Natural History Wanderings

Updated 3/18/12 – Photos Added

Taking advantage of the break in the rain (we have had five inches in our backyard rain gauge the last few days) we went out on the Bay Trail. Starting at Pt. Isabel and heading north a little over a mile and back. The highlights were seeing some of the birds start to change plumage.  Several America Avocets were showing cinnamon colored heads and necks.  The one Black-bellied Plover spotted was starting to get his black belly. Also saw more Whimbrels than usual. There were also a number of native wildflowers in bloom including California Poppies, Lupine, Suncup, Yellow Monkeyflower, Fern-leaf Phacelia, Gumplant, a salvia and a lavatera, that I am not sure if it was a native one.

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For a complete list of today’s birds click Read More.

SF Bay Trail–Pt. Isabel  Mar 17, 2012

Started at Pt. Isabel and headed north along Bay Trail about 1.25 miles
23 species (+4 other taxa)
I am conservative in my estimates of number of species seen and there was at least one small bird in the shrubs that I didn’t get a good enough look to i.d. but was smaller than the sparrows.

Canada Goose  6
American Wigeon  6
Mallard  5
Northern Shoveler  8
Green-winged Teal  4
Greater/Lesser Scaup  4
Great Egret  1
Snowy Egret  3
Turkey Vulture  3
American Coot  7
Black-bellied Plover  1
American Avocet  4
Willet  5
Whimbrel  5
Long-billed Curlew  2
Marbled Godwit  4
Least Sandpiper  2
peep sp.  100
Short-billed/Long-billed Dowitcher  50
Ring-billed Gull  1
Western Gull  4
gull sp.  100
American Crow  4
Yellow-rumped Warbler  1
California Towhee  2
Song Sparrow  3     Heard only
White-crowned Sparrow  20