Marin is home to many large birds

Earlier this year, I wrote a column intended to appeal to a bird-curious, 8-year-old boy such as I once was: which are the fastest birds? It occurs to me now that there is another way of looking at birds that has a similarly straightforward appeal: what are the biggest birds we have in Marin?

NBA star Steph Curry boasts a wingspan of 6 feet, 4 inches. We have at least half a dozen species of Bay Area birds that routinely exceed that figure, including a number of different waterbirds (herons, cranes, pelicans, swans) and raptors (vultures, eagles and — on the periphery of the Bay Area, but biggest of all — condors).

Let’s start with some common waterbirds.

Have you seen swans in Marin? Our only local swan of regular occurrence is the mute swan, an introduced European species that is now fairly common around North Bay ponds. Weighing more than 20 pounds and with a wingspan that can exceed 7 feet, mute swans can sometimes exclude smaller natives from nesting areas. Still, swans are undeniably elegant creatures, as well as being the single most approachable of our large birds — you are unlikely to pass within 10 feet of an eagle, heron or pelican, but this can easily happen with a placid, path-side swan at San Rafael’s Las Gallinas Ponds or Petaluma’s Ellis Creek.

Another familiar sight near ponds and wetlands is the great blue heron, the largest local member of the heron and egret family. These tall wading birds are among our most upright of birds, commonly standing 4 feet high and boasting wingspans up to 6.5 feet, while weighing a mere 5 to 6 pounds (a long neck doesn’t weigh much). Great blue herons are a familiar sight throughout Marin, hunting fish and amphibians around water, as well as rodents and lizards in dry fields. Meanwhile, a short trip to the Sacramento Valley can reward autumn birders with the sight and sound of sandhill cranes, even larger birds with similarly long legs and beaks that travel south each fall, blasting their wonderfully wild trumpet calls overhead.

The waterbird that has the largest wingspan of all of Marin’s birds is the white pelican, weighing in at up to 20 pounds and with a wingspan of 9 feet. White pelicans are found around inland ponds and wetlands all year round. A slowly wheeling flock of pelicans in flight, whether numbering a handful of birds or dozens, is one of the most majestic sights of Marin’s birdlife. Smaller brown pelicans are found along the coast, making up for their comparatively meager 6.5 feet wingspan with a more acrobatic, diving method of feeding.

Those are Marin’s big waterbirds. But many people think of a different group of birds when they think of the large and imposing: the raptors, or birds of prey. On the more abundant end of the spectrum, the Bay Area is abundantly populated by red-tailed hawks (4.5 feet wingspan) and great-horned owls (ditto). Turkey vultures are even more abundant and impressive as wide-winged soaring birds: their 6 feet wingspan provides an exceptionally large surface area for their 3 pounds weight, making them one of our most efficient flyers, capable of spending many hours on the wing with hardly any flapping.

The biggest of California’s raptors are not so common. Marin is home to both golden and bald eagles all year round, in moderate numbers, with golden eagles found more often near large expanses of grassland and bald eagles more often found near water (try Stafford Lake, the Hamilton Wetlands, Richardson Bay and Bolinas Lagoon).

America’s two eagle species are similarly majestic in dimensions, with wingspans of both birds regularly exceeding 7 feet.

Even the eagles, however, are dwarfed by our state’s largest bird of all: the California condor, whose wings reach 9.5 feet. While condors were once found throughout the length of the state, their numbers severely dwindled during the DDT-era and have only slowly recovered. A few hours drive south to Pinnacles National Monument or Big Sur will bring you to their current range, though it is hoped that they will one day expand northward to recolonize the Bay Area.

We have many majestic and imposing birds in Marin — maybe the next generation will see even larger wings soaring overhead.

Jack Gedney’s On the Wing runs every other Monday. He is a co-owner of Wild Birds Unlimited in Novato and author of “The Private Lives of Public Birds.” You can reach him at jack@natureinnovato.com.