October 12, 2005
The joys of local birding
Well, this hasn't been a classic fall for rarities - in fact, I haven't seen any life birds in almost 2 months! Instead, I've been concentrating on birding the local area, enjoying the regular stuff while keeping an eye open for the more unusual. Solano Park garden is a vegetable patch south of campus which has a history of attracting vagrant sparrows amongst the regulars. Last Saturday's oddities were a juvenile Chipping Sparrow and an obliging Lark Sparrow.
The first sizeable Junco flock has also arrived here.
Nearby, the Arboretum warbler flock has held one or two Townsend's and Black-throated Gray Warblers, as well as a couple of Chestnut-backed Chickadees (currently the only ones in the Central Valley are in Yolo County). Pretty birds, but a bugger to digiscope!
A drake Wood Duck has returned to his favoured spot in the Arboretum. It shows really well, but usually at too close range to digiscope - the following shot was taken through my binoculars, a bit overexposed but will try for better...
In South Davis, birding along Willowbank Ditch continues to be good - a Winter Wren looks settled for the winter, while transients included a late Warbling Vireo and Golden-crowned Kinglet (a county year bird).
Dowitcher and Yellowlegs numbers are well down at North Pond, but eye-popping views of 11 Wilson's Snipe was ample reward.
Putah Creek and the 'birdbath' have been disappointingly quiet, with yesterday's highlight being this young male Bullock's Oriole, apparently the latest record of this species in the county.
This morning Chris (new postdoc in our lab) and I visited Grasslands Park, where we had great flight views of Barn and Great Horned Owls, and this rather late Swainson's Hawk.
Our last stop of the morning was the Yolo Wildlife Area, where the shorebirds continue to look stunning bathed in the early morning light. This Pectoral Sandpiper was only on view for a minute or two...
... but the Long-billed Dowitchers and Least Sandpipers were much more cooperative.
