Some Birds from San Luis Obispo County

We recently visited San Luis Obispo and had the opportunity to do some birding. Our hotel was directly beside the bird-rich Laguna Lake, so we didn’t have to go far for birds. Moreover, for an auspicious start to our first morning, this gorgeous Red-tailed Hawk greeted us from the hotel parking lot!

Continue reading “Some Birds from San Luis Obispo County”

American Coot chick running on the ground with its tiny wings spread toward an American Coot adult

Rancho San Rafael Regional Park

Rancho San Rafael Regional Park is a wonderful 580-acre park adjacent to the University of Nevada, Reno. Among many other features, the park hosts The Wilbur D. May Arboretum and Botanical Garden. Continue reading “Rancho San Rafael Regional Park”

Lesser Goldfinch perched on skinny willow branch

February Birds

Though the area rain levels were disappointingly low in February, the flipside was an abundance of spring-like birding days. With the relaxation of shelter-in-place restrictions and beautiful weather beckoning us, we made it out several times to enjoy Sonoma County’s bird life. Continue reading “February Birds”

House Wren singing with mouth open while perched on skinny branch against green background

Our 10 Favorite Bird Audio Recordings From 2020

Recording bird sounds has a been a source of great joy for us, as well as a boon to our birding-by-ear skills. First, making a recording forces us to listen intentionally for much longer than we may have otherwise, which helps commit vocalizations to memory. Then, uploading audio to The Macaulay Library allows us to revisit a recording with the helpful visual addition of its corresponding spectrogram.
 
In 2020, we uploaded 270 audio recordings to our eBird checklists. We picked our favorites to compile this Top 10 list, presented in chronological order. We hope you enjoy them! Continue reading “Our 10 Favorite Bird Audio Recordings From 2020”

Pink sunrise landscape reflecting in ponds with duck silhouettes

PWA Monthly Bird Survey at Shollenberger (10/29/20)

Thursday, October 29, was the bimonthly bird survey at Shollenberger Park for the Petaluma Wetlands Alliance (PWA). The group gathered early, and the soft pink sunrise did not disappoint!
 
As with all survey mornings, a bevy of Red-winged Blackbirds declared “Good morning!” from the tules. As the sun rose, hundreds emerged en masse – here’s what it’s like to be beneath one of the emerging flocks. Continue reading “PWA Monthly Bird Survey at Shollenberger (10/29/20)”