Natural History Wanderings

Today the Birding by Ear Class with Denise Wight went to Coyote Hills Regional Park. The park consists of  nearly 978 acres of marshland and grassland covered hills and includes a bird and butterfly nectar garden.  We identified 54 species by sight and sound. Some of the highlights today were a Merlin, a Great Horned Owl on a nest, mating behavior by Northern Shovelers,  a Yellow-shafted Flicker, and before class Denise and a few others saw a Ferruginous Hawk. Also observed were Monarch Butterflies and a few early blooming wildflowers including Lupine, Manzanita and Bush Monkeyflower. We passed fields of alien Yellow Mustard  as we drove into the main part of the park. To see today’s bird list go to: Coyote Hills Bird List 2/16/13.

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