The San Francisco Botanical Garden is a large area and takes a long time to cover thoroughly. Up to three hours is typical. The entire garden may be productive: only a few of the best places to check are described here.

The Moon Viewing Garden is among the best areas in the garden for passerine vagrants, which use primarily the large deciduous trees around a tiny stream and small pond. Varied Thrush is also regular in winter, and sapsuckers use some trees in the area also.

The Muir Pond area in the Children's Garden features an excellent willow thicket that has attracted many vagrants over the years, including several that have wintered (e.g., Orchard Oriole, Rose-breasted Grosbeak), and is also good for Downy Woodpecker and Purple Finch year-round. Many birds bathe in shallow water along the short boardwalk. The Children's Garden itself hosts fantastic sparrow flocks in winter, up to 50 Zonotrichia sparrows of three species (Golden-crowned, White-crowned, and sometimes White-throated) may be present.

Between the Moon Viewing Area and the Children's Garden is the Succulent Garden, which is the best spot for hummingbirds (Allen's from late January through early July, Anna's year-round, Rufous in passage, potential for rarer hummers). The Mexican Hand Tree at (37.767031, -122.472222) can be very productive for warblers and other nectarivores in the fall.

The immediate vicinity of the North Gate has a number of bottlebrush trees that may attract vagrant warblers in fall (e.g., a Black-throated Blue Warbler used these flowers in fall 2021), and support uncommon winterers like Nashville Warbler.

The California Native Garden often has good sparrow flocks in winter; Fox Sparrows (Sooty group, Passerella iliaca [unalaschcensis Group]) are particularly well-represented.

Between the Succulent Garden and the Native Garden is the Conifer Lawn; one of the trees in this area is a Guatemalan Fir at (37.7672434, -122.4715140). It is known informally among San Francisco birders as the "warbler tree" for the number of migrant warblers it tends to attract in the fall. In winter sapsuckers visit it on occasion, and this tree combined with the nearby Redwood Grove become one of the most reliable sites for Golden-crowned Kinglet in the city.

The Waterfowl Pond near the north gate rarely hosts waterfowl of interest but may support Ring-necked Ducks or Hooded Mergansers on occasion. There are a couple of records of uncommon geese (Snow, Ross's, Greater White-fronted) joining the local Canada Goose flock.

The botanic garden is perhaps the best place in the City to look for sapsuckers in the winter: Red-breasted is common (mostly subspecies daggetti, occasionally ruber), and the other three are rare. At least two Red-naped have been recorded in recent winters, however. Sapsuckers' favorite trees change year to year, and even within a single season. Some of the best ones to check include the Cryptocarya alba at (37.7684580, -122.4715170), the trees just above the statue of St. Francis in the Fragrance Garden at (37.7672434, -122.4715140), and the Guatemalan Fir ("warbler tree") described above.

In winter, Varied Thrush is always present, although sometimes difficult to pin down; the Moon Viewing Garden and adjacent Southeast Asian Cloud Forest are often the best areas to check, although they may be anywhere in the garden. Other uncommon winterers like White-throated Sparrow (anywhere there are sparrow flocks) and Nashville Warbler (often in bottlebrushes by the northern entrance) are fairly regular as well. In most years, more notable rarities have wintered as well: for instance, in 2022–2023, the Arboretum hosted a putative Winter Wren, an Orchard Oriole, two Red-naped Sapsuckers, and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

Spring arrivals begin in late January with the first Allen's Hummingbirds (common throughout, but with particular concentrations in the Succulent Garden). Generally, however, spring and summer are comparatively slow here, with very few specialties present.

Fall is the best season for migrant numbers and in particular for vagrants. All Western warblers are reasonably common, and some (like Yellow and Townsend's) are abundant. A great variety of Eastern warblers have occurred as well—including Black-throated Blue, Canada, and Prothonotary, as well as more regular vagrants like Tennessee, Black-and-White, and Chestnut-sided. All these birds may occur anywhere in the gardens, but the Moon Viewing Garden and bottlebrushes near the north entrance are often particularly productive. Western Tanagers and other frugivores concentrate at any trees bearing fruit: the composition of the fruiting tree assemblage varies year to year, but there are always at least a couple to be found.

Year-round specialties include California fog-belt species like Pacific Wren and a couple of species, like Hutton's Vireo, more typically associated with oak woodland. Red-masked Parakeet, a non-native species established in San Francisco, is an occasional visitor (mostly in flyover flocks) as well.

The San Francisco Botanical Garden (frequently referred to as the Arboretum) is one of the world's leading institutions of its kind. It displays more than 8000 species of plant, including many highly endangered taxa, over 55 acres of Golden Gate Park.

The botanic diversity of this site gives rise to extraordinary avian diversity. With minimal effort, an experienced observer can pull out more than 50 species, including at least a couple of rarities, in the morning during any season except summer. At the same time, though, the gardens are also scenic and pleasant to bird: they are a great spot to introduce a novice to birding, perhaps in combination with nearby Stow Lake.

Locals get in for free, but there is usually a rather steep entrance fee for visitors who are not residents of San Francisco. However, if you arrive before 9:00 a.m., entry is free for all. Various other discounts (for students, senior citizens, etc.) may apply as well. The main gate to the gardens opens at 7:30 a.m. year-round, although the north gate does not open until 9:00—but check the website to confirm that this information is still current at the time of your visit. It's probably ideal for most birders to arrive before 9:00 a.m., not only because entry is free, but also because bird activity is then at its peak.

Please note also that, considering the conservation value of the plants cultivated in the gardens, it is particularly important to stay on marked trails: trampling vegetation underfoot is unacceptable here.

Golden Gate Park is a large urban park, 1017 acres,  administered by the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, which began in 1871 to oversee the development of Golden Gate Park. Configured as a rectangle, it is similar in shape to but larger than Central Park in New York City, to which it is often compared. It is over three miles long east to west, and about half a mile north to south.