This species is rare as a migrant throughout California although it breeds very locally in the extreme northeast part of the state in Modoc County. This is one of very few records for the City of San Francisco. Weather conditions were very windy which kept this bird hunkered down most of the time when it was difficult to see. It was easier to pick out in flight.
It was found this afternoon by Steve Phillips and seen and photographed by numerous observers throughout the rest of the day. After most of the birders and photographers left, I was able to approach the bird more closely and was eventually able to get these reasonably satisfying images.
Digiscoped with Panasonic DMC-LX5 | Nikon FieldScope III | 30XWA | hand-held (no adapter)