October 28, 2004
Birding inactivity
A combination of unseasonally heavy rain and unfortunately heavy workload have seriously impacted my birding time of late. Last week Caz and I checked out Woodland Wasterwater Ponds in a last-ditch attempt to find a Stilt Sandpiper among the dowitchers. In fact, there was hardly a dowitcher to be seen, as all the suitable shorebird habitat was submerged under 3 feet of water! A few Pectoral Sandpipers were still hanging on, while 8 Great-tailed Grackles was the highest tally I've seen in the county.
North Pond is full again, which means the dowitchers and yellowlegs have moved on, but Black-necked Stilts and Wilson's Snipe are hanging on.
In the Arboretum, a late Townsend's Warbler was a nice surprise. The Greater White-fronted Goose disappeared after only a day, while the Cackling Goose is sticking around. This bird is now often seen away from the goose flock, and appears to have a slight limp.
The 'urban Merlin' which wintered in North Davis last year is back, though I've not had any luck seeing it yet. A great consolation prize was my first county Purple Finch, a female, sitting at the top of a redwood (county bird no. 226). Perhaps 230 before the year's end is within my sights...
Posted by rjhall at October 28, 2004 5:12 AM