Critter News

MAY 8, 2009

San Francisco supervisors have passed a resolution supporting city restaurants that remove foie gras from their menus. California will be banning that awful stuff in about three years. Foie gras is the liver of a duck or a goose that has been specially fattened by force feeding. I just find the whole description vile and gruesome.).

Foie Gras 100

Foie Gras San Francisco Meat California 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 16, 2015

The Marbled Godwit ( Limosa fedoa ) in the photo above, shown landing at Fort De Soto County Park in Pinellas County, Florida, is used with permission from my friend Mia McPherson of On The Wing Photography fame.

San Francisco 102

San Francisco Seals United States North America 102

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2022

San Francisco averages two-tenths of an inch for the month, while San Jose only averages half that much. I had set aside the morning of Sunday, June 10th to cross the San Francisco Peninsula to the Pacific Ocean town of Half Moon Bay, a mere 25 minute drive away, for a few hours of birding.

San Francisco 147

San Francisco San Jose California Battery 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 29, 2011

Perhaps the Giants should have stuck with Candlestick Park because AT&T Park has been beset by birds , gulls to be exact. The team is considering bringing in a falcon to drive away the unwanted visitors that pester patrons for food and drop, um, things, from above onto the heads of folks who just want to see a game.

San Francisco 157

San Francisco Unwanted Game Falcons 157

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2014

Meanwhile, on the opposite coast, Double-crested Cormorants are interfering with plans to tear down the old Bay Bridge between Oakland and San Francisco. News Conservation Double-crested Cormorant Fire Island Piping plovers public works San Francisco' The birds nest in the span, which is being replaced by a new bridge.

San Francisco 164

San Francisco Oakland Massachusetts United States 164

Reddit Animals

MAY 16, 2022

submitted by /u/whitewolf340 [link] [comments].

San Francisco 52

San Francisco Lemurs Zoos Animal 52

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2014

This was a family vacation and I had led my unsuspecting wife and son out onto the curving pier at Aquatic Park, overlooking San Francisco Bay, ostensibly to get a better look at Alcatraz and the bridge, but actually with half a mind to finding a Wandering Tattler. Birding Birds California San Francisco Wandering Tattler'

San Francisco 165

San Francisco United States California Breeding 165

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 21, 2015

At the Northwest corner of San Francisco is Point Lobos. Here’s one last look at the adult Heermann’s Gull landing on the beach in San Francisco. Just South of Point Lobos is Sutro Baths and the Cliff House Restaurant overlooking the Pacific Ocean. www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUBX_tlHySc. v=FUBX_tlHySc.

San Francisco 158

San Francisco North America Seals Sanctuary 158

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2024

These include: Hawaiian Islands NWR , Farallon Islands NWR near San Francisco, Alaska Maritime NWR , and Channel Islands NP near Santa Barbara. The most significant breeding areas in the country are isolated islands in the National Wildlife Refuge and National Park Systems.

Virgin Islands 206

Virgin Islands Alaska United States Endangered Species 206

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2013

The individuals above were seen at the top of the tide, pushed hard against the shore of San Francisco Bay. Below are birds from a small flock which were picking along the rocks by the AT&T Park, The San Francisco Giants Stadium, at the bottom of Third Street.

San Francisco 156

San Francisco Sea Lions Lions California 156

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2022

Last week, I wrote about my recent trip from my current home of Morelia, Mexico to my childhood home of the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States, and how several species can be found in both places, in spite of how far apart they are, and yet look quite different in each place. They are, in effect, the same, but different.

Mexico 192

Mexico San Francisco California United States 192

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2011

The Red-tailed Hawk that was found in San Francisco with a nail through its head has been successfully rehabilitated and released. Hat-tip to Seagull Steve.

San Francisco 158

San Francisco 158

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 24, 2011

The juvenile Red-tailed Hawk in San Francisco that was observed to have a nail shot through its head was finally caught by rehabbers and is being rehabilitated. There is a $10,000 to find the person or persons responsible for this stupid and callous act so get your sleuthing shoes on!

San Francisco 172

San Francisco 172

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 31, 2011

Or so says a study by San Francisco State researchers using data collected from over forty years of measurements taken during bird banding. Here’s hoping that this means that some birds, at least, might be able to adapt as climate change continues.

San Francisco 162

San Francisco Collecting Birds Research 162

10,000 Birds

JUNE 29, 2022

So I could add this species to the Double-crested Cormorant I had previously seen on the lake that runs up the San Andreas rift valley, which formed the San Francisco Peninsula. There were Brandt’s Cormorants flying over the Surf Scoters. California is weird.

San Francisco 147

San Francisco California Battery Ducks 147

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

The best guess scientists have about the “mystery goo” that sickened hundreds of birds in San Francisco Bay earlier this year is “a polymerized oil similar to a vegetable oil.” Don’t put off that birding trip to Ghana on your to-do list—if trends continue, illegal logging may leave you with nothing left to see.

California Condor 165

California Condor San Diego San Francisco Ghana 165

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2017

A Bay Area native, he started birding while working at a large law firm in San Francisco, but birds less frequently now that there’s a toddler around so he writes instead. Jason Crotty is a birder, lawyer, and occasional writer currently living in Portland, Oregon with his wife and daughter.

Puerto Rico 100

Puerto Rico San Francisco Portland Laws 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2013

A couple of days in San Francisco over the New Year caused me to reflect on how much information we actually need to identify a bird. They were all taken in San Francisco at the end of December. Don’t look at them for too long or your eyes will go funny. Best of luck. How did you get on?

San Francisco 108

San Francisco Birds 108

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2014

San Francisco aims to study and deter birdstrikes ; participants can earn “bird-friendly resident” honors. Some jerk (I’d use a stronger word, but this is a family-friendly website) in Wisconsin is shooting raptors. Birding in the Bronx? Yep, at the Dred Scott Bird Sanctuary. Another study, led by the U.S.

San Francisco 178

San Francisco Wisconsin Sanctuary Birds 178

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2012

We have at least 3 nesting locations here in San Francisco and that number seems to be climbing slowly. They mimic our styles of dress and mock us through forced perspective. They are good watchers. They know the rhythms of gophers. They know the rhythms of traffic. Males can get into a dance battle if territories are threatened.

San Francisco 234

San Francisco Gophers Reptiles Hunters 234

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 8, 2019

Before I moved north to Portland, I lived in San Francisco. Patch birding is rewarding because the birds become familiar, as do the changes across the seasons. There is satisfaction in the everyday. But patches can also provide the unexpected. When I was a new birder, I adopted Pillar Point Harbor near Half Moon Bay as a “patch.”.

San Francisco 128

San Francisco Portland Whales Whaling 128

10,000 Birds

APRIL 27, 2012

I’d like to take a quick moment to address all the San Francisco Bay Area readers of 10,000 Birds. Red-tailed Hawk with dinner and a salad from behind. Prairie Falcon from behind. Red-tailed Hawk from behind-ish, more from the side.

San Francisco 227

San Francisco Birds Falcons Ducks 227

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2016

In the past, the bird has had a nickname of “Candlestick Bird” They were quite common in the San Francisco area, especially on the south eastern tip of the bay. Here is an interesting bit of trivia about the Long-billed Curlews. This area was used as a land fill, and has now been set aside as 170 acre, multi use park.

San Francisco 124

San Francisco Pelicans Mexico Groups 124

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2012

A Western Meadowlark floats near San Francisco Bay. If you’re ever caught out with a short lens or the birds are just too far away, you can still get good shots that tell the wider story. Above, a Burrowing Owl near the Salton Sea. A Wilson’s Warbler in the reeds at a lake’s edge.

San Francisco 182

San Francisco Owls Birds 182

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2012

This individual was seen during a recent visit to San Francisco while I was looking for a Great Horned Owl’s nest in Golden Gate Park. All the birds seen today were males. If the females had shown, they would have been similarly marked but less vividly than the highly contrasting patterns of the males.

San Francisco 207

San Francisco North America Owls America 207

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

Recently a Fork-tailed Flycatcher was reported from a park in San Francisco, a long ways away from its home in Central and South America. Pin-tailed Whydah at Sutro Heights Park, San Francisco, CA. Fork-tailed Flycatcher is a vagrant that ABA Area birders unashamedly lust for.

San Francisco 170

San Francisco San Diego Connecticut South America 170

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2012

Red-tailed Hawks often hunt through dusk in San Francisco. The Foster City Shell Bar is the place for shorebirds and views of the San Mateo Bridge. Abbotts Lagoon welcomes the night and so do Burrowing Owls. Searching for Golden Gate Great Horned Owls. Varied Thrush habitat on Mount Tamalpais.

San Francisco 182

San Francisco Tennessee Falcons Owls 182

10,000 Birds

MAY 26, 2012

This individual was seen at close quarters in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park during a recent visit. Anna’s Hummingbird typically describes a steep dive accompanied by an “explosive buzz/squeak tewk ” at the bottom of the J-shaped curl.

San Francisco 201

San Francisco Oregon Washington California 201

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2012

San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park is rich in bird feeders and the jays find rich pickings. Though Steller’s Jay is usually associated with western coniferous forests, it can be found in many different habitats as well as town parks and gardens were they will take advantage of food left out during the winter.

San Francisco 174

San Francisco Sparrows Ducks Birds 174

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2015

Red-masked Parakeet, a near-threatened endemic of southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru, has sizeable population clusters in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale.

Los Angeles 154

Los Angeles Miami San Francisco Florida 154

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2018

I am a westerner who has lived in San Francisco and Portland my entire birding life. Although not a birding trip, before we moved from San Francisco to Portland, my wife and I did a long road trip across the United States, covering 12,000 miles and 34 states, from California to Florida to Maine to Montana.

San Francisco 100

San Francisco Portland United States Puerto Rico 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 16, 2019

Credit for the style appears to go to brewer Kim Sturdevant of Social Kitchen & Brewery in San Francisco, who created it after some inspired experimentation with enzymatic brewing on a day off.

Pelicans 118

Pelicans India San Francisco Oregon 118

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 12, 2017

It was a cool day in San Francisco, with wisps of sea mist passing through the trees. I am hoping that someone might suggest a reason why the birds were drenching themselves over such a long time period (I watched for 2 hours) at the expense (or so it appeared) of feeding. Can a tiny system afford to lose that much heat?

San Francisco 101

San Francisco Collecting Birds 101

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

I write to you this September from San Francisco, California. On the Farrallon Islands, San Francisco County’s own megararity trap, volunteer researches hope for everything from Red-footed Booby to Golden-cheeked Warbler. Photographed at White Lake, North Dakota. Californian birders live for fall.

San Francisco 160

San Francisco North Dakota California Albatross 160

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2020

So if you can get to New York’s Central Park, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, or Mexico City’s Chapultepec Park, I’m sure it will be worthwhile… in 2021. I understand that the really large ones, however, can be fascinating biological islands, especially during migration. Zero sites on my top 15 list).

San Francisco 163

San Francisco 2020 Experience Experiments 163

Critter News

NOVEMBER 16, 2008

From the website : Just after sunrise on Halloween, a sole trick or treater descended on the home of University of California-San Francisco primate vivisector Stephen Lisberger. As Stephen and his wife Chieko slept in San Francisco, tubes of superglue were used to fill his front door locks.

Primates 100

Primates San Francisco Animal Welfare Act Research 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 29, 2018

And hey, speaking of empire – is there any more beautiful clap-back to European colonization than the fact that various species of psittacine, exploited and stolen and in so many cases extirpated by eager collectors, have now become noisily acclimatized free-flying life forms in the parks of Brooklyn and San Francisco and especially London?

Species 101

Species San Francisco Rats Zebras 101