The Natural History of Foster City, California

by James K. Sayre

a draft manuscript

12 May 2005

Chapter 10 - Birds

The birds that use Foster City as habitat are basically quite similar to those found in nearby San Francisco Bay peninsula communities, with some exceptions. Since Foster City faces on the San Francisco Bay and has its own internal system of lagoons, there are more water birds found here than more inland towns such as Hillsborough, Thereon and Woodside. Since Foster City was created from filled and diked bay marshlands, there was not an indigenous bird population that would be traditionally associated with oak tree/grasslands or redwood forests. Originally the land was tidal marshlands. About ninety-five years ago, the land was diked off and turned into pasturelands for cattle grazing. More recently, part of the land Foster City now occupies was used as evaporative salt ponds by the Leslie Salt Co. In all of these situations, the birds that could utilize this land as habitat did so. When Foster City was created in the 1960's, the construction activity probably disrupted bird feeding and breeding to a great extent. After the major construction activities were completed, the various species of birds could move back in from population reservoirs in neighboring areas.

For ease of discussion, many authors have divided birds into two major groups: land birds and water birds. According to a checklist of Foster City birds that was produced for the local Sequoia Audubon Society, there are only eight species of land birds that are considered common in Foster City all year around [Coiro]. These are listed below:

Land birds common all year around:

Common name Scientific name

Pigeon Columba livia

Mourning dove Zenoidura macroura

Anna's hummingbird Calypte anna

Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos

Starling Sturnus vulgaris

Brewer's blackbird Euphagus cyanocephalus

House Finch Carpodacus mexicanus

House Sparrow Passer domesticus

A dozen more land birds are considered common or fairly common in Foster City in Fall, Winter and Spring, and are less common during the summer:

Land birds fairly common or common in Fall, Winter and Spring:

Common name Scientific name

Turkey Vulture Cathartees aura

Sparrow hawk, Falco sparverius

Killdeer Charadrius vociferus

Crow Corvus brachyrhynchas

Bushtit Psaltriparus melanotis

Robin Turdus migratorius

Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis

Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia

White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys

Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus

Western Meadowlark Sturnella neglecta

Purple Finch Carpodacus purpureus

One water bird is considered common all year around in Foster City:

Water birds common all year around:

Common name Scientific name

Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarenesis

Twenty-eight species of water birds are considered common in the Fall, Winter and Spring seasons:

Water birds fairly common or common in Fall, Winter and Spring:

Common name Scientific name

Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps

Clark's Grebe Aechmophorus clarkii

Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus

Common Egret Casmerodiu albus

Snowy Egret Leucophoyx thula

Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax

Mallard Anas platyrhynchos

Northern Pintail Anas acuta

Northern Shoveler Spatula clypeata

American Wigeon Mareca americana

Greater Scaup Aythya marila

Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis

Bufflehead Bucephala albeola

Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis

American Coot Fulica americana

Black-bellied Plover Squatarola squatorola

Semi-palmated Plover Charadrius semipalmatus

Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus

American Avocet Recurvirostra americana

Willet Catoptrophorus semipalmatus

Marbled Godwit Limosa fedoa

Knot Calidris canutus

Western Sandpiper Ereunetes mauri

Least Sandpiper Erolia minutilla

Dunlin Erolia alpina

Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus

Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus

Forster's Tern Sterna foresteri

End.

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