Here are a few of the wonderful birds we saw and heard yesterday afternoon during a leisurely walk.
Two Black-throated Gray Warblers greeted us from a grove of Valley Oaks – an auspicious start!
Our saunter was peppered with the nasally calls of a White-breasted Nuthatch – a common sight and sound of the oak woodlands.
We encountered a large group of Wood Ducks swimming, foraging, flapping, preening, and vocalizing!
A California Scrub-Jay caught our eye when it dove like the dickens down into a bush. Then, one second later, the source of the jay’s distress materialized – this stately Cooper’s Hawk alighted to the top of a nearby power pole.
Western Tanagers are moving through the county right now, so we weren’t surprised to hear this one calling near the trail. Keep your ears peeled for its distinct call, consisting of 2–3 dry, rapid notes – described as “pit-ick” (2 notes) or “pit-r-ick” (3 notes).
As we stared into a patch of willows, this bold Downy Woodpecker flew directly into our binocular views, just three feet from us – so fun when that happens!
Any day that includes an encounter with a nuthatch of any kind is a great day!
Wholeheartedly agree, Hollis! Don’t force us to pick a favorite nuthatch because we can’t!!! 🙂
This sounds like a walk down the trail near the Forestville ponds…we went out to BB. Beautiful day but the tide was in so only caught some Sanderlings and Least SP’s and your earlier blog was most helpful. Since there were so many WEGUs and CAGU’s we tried to bone up “again”.
Bingo, you’re right about the trail! Ahhhhh, it’s gull season!! 🙂
With so many Red-breasted Nuthatches joining the WBNU’s in the neighborhood, one can almost hear the ghosts of our ancestors crying, “The Yanks are coming!!!”
Thanks guys!
I love this! I often get so focused on finding a certain species – something really exciting – that I forget to appreciate the everyday birds on a walk, like the nuthatches, scrub jays and Cooper’s hawks. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment, Siera! We’re constantly trying to remind ourselves to fight against the “curse of familiarity.” 🙂