Sit Spot on the Russian River

We’ve been visiting a sit spot along the Russian River just a 7-minute walk from our house in Guerneville. Last month, we documented several days’ worth of observations. Though this beach is a popular summer hangout, in fall and winter we usually have it all to ourselves.
 
Sit spots are the shelter-in-place version of birding. Instead of roaming far and wide in active search of our feathered friends, we instead stay put, pull up a chair, and let the natural world unfold in front of our eyes.

The short path down to the river traverses a stand of riparian vegetation – willows, box elders, ash, and alders. One day, a Hutton’s Vireo bopped into view and let out a quick scold to announce our presence.

Voice is a helpful way to distinguish the Hutton’s Vireo from the similar-looking Ruby-crowned Kinglet. If you’re looking for more tips on how to ID these two birds, check out our post: Ruby-crowned Kinglet vs. Hutton’s Vireo.

Nearby, a male Anna’s Hummingbird performed its amazing dive display, complete with the audible “pop!” created by its tail feathers at the bottom of its dive. Though it may seem early for courtship behavior, Anna’s Hummingbirds often begin setting up territories and attracting mates by mid-November, in preparation for nesting season which commences after winter’s first rains.

Now, let’s review some of the wonderful birds we observed at our sit spot over these few days.

One afternoon, we spotted a male kingfisher perched across from us. Suddenly, two female kingfishers zoomed into view – one in hot pursuit of the other, both calling aggressively. Listen below to part of that chase.

The chase ended when one female landed across the river from us, not far from the perched male. The other female abruptly turned around and returned to an area farther downriver. We likely witnessed a winter-territory boundary-line dispute. That day, these two Belted Kingfishers below remained in view the rest of the afternoon.

Mallards also made a daily appearance. One day brought us a lone pair, while another day yielded 27 ducks!

The Mallards generally kept to themselves – not wary of us but disinterested. Except, one day, as Miles opened a granola bar, this curious male waddled over to see if we’d brought duck treats too.

A female Mallard’s bill is orange with a variable black “splotch” on the upper mandible. We recognized this lovely lady a few times from her beautifully symmetrical and defined splotch.

An odd “black sheep” fraternized with the large group of Mallards. We dubbed this large domestic Mallard “Darkwing Duck.”

Come late afternoon, all at once, the wild Mallards abruptly took flight and disappeared downriver, leaving Darkwing Duck behind. Suddenly all alone, he appeared agitated as he began quacking up a storm and furiously swimming downriver. We read that many domestic ducks don’t fly and wondered if he was desperately trying to catch up with the group?
 
A couple days later, we were relieved to see him reunited with the group.

Many Double-crested Cormorants flew by, heading downriver late each afternoon. One landed nearby and displayed its impressive wingspan.

The coniferous, riparian habitat is ideal for a Pacific Wren. Listen to this pint-sized trogolodyte calling from the bramble – we typically hear a two-note call from Pac Wrens, but this one repeated just a single note.

Great Blue Herons are common along this stretch of river, but seldom do we see Great Egrets. Much to our delight, this Great Egret cruised by one evening.

One day, a piping vocalization rang out downriver and increased in loudness as it approached – a Spotted Sandpiper! Listen below to a small snippet of its calls during flight.

The little sandpiper appeared from around the bend, flying very low to the water, closer and closer, until… it landed right in front of us and commenced butt-bobbing!

 
While sitting quietly in one spot, birds sometimes venture nearer than you’d expect. The Spotted Sandpiper flew in even closer and foraged back and forth along the riverbank just 15 feet from us!

In the video below, notice its foraging style – scampering about, constantly on the move, bobbing its tail and pumping its head back and forth.

 
Soon after the Spotted Sandpiper’s departure, a pair of Killdeer arrived to explore the same stretch of pebbles.
 
In this video, compare the Killdeer’s foraging style to that of the Spotted Sandpiper. Moving much less frenetically, the Killdeer walks several steps deliberately and stops to look around before continuing on.

 
As the pair prepared to take off, they let loose with some vocalizations – listen below.

An Osprey visited the redwoods lining the river. A pair of Ospreys nested at this beach earlier in spring – is this one of those birds?

A Pied-billed Grebe was a mainstay at the sit spot. At times, a second grebe joined and they puttered about in tandem.

This Glaucous-winged Gull flew by daily, often passing back by the other direction an hour later. One day, it mingled awhile with the Mallards. Last winter, we spied a Glaucous-winged at Johnson’s Beach in downtown Guerneville – which is only a half-mile away, as the gull flies. Is this the same bird back for another winter?

A Pileated Woodpecker often called from the nearby conifers – listen below.

We finally caught a glimpse as it flew high across the river. Hmm, what’s it carrying in its bill in this blurry photo?

Though we often heard one in the distance, only once did a Black Phoebe actually pay us a visit for some evening flycatching.

Listen here to it calling.

This lone Common Merganser female idled for hours on a rock.

A different day brought a different Common Merganser female, distinguished by her salmon-pink belly.

Another regular sighting was this solo American Coot who emerged once to forage on the newly sprouted vegetation 10 feet from us. We always love getting an up-close view of these weird, green, “lettuce” feet.

A rewarding upside to looking longer at common birds is noticing previously overlooked details. We never before noticed how cute the American Coot’s fluffy, white-and-black tail is.

 
After the coot filled up on greens, it slunk back into the river and returned along its favored route.

 
As we departed our sit spot on the last day of documentation, a flock of Bushtits surrounded us in the willows. Listen below to their two characteristic calls – (1) a quick, high-pitched, multi-note twitter, and (2) a “tsit” we liken to a tiny tambourine.

Birding the same location repeatedly is always rewarding, and a sit spot is a great way to accomplish this. We appreciate the connection we feel when we start to recognize individual birds like they’re old friends. Sitting quietly in one spot also ups the chance for close encounters, and you just never know who might appear!