A Day in the Presidio

On an editorial retreat at the Presidio in San Francisco I spied through the window a red-tailed hawk chasing another brownish bird about 40 feet off the ground. The other bird could have been another red-tail but I did not see either very long. The hawk I did see so quickly was brown, had a red tail and was about the size it should be. It was a very fast glimpse.

I also caught short looks at the flock of conures the live in the Presidio. There is some debate as to whether it is the same flock as represented in the movie and book, The Parrots of Telegraph Hill, or if the flocks merge and morph from time to time. The parrots have been sighted regularly in the Presidio, on Telegraph Hill, and in Dolores Park.

I got the former Army base about an hour early and had a nice morninng hike through a stand of Eucalyptus trees while walking along a trail called Lovers' Lane. I didn't see anything along the path, but when it opened up near a field recently planted with conifers and with a mostly sandy/grassy ground I spotted a bird I have yet to ID. It was small (6-8"?) had a downward curved 1" bill and it was running up and down the trunk of one of the trees, hopped to another tree and continued its up and down journey. I recently read about such behavior but have not found the page again in the field guide. It also had a pale chest and belly with slight rufous flash under the tail. I think if I see it in a book I'll be able give it a name.