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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kibet" data-source="post: 3495273" data-attributes="member: 126488">Day 1 Friday 18th NovemberCorona Heights (GGAS) – Buena Vista Park – Stow Lake – Strawberry HillAfter travelling to the hotel the night before, sleep was on my mind. A conveyor belt broke at SFO and so one of my bags was stuck between the plane and the baggage hall. They gave me two options, wait an hour in case it is resolved or go to the hotel and they would deliver it. I chose the latter as it meant free bag delivery! The bag was waiting for me in the morning when I woke up.I was at Corona Heights for sunrise at around 0700. The walk was due to start at 0800, so I wandered around close to the starting point. My first bird of the day, an Anna’s Hummingbird, so close that I had to back off about a meter in order for me to take the picture. This was one that I was looking forward to get. The Anna’s was swiftly followed by a fly by of a flock of Red-Masked Parakeets, A couple of distant Ravens and then a raptor in the distance. Then a “Gentleman” behind me started to take off his trousers and putting on another pair. As he muttered to himself, I tried to avoid drawing attention to myself, before he started climbing up a hill through scrubland. I carried on, being rewarded with a Fox Sparrow and a California Towhee (Cal Tows). At this point, the leader of the walk Brian turned up, followed by a police car looking for the previously mentioned “Gentleman”.As everyone else started to show up, we started the trip by checking the trees on the side of the road as we made the way to the park entrance. Immediately, we were greeted by Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Pygmy Nuthatches who go about in little family groups, Dark-Eyed Junco and a Downy Woodpecker. The woodpecker was followed by a Red-Tailed Hawk parking itself in the sun on a nearby tree, and being harassed by an American Crow. When we entered the park, a Cooper’s Hawk flew in and conveniently parked itself in a tree for everyone to have a good look. This was followed by a California Scrub Jay, Black Phoebe and American Robin as we went up the hill (hence the name “Heights”).  Descending the hill again, we found a spot next to a red berry bush with a tree of about 10 Cedar Waxwing, coming in to feed. They were joined in the area by Mocking Bird, Hermit Thrush and a Northern Flicker.We carried on our descent to the lawn to finish the walk, which I had then discovered at some point I had turned a wrong button on my camera, and I had been firing on wrong settings for most of the day. We ended the walk to feeding White-crowned sparrows on the lawn and American Bushtit in the bushes. As the final group, a few had left earlier as they had to go to work, broke up, a Merlin flew over our heads. I carried on to Buena Vista Park, a short 5 minute walk away. As I was now walking on my own, I was conscious of wandering around a park on my own with camera and binoculars. I walked to the summit, and confirmed that the park was appropriately named, looking over SF and the GG Bridge. After seeing more scrubbies and juncos, I found my first Golden Crowned Sparrow. After a brief chat with a Park Gardener on what I was taking pictures of, and exchanging warnings. Myself about a Hornet’s nest or Bee hive I had seen, and them warning me about Coyotes (which in hindsight I should have listened to, more on that later), I left the park rather uneventfully. I walked along Haight Street, picking up a hat for Sunday night (for an event I was attending), I carried on to GG Park, spotting a Brewer’s Blackbird at the side of the road. After a slight harassment from the young homeless (which I had been briefly warned about), due to the hat being in a brown paper bag and Haight Street being known for other “Recreational Activities”, I arrived at Stow Lake.Stow Lake seemed to be the typical boat pond with American Coot and Mallard, which people were feeding. Also joining them was Double-Crested Cormorant, Ring-necked duck and Northern Shoveler. A couple of Raccoons walked in the water close by, giving everyone a bit of space. I hoped that had been the only encounter with Raccoons, but more on that later. I crossed the bridge to climb Strawberry Hill in the middle of Stow Lake, where I got more views of Red-Tailed Hawkand Cal Tows. After returning to hotel, I was out again in the evening to a writing event. I had to walk twice for this, once on the way there as the Bus had to be turned around due to a blocked street (police arrests) and then the second was on the return when I could not find the bus stop for my connection. In SF, some bus stops are just painted yellow telegraph poles with bus numbers on them. Worth noting.Safely, or so I thought, at the hotel, I was having a smoke in the car park, when I notice little legs on the first floor of the hotel. As they reached the stairs, I found orange glowing eyes of raccoons staring at me. Cautiously, one at a time, they came down the stairs, checked me again and gave me a wide berth as they crossed the car park. After the third one went across, the fourth one paused and looked at me. I happen to glance to my left and two of them were sneaking up on me. One raised itself onto two feet before dropping and taking another tentative step forward. I did not stick around and so survived my first “gang” attack in SF.(Link to pictures will follow as some are too large to upload here)Photographed Species 22/56</blockquote>

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