Birds I'm Watching: Spring Lake (10/16/10)

Joined a Madrone Audubon Society group this morning for a quick walk around Spring Lake, in Santa Rosa. It was cold and foggy, but Spring Lake never disappoints. I saw 45 species, the group as a whole about 50.

Birds I saw were: California towhee, Oak titmouse, Bushtit, Crow, Scrub jay, Spotted towhee, White-breasted nuthatch, Acorn woodpecker, Nuttall's woodpecker, Yellow-rumped warbler (18), Dark-eyed junco, Red-winged blackbird, Steller's jay, Canada goose, California quail, Anna's hummingbird, Chestnut-backed chickadee, Downy woodpecker, Belted kingfisher, Townsend's warbler, Red-tailed hawk, Snowy egret, Lesser goldfinch, Double-crested cormorant, American coot, Black-crowned night heron, Green heron (3), Great blue heron, Northern flicker (4), Mallard, Wood duck (3), Pied-billed grebe, Great egret, Cedar waxwing (50), Brown creeper (3), Turkey vulture, Common moorhen, Black phoebe, Greater scaup, Song sparrow, Orange-crowned warbler, Black-throated gray warbler (2), Golden-crowned sparrow, Ruby-crowned kinglet, European starling. (Numbers indicate unusual numbers for a given species.) I got an excellent shot of one of the Black-throated gray warblers--a very handsome bird (above)--and of a Golden-crowned sparrow. Ditto.

For more information about bird watching in Sonoma County, see my Website Sonoma County Bird Watching Spots

Birds I'm Watching: Spring Lake (October 17, 2009)

Went on a walk around Spring Lake this morning with some experienced birders from the Madrone Audubon Society. Cleared up a few birds I was wondering about and got two new ones for my life list--the band-tailed pigeon and Wilson's Snipe--making 160. Bird species sighted by the group totaled 71, 41 of which I saw. I did not count birds I heard without seeing, unless I was very familiar with the call already. Today's sightings included: Redwing Blackbird, Turkey Vulture, Crow, Steller's Jay, Scrub Jay, California Quail, California Towhee, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Gold-crowned Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, Great Blue Heron, Kildeer, Wilson's Snipe, Great Egret, Mallard, Canada Goose, Common Moorhen, Double-crested Cormorant, Pied-billed Grebe, American Coot, Cooper's Hawk, Hutton's Vireo, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Cedar Waxwing, Band-tailed Pigeon, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Oak Titmouse, Brown Creeper, Bewick's Wren, Anna's Hummingbird, Acorn Woodpecker, Nuttal's Woodpecker, Red-shafted flicker, Belted Kingfisher, and House Finch.

Forty one species in one day at Spring Lake is a new record for me. The photo shows the scenery early in the morning.

At home, afterwards, there were a lot of birds around. In the space of 10 minutes I saw: Crow, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Golden-crowned Sparrow (heard), Bushtits, Oak Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Dark-eyed Junco, Scrub Jay, Black Phoebe, Nuttal's Woodpecker, Acorn Woodpecker, Anna's Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, and a Hermit Thrush--fifteen species without even leaving my yard.