Grinnell and Wythe (1927) summarized the bird life of the San Francisco Bay region, paying particularly close attention to distribution and nesting sites. However, neither their report nor any other covering the area has mentioned the avifauna of one of the most prominent and well-known land features in the region: Alcatraz Island. The avifauna of Alcatraz is of interest because the island is only 1.6 km from a large city and a large number of people (an average of 2300 daily, R. Weideman pers. comm.) visit it year round.
Until recently, no ornithologist or natural historian had visited or at least had reported on any visits to the island. The only publications on the island’s birds are by Binford (1980), Howell et al. (1983), and Howell (1983). Here I summarize my observations of the birds breeding on Alcatraz. The data are based on many casual observations between May and August 1981 and between April and July 1982. All Western Gull nests were mapped during this period and on 10 and 30 May 1983.