Common Goldeneye
   
2. Red-breasted Merganser
3. Black Oystercatcher
4. American Avocets
   
5. Dunlin
   
6. Black-bellied Plover
   
7. Long-billed Curlew
8. Willet
9. Snowy Egret
   
10. Greater Scaups
11. Belted Kingfisher
12. Least Sandpiper
13. Spotted Sandpiper
    
14. Horned Grebe
15. Western Grebes
    
16. American Widgeons
17. Ruddy Ducks
18. Buffleheads
19. Surf Scoters
20. American Coots
21. Double-crested Cormorrants
    
22. Mew Gulls
    

Pier 94 restoration site in San Francisco

While out surveying the plants at the restoration site for the endangered California sea-blite (Suaeda californica) at Pier 94 in San Francisco, I checked out what birds were around as the tide was going out. Pier 94 has the world's largest population of California sea-blite and is a successful reintroduction of the species that went extinct in San Francisco in the 1960s, but was reintroduced from a population in Morro Bay, California. In fact, we just had two spontaneous Suaeda plants start along the tide line. If you go birding there, please avoid the intertidal areas and stepping on any flagged native plants, especially the sea-blite.

Some of the bird highlights included -

• Two black oystercatchers, which are on the Audubon Watchlist of threatened birds
• Long-billed curlew, which is also on the Audubon Watchlist
  
• American avocets, which have nested in the past at Pier 94
• Greater yellowlegs
  
• American widgeons
• Greater scaups
• Western gulls
• Canada geese