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Some birds from the home deck

9/29/2016

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Little male hummer guarding the deck feeder, sunlight hitting his bright feathers on different days.
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Male Anna's hummer, sunlight on his face, camp meeker
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As he turns, the lights catches his bright display feathers.
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Looking for any aerial attacks, the light catches his different iridescent feathers.
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Different day, the lighting shows him off like an ornament. The small branch he often sits on has a bit of lichen growing at the end.
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From the front, male anna's hummer, camp meeker.
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Acorn woodpecker visiting the deck.
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Sometimes the acorn woodpeckers are just dropping by for water from the hanging water bowl. This individual noted for the small red out of place feathers on the chest.
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Spotted towhee with its almost exotic looking markings.
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White breasted nuthatch.
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Nuthatches will freeze in place if they think there is danger, and often makes it easy to get some nice photos.
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Chestnut-backed chickadee holding a peanut between his feet for eating.
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Reaching down for a bite while holding tightly - sometimes this doesn't work and the seed or nut shoots away.
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Success! Chestnut-backed chickadee enjoying a peanut near the deck feeders, camp meeker.
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Golden Eagle, Burrowing Owl, Tolay Lake Regional Park

9/26/2016

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Golden Eagle perched - you can see the golden highlights that give this bird its name.
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Golden Eagle in flight, Tolay Lake Regional Park, Petaluma
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The male eagle showed up as the female was circling, distinquished by its missing outer wing feathers.
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An ever changing palette of colors, Tolay Lake Regional Park
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Several juvenile black phoebes along the fences, polishing their hunting skills.
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Very bright lesser goldfinch, entrance to Tolay Lake Regional Park
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Perched adult red-tailed hawk also near entrance to park.
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Goldfinches eating seeds, Tolay Lake
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While stalking the smaller birds with my camera, I surprised this burrowing owl! Tolay Lake Regional Park, Petaluma
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One of a pair of red-tailed hawks circling.
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Many more savannah sparrows in the park.
PictureGrasshopper, Tolay Lake


Crossing the open fields, grasshoppers jump everywhere - one of the many supporting reasons the birding is so abundant in the park

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Female kestrel, one of many in the park, streaking by.
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One of the heralds of autumn, the Say's Phoebe
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The elegant Say's Phoebe, Tolay Lake Regional Park, Petaluma
1 Comment

Red-shouldered hawk, Hole in the Head, Bodega

9/24/2016

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This could be a juvenile red-shouldered - it took the attitude of not making eye contact and sitting completely still, which is always good situation for a bird photographer.
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This white-crowned sparrow almost laying down on a branch, Hole in the Head, Bodega
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Must have been hawk day, there was also a northern harrier circling over the pool, Hole in the Head, Bodega
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Two different juvenile red-tailed hawks were hunting in the area.
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Juvenile red-tailed hawk over Bodega Bay
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Male Wilson's warbler in owl canyon, Bodega Bay
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Fox sparrow dining on black berries, owl canyon
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Male Downy, owl canyon, Bodega Bay
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Birds aren't the only critters eating the berries, owl canyon
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Low tide, Bodega Bay - I think this is a ruddy turnstone.
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Small flock of shorebirds takes off, among them the ruddy turnstone, western sandpipers, and black-bellied plovers.
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Not sure what this shorebird is, Bodega Bay
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Western sandpiper, Bodega Bay
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I'm guessing short-billed dowitcher here, Bodega Bay
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Vaux Swifts at Healdsburg Rio Lindo and also San Rafael McNear Brickyard

9/20/2016

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PictureRio Lindo Academy chimney
The Vaux swifts are gathering in large flocks before their Fall migration, and roosting in chimneys since they don't perch, but rather cling.  The flocks start gathering near dusk and once the sun sets, they start entering the chimney spaces.

In Healdsburg they use a classroom chimney on a school campus, Rio Lindo
.

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The sky fills with swifts as they start to enter the school chimney.
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Vaux swifts entering the chimney, Rio Lindo Academy
PictureMcNear Brickyard chimneys, San Rafael
In Marin County, the swifts have claimed three tall brick chimneys that are no longer in commercial use, at the McNear Brickyard, San Rafael

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The swifts begin entering the far right chimney as dusk settles.
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Behind the group watching, the sunset lingers over Mount Tamalpais.
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The far left chimney starts to be entered - they did not seem to prefer the middle one.
A quick visit to Bodega Bay area
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Willow flycatcher, Hole in the Head, Bodega
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The pennyroyal wildflowers have turned a deep purple, Hole in the Head, Bodega
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Pacific Slope Flycatcher, Owl Canyon
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Possibly the Tennessee warbler, owl canyon.
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Female Indigo Bunting, Willow Creek Rd near Jenner

9/14/2016

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The Indigo Bunting is considered a rare-ish bird sighting for Sonoma County!
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Female Indigo Bunting, Willow Creek Rd near Jenner
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More distant photo captures, female Indigo bunting
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Female Indigo Bunting eating seeds along Willow Creek Rd, Sonoma County
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Preening osprey on tall tree top, bohemian highway near Jenner
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Fox Sparrow also along Willow Creek Rd
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Small Pacific Slope Flycatcher along Willow Creek Rd
Recent Walk, Tolay Lake Regional Park
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Summer landscape, Tolay Lake Regional Park, Petaluma
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Matching the summer colors, the Western Meadowlark, Tolay Lake
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Lots of kestrels hunting in the park, this one zooming over me.
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Savannah sparrow, Tolay Lake
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On the way out of the park, a red-tail hawk with captured prey on a fence post, Tolay Lake Regional Park, Petaluma.
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Olive sided flycatcher, Point Reyes National Seashore

9/14/2016

2 Comments

 
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Near the chimney rock trail, Point Reyes - olive sided flycatcher
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Olive sided flycatcher, point reyes
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Juvenile white-crowned sparrow, point reyes
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Two sea otters! Point Reyes National Seashore.
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Rock Wren, near the Lighthouse, Point Reyes
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Another view, rock wren, point reyes
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The lighthouse, Point Reyes National Seashore


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On Drake's Beach, the large flock of elegant terns remain active
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Elegant Tern, Drake's beach, point reyes national seashore
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Heerman's gull with elegant tern in the background, Drake's Beach
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The flock takes off! Drake's beach.
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On the road in and out of Drake's Beach, the famous Point Reyes Tule Elk,
which I had actually never seen before.


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Tule Elk, near Drake's Beach, Point Reyes National Seashore.
2 Comments

White-breasted nuthatch at feeders

9/12/2016

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PictureWhite-breasted nuthatch at suet feeder


All three nuthatches at local feeders, Camp Meeker - red-breasted, white-breasted and pygmy


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White-breasted nuthatch, Camp Meeker
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Pygmy nuthatch, camp meeker
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Pygmy nuthatch sampling the suet
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Pygmy nuthatch with a sunflower seed, camp meeker
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Pygmy nuthatch grabbing a seed - they like to first toss five seeds overboard before selecting one.
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Red-breasted nuthatch near deck feeders, camp meeker
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Red-breasted nuthatch, camp meeker
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Chestnut-backed chickadee on alert, deck feeders, camp meeker
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Of course very close neighbors the Acorn woodpeckers continue to visit feeders, camp meeker
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Acorn woodpeckers even like the mixed seed feeder
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Two or three different year round resident Anna's hummers still using deck feeders and having skirmishes
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Yellow Warbler, Hole in the Head, Bodega

9/8/2016

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Yellow Warbler with a bug, Hole in the Head, Bodega
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Another view, Yellow Warbler, Bodega
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The kingfisher which frequents the Hole in the Head pond was fishing from its favorite spot.
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A male Wilson's warbler flitted through, Hole in the Head, Bodega
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An Osprey flew high overhead
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This young coyote near the entrance to Owl Canyon - could be an orphaned pup, or just on its own for the first time.
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Wrentit eating a berry, owl canyon, Bodega
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Pacific Slope Flycatcher in owl canyon, Bodega
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Song sparrow, entrance to owl canyon, Bodega
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Orange-crowned warbler? Owl Canyon, Bodega
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Orange-crowned warler, owl canyon, Bodega
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Also, distant shot, a warbling vireo, owl canyon, Bodega
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A visit to Elsie Roemer Bird Sanctuary, South Shore, Alameda

9/7/2016

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A semipalmated plover, non-breeding plumage, Alameda
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Western sandpiper? Alameda, Elsie Roemer bird sanctuary.
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Long-billed curlew, Alameda bird sanctuary
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Willet, Alameda bird sanctuary
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Large flocks of Marbled godwits, south shore bird sanctuary, Alameda.
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A trio of American Avocets, Alameda
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Forster's terns were putting on a good fishing show, Elsie Roemer bird sanctuary, Alameda
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Forster's tern fishing from the air
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Beginning the dive, Forster's tern
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Full dive, Forster's tern, Alameda
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Forster's tern, breeding plumage, Alameda
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Black-bellied plovers, Bodega Bay

9/3/2016

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In breeding plumage, these birds do have a black belly, hence the name.
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Some of the males still showed signs of the black belly feathers from their breeding plumage.
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Black-bellied plovers, non-breeding plumage, Bodega Bay
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The plovers were joined by a small flock of marbled godwits
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Plus some sanderlings, Bodega Bay
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Some Willets showed up too, and there was a bit of a ruckus when one of them found a worm, and was chased by the rest of the flock
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Willets, Bodega Bay
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There were also a couple of short billed dowitchers, Bodega Bay
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A lone least sandpiper wandered among the larger birds, Bodega Bay
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At the Doran Beach coastal bird walk, a molting house finch? Bodega Bay.
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    Author

    Walking through
    California coastal parks and redwoods, and sometimes beyond, with a Nikon DSLR & telephoto lens (completely amateur)



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