Low Quantity, High Quality
Not a lot of "teachable moments" this trip, just a lot of highlights. A Ring-necked Pheasant went gliding over Raley's at 8:40 to get us started. We warmed up with Red-tailed Hawks and American Kestrels on Lambie Rd., while the Western Meadowlarks serenaded us. Thinks were quiet 'til 10:00 or so when we crossed Hwy 113 on Flannery Rd. and I said: "Stop.....stop......STOP!!!!!" Perched Prairie Falcon. We were in business. The Solano County slot machine just kept hitting "jackpot" for the next 2 hours: Mountain Bluebird! Ferruginous Hawk directly overhead (Ann, showing off), Mt. Plover, more Ferruginous Hawks, dark-morph juvenile Red-tailed Hawk, dark-morph adult Red-tail, what's this?.... another Prairie Falcon in the transmission towers....extensive views.
Wanna go to Davis and look for Yellow-headed Black-birds? Heads nodded. 4,000 blackbirds later, and we'd netted a dozen w/Yellow heads. A whole new generation of birders has been spawned to admire huge flocks of blackbirds.
Wanna go back to Fairfield and look for that Blue Jay? Heads nodded. 3:20 nope. 3:30 nope. GOLDEN EAGLE!!! Consolation prize for staring at bird seed in the corner of the parking lot for half an hour. Then two Red-tails joined the Eagle, and then a Harrier, and then a Kite. Four little tiny specks and one big speck soared upward in a nice thermal. Great opportunity to compare relative size and wing-shape.
Well, time to go............ but let's buy some kiwis....... no sooner did we pay our tab than Ed had the Blue Jay. Hidden, up, hidden, over, hopped, flew, hidden, IT'S OUT!, hidden, in the scope, hopped, flew, down, hidden, IT's UP!, hidden, hop, hop, hop, flew, and again, and again.... and gone.
Class cumulative Winter species total: 114. 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 standing in a field, pictured at the top of this column?
bob power
February 12th, 2006
