A Brit abroad

Birding round my parents

Having recovered from last week's celebrations, have been kept occupied by the arrival of my parents (it's their first visit to California). Unfortunately they chose to arrive in the thick of spring migration, and are not birders themselves, so am having to make do with snatches of birding interspersed with sightseeing. This morning I got up at the crack of dawn to do my usual route through the arboretum to Putah Creek Riparian Reserve. I spotted a single Wilson's Warbler in the arboretum, while the Mallard flock contained a drake Gadwall (wild bird gone feral?) and an out-of-place Peahen!

The picnic area contained good numbers of White- and Golden-crowned (see photo) Sparrows, plus a single Lincoln's Sparrow, but I couldn't relocate last week's White-throated. Another Wilson's Warbler was present here. Managed to get some ok-ish shots of Ash-throated Flycatcher and Yellow-billed Magpie here too:

I met up with my parents about 9:30, and we drove along Putah Creek to Monticello Dam. White-throated Swifts, Cliff Swallows and Turkey Vultures were everywhere, and somewhere below the dam a Canyon Wren sang. Unfortunately I was unable to determine whether the wren was on the right side of the county boundary to tick on my Yolo list!

We drove via Lake Berryessa to Napa, and back via Lake Solano. It was rather hot by this stage, so birding activity was pretty low - a few Turkeys and California Quails were the best I could muster. Tomorrow we're heading for Marin County for more sightseeing - not sure if I'll see any birds but the scenery should be fantastic....

Posted by rjhall at April 25, 2004 6:15 AM