2021 Christmas Bird Count #2: Santa Rosa (12/19/21)

Last Sunday was Redwood Region Ornithological Society’s annual Santa Rosa Christmas Bird Count. The day was cold and overcast, but thankfully without rain.
 
We began at sunrise at one edge of our territory, deep along a forested stretch of St. Helena Road. At first, we could only hear the water rushing through Mark West Creek — but our ears pricked up at the sound of our first bird of the day — two Pacific Wrens calling loudly.
 
Minutes later, we lucked out with a lively mixed flock invading the treetops overhead — Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Brown Creepers, and one Townsend’s Warbler.

We moved on to survey Calistoga Road, and though it was a chilly 32° the birds were already quite active. Here’s a Hermit Thrush hiding among the branches.

Next, we branched off to explore Alpine Road, which also parallels Mark West Creek. During 2020’s CBC, we discovered some Wood Ducks tucked away here — but alas, not this year.

How many Hermit Thrushes did we photograph on this year’s count? Now, we’re up to two!
 
Several hungry American Robins and Hermit Thrushes devoured berries in this particular Pacific madrone (or “Pac Maddy” as we like to call them).

But wait… this Pac Maddy was in fact a three-thrush tree! Hidden amid the orange bark of the madrone was a gorgeous Varied Thrush.

Skyhawk Park was our next stop, and we spotted several new birds for the count.
 
This Red-shouldered Hawk was not one of those new species — in fact, we spotted a Red-shouldered at each area we visited. Preferring to hunt from perches, they can be quite stationary and therefore photogenic.

This darling Lincoln’s Sparrow was a new species for the day. If sparrow identification gives you fits, check out our post: Streaky Sparrows of Northern California: Song, Savannah, Lincoln’s, and Fox Sparrow

Speaking of sparrows, a winter’s day of birding wouldn’t be complete without a bevy of “crowned” sparrows. The Golden-crowned Sparrow won “Most Abundant Species of the Day” — we counted a grand total of 163 individuals!

As we tallied the sparrows feeding in the grass, we enjoyed these two Oak Titmice countersinging back-and-forth.

The ubiquitous California Towhee holds a special place in our hearts, and we love how you can reliably observe a pair together. We observed this cutie for a while as it searched for tiny seeds strewn along the sidewalk and road.

All the while, its mate sat perched above, and the pair gave a constant call-and-response series of “tink” calls.

In the dim light of the gray morning, this California Scrub-Jay’s blue looked rather muted.

Three Hermit Thrushes! That’s how many we photographed on this count, and we saved the birbiest for last. If you’re fond of ridiculously plump and cute birds like we are, check out our post: 10 Good Birbs (I’m Birbing Right Now)

Farther along our lap around Skyhawk Park, we encountered a tree full of Yellow-rumped Warblers and Western Bluebirds busily foraging. The bluebirds were particularly active and vocal, fluttering from branch to branch constantly while making these harsh “che-check” calls.

Here’s one of the delicately colored females from the group.

As we stood admiring the Western Bluebird flock, alarm calls suddenly rang out and all the birds in sight dove for cover. We turned around just in time to see this adult Cooper’s Hawk zipping into a tangle of bushes, only to emerge empty-taloned. It alighted to a nearby light pole, allowing us to appreciate its impressively fluffy undertail coverts.

Up next was Rincon Valley Community Park. On previous counts, a lone Snowy Egret had been hanging out in the park — but not on this day. We did however pick up two new species – Red-breasted Sapsucker and Rock Pigeon. We also enjoyed watching a group of American Robins bathing.

At the grassy field of Santa Rosa Bible Church, we located the Say’s Phoebe we hoped to find and a Merlin zipped by in classic Merlin fashion. Then, along Upper Ridge Road, a Northern Harrier cruised low over the grasslands and several American Kestrels sat on wires.
 
We ended our day at Brush Creek Trail, where we finally spotted our first and only Hutton’s Vireos of the day. This species commonly gets mixed up with the Ruby-crowned Kinglet, so we wrote about some ID tips here: Ruby-crowned Kinglet vs. Hutton’s Vireo

A couple Fox Sparrows and Song Sparrows bopped alongside the creek.

Our last new species of the day was… a Snowy Egret! Since we missed out earlier at Rincon Valley Community Park, the appearance of one hunting in Brush Creek was a welcomed sight. From our bridge vantage point, we had fun watching the active egret from above as it stirred the water with those giant golden feet.

Nine hours and 62 species later, we called it a day and banked another great Santa Rosa CBC in the books! Read more about Audubon’s 122nd Christmas Bird Count here.