Savannah Sparrow at Bodega Head, Bodega Bay, California

Birding Sonoma County: Bodega Head and Harbor

Yesterday we enjoyed a runaround in Bodega Bay. The skies were gray most of the morning, but free of raindrops. We rounded the road into the Bodega Head parking lot only to discover we were the only folks around! It was just us and the Brewer’s Blackbirds.
 
The large offshore rocks housed the usual suspects: Brandt’s Cormorants, Pelagic Cormorants, and Western Gulls. Two Pigeon Guillemots bobbed in the waves in full alternate plumage, as 16 Surf Scoters flew north in a tidy line. A Savannah Sparrow sang from the bluff, while three Black Turnstones puttered around a steep rock-face, and this lone Black Oystercatcher contemplated his existence while standing at the edge of the great ocean void. That, or he was just resting.

Black Oystercatcher at Bodega Head, Bodega Bay, California
Black Oystercatcher

As we exited the parking lot, we noticed this Savannah Sparrow sitting prominently on a post.

Savannah Sparrow along road to Bodega Head, Bodega Bay, California
Savannah Sparrow

We stopped and watched quietly from the car as he fluffed up, preened himself, fluffed again, then let loose with a few rounds of his lovely tune.

The road to Bodega Head has been very birdy for us in the past, so we got out and walked around. White-crowned and Song Sparrows sang left and right, but a familiar ultra-high-pitched sound stuck out. We noticed the source, a Brown-headed Cowbird, perched atop a bush displaying his iridescent sheen.

Brown-headed Cowbird along road to Bodega Head, Bodega Bay, California
Brown-headed Cowbird

The lack of road noise and wind made for one of our cleanest audio recordings to date. Check out his crazy-sounding song below.

As we stood listening to the Cowbird, something tiny moved in some nearby brush – an appropriate location for a Brush Rabbit to be hiding!

Brush rabbit along road to Bodega Head, Bodega Bay, California
Brush Rabbit

Farther down the road, we heard some Bewick’s Wren calls and discovered a pair of birds, each bringing nesting material to a crevice within this gnarled root.

Bewick's Wren with nesting material along road to Bodega Head, Bodega Bay, California
Bewick’s Wren with nesting material

A group of deer browsed nearby, and this beauty paused to acknowledge our presence before returning to its meal.

Deer along road to Bodega Head, Bodega Bay, California
Hello

We birded the remainder of the morning, stopping often around the harbor. A large group of Short-billed Dowitchers flew in to the shoreline and provided us the wonderful opportunity to sit and observe them as they foraged.

Short-billed Dowitchers, Bodega Bay, California
Short-billed Dowitchers

The sound is muted in the video above due to loud passing cars, but click on the audio below to hear what the group sounded like while foraging. Towards the end of the recording, you can hear their classic “tu-tu-tu” call as something spooked a nearby Marbled Godwit and the whole gang flushed.

Another wonderful day of birding in Sonoma County – we never tire of the vibrant life all around us!

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