I've added four new birds to my life list over the past two weeks. So far I only have photos of one of them. It is the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea). I took an early morning drive up Gates Canyon Road then north along Blue Ridge Road across Mount Vaca. After stopping at several likely spots with no luck, I pulled off near the end of the road and wallked around a little in a sage and manzanita clearing. I heard a buzzing sound that I didn't think sounded like the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher call on iBird Pro but I wasn't sure what it could be. I played the call once to refresh my memory and in about a minute I had four or five Gnatcatchers around me. I ran to the car to get my camera and got a few good photos. They didn't sound exactly like the call on iBird but it was very close. A little different pitch I suppose. Once the Gnatcatchers had satisfied their curiosity and left I continued to the end of the road where I found a Sage Sparrow (Amphispiza belli) singing from the top of a burned out manzanita snag. Unfortunately I didn't have a long lens with me and the sparrow was quite a ways off and severely backlit so... no photos of him.
Two days ago I followed a lead for Lark Buntings in south Yolo County. I got to the location and found several other birders there looking for the Buntings. I didn't find them and I don't believe the other birders did either. What I did find was a Grasshopper Sparrow and a Brown-headed Cowbird. Both of these were also life list birds for me. These were both really scouting trips so we'll be returning to both of these locations with some bigger glass.
Memorial Day weekend we plan to visit family in Washoe Valley between Reno and Carson City, Nevada. Hopefully we can improve our collection of Western Tanagers, Bullock's Orioles and maybe get some Pinyon Jays. Shortly after that it's up to LaPine, Oregon for a week at Crane Prairie Reservoir for Bald Eagles, Ospreys and who knows what else!
We had an open house event at the California Raptor Center at U.C. Davis this past weekend. The turn out was great! My son, Tim, is now also volunteering on the Thursday morning shift with me but, unfortunately he had to work during the open house. All the glove trained birds that were available came out. Sullivan, our Golden Eagle we've been glove training for the past year did great. He was transferred from person to person several times without missing a beat and he seemed very comfortable in front of the crowd. Please visit the Raptor Center when you can. We rehabilitate and release every bird we can. I think the last figure I heard was about 65% of the birds that come in are released back into the wild. Of the remainder, alas, some birds are in very bad shape when we get them and, despite the Center's and the U.C. Davis Veterinary Clinic's best efforts, they can't be saved. Some are saved but sustain injuries that don't allow them to be released back into the wild. These birds find a home with us or another rehabilitation center for the rest of their life. There they serve as animal ambassadors and education birds to the public.
Until next time...