Birds I'm Watching: Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge

© Colin Talcroft, 2010

Sonoma County's Madrone Audubon Society took a trip to the Sacramento National Wildlife  Refuge yesterday, staying overnight to bird nearby areas today. Because of work obligations, I drove up for the day and came back last night, but still got to see tens of thousands of birds (not an exaggeration) that have come down from the north to use the Sacramento area wetlands to overwinter. There were easily 5,000 pintails alone--very pretty ducks (photo above)--and probably 20,000 snow geese or more. Highlights included a couple of bald eagles--one that caught and ate a large duck--and a beautiful peregrine falcon (the best view I've ever had of this bird, photo below). The majority of the birds were Pintails, Snow geese, Ross's geese, Greater white-fronted geese, Northern shovelers, and Coots, probably.

© Colin Talcroft, 2010

In total, I saw about 45 species. Last year on this trip, I saw seven new species. It's an indication of just how many birds I've seen in the past year that I got nothing new this time around. Still, it was a pleasure to see so many birds--in absolute numbers. Birds sighted were: Western meadowlark, Turkey vulture, Red-winged blackbird, Black phoebe, Red-tailed hawk (about seven in the course of the day), kestrel, American pipit, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Snow goose, Ross's goose, Greater white-fronted goose, Yellow-rumped warbler, Coot, Northern shoveler, Marsh wren, Northern harrier, Cinnamon teal, Blue-winged teal, Horned grebe, Dunlin, Peregrine falcon, Moorhen, Snowy egret, Raven, Great blue heron, Greater scaup, Black-necked stilt, Gadwall, white-crowned sparrow, American wigeon, Eurasian wigeon, Great egret, Bald eagle, California gull, Herring gull, Starling, Ring-necked duck, Ruby-crowned kinglet, Bufflehead, Golden-crowned sparrow, and Ruddy duck (all on the driving tour at the main refuge). At Llano Seco, saw many of the same birds but also Sandhill cranes, a Long-billed curlew, Greater or Lesser yellowlegs (too far to tell which), and Canada geese (surprisingly few of these overall), and, along the road elsewhere, a few groups of Tundra swans.

Birds I'm Watching: Warblers at Bodega Bay (September 9, 2010)

Well, it's that time of year. Migration is under way. In the coming weeks there should be good opportunities to see unusual warblers and other birds passing through our area on the way to warmer climates to the south. One famous spot--famous among local bird watchers, anyway--for finding warblers at this time of year is Owl Canyon (not official; only bird watchers appear to know the place by this name), near Campbell Cove, at Bodega Bay (look for the eucalyptus trees on the right as you head out to the Cove).

For the last couple of days, a black-and-white warbler has been hanging out there. I went to find it yesterday--and succeeded. It was in a scraggly pine at the extreme right of the trees on that side of the entrance to the Canyon (the end away from Campbell Cove, a good 150 yards from the entrance). A very pretty bird. The day before, I saw a Macgillivry's warbler in the Canyon itself, low down and just inside the entrance. Two life birds in two days, bringing my total to 312, with 182 species in Sonoma County. Progress, but 312 is not even 3% of the number of bird species on Earth.

Illustration: Black-and-white warblers from The Bird Book, by Chester A. Reed, 1915 (public domain).

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