Some Autumn Birding

Hello, readers – hope you all are warm and healthy! We’ve done some autumn birding locally, and wanted to share a few of the birds we’ve observed.
 
But before we begin with the birds, we’re excited to report our first-ever observation of a Long-tailed Weasel! We enjoyed a distant view of its periscopic head swiveling back and forth, ever alert.

It’s time to add another to the bevy of critters we’ve observed while birding! Check out this earlier post if you missed it: I’m Crittering Right Now.
 
By the coast, we spotted some resting Heermann’s Gulls. These unique gulls are striking with their charcoal feathering and the bright red bills of the adults.

The immature bird on the left was quite vocal – listen to these fun “laughing” vocalizations.

This bold Fox Sparrow double-scratched its way out of the bramble and into our hearts, where we shared a moment. The brown coloration of “Sooty” Fox Sparrows is so rich and warm – aren’t the subtle reddish tones on its wings and tail beautiful?

We enjoyed a birdy walk around the Sebastopol Community Center grounds. A flock of mostly Golden-crowned Sparrows foraged and drank from tiny puddles in the parking lot.

A few sang their mournful, descending “Oh, dear me” song.

A Golden-crowned Sparrow doesn’t have breast-streaking in the plumage sense – but you can sometimes see the vertical pattern created by its feather tracts. Feathers are generally distributed in discrete rows where they attach to the skin – note the darker-gray, vertical lines on this bird’s breast. Neat!

These gorgeous Western Bluebirds posed at the ballfield.

A flock of waxwings descended upon a pyracantha shrub, so we sat down to watch the Cedar Waxwing Show for awhile. Birds perform many behaviors that provide us pure joy to behold – one of which is gulping berries whole!

We spotted a juvenile among the flock. Young Cedar Waxwings can retain this diffuse, streaky plumage even into December.

We’ve been asked where one can see Cedar Waxwings. Due to their nomadic nature, waxwings can be unpredictable in where and when they’ll turn up, but when they’re found, it’s almost always near some sort of fruiting tree or shrub.
 
One of the best tips for seeing Cedar Waxwings is to learn their high-pitched calls – which is typically how we’re alerted to their presence. Take a listen below.

At our final Jenner Hawkwatch of this fall season, an adult Ferruginous Hawk graced us with its presence the whole four hours. Hopefully this is a sign it’ll set up shop at the Jenner Headlands for the winter – crossing our fingers!

On a walk in Ragle Ranch Regional Park, we encountered this Red-shouldered Hawk laser-focused on the blackberry bushes below.

This male Nuttall’s Woodpecker worked its way around a trunk and showed off its ID points – horizontal white barring across its black back and two prominent black face stripes that connect on the side of its head.
 
Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers have similar black striping on the face, but the stripes generally don’t connect on the side of the head. This can be a helpful ID point when you can only see the face of a mystery woodpecker.

A single name-saying American Pipit flew by calling its high-pitched “pip-it!” before landing in the grass.

We walked through a field littered with Killdeer who, at a distance, still managed to blend in to the grass despite their bold black-and-white patterning.

We hope you’ve been able to spend at least a little time with the birds every day. The birds have really helped us recalibrate and calm our anxious minds throughout this particularly difficult year.