Pictures courtesy of Ashok Khosla.

Staten Island Ranch / Cosumnes River Preserve / Bixby Park

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Simply wonderful.

Cranes: Wonderful. Tundra Swans: Wonderful. Yellow-rumped Warblers: wonderful. Dianna McDonnell: Wonderful. John Trochet: Wonderful. Weather: well...... the afternoon was wonderful. Lunch: Awesome. Cinnamon Teal: Wonderful. More Cranes: Wonderful. Snow Geese: Wonderful. Barn Owl: Wonderful. Nature can get kind of boring in its consistent wonderfulness. It's one of those "natural high" thingees we've heard about, yes? Or not. Peregrine Falcon: Wonderful. When "wonderful" gets a boost from "overwhelming," it becomes "spectacular." Evening fly-in, fly-by, fly-over, fly past: Spectacular. Sunset: cross between Wonderful and Spectacular.

Hope you had fun, I did.

BBE=Heard during "Birding by Ear" portion of the class.

* = Seen on Saturday and Sunday

**= Seen at Bixby / Palo Alto Baylands, but not at Cosumnes / Staten Island.

Confused? Me too.

  1. Greater White-fronted Goose
  2. Snow Goose
  3. Cackling Goose (Aleutian form)
  4. Canada Goose*
  5. Tundra Swan
  6. Gadwall*
  7. Eurasian Wigeon**
  8. American Wigeon*
  9. Mallard*
  10. Green-winged Teal*
  11. Cinnamon Teal*
  12. Northern Shoveler*
  13. Northern Pintail
  14. Canvasback*
  15. Bufflehead
  16. Common Goldeneye
  17. Ruddy Duck
  18. Pied-billed Grebe*
  19. Eared Grebe**
  20. Double-crested Cormorant
  21. Great Blue Heron (I heard there was some controversy re: this bird?! "Bob said it wa a...... Black-crowned Night Heron......" Ay-yi-yi. Made no such remark. Yellow spear of a bill, and white crown and you don't have to work too much harder......
  22. Great Egret
  23. Snowy Egret*
  24. Black-crowned Night Heron**
  25. Turkey Vulture – V is for Vulture. Wings held in a high dihedral.
  26. White-tailed Kite*
  27. Northern Harrier*
  28. Red-tailed Hawk*
  29. Red-shouldered Hawk
  30. American Kestrel*
  31. Peregrine Falcon
  32. Clapper Rail** (H.O.) BBE
  33. Virginia Rail (H.O.)
  34. American Coot
  35. Sandhill Crane
  36. Black-bellied Plover** BBE
  37. Killdeer**
  38. Black-necked Stilt* BBE
  39. American Avocet**
  40. Greater Yellowlegs* BBE
  41. Lesser Yellowlegs
  42. Dunlin
  43. Long-billed Dowitcher* BBE
  44. Willet** BBE
  45. Long-billed Curlew** BBE
  46. Least Sandpiper**
  47. Rock Pigeon
  48. Mourning Dove
  49. Barn Owl
  50. Anna's Hummingbird** BBE
  51. Belted Kingfisher
  52. Nuttall's Woodpecker
  53. Downy Woodpecker (cutie)
  54. Northern Flicker (H.O.)
  55. Black Phoebe* BBE
  56. Say's Phoebe
  57. American Crow** BBE
  58. Tree Swallow
  59. Oak Titmouse
  60. Chestnut-backed Chickadee** BBE
  61. Bushtit* BBE
  62. Bewick's Wren (H.O.) ** BBE
  63. Marsh Wren (H.O.)* BBE (Many; they're gettin' whacky)
  64. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
  65. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
  66. American Pipit*
  67. Yellow-rumped Warbler* BBE
  68. Common Yellowthroat** BBE
  69. Spotted Towhee
  70. California Towhee** BBE
  71. Savannah Sparrow
  72. Fox Sparrow
  73. Song Sparrow* BBE
  74. Lincoln's Sparrow
  75. White-crowned Sparrow
  76. Golden-crowned Sparrow** BBE
  77. Dark-eyed Junco
  78. Red-winged Blackbird* BBE
  79. Brewer's Blackbird
  80. Western Meadowlark*
  81. House Finch* BBE
  82. House Sparrow

    83. Class cumulative Winter species total: 82. And how's your little blue book coming along?

    If I missed something, I'm completely relying on the team to remind me.

    And for 33&1/3 bonus points, what bird is flying across the marsh, pictured at the top of this column?

    bob power

    November 13th, 2005