Grasshopper Sparrow perched on skinny stalk with grass in background

Sonoma County Birding: Crane Creek Regional Park

First off, some news — we’ve obtained a permit to give group walks at the Laguna de Santa Rosa Trail. There are 2 spots left on our inaugural walk on Tuesday, April 26, 2022. For details, visit this Facebook Event page. To register, email us at ImBirdingRightNow@gmail.com.
 
Now, onto the birds! Earlier this week, we had a hankering to walk among some large oaks. Where did we end up? Crane Creek Regional Park! The rolling green hills, blue sky, puffy white clouds, and massive gnarled oaks made for an idyllic afternoon. Continue reading “Sonoma County Birding: Crane Creek Regional Park”

Golden-crowned Sparrow perched on a branch with green lichen with gray background

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. Continue reading “2021 Christmas Bird Count #2: Santa Rosa (12/19/21)”

Snaggy tree sticking up from golden grass hill with fog and oak trees in the background

More Dawn Birding

After experiencing such a magnificent dawn chorus at Santa Rosa Creek Trail, we craved more dawn birding! The following day, we arrived at Sweetwater Springs Road at 5:13 AM just before first light.
 
The special “dawn song” of a Western Wood-Pewee greeted us – a reward for waking before the sun. As with many other flycatchers, the dawn song is typically reserved for a short period before sunrise and sometimes at twilight. Continue reading “More Dawn Birding”

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”

Cedar Waxwing perched on green tree eating a red berry

Some Autumn Birding

Hello, readers – hope you all are warm and healthy! We’ve done some autumn birding locally, and wanted to share a few of the birds we’ve observed.
 
But before we begin with the birds, we’re excited to report our first-ever observation of a Long-tailed Weasel! We enjoyed a distant view of its periscopic head swiveling back and forth, ever alert. Continue reading “Some Autumn Birding”