Date: 5/4/25 9:26 pm From: Keith Maley via groups.io <keith.maley...> Subject: [SFBirds] SF Big Day
Today, Nina Bai, Liam Murphy, and I attempted a SF Big Day. The record is 150 species set by Adrian Hinkle and Emmett Iverson on 4/18/21, previously 149 by Hugh Cotter, Paul Saraceni, Josiah Clark, and Alan Hopkins in April 2007. We finished with 119 species today, hampered by the trickle of migrants this spring, the late date / departure of most winter species, the consistent onshore winds, and the lack of rarity / stakeout birds. Still, it was a beautifully clear day with great birds and company. We made 22 stops around the city.
Some glaring misses were Pelagic Cormorant, Townsend's Warbler, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Northern Flicker, and the continuing (?) pair of Greater White-fronted Geese at Blue Heron Lake and surrounding locations. We had only 3 (!) passerine passage migrants: Warbling Vireo, Western Kingbird (2), and Olive-sided Flycatcher. Given the overnight winds, we could have spent more time seawatching, as we had probable flybys of a jaeger species, Rhino Auklet, a late Heerman's Gull, and more.
The highlights were the Red-necked Phalaropes-- a small flock on Lake Merced and a single bird with Sanderlings on Ocean Beach, the rocky shorebird assortment at Cliff House, and an Acorn Woodpecker flying over the Presidio. The best bird was a beautiful melanistic Ruddy Duck at Candlestick ( 37.712349, -122.378499 ), photo below.
