Natural History Wanderings

This past Saturday  (9/12/15) I went birding at Pt. Reyes with the Audubon/Cal Academy Master Birding Class. There were about 18 people from Masterbirding Class led by Bob Lewis, Eddie Bartley and Jack Dumbacher. Also two friendly Australian birders who often were at the same sites as us.

It was overcast and foggy, 50’s to 60’s and windy. We started at Five Brooks and walked around pond an in woods: went to Drake’s Beach where we walked  in a wooded area for owls, out to large pond behind parking lot, and watched waterbirds in Bay: and finally oat docks near Chimney Rock parking lot.

Habitats:

• Five Brooks was wooded with Oak, Bay, Douglas Fir, Willow, Poison Oak, Buckeye with fruit, Coyote Bush, Thimbleberry, Alder, Elk Clover, Toyon and Blackberry. also pond and disturbed area for horses and parking. Flowers in bloom included Monardella sp., Scrophularia californica, and quite a bit of Ludwigia peploides ssp.montevidensis (Floating Primrose Willow or Floating Water Primrose) in the pond.
• Drake’s Bay Small woodland, pond, willows and ocean bay
• Chimney Rock Small woodland, grasslands and ocean bay

Of special note today were:

• Chestnut-side Warbler in Willows near parking lot at Drake’s Bay,
• Horned Owl and 3 Barn Owl’s in trees near Drake’s Bay,
• a Peregrine Falcon catching and flying off with a Western Scrub Jay near the pond at Drake’s Bay
• A river Otter in the Pond at Drake’s Bay
• a Brush Rabbit in the Willows
• A Clay-colored Sparrow was seen by another birder in shrubs above pond but not by any members of our group.
• Red-necked Grebe and Marbled Murrelet in Drake’s Bay
• A few members of the group also saw Sooty Shearwater (I missed them) at Drake’s Bay
• Near the Boat Docks we saw three Parasitic Jaegers.
• Other birders near the boat docks reported seeing a Black-legged Kittiwake but a closer look at a digiscope photo showed it was in fact a Bonaparte’s Gull.

Also seen while driving in Pt. Reyes were Tule Elk, Mule Deer, Northern Harrier, Great Blue Heron and Great Egret. White Pelicans were seen at Nicasio Reservoir on the way home.

Click read more to see the bird lists

Bird Lists (compiled by Jack Dumbacher)

 

Five Brooks Pond, Marin, California, US

Sep 12, 2015 7:52 AM – 9:05 AM

Protocol: Traveling

0.87 mile(s)

Comments:     Overcast, breeze 5-8kt, cool, upper 60s.  We walked from the parking lot/barn area counterclockwise around the small pond, spending a little over an hour total.
Submitted from eBird for iOS, version 1.1.0 Build 15

29 species

 

Wood Duck  3

American Wigeon  10

Mallard  2

California Quail  4

Double-crested Cormorant  1

Cooper’s Hawk  1

Red-shouldered Hawk  1

Red-tailed Hawk  1

Band-tailed Pigeon  4

Mourning Dove  2

Acorn Woodpecker  1

Downy Woodpecker  1

Hairy Woodpecker  2

Black Phoebe  1

Steller’s Jay  4

Western Scrub-Jay  4

American Crow  1

Common Raven  3

Red-breasted Nuthatch  1

Brown Creeper  1

Pacific Wren  3

Wrentit  3

European Starling  2

Townsend’s Warbler  1

Wilson’s Warbler  2

Dark-eyed Junco  4

California Towhee  2

Red-winged Blackbird  6

Brewer’s Blackbird  50

 

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25032639

 

 

38.0917x-122.9461 – Sep 12, 2015, 9:44 AM, Marin, California, US

Sep 12, 2015 9:44 AM – 9:57 AM

Protocol: Stationary

Comments:     Very foggy and cool. Pulled out at RCA marine radio station KPH stop.  <br />Submitted from eBird for iOS, version 1.1.0 Build 15

11 species

 

Great Blue Heron  1     Seen in the estero along the road

White-tailed Kite  1     Seen on a wire one bend in the road before the RCA turnout (where we did most of the stationary birding)

Red-shouldered Hawk  1

Northern Flicker  1

American Kestrel  1

Bewick’s Wren  1

Western Bluebird  4

American Robin  1

White-crowned Sparrow  4

California Towhee  1

Brewer’s Blackbird  1

 

iew this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25032633

 

Pt. Reyes–Drakes Beach, Marin, California, US

Sep 12, 2015 10:23 AM – 11:53 AM

Protocol: Traveling

0.124 mile(s)

Comments:     <br />Submitted from eBird for iOS, version 1.1.0 Build 15

39 species

 

Mallard  2

Surf Scoter  3

California Quail  15

Pacific Loon  30

Common Loon  2

Pied-billed Grebe  2

Red-necked Grebe  1

Western Grebe  1

Sooty Shearwater 100 (not seen by me)

Brandt’s Cormorant  2

Brown Pelican  5

Turkey Vulture  3

Northern Harrier  1

Red-tailed Hawk  1

Virginia Rail  1

Sora  1 ( not seen by me)

Red-necked Phalarope  3

Common Murre  2

Marbled Murrelet 2

Heermann’s Gull  15

Ring-billed Gull  1

Western Gull  5

California Gull  10

Elegant Tern  25

Barn Owl  3

Great Horned Owl  1

American Kestrel  1

Peregrine Falcon  1

Black Phoebe  1

Warbling Vireo  1

Western Scrub-Jay  2     One was picked off by a peregrine falcon! And another flew around the willows at the north and of the parking area

Common Raven  2

Barn Swallow  2

Cliff Swallow  2     Two seen flying over the pond along with barn swallows. The cliff swallows had noticeably shorter tails, rusty rump, and lighter below than barn swallows.

Marsh Wren  1

Bewick’s Wren  1

Orange-crowned Warbler  1

Common Yellowthroat  1

Yellow Warbler  1

Chestnut-sided Warbler  1     A single first year fall bird seen in the willows along with a yellow warbler and warbling vireo. This bird was light below with no distinguishing marks on the belly throat or sides, and bright olive green on the back, slightly brighter on the cap than back. Two wing bars, with the forward wing bar larger and brighter, with noticeable yellowish wash. The distal wing bar much less distinct. Some lighter flashes in the tail when the bird flitted, but difficult for me to locate the exact position of the lighter feathers. No noticeable markings on the face (no supercilium or coloring in auriculars, and the eye ring was not obvious to me if present.)  our group ID’d this as a first year CSWA.

White-crowned Sparrow  1

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25032621

 

Pt. Reyes–Fish Docks, Marin, California, US

Sep 12, 2015 12:39 PM – 1:39 PM

Protocol: Traveling

0.186 mile(s)

Comments:     Parked in the parking lot above the residence, and walked the road just past the residence and up the far hill behind the pines.  The wind was relatively strong and cool (maybe 12-18kts and seemed like mid to high 50’s) and it was hard to bird in the pines looking for migrant dropouts, so our scopes and attention were mostly focused toward the water.
Submitted from eBird for iOS, version 1.1.0 Build 15

22 species

 

Pacific Loon  5

Western Grebe  1

Brandt’s Cormorant  5

Double-crested Cormorant  10

Pelagic Cormorant  2

Brown Pelican  10

Turkey Vulture  3

Cooper’s Hawk  1

Red-tailed Hawk  1

Black Oystercatcher  2

Parasitic Jaeger  3

Common Murre  5

Bonaparte’s Gull  1

Heermann’s Gull  20

Western Gull  4

California Gull  1

Elegant Tern  50

Barn Owl  1

Belted Kingfisher  1     Female, with clear rusty breast band sitting in the open on the rail of the eastern docks, just below the residence.

Peregrine Falcon  1

Black Phoebe  1

White-crowned Sparrow  4

 

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25032611