Woodpeckers are a delightful family of birds (Picidae) most often found clinging to tree trunks and branches while using their stiff tails to aid in hitching up and around the tree. They forage with long, stout bills by probing tree bark in search of wood-boring beetles, ants, caterpillars, spiders, and larvae. As omnivores, you’ll also see woodpeckers eating fruits, seeds, nuts, acorns, and catkins. Woodpeckers use their powerful bills to communicate by drumming on resonate surfaces and to excavate their nest cavities. Continue reading “Woodpeckers of the Bay Area”
Tag: Downy Woodpecker
Dawn Chorus at Santa Rosa Creek Trail
Last week, we rose extra early and headed out to enjoy the incredibly rich dawn chorus at Santa Rosa Creek Trail. We arrived at first-light and captured this dawn chorus recording at 5:40 AM – about 10 minutes before sunrise. Feast your ears on this magnificent avian symphony! Continue reading “Dawn Chorus at Santa Rosa Creek Trail”
An Afternoon Walk
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! Continue reading “An Afternoon Walk”
Marin County Birding: Abbotts Lagoon, Point Reyes National Seashore
“Birding the [Point Reyes National] seashore and vicinity can take a day, a week, or a lifetime.”
— Rich Stallcup and Jules Evens, Field Guide to Birds of the Northern California Coast
Continue reading “Marin County Birding: Abbotts Lagoon, Point Reyes National Seashore”
Petaluma Wetlands Alliance Monthly Bird Survey at Ellis Creek (7/23/19)
Tuesday, July 23, was the bimonthly bird survey at Ellis Creek for the Petaluma Wetlands Alliance (PWA). The fog was burning off just in time as we set out at 7 AM. Continue reading “Petaluma Wetlands Alliance Monthly Bird Survey at Ellis Creek (7/23/19)”
Petaluma Wetlands Alliance Monthly Bird Survey at Shollenberger Park (2/11/19)
Last Monday was the bimonthly bird survey at Shollenberger Park for the Petaluma Wetlands Alliance (PWA). We scored a break in the rain before the atmospheric river arrived and enjoyed a chilly but calm day of counting birds. Continue reading “Petaluma Wetlands Alliance Monthly Bird Survey at Shollenberger Park (2/11/19)”