Blog Archives

Birds starting to feel Spring-ish on cherryridge property

2/27/2015

Male Nuttall's woodpecker checks out nestbox near backyard, but hammers on it loudly, obviously feeling it needs major modifications - fortunately this is one of the store bought boxes, and not one that I made (so that I did not have to feel responsible for any defects of construction).

Male Nuttall's woodpecker at bluebird nest box

Red house finch, back yard

Oak Titmouse waiting for me to put up sunflower seed feeder, front yard

Northern Mockingbird in back orchard

Walking in a new to me park, saw this Red-shouldered hawk in an oak tree overlooking the path I was on

Red-shouldered hawk, Crane Creek Regional Park

Hawk gets ready to fly off

Also took a stroll at the Ellis Creek Water Treatment Facility, in Petaluma

Killdeer on the shore of one of the ponds, Ellis Creek

Killdeer, Ellis Creek Water Treatment Facility

A lesser yellowlegs was in one of the ponds

Small group of Northern shovelers still in residence at the first pond

Along with the Northern Pintails

Female Goldeneye

Great Blue Heron flew over

Male Bufflehead

Song sparrow on one of the cottontail reeds

Large flock of tree swallows, zooming everywhere

Lots of Canadian geese, some grazing

Twin female canvas back ducks in flight, Ellis Creek

Male and female canvas back ducks in flight, Ellis Creek

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Cooper's Hawk near front porch

2/23/2015

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Cooper's hawk makes an early evening low pass over side yard near front porch, scattering a small group of dark-eyed juncos that had been feeding on the ground, and coming to rest on the fence post.

Resident Cooper's Hawk

Sitting on the fence post for a little while, making sure there are no other small bird opportunities

Often confused with the sharp-shinned hawk, the Cooper's hawk head coloring looks like a cap and they are not as stocky

Small group of bushtits twitter and flit through the backyard trees (this is the male)

Females have pale eyes - here she is in the backyard quince, which is beginning to bloom

(Above): White-breasted nuthatch finds a seed in a tree branch, near private drive, Furlong Rd (Below): Dark-eyed junco on oak tree with new leaves beginning to bud, near the Farm

One of the lower orchard's Red-tail hawks leaps from the Eucalyptus grove as I approach

Western bluebirds everywhere in the orchards

Male Anna's hummer, lower orchard

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Western Meadowlark close-ups

2/20/2015

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While birding near the Napa River and the Hudeman Slough area, came across this Western Meadowlark - usually pretty frantically shy bird - that let me get a series of close up photos!

Western Meadowlark - across from Napa marina

A bemused Western Meadowlark

Western Meadowlark

Love these feet!

Also, a very obliging Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret, Napa Sloughs

Snowy egret

Lots of red-winged blackbirds

Song sparrow, Napa slough

Plump white-crowned sparrow

These are American Avocets, considered one of the most beautiful of shorebirds - best photo of them on overcast day when they were a fair distance away.

Stretching Anna's hummer, Napa slough

Several Anna's hummingbirds flashing their red courtship feathers

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Merlin Hawk? in Cherryridge orchard

2/18/2015

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Surprised this small hawk on a recent walk through one of the orchards - we saw each other at the same time, so it took off pretty fast, only got a few photos...but my research suggests it was a Merlin hawk, which are in the county here, more so in the winter months.

Merlin Hawk? Cherryridge orchard

Merlin in flight looks very similar to kestrel, but notice there are no colorful stripes on head which the kestrel has

White-breasted nuthatch in the back yard

Nuthatch with a peanut - which they love

Fierce Allen's hummer lower orchard

Our resident male kestrel, cherryridge

White-crowned sparrow, the Laguna

Short walk through the Laguna, early afternoon

Canadian geese were on the pond

Tree sparrows in an aerial spat - although I have seen tree swallows in the parks, there are none yet on the cherryridge property

Golden-crowned sparrow eats a blossom in an early blooming tree, the Laguna

Female kestrel, usually seen near one of the main trails, the Laguna

Female Kestrel, the Laguna

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Migratory Allen Hummingbirds have returned

2/14/2015

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Heard rumors there were Allen sightings already, due to the unseasonable spring weather - last year, the first one I spotted was in March

Allen hummer at the Grevillea shrubs near the old orchard

Flashing its orange-gold display feathers

High energy, and more aggressive than the year round Anna hummers

Northern Flicker, on private drive near Furlong Rd

Very shy birds, Northern Flicker darting away

California Towhee, on private drive near Furlong Rd

Gold-crowned sparrow against the bright green & yellow mustard grass flowers, a too brilliant spring in mid-February. These migratory sparrows will be leaving the area soon, going North to nest, and won't be seen here again until the Fall.

Spotted Towhee near the Eucalyptus grove

Chestnut-backed chickadee at the back yard feeders

Tolay Lake Regional Park - Tree swallows and Western Bluebirds already showing nesting behavior - good thing I've started putting next boxes up on the property.

Tree swallow checking out nest box at Tolay Lake Regional Park

Tree swallow zooming towards me as I walk close to the nest box

Swallows migrate to this area to mate and nest, & they are earlier than usual arrivals as well.

A Western bluebird pair were also shopping for houses

Western Bluebird, Tolay Lake Regional Park

Allen hummingbird, Tolay Lake Regional Park, feeding on eucalyptus flowers

Allen's hummer

Anna's hummer also at the eucalyptus flowers

Great Egret in flight, Tolay Lake

A pair of cinnamon teals, Tolay Lake

White-crowned sparrows still abundant

The melody of the Western Meadowlark rang through the open fields of the park

Say's Phoebe, checking for insects from a fence post perch

Curious Robin, Tolay Lake Regional Park

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Nesting box time on Cherryridge property

2/13/2015

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Homemade nest box using fence boards

With our intense spring-like weather here, decided to start to putting up nest boxes in the orchards where the old trees were removed the year before last - using a pole system this year, target birds are the resident western bluebirds and the migrating swallows that start arriving next month.

Home made nest box, design number two

Hopefully the birds will like these nest boxes!!!

Two nest boxes from last year

Back to back boxes in an attempt to maximize coverage for each pole (3/4 inch galvanized pipe); swallows and bluebirds require similar type boxes and will nest close to each other.

Had some useable boxes from last year, but to economize, decided to build some of the boxes myself this year, there are nest box plans on the internet, and many of the store bought boxes are OK for bluebirds, but too small for the swallows, which require at least a five inch by five inch floor.

Red-breasted sapsucker still active in Acacia tress on the property

Red-breasted sapsucker, cherryridge

Say's Phoebe, cherryridge

Resident male Kestrel, giving me the once over

Cherryridge Kestrel

Wild turkey flock adopted my back yard this winter

Two twin male turkeys still always together and often synchronized

Male Downy woodpecker in front porch tree

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Northern Pintails and Cinnamon Teals at Ellis Creek

2/6/2015

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A pair on Northern Pintail ducks at the Ellis Creek Water Treatment Facility

Overcast day, so some of the photos reflect that, but many of the ducks and birds were active feeding or resting ahead of a storm that was arriving later in the day or night in the area.