Miwok-style birding in the city

Editor’s Note: Each spring since 2011, Ivan Samuels has taken part in Golden Gate Bird Alliance’s annual Birdathon with a “Miwok-style” Birdathon – birding as the Bay Area’s original inhabitants might have done it, without optics, motorized transport, or even a bike.

By Ivan Samuels

When it came time to plan my 2016 “Miwok-Style” Birdathon for Golden Gate Bird Alliance, I found myself studying new routes for the first time. Things did not work out for my fellow Miwoks this year and it was time to do the count alone, my first time counting solo since 2011 when I first conceived of the idea to do a Birdathon without any modern implements. Although tempted to return to my usual site at Point Reyes, I decided to retreat deep into GGBA territory and do my count within the limits of San Francisco.

Obviously, the city of San Francisco has seen far more changes to its natural environment than Point Reyes. But Bay Area birders also know that the combination of natural and restored habitats with unique urban landscapes and bay and ocean frontage provide a wealth of birding opportunities. And I am lucky enough to live in the Presidio, perhaps the wildest corner of the city.

Waking up in my own home was bending the rules a bit, but I left the windows open so I would rise early, and was quickly out of the house and into the dawn chorus. Knowing the Presidio well was key, and I took full advantage of the restoration projects that have helped restore native habitats and their birds here. These included Bewick’s Wren at the Lobos Creek dunes, shorebirds at Crissy Field, and a singing Wrentit (that was actually seen!) on the Coastal Bluffs. The city’s non-native habitats contributed too of course, not the least of which was an active Cooper’s Hawk nest in a eucalyptus near the Presidio Golf Course.

I missed my rocky shorebirds walking through Lincoln Park, but was delighted to pick up a large mix of Black Turnstones and Surfbirds at Sutro Baths. And the tide was so low at this point I was able to walk around to Ocean Beach without going back up. Giving up on Brown Pelican and the other distant seabirds I could not make out on the horizon without modern optics, I turned into Golden Gate Park for my final land birding of the day. The wind had picked up, but I managed to add a Sharp-shinned Hawk and the Western Bluebird I had missed in the Presidio.

I turned back towards home to complete my loop, approximately 15 miles of hiking and some very sore feet for a total count of 87 species. I think I will return to the wilds of Point Reyes again next year, but the day reminded me how lucky we are to have a wealth of birding and nature exploration right in the heart of a major city.

Ivan Samuels is a native San Franciscan with 30 years of birding experience. He works for the March Conservation Fund, supporting biodiversity conservation both locally and abroad.