Find the wild in downtown San Francisco.
Even amidst the tall buildings of downtown San Francisco, wildlife flourishes. In the city’s most developed areas, you may spot red-tailed hawks, peregrine falcons, and tiger swallowtail butterflies.
Civic Center
Civic Center
Plaza Bushtit, brown-headed cowbird, mew gull, white-throated swift, red-tailed hawk
Embarcadero
Exploratorium - Pier 15
Take a walk around the pier for a chance to see brown pelicans, gulls, grebes, harbor seals, and sea lions
Ferry Building
Brown pelican, double-crested cormorant, greater scaup, gulls, kingfisher, grebes, white-crowned sparrow
Levi’s Plaza
Gulls, pigeons, white-winged parakeet, double-crested cormorant, brown pelican, American robin, Brewer’s blackbird, red-masked parakeet
Pier 1 - Port of San Francisco
Brown pelicans, gulls, grebes, harbor seals, sea lions
Pier 7
Brown pelicans, gulls, grebes, harbor seals, sea lions, sharks, bat rays, skates, tomcod, kingfish, jacksmelt, flounder, sole, sanddabs, halibut, striped bass
Pier 14
Brown pelicans, gulls, grebes, harbor seals, sea lions
Financial District
One Bush Plaza
Keep an eye out for the Tiger Swallowtail butterfly while enjoying the beautiful London Plane trees
Sue Bierman Park
Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, sparrows, bushtit, parakeets, Canada goose, band-tailed pigeon, red-wing blackbird, scrub jay, hummingbirds
Sydney G. Walton Square
Red-masked parakeet, rock pigeon, common raven, Brewer’s blackbird, house finch, white-crowned sparrow
Fisherman’s Wharf
Pier 39
Sea lions, double-crested cormorant, gulls, rock pigeon, ruddy duck, barn swallow, bushtit, house sparrow, various marine species (aquarium of the bay)
Mission Bay
Mission Creek
Snowy egret, cormorants, grebes, mourning dove, warbler, sandpipers, cedar waxwing, gulls, bat rays, California sea lion, harbor seals, anchovies, leopard shark, macro-invertebrates
Nob Hill
Huntington Park
A quiet place to kick back, absorb natural surroundings, and maybe spot some birds
North Beach
Washington Square Park
House sparrow, tree swallow, red-masked parakeet, gulls, Anna’s hummingbird, yellow-rumped warbler, red-tailed hawk
SOMA
Alice Street Community Garden
House finch, gulls, rock pigeon, Anna’s hummingbird, black phoebe, white-crowned sparrow
Howard Langton Community Garden
A little spot of nature to escape SoMa’s concrete jungle Victoria Manalo Park Mew gull, yellow-rumped warbler, white-crowned sparrow, American robin
Yerba Buena Gardens
Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, house finch, red-tailed hawk, ruby-crowned kinglet, American robin, chestnut-backed chickadee
South Beach/South Park
Rincon Park
Brewer’s blackbird, surf scoter, rock pigeon, horned grebe, bufflehead, lesser scaup, gulls
South Park
Native plantings, hummingbird garden
Telegraph Hill
Pioneer Park
Cormorants, greater white-fronted goose, pigeons, Anna’s hummingbird, terns, house finch, parakeets
Tenderloin
Boeddeker Park
Check out the upper section for diverse habitat and food plantings
Tenderloin National Forest
Cherry, cypress, Japanese maple trees, redwoods, succulents, cacti, vegetables, herbs, flowers
Western Addition
Jefferson Square Park
A pleasant green space with grassy lawns and stately old trees to enjoy great views of the city
Yerba Buena Island
Yerba Buena Island
Cedar waxwing, Anna’s hummingbird, golden-crowned sparrow, American robin, Canada goose, yellow warbler, fox sparrow, pine siskin, hermit thrush, bushtit
Additional Resources
Stories of San Francisco Species (PDF) - Learn about city’s indigenous critters, including birds, butterflies, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
Green Connection Maps - Learn about long-term plans to restore local habitat and improve 115 miles of San Francisco streets.
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