Red-tailed Hawk, Woodpecker Trail, Point Reyes National Seashore, Marin County

Marin County Birding: Woodpecker Trail, Point Reyes National Seashore

A while back, our friend Rich Cimino asked if we’d fill in to lead his annual Beginning Birding event for the Point Reyes Birding & Nature Festival since he’d be out of town giving the keynote address for the Owens Lake Bird Festival. Excited for the opportunity, we eagerly agreed.
 
The event is at Point Reyes National Seashore’s Woodpecker Trail next weekend, so yesterday we headed down to do a walk-through. Continue reading “Marin County Birding: Woodpecker Trail, Point Reyes National Seashore”

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. Continue reading “Birding Sonoma County: Bodega Head and Harbor”

ebird photo quiz

In Praise of the eBird Quiz

We’re bird quiz-aholics. If there’s a bird quiz online, chances are we’ve taken it. We pore through bird photo Flickr pages and cover up species names to quiz ourselves. On our laptop, you’ll find folders labeled “Wren Calls” and “Warbler Chips,” from which we frequently pop-quiz each other.

Say, which wren’s scold is this?

Okay, is this a Hermit or Black-throated Gray chip note?

Continue reading “In Praise of the eBird Quiz”