Short-eared Owls on Skaggs Island

After receiving news from the Northbay Birds list-serve that Short-eared Owls were being seen in the Skaggs Island area, Pat and I drove the loop around the Napa River marshlands. This means going south on 29 to 37, going west to Sears Point, and then returning to Napa via Schellville and Ramal Road.  We met two other birders on the bridge on the entrance road to Skaggs Island off of Hwy 37 and together waited for these owls to appear.  On the way in we spotted a nice Peregrine Falcon that flew to the top of a power pylon and posed nicely. At about 4 we began to see the Short-eared Owls as they hunted the fields of Skaggs Island.  The county lines are tricky here and by positioning yourself at different parts of the bridge you could see these owls in both Napa and Sonoma counties.  Patrick enjoyed these birds although I did have to drag him to the truck to start the journey. Ah the power of a firm gentle nudge.

Pat Sees the Falcated Duck at Colusa

Today Pat and I got up early and drove over to Colusa NWR to see the famous Falcated Duck. Once again he was easily seen from the viewing platform which at one point later in the morning hosted as many as 25 people with their cameras and scopes.  When we first arrived around 9 the light was perfect and the duck in excellent position. Every time he swam across the front of the island the light would show him to best advantage and the air became filled with the whirring and clicking of cameras and shutters. The excitement was palpable and Patrick was noticing the other species of waterfowl as well.  After the excitement of this duck we headed out to drive the auto tour route and had an excellent morning of central valley birding. Our highlights were a really good look at an American Bittern, an adult Bald Eagle, and a Merlin feeding on a fresh Coot kill.  We stopped once more on the way out for another look at the Falcated Duck and enjoyed the crowd on the platform.

From here we drove 15 miles into Sutter County to look for Mountain Plovers that had been reported in a recently plowed farm field.  As is often the case they had remained right where people had been seeing them and even though most of the group of 10 or so was quite a ways across the field there was one within 200 yards that we were able to scope and get good looks at.

All in all a fun day (except for the speeding ticket I got on the way home).  Patrick shows the signs of being an interested observer, very encouraging. Tomorrow we might try for Short-eared Owls in the southern marshes of the Napa River.

Napa Wastewater Treatment Plant

I went to the Napa Wastewater plant for a few hours this afternoon. I have recently seen several reports of Blue-winged Teal there which I would like to add to my county list. After driving the entire circuit I found a pair with some Cinnamon Teal in the Tule marsh on the west side of the Admin. building. I had them with the bins for a few moments but as my luck has been of late as soon as I pulled out the scope they were in the air and gone.  I'm hoping for a little better luck this coming year.  It is nice to know that even though I might feel unlucky at the moment at least I can be that way while I am out there in a beautiful setting.

Falcated Duck - Colusa National Wildlife Refuge

About a week ago the news of a Falcated Duck at Colusa National Wildlife Refuge came over the list serves.  Many birders have travelled since that time to see it including John Vanderpoel who is doing a North American big year and is now only 5 birds from the record. I was planning to take Pat with me last Sunday but the fact that it was not seen that Saturday kept us away.  Everyday since it has been cooperative and easily seen so I got up early and made the 2 hour drive arriving just at daybreak. Upon arriving it had been seen briefly a bit earlier and scanning I quickly found it again. It is a beautiful bird and it was quite fun to share it with the many people who arrived to see it in the course of the next several hours. I don't have powerful enough lenses for good pictures but the one above is the best of the ones I shot.  I continued around the auto tour route and I must say that it is a really good one.  I had an excellent Eurasian Wigeon and good looks at an American Bittern and Great-horned owl for my highlights.

Lincoln's Sparrow in My Yard

Today I had a new visitor to my yard. This year I have been very consistent in keeping my feeders full which sometimes is a challenge as we are so often busy with our hectic lives.  I have two small tube feeders for niger seed, one tube for sunflower seed, 2 suet baskets, one hummingbird feeder, and one general feeder for wild bird mix.  It is under this last that I usually have the most action and today I was surprised to find a Lincoln's Sparrow sparing with the Golden and White-crowneds that are always present. This guy brings my yard list up to 60 species since we moved here in 1998. I don't know if another 40 are possible but it will be fun to find out!  Tomorrow Pat and I are going to go over to Colusa to see if we can see the Falcated Duck that has been found.  Many birders have come for it and it has been seen 9 out of the 10 days since it was found so I think our chances are good.

Napa River Trail - American Canyon

Patrick and I checked out the new section of the Napa River Trail in American Canyon. This is really a great spot with both tidal and freshwater ponds, access to the former Cargill Salt Evaporation Ponds which are now cleaned up and open tidal wetlands of the Napa River. We are anxious to take our bikes on these trails as well. New birds added to my Napa County list were American Wigeon, Tundra Swan, and Common Moorhen. We had a distant Cooper's Hawk along with a full range of the regular ducks and waders. We'll be back there soon.

Lake Hennessey - Napa County

Today my regular Sunday bike ride took me to Lake Hennessey as the list-serves had said that tundra swans were present. I rode out the north shore trail past the railcar bridge and there was a lot to see. There was quite a bit of waterfowl and I'm sure a few birds that could have gone on my Napa county list, but I had no optics to confirm my guesses. There were no swans but I saw what were probably Bonaparte's Gulls, a Barn Owl, Ring-necked ducks and what was definitely an adult Bald Eagle.

Dry Creek - Napa Valley

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Today I took a few moments to explore the creekside habitat of Dry Creek along Darms Lane while Patrick was at swim practice. The search gave me my first Red-brested Sapsucker since I began my Napa county list.  This bird has been a regular visitor to the Apple tree in my neighbor's yard but has miraculously escaped my yard list. So this fellow will be my Napa country representative until I manage to see one in the yard again.

First Visit to Yolo By-Pass Wildlife Area

Today Patrick and I drove the hour over to Davis and our first visit to the Yolo By-Pass Wildlife area.  This day-after-Thanksgiving field trip has become a tradition but we have previously gone to Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge a few more hours north. A beautiful morning greeted us and we saw a nice selection of wintering Central Valley birds.  Highlights included a Green Heron, White-faced Ibis, American Bittern, Red-shouldered Hawk, White-tailed Kites, and a Sharp-shinned Hawk along with the regular waterfowl inhabitants.

Screech Owl - Napa County

Danette, Patrick and I were out for an adventure on a drive to Lake Berryessa to start our holiday weekend.  We pulled off highway 128 a few miles east of Lake Hennessey at a nice riparian area where two creeks come together. As we stood listening to the bubbling of the creeks and enjoyed all the new green foliage of spring, Danette commented on a knot hole in a snag that looked just like an owl's face. Turns out that is exactly what it was, a Western Screech Owl on his doorstep watching the world go by. I returned a few days later with my camera to get a few shots.

A Cooper's Hawk Visits My Yard

This afternoon, while scanning the feeders I had a surprise visitor. Fortunately for my feeder flock this Cooper's Hawk came up empty. I have wondered for some time about a definitive identification for this bird.  Recently I have come across a blog that is run by a couple of Point Reyes Bird Observatory interns and I know that both of the common Accipitor species appear in their nets with some frequency. So I sent off these images to Luke Musher and he was kind enough to point out the important field marks and suggest that it was in fact a Cooper's Hawk and not a Sharp-shinned.  You might find their blog interesting, you can find it here: http://boomchachalaca.blogspot.com/