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photos and sightings of northern california birds
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I had a full day of nature watching yesterday. My class to a trip to Bidwell Park and we saw lots of Acorn Woodpeckers, Nuttall's Woodpeckers, Oak Titmouse, Red Shouldered Hawks, Lesser Goldfinch, Blue Gray Gnatcatcher, Tree Swallows, Common Yellow Throat, Western Kingbird, Crub Jay, European Starling, Spotted Towhee, and two new birds, Common Merganser and Ruby Crowned Kinglet. After class I drove to Howard Slough and saw Gadwall, Canada Goose, Mallards, Cinnamon Teal, Cliff, Tree, and Violet Green Swallow, Turkey Vulture, Double Crested Cormorant, Snowy Egret, great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Spotted Sandpipers, White Faced Ibis, Red Winged Blackbird, Brewers blackbird, Killdeer, Red Tailed Hawks, White Tail Kite, Swainson's Hawk and two more new finds for me California Thraser and Yellow Headed Blackbird ( what a nice looking bird.). To cap the day off right I headed to the Sacramento River for some nighttime mammal adventures and had a great encounter with a huge Great Horned Owl. As I drove along the river he dropped out of tree and shot across the road into an orchard. He hit something on the ground and flew off with what looked like a small rodent. I could not get a picture but it was an awe inspiring encounter with a very beautiful bird. I got some great photos of Raccoon and Opossum. Great Day!!!! 
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My wife and I took our son fishing and hiking today and we had a blast. My son who is 6 &1/2 caught a bluegill which was a first for him( he has caught Trout and Salmon before). We also saw some great animals including some lizards, Gray Squirrel, a Western Rattlesnake, and our River Otter, who we have seen several times over the past couple of days. We also saw some great birds Great Egret, Osprey, Green Heron, Downey, Nuttall's and Acorn Woodpeckers, Bullocks Oriole, Scrub Jay, American Robin, Brewers Blackbird, Black Phoebe, Forsters Tern, Spotted and California Towhee, house Finches, American Goldfinch, Yellow Rumped Warbler, Oak Titmouse, Common Yellow Throat, and another new bird, a Black HEaded gRosbeak, which at first I thought was a Towhee but was not. The best part was hanging with my boy and seeing the look on his face after he caught his bluegill, which he let go so someone else could enjoy catching it. What a great kid!!!!!
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Day off of work, family all busy, and lots of sunshine after a rainy day.Perfect day for nature. My Bio class had a Trip up to the mixed Coniferous forest near Paradise Lake. It was cold, misty, and awesome. I saw new birds like a Chestnut Backed Chickadee and Warbling Viero. We also saw some Swallows, Northern Flicker, Wild Turkey, California Quail, and I got bonus points for spotting the Osprey we were looking for! After class I drove out Sac Valley NWR and saw a lot of "Hawk Food", California Ground Squirrels and Black Tailed Jack Rabbits. I laso saw a dozen Snowy Egrets, DC Cormorants, Cinnamon Teal, Mallard, Greater White Fronted Geese, Ruddy Ducks, and Great Blue Heron. On the way home I went to my new favorite spot, Howard Slough. Today I saw 16 White Pelicans, D.C Cormorants, Coots, Hermit Thrush, YR Warbler, Solitary Sandpiper, Black Phoebe, RW black bird, Turkey Vultures, Northern Harrier, 4 Swainson's Hawks, Red Tailed Hawks, White Tailed Kite, GB HEron, Great Egret, lots of Waterfowl, Short Billed Dowitcher, California Towhee, Sparrows, Swallows ( 3 kinds) and my first American Bittern ( i startled it when I started my truck after the hike, it was 5 feet away in some reeds!) So many birds. I drove the Sac River route home and saw two more new birds at various stops. A pair of beautiful Forster's Terns and a Yellow Breasted Chat. Also some GC Sparrows, Scrub Jays, Black phoebes, Nuttals + Acorn Woodpeckers, Robin, California Towhee, Red Tailed Hawks and I saw a Red Shouldered Hawk take a mouse just off the road! Great Day and some new birds!!!!!!!!!!
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Today was a perfect California Day. Mid 70 seventies, not a cloud in the sky, and a slight breeze. After collecting some plant samples in class today, I had the itch to hike. I work tonight, the kids and wife were in school so I drove to Howard Slough and took off. I had not gone more than 20 yards when I saw a Swainson's Hawk soar directly above me. I could not get a great picture though because I dropped the camera. Great bird though. I walked about 2 miles along the marshes and logged a vast number of birds , including a few new ones.White Pelican, Spotted Sandpiper, Sloitary Sandpiper, White Faced Ibis, Great Egret, Great blue HEron, RWBB, Killdeer, Lesser Scaup, Canada Geese, MAllards, Coots, GW Teal, black phoebe, Western Kingbird, MArsh Wren, W.C Sparrow, Turkey Vultures, Cliff, Tree and NRW Sallows, Red Tailed HAwks, White Tailed Kite, and Northern Harrier. I topped to take a drink and make some notes when I noticed a fast moving bird coming towards me. I grabbed the binoculars and much to my amazement, it was a Peregrine. The first time I have had the honor of seeing this awesome species. I could only snap a few pictures and none are good, but is just good enough for ID. I saw plenty more during my hike but nothing was going to top that.When I started being active with observing birds 4 months ago, the Peregrine was #1 on my list as I had never seen one and they are just the coolest bird! I was very proud to check the PEregring Falcon box off on my Ebird report!!!!!
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After work I grabbed my 6 year old son, Carter, and we went out to the Sacramento River and Chico Creek washout for some fun. It was very warm and the reptiles were out. Fence and Alligator lizards, Common Garter Snake, and Western Pond Turtles. We also saw tons of Swallow Tail butterflies, Red Ants, 5 or 6 different types of Spiders, and some huge Beetles. We also saw quite a few birds Red Tailed Hawks, our nesting Osprey, Nuttall's & Acorn Woodpeckers, Northern Flickers, Oak Titmouse, Double Crested Cormorants, Great Egret, Bullocks Oriole, Spotted Towhee,Yellow Rumped Warbler, Black Throated Gray Warbler, more than 30 Black Phoebes, Loggerhead Shrike, Scrub Jay, Yellow Billed Magpie, Crows, and Mallards. We saw a Red Tailed Hawk being chased by a dozan or Crows which was a sight. The best part of the day was hanging out with Carter. He is the best kid ever!!!!!
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Between school, work ( I have 2 jobs now) and my kids I have not spent much time in the field. I did take a few hours on the way home from school to head from Butte to Llano Seco taking my favorite back country roads. I did see some great birds that day and got some great photos ( i am hoping to post some tonight). It was a great day to see Raptors. Turkey Vultures, Red Tailed Hawks, Red Shouldered Hawks, Osprey, American KEstrels, and Northern Harriers were all out in abundance. No Swainson's though. I saw and took some photos of a Kestrel chasing a Red Shoulder from it's perching position. That was cool, aggressive little bird!! Lots of RWBB in full display, Great Blue Herons ( a dozen) a few Great Egrets, Crows Yellow Billed Magpie, Marsh Wrens, House, White Crowned, and Golden Crowned Sparrows, White Faced Ibis(there 20 or so at Howard Slough), my first Wetsern Kingbirds( there were alot), Scrub Jays (too many), and assorted Waterfowl. The most interesting sighting was of a All Dark Hawk. I think it was Rufous morph or Dark morph Red Tail but I am have never encountered one. I will posting a picture and seeking help from the wonderful contributors to the forum.
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Yesterday I had a great day of nature watching. Insects, Mammals, Reptiles, and Birds. I saw 42 species of birds yesterday + some I need help with. I will be posting a few pictures for ID forum later. 4 Mammal species, 5 reptiles species, a wild Tarantula( COOL & CREEPY), and some awesome insects. I hiked and drove to some great habitats and had close encounters of all kinds. Walked trails, turned over rocks, sat in a meadow, and drove the countryside!
the highlight was probably 5 or 6 new species off my Ebirds and list among those a juvenile Golden Eagle!!! It was southwest of Chico in a clear filed. He was feeding on a Jack Rabbit! I observed him at close range and got a great look at him. Huge and beautiful bird. He spooked and flew further into the field. I got some decent flight photos and though not pro quality, they are good for ID!!! I drove down the road and he returned. I did not get any closer. I watched from a far, made some sketches and let him enjoy his hard earned meal. Like my other bird of prey encounter it was amazing. Great day of animals, plants, sun and fun!!!!
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After work today I grabbed the kids and headed down to the Sacramento River for some hiking and critter watching. We had a blast with birds, butterflies and reptiles today. At the river we saw Red tailed Hawks, Vultures, Great Blue Heron, Great Egrets, Acorn and Nuttalls Woodpeckers, Lesser Goldfinches, Yellow Rumped Warblers, Spotted Towhees(great spotting by my son), Red Breasted Nuthatches, black Phoebes, White Crowned Sparrows, House Finches, and a new sightings and Northern Rough Winged Swallow. We also saw some cool Southern Alligator Lizards and Western Pond Turtles. We then headed to Llano Seco to see the shorebirds and hawks. We saw Black Necked Stilts, Greater Yellow Legs, Killdeer, Dunlin, a couple hundred Greater White Fronted Geese, Mallards, Pintails and Shovelers, 100 + Red Winged Black birds, Brewers Black Birds, Brown Headed Cowbirds, a dozen Great blue Herons, a few Great Egrets, a dozen or so Red Tails, a few Northern Harriers, Tree Swallows, Violet Green Swallows, and a Swainson's Hawk (yeah!!!) The kids were stoked and as a bonus on the way back to Chico, we got a good look at a Barn Owl. What makes me happy is as it turns out a Barn Owl was 100 on Ebird. I have seen Barn Owls plenty of times but when I started birding and using Ebird I started from Jan 16. So no Pileated Woodpeckers, Golden Eagles, etc that I had previously seen. What a great day in the Golden State!!! I will post pictures later this week.
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I made a quick trip to the wetlands at Llano Seco today to see if Icould get lucky and see another Swainson's hawk. I saw two and got some pretty good photos.I am starting to put together my grid map of these guys just like I do with all raptors. Hopefully I will be able to find some nests. We have about 70 breeding pairs in the northern Sac Valley according to a Swainson's Hawk website. They are protected in the state and I am hoping to join up with some folks that monitor and count them. I also had my first Black Necked Stilt encounter, very odd looking fellow but very cool. I am up to 97 species on my Ebird lifelist but I have only been at this for close to months. While the waterfowl are going, the shorebirds are starting to come so the next few months will be very different. I also listed yellow Billed Magpie, Western Bluebirds, northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Killdeer, Coots, RWBB, Brewers Blackbirds, Violet Green Swallows, lots of Northern Harriers, Turkey Vultures, American Kestrel, Canada Geese, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Marsh Wrens, W.C Sparrow, Scrub Jays, and of course Crows. Not bad for an hour and a half.Wonder what species 100 will end up being!!! I will be putting up some pictures whenever I get my computer/camera problem fixed.
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After class today i was driving home and saw a Hawk perched up in an electric pole. At first glance I though Red Tailed as it was roughly the same size and dark colored. When I got closer to take a picture I saw no banding and a reddish chest color. I took two pictures and then it flew and I happened to get a nice in flight picture. When I checked the photo I saw very clearly the light colored wing linings contrasting with dark flight feathers. SWAINSON"S HAWK. not only my first but I got three pretty good pictures. I am having some problems up loading them though but I locked them on the camera and as soon as I get them loaded I will post. I am very excited though as it is a few weeks earlier than they are supposed to get here. I also saw a few Western Bluebirds, American Kestrel, northern Harrier, Red Winged Blackbird, Black Phoebe, Red Tailed Hawks, Yellow Rumped Warbler, and Crows. As for casual observances today was OK but that Swainson's Hawk makes it a GREAT day of birding
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Today before my bio class, I spent some time in the campus bird blind for a paper we are doing. I saw Western Scrub Jay, Spotted Towhee, White Crowned Sparrow, Golden Crowned Sparrow, Dark Eyed Junco, and a Robin. Absent though was a Red Breasted Sapsucker that is at this spot everyday. Cool interactions though the batteries in my camera had died. I did a picture of what I think is a male Lesser Goldfinch outside of class. Check my norcal birds gallery and give me your opinion. I also went on a nature walk at Chico Cheek with my wife before work. We saw Scrub Jays, Yellow Billed Magpies, Anna;s Hummingbirds, Black Phoebes, Common Yellowthroat, a pair of soaring Red Tails, and my first Green Heron, which is what I was looking for. I was into the sun trying to take pics so I really did not get any good photos though. Anyday that I get a first sighting is worth it!!!!
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Teh family took a trip up into the mountains today for Easter and our cousins B-Day. We saw of Turkey Vultures, Crows, Violet Green Swallows, Mountain Chickadees, Western Bluebirds, Mountain Bluebirds, Acorn Woodpeckers, northern Flickers, Brewers Blackbirds, Western Meadowlarks, Crows, a Varied Thrush (my first), Mourning Dove, A Coopers Hawk, the largest Raven I have ever seen, American Kestrel, Red Tailed Hawks, Red Shouldered Hawks, Ring Billed Gulls, Black Phoebe, and Western Scrub Jays. I liked the variety of birds and it is always nice to see hawks and get a first sighting. Not that many pictures but a good time for sure.
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I got the chance to go on about 6 hours worth of hikes today. 4 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon with my kids in tow. It was a beautiful Northern California day and there was plenty of wildlife out and about. All and all it was a good day of nature. We saw Common Yellow Throats, Scrub Jays, House Finches, Western Meadowlarks, Western Bluebirds, Acorn Woodpeckers, Brewers Bluebirds, Chestnut Backed Chickadees, Violet Green Swallows, Turkey Vultures, Wrens, and Sparrows. We also saw Western Fence Lizards doing there mating pushups( which is a pretty funny sight, dozens of Blue Bellies doing pushups on rocks), Southern Alligator Lizards, A Western Rattlesnake, Black Tailed Mule Deer, Black Tailed Jack Rabbits, Western Gray Squirrel, and California Ground Squirrels. Not to mention the countless Butterflies we saw and wildflowers starting to bloom. All and all it was a perfect day except for one thing. Only One Red Tailed Hawk!! That was it. I can walk outside my house most days and see not only Red Tails but Red Shouldered Hawks, Sharp Shinned Hawks, Coopers Hawks, Osprey, Northern Harriers, and American Kestrels. On Occasion we have seen Prairie falcons, Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, A Rough Legged Hawk and very soon Swainson's Hawks will be here. this was the first outing I have had were there just were not any hawks. Not to say i would rather have been at work or stuck indoors but were all the darn Falconiformes at today. I dont be mean to complain but I love birds of prey. Easter Sunday should change that we are going up to my in laws in the pine Forests of the great Sierra Nevadas so i am expecting to see alot of stuff out of the normal as we live at the edge of a massive Foothill oak woodland. It was a great day in the sunshine state though!!!!!
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To celebrate my new job I went on a solo 2 hour birding trip. I went to some of my favorite spots, Sacramento River just outside of Chico and Llano Seco. I saw many Red Tailed Hawks, Red Shouldered Hawks, American Kestrels, Western Meadowlarks, Brewers and Red Winged Blackbirds, Black Phoebes, White Crowned Sparrows, Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Crows, Ravens, Brown Headed Cow Birds, Violet Green Swallows, Northern Flickers, a variety of waterfowl, and had acouple of interesting encounters. A came across 12-20 Turkey Vultures feeding on a dead cow in a pasture. It was morbidly interesting and I observed them for 20 minutes or so. One guy had half his body inside the cow!! I also saw a Red Tailed Hawk take down a Black Tailed Jack Rabbit though the pictures did not turn out at all. I also encountered a hawk that I think was Rough Legged Hawk but I am not 100% sure. I posted the pictures and requested some help from all the great birders on the site.
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Today my gorgeous wife, Shanna and I, covered 142 miles, 5 distinct habitats and logged 61 species sighted!! We went from Chico, to Oroville to drop off the kids and started with a 5 mile hike at Table Mountain. By the time we started the hike we had already seen Red Shouldered Hawks, Red Tailed Hawks, Turkey Vultures, Brewers Blackbirds, Scrub Jays, and House Sparrows. During our hike which was mostly to gather wildflowers for our daughter, we saw Horned Lark and Savannah Sparrows.We then drove from the Foothill Oak woodlands to the Lower Montane forests of Concow. There we saw Northern Flickers, Red Tailed Hawks, Chesnut Backed Chickadees, Wild Turkeys ( which we nearly hit as they crossed the highway), and Mountain Bluebirds. We headed back down the mountain catching sight and photographs of more Vultures, Red Tail Hawks, Western Meadowlarks, Blackbirds, gulls and Crows. We then headed to Oroville Wildlife Area and spent 3 hours seeing a wide variety of birds including my first Cedar Waxwings, Nuttal's Woodpecker, and Western Kingbird. We also logged Double Crested Cormorant, Osprey, American Coots, Great Egret, Anna's Hummingbird, Acorn Woodpecker, Bufflehead, Hermit Thrush, Spotted Towhee, MArsh Wrens, W>C Sparrow, Yellow Rumped Wrabler, American Kestrel, Red Tailed Hawk, Red Shouldered Hawk, Pheasant, G.B Heron, Northern Harrier, Western Bluebirds, and as an added bonus on our drive home we spotted a Great Horned Owl and a northern Screech Owl!! What a lady, what great birds and what a great day!!!
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