Birds, Bouldering, and Blooms

Photo Courtesy Yakuta Poonawalla 

Vibrant colors pop

Wildflowers captivate

Spring is here again

The rains finally fell in March, which means our wildflowers have begun to emerge from their winter rest. We hope to see you all in the field as we begin our wildflower walks and continue our weekly drop-in programs!

Announcements

Want to become a long-term Steward at Lands End? Read on!

If you love being outside, are interested in habitat restoration, and want to make a positive impact in your national park, we encourage you to sign up for our new Lands Ends Volunteer Steward Program!

This volunteer opportunity is different from our drop-in programs. Volunteers will be trained and be a part of the greater National Park Service Volunteer-In-Parks (VIP) Programs. For more information and the application, please click here.

Checkerspot Butterfly re-introduction at the Presidio!

Click the link to see the Presidio’s Wildlife Ecologist, Jonathan Young, and Bio-Science Technician, David Harelson, explain the project.

Events

For a complete list of upcoming events please visit the Presidio Trust and Parks Conservancy events homepages!

April 28, 1–4 pm: Lands End Nature Challenge!  

Photo Courtesy Dominique Sevi

Join us for a day of discovery at Lands End, as we search for wildlife together! The Lands End Nature Challenge is part of The City Nature Challenge, which is an international effort to connect people with the natural world. This year, there are over 60 competing cities on five continents; the competition is  fierce!

Throughout the afternoon, we will talk about all the exciting things we see and hear, as well as share our insight and excitement for nature. Together, we will take pictures and document all the wildlife we find, from plants and flowers to birds, bugs, and fungi! We’ll post our photos on the iNaturalist app, where plants and animals can be identified by other nature enthusiasts. 

All ages welcome; no experience necessary!

Come be a part of a diverse community of nature-loving people, as we rediscover our parks together.

Click the link for more additional details and to register for the event.

For more information, contact Yakuta Poonawalla at ypoonawalla@parksconservancy.org

May 19, 10 am–1 pm: Fort Funston Nature Challenge!

Photo Courtesy Yakuta Poonawalla

Join us for a day of discovery at Fort Funston, as we search for wildlife together! This area is one of the last remaining sand dunes in the city, dotted with yellow sand verbena and seaside daisies. The rare San Francisco wallflower, San Francisco spineflower, and shy creeping wild rye all make a special appearance here, as well as the little bank swallow.

Throughout the morning, we will talk about all the exciting things we see and hear, as well as share our insight and excitement for nature. Together, we will take pictures and document all the wildlife we find, from plants and flowers, to birds, bugs, and fungi! We’ll post our photos to the iNaturalist app, where plants and animals can be identified by other nature enthusiasts. 

All ages welcome; no experience necessary!

Come be a part of a diverse community of nature-loving people, as we rediscover our parks together.

For more information, contact Yakuta Poonawalla at ypoonawalla@parksconservancy.org

April 15, 11:15 am–12:15 pm: Ohlone Native Plant Talk 

Join Ranger Desiree on a 1.5-mile walk starting from the Presidio Visitor Center to Crissy Field, where visitors will identify native plants and learn about medicinal plant uses.   

April 21, 10 am–12:30 pm: Wildflower Walk at Fort Funston 

The wildflowers are beginning to bloom in your very own Golden Gate National Parks. We invite you to come and enjoy the huge variety of both native and exotics on display at Fort Funston and prepare to be wowed by the range of colors, shapes, and scents!

April 21, 9 am–Noon: Earth Day: Historic Landscaping at Ocean Beach 

 Join us at Ocean Beach for a variety of volunteer activities, including:
Planting along the historic seawall planter beds, litter removal, painting, and vegetation pruning!

  April Wildlife

Anna’s Hummingbird feeding babies & a Great Blue Heron.
Photos Courtesy Vincent Nicolosi

5 Birds to Observe at Lands End during Spring Migration

By Vincent Nicolosi
 Ecological Restoration and Volunteer Management Intern

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is home to hundreds of different species of birds, both migratory species and permanent residents. Lands End provides an optimal opportunity for birdwatching due to its location on the western edge of San Francisco, jutting out into the Pacific Ocean. The green space provides a welcome habitat and brief respite for many birds that migrate through the Bay Area.

Spring migration typically lasts from April through May. It is a time when resident and migratory birds alike can be found at Lands End. Below is a list of some of the birds, both common and uncommon, to look out for in the coming months at Lands End.

1. Hooded Oriole (Icterus cucullatus)

 Photo Courtesy the National Park Service

The bright orange color of the hooded oriole is a sight to be seen! These birds eat insects, nectar, and fruits. They also love to build their nests in palm trees. The hooded oriole was first seen in San Francisco in 1966 and continues to nest in the area.¹ For more information, click here.

2. Forster’s Tern (Sterna forsteri)

 Photo Courtesy the National Park Service

These birds are often seen offshore and can be spotted all year long. However, breeding behaviors can be observed in the spring. A distinctly black cap and black tipped beak are distinguishing physical characteristics of these commonly seen birds. For more information, click here.

3. Allen’s Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin)

 Photo Courtesy the National Park Service

Not to be confused with our resident Anna’s hummingbird, the Allen’s hummingbird migrates to California to mate in the spring months. Like other hummingbirds, male Allen’s can often be seen trying to impress their female counterparts with impressive flying patterns. These birds fly upwards in a 25-foot pendulum pattern, and then dive while producing vocalizations and wing noise.² For more information, click here.

4. Townsend’s Warbler (Setophaga townsendi)

 Photo Courtesy the National Park Service

Spot these insect-eating birds in the cypress trees at Lands End. The bright yellow head with black markings make the Townsend’s Warbler an eye-catching bird. These small birds can even live to be 10 years old. Female Townsend’s Warblers have been observed to partially build a nest in one tree—only to move all the material to a different tree to finish construction.³ For more information, click here.

5. Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba)

 Photo Courtesy the National Park Service

Another one of our visiting water birds, the pigeon guillemot can be found along rocky shores—just like the coastal landscape of Lands End! The dark feathers and bright red feet and mouth make for a striking combination. A white strip can be seen on their wings. The pigeon guillemot has the ability to dive up to depths of 150 feet when hunting for food!⁴ For more information, click here.

Bay Area Bouldering

By Aurora Perez
 Ecological Restoration and Volunteer Management Intern

Climbing is a fun, exciting, and challenging sport for people of all ages and abilities. I first started climbing a little over two years ago, and it instantly became a passion of mine. There are different types of climbing, both indoors and outdoors. The Bay Area is full of beautiful parks to adventure in, with perfect boulders to climb on.¹

Types of Rock Climbing:

Top roping—this is a great introduction to rope climbing. It consists of a rope that is passed through a fixed anchor at the top of a climbing wall or cliff, with each end tied to the climber and the belayer at the bottom. A top rope (with a watchful belayer) ensures that the climber is always protected from falling very far, and is thus a good and safe way to learn to climb.

Sport climbing—this form of rock climbing uses pre-placed protection, such as bolts or a top rope. This style of climbing is extremely versatile, offering a range of difficulties as well as a range of route-lengths.

Traditional or "trad" climbing—these routes are set traditionally, meaning they do not have fixed anchors permanently bolted into the wall/crag. Instead, the climber is responsible for inserting protection into cracks in the rock as they climb up.

Bouldering—this requires you to leave behind the ropes and harnesses and just climb with shoes and a bag of chalk over safety mats. The climbs are high enough to be exciting, but not so high that they're immensely intimidating.

Since I’ve been in the Bay Area, I have visited a few climbing areas. All beautiful with spectacular rock. There are boulders all across the North Coast, South Bay, and East Bay, provided that the rains haven’t made them too slippery.  

In the center of San Francisco there lies a large urban canyon that has incredible spring wildflowers, miles of trails to hike through, critical habitat for a wide range of wildlife, and dramatic rock formations to climb! Glen Canyon Park is a perfect, sweet escape from the city’s urban action.

Glen Canyon Park Photo Courtesy Aurora Perez

The first place I visited when I moved to San Francisco was the Pacifica Headlands. Overlooking Pacifica Beach and adjacent to Mori Point, these boulders offer a few bouldering and top-roping opportunities. The advantage to this location is its proximity to trails and wildflower displays at Mori Point and the warm sand down at Pacifica Beach. If you are in the area or looking for something to do when the surf is low, you should definitely check out this climbing area.

Left: Pacifica Headlands Right: Castle Rock Photo Courtesy Aurora Perez

If you take a little longer drive south of San Francisco, you’ll reach Castle Rock State Park. Known for its beautiful sandstone formations and enchanting, mossy forest, Castle Rock is home to black oaks, knobcone pines, and high-elevation coast redwoods. With an extensive trail system of over 34 miles, this park’s diverse landscapes accommodate a variety of activities, including backpacking, horseback riding, and rock climbing.²

Castle Rock has the highest concentration of bouldering routes in the Bay Area, including some fun sport and trad climbing options, making it the most popular all-around rock climbing and bouldering venue in the Bay Area.

One of my favorite bouldering spots near the Bay Area is Nut Tree Boulders in Vacaville! Locals have been escaping into the hills to boulder on basalt boulders since the sport began gaining popularity in the 1970s. It’s a bouldering oasis, filled with lots of grass, beautiful large oak trees, and random vacas (cattle) for everyone to enjoy.

 Photo Courtesy Fatima Lopez

When climbing outdoors, it’s important to recognize our impact on the environment, respect other visitors’ experience, and think about our actions. The Leave No Trace program has provided a list of seven principles that encourage us to enjoy our natural world in a sustainable way.

There are several steps we can do in order to minimize human-created impacts to our Earth. One very important step before an adventure is to plan ahead and be prepared. We should make sure we are aware of any specific regulations or special concerns for the area we’re visiting.

To help respect wildlife, we do not follow, approach, or feed animals. Feeding wildlife could potentially alter the animal’s natural behaviors, expose them to predators, and damage their health.

Lastly, be considerate of other visitors. This includes refraining from playing loud music, overcrowding the climbing area, and leaving a mess behind. For a complete list of the principles with longer explanations, visit The Leave No Trace Seven Principles page.

Highlights from the Field

 Photo Courtesy Nishad Joshi

• We planted 357 native plants at Lands End!
• We removed about 45 bags of weeds from Lands End, 10 bags from the Presidio Coastal Bluffs and 15 bags from Fort Funston.
• We used our introduced species to create nature art.
• We ate 50 samosas provided by KASA during our South Asian Community Program Holi Celebration.

Drop-In Volunteer Programs