PARRONTCHAT BIRD SUPPLIES

As you pursue the excitement of spotting that melodic warbler or spying the nesting habits of a clever woodpecker, preparation is key. When roaming in the woods or exploring a secluded meadow, it is important to make sure you are equipped with the proper bird watching gear that keeps you protected, prepared, and organized. Just think – how are you to handle and transport all of the needed accompaniments that make bird watching a success?

Without the help of a pair of binoculars, there is no way of catching sight of birds hiding in the security of a tall tree. Binoculars not only enlarge the size of birds, but also allow you to tackle long distances. It is important that any bird watching optics are nice and lightweight, as people can often spend many hours traversing some rough terrain in order to observe birds. While some bird enthusiasts believe that a decent pair of binoculars is the only thing that will carry them through a bird watching adventure, there are many other things to consider that enhances an overall trip.

In order to enjoy easy access to field guides and other items, a birding vest with sizable pockets is recommended. The typical vest offers about ten pockets of varying sizes to accommodate items, such as lens caps, lip balm, snacks, and insect repellent. When shopping for a vest, make sure to try on several different options in order to purchase the best fit. It is also important to make sure the pockets will accommodate all of your accessories without creating a heavy feel. Also, consider a vest that uses Velcro to seal pockets, which provides a decent level of access to stored items.

A lightweight rain jacket is sometimes needed in order to protect you from the elements when bird watching weather takes a turn for the worse. While birding, don’t forget to bring along a hat. The great outdoors is a great place for a hobby, but it can also be devastating to the skin. A bad sunburn is something that will keep people away from their favorite hobby. Bird watching hats can really make a significant difference in the success of a bird watching trip. A good bird watching hat can keep the sun away from the face and the hair out of the eyes. If a rare bird flies by, bird watchers only have a few seconds sometimes to observe the beautiful creature. The sun blacking out the view or hair in front of the eyes could disrupt a special experience.

If you are an avid bird watcher and enjoy pairing trips with a bit of hiking, carrying along a backpack is suggested. Try to come prepared with meals, bottled water, an extra pair of binoculars, socks, field maps, compass, snacks, and notebooks for recording your encounters – all of which will easily fit into a backpack. Make sure not to over pack this piece of equipment or you will face the risk of becoming tired before you have a chance to finish your anticipated journey.

Where is a good place for a tourist to go bird watching in California, particulary San Francisco?

Golden Gate Park
Glaucous-winged Gull, Anna’s Hummingbird, Western Scrub-Jay, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Bushtit, Pygmy Nuthatch, Wrentit, California Towhee, nesting Allen’s Hummingbird and wintering Mew Gull, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Varied Thrush, and Golden-crowned Sparrow. At the western end of Point Lobos Avenue, the Cliff House area of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area provides an excellent viewpoint for finding seabirds and shorebirds year-round. Black Oystercatcher is a nesting resident on the rocks below, and other “rocky shorebirds” are present except in midsummer. Look also for Brandt’s and Pelagic Cormorants, Brown Pelican, gulls (Western nests here, and Heermann’s is present much of the year), Elegant Tern (in summer), Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot (absent in winter), and any number of other waterbirds, including possible wintering Harlequin Duck, scoters, and Oldsquaw.

Point Reyes National Seashore will find many characteristic land birds of this area in forests (walk the Bear Valley Trail), scrub, and fields, including California Quail, Anna’s and Allen’s (absent fall through early winter) Hummingbirds, Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Pacific-slope Flycatcher (spring and summer), Hutton’s Vireo, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Oak Titmouse, Pygmy Nuthatch, Wrentit, and California Towhee. Spots such as Limantour Beach can have concentrations of migrant shorebirds. Walk to Abbott’s Lagoon, on Pierce Point Road, to look for winter and migrant waterfowl, and visit Drake’s Estero for waders and shorebirds.
The lighthouse area makes a great lookout for seabirds, including Red-throated and Pacific Loons, Sooty Shearwater (summer and early fall), Brown Pelican (summer and fall), Brandt’s and Pelagic Cormorants, scoters (fall through spring), Black Oystercatcher and other rocky shorebirds, Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, Rhinoceros Auklet, and other alcids.

Golden Gate National Recreation Area
In fall, visit the Marin Headlands area known to birders as “Hawk Hill.” You will see Osprey; Northern Harrier; accipiters; Red-shouldered, and Red-tailed Hawks; Golden Eagle; Merlin; and Peregrine Falcon pass over the region’s most famous hawk-watching site, and see California Quail, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and Wrentit.

Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Waders, waterfowl, shorebirds, and other wetlands species can be found at several accessible sites on the southern end of San Francisco Bay. The Tidelands Trail, a 1-mile [1.6-kilometer] loop, traverses marshland where Pied-billed and Eared Grebes, American Bittern, Great and Snowy Egrets, dabbling ducks, Common Moorhen, Black-necked Stilt, and American Avocet. The Mallard Slough and Alviso Slough Trails are excellent birding walks for wetland species. For more similar marsh habitat, take Embarcadero Road east from US 101 in Palo Alto, on the west side of the bay, to Palo Alto Baylands Preserve, where birders also look for Clapper Rail and, at high tide in winter, for the elusive Black Rail and Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow.

Pillar Point
Just north of Half Moon Bay, drive west through the community of Princeton toward Pillar Point, to scan the sea for loons, grebes, sea ducks, and alcids, and the rocky coast for shorebirds.