An early morning walk along a water channel through an industrial area turned up a few nice birds, including Whimbrel, Black-crowned Night-heron, Snowy Egret, and a Caspian Tern. A California Towhee was feeding its young on a fence behind the motel. We crossed over the hills to the coast, which we first encountered at Rockaway Beach, south of Pacifica. There, we encountered for the first time the incredible richness of the coastal bird life, with lots of gulls (first life bird: the oh-so-abundant Western Gull) and such goodies (for a midwesterner) as Brown Pelicans, lots of Western Grebes, Surf Scoters, a Pacific Loon, a Black Oystercatcher, and some Pigeon Guillemots. Furthermore, there were Harbor Seals, and even some
dolphins (possibly all gray, long-snouted with a white snout tip, and a prominent recurved dorsal fin, indicating either Bottlenose or Common Dolphin, both unusual this far north). A short drive north brought us into San Francisco to Lake Merced, where a Red Phalarope had been ...