Also seen by many observers this morning between 8-8:30, within 75 yd of the viewing platform

Dan Airola

916/454-3073

d.airola@...

All,

Just a short post to inform everyone that the FALCATED DUCK was still gloriously present as of today (Sunday January 15) at the Colusa NWR, just to the left of the first observation platform. I finally made the 400-mile round-trip drive from Morgan Hill and it was well worth it!

More info posted on my Birding Blog Page: http://birdingpix.blogspot.com/

Dave Kutilek
Morgan Hill, CA

A hunter at Yolo Bypass WA reported to the Fish and Game staff at the Hunter Checkstation that they thought they had seen a Whistling Duck near Parking Lot C on the Auto Loop. The hunter indicated a Fulvous WD, not a Black-bellied WD.

I went out with a spotting scope as soon as I could and didn't find one, but the wind and the angle of the light were presenting difficulties. Be on the lookout if you are out there in the next few days. Tomorrow the YBWA office will be closed but the Wildlife Area will be open sunrise to sunset as usual.

Mary Schiedt
Woodland / Yolo County

Hi all,
Kathy and I saw the subject bird at 59 Herlax Circle in Chico twice this
morning between 0900 and 0930. Very nice. If you come and try to follow
Google's directions to take East Avenue to Holly, be aware that the sign at
East Avenue says Cussick Avenue, which turns into Holly when you make the
turn off of East.

Cheers,
Bruce Deuel
Red Bluff

The Harris's Sparrow was visible this morning in a flock of White-crowned Sparrows in its usual Cortez Street location at 8:30 am Sunday morning.

While looking for the Harris's Sparrow on Saturday evening we saw a Varied Thrush in a large tree across the street from 243 Cortez at around 4 pm. I'm not sure if he's hanging around the area but we were excited at the find!

Good birding!
Racine Barton
Davis, CA

These are three of the best out of 20 pictures. I was standing in my supervisors office snapping pics through the window and trying not to spook the bird. I've changed title of pic to Red Shoulder Hawk.Thanks for the clues!

Have a good day!
Franco Rios
Sacramento

Hi, everyone,

Heard back from lots of you and the consensus is that these birds must be long-billed curlews. The beak was curved downward, so probably not a marbled godwit. Apparently there have been several in the city around Sac High, so probably part of that group.

Thanks so much for your help. Look forward to hearing more about your birding (and seeing more of the long-billed curlew). I wrote about my experience at http://lazulilou.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/watching-the-people-pass-by/. Glad to be part of this group.

Best,
Lou Ann Barnett
Sacramento

Hi, Lu Ann,



I'm new here also and wonder what you saw. Did you notice if the long beaks
were straight or curved?



Jann Dorothy

Sacramento



From: central_valley_birds@...
[mailto:central_valley_birds@...] On Behalf Of Lou Ann
Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2012 10:47 AM
To: central_valley_birds@...
Subject: [CVBirds] Bird Identification





Hi, everyone,

I'm new to this group, but thought I'd ask a question about some birds I saw
in Sacramento 2 days ago. I work at the UC Davis Med Center, at the MIND
Institute and saw 4 birds that looked like they might be sandpipers, but
they were kinda big...they had long beaks, long legs and were buff in color.
Their body size was like that of a duck and when they took off their wings
had some brown markings in them. I thought they might be curlews or godwit,
but not sure about the size. These birds had a wing span of about 2-3 feet.

They were very calm looking, sitting about 10 feet from a sidewalk and
letting people pass by...they were in a grassy field that probably has all
kinds of insects for eating.

Thanks,
Lou Ann Barnett
Sacramento

The HARRIS'S SPARROW was feeding on the sidewalk across from the greenbelt this morning after sunrise.

A survey of the Davis Wetlands revealed that Wastewater Pond now has water, as well at 14 species of ducks (including BLUE-WINGED TEAL and REDHEAD) and one adult WESTERN GULL, hanging with the cormorants as it is want to do. The Davis Wetlands are open to the public Mondays only thru Feb 15.

good birding,

Steve Hampton
Davis, CA

Both Colusa NWR and Gray Lodge SWA had Eurasian Wigeons on Thursday past.  The one at Colusa is in the same area as the Falcated Duck, as previously reported.  The one at Gray Lodge, also a male, was in the large pond where the auto route road makes its first 90-degree left turn.  It was hanging out with a group of American Wigeons no more than 50-feet from the road.
 
Dave Kiehl
San Jose

Hi, everyone,

I'm new to this group, but thought I'd ask a question about some birds I saw in Sacramento 2 days ago. I work at the UC Davis Med Center, at the MIND Institute and saw 4 birds that looked like they might be sandpipers, but they were kinda big...they had long beaks, long legs and were buff in color. Their body size was like that of a duck and when they took off their wings had some brown markings in them. I thought they might be curlews or godwit, but not sure about the size. These birds had a wing span of about 2-3 feet.

They were very calm looking, sitting about 10 feet from a sidewalk and letting people pass by...they were in a grassy field that probably has all kinds of insects for eating.

Thanks,
Lou Ann Barnett
Sacramento

I uploaded a combined photo to Birds of Prey Album titled Coopers Hawk Immature?

Which is my best guess.

Pictures taken 3600 block of Seaport Blvd, West Sac, Jan 13 2012

Have a good day!
Franco Rios
Sacramento

Hi CV Birders

The male Costa's hummingbird has been a regular visitor to our feeders all week, and I just saw it using the large, red feeder along the back fence a little after 7am this morning (Saturday 1/14).

If you would like to see this bird, you are welcomed to drop-by anytime
between 8am-5pm (no need to call or email before hand). Our address is 59
Herlax Circle off of W 11th Ave in Chico CA. You can't miss us, we are the only
house in the neighborhood without lawn. Come through the gate on the left side
of the driveway (near the single garage) and come through the yard. You are
welcomed to sit anywhere and make yourself comfortable. I put a blue camp chair along the west fence that affords a view of 3 (of the 4) hummingbird feeders. Please shut the gate
when you leave.

Bird on!

Shelly Kirn
Jay Bogiatto
Chico, Butte Co, CA

Last weekend I spent the day out at Merced NWR, getting there about 7:15AM and hanging around until almost 6PM (minus a couple of hours at O'Neill forebay to bird mid-day). I've finally gotten through the images and created a slideshow that I thought I'd pass along:

http://bit.ly/zMvLxg

I do recommend turning off captions and setting the speed to fast.

I also wrote up a blog bit about some minor problems that I ran into while there -- out of bounds birders, etc. far too common these days.

http://bit.ly/w2xJOV

I ended up with 62 species for the day, highlight being 4 tundra swans (first time I've seen them at Merced); I was surprised at the relative lack of cranes; you could hear some in the interior, but I saw very few visible, and the fly-in had relatively few until very late into the dusk, when a large group flew in all at once. You could hear them in the distance, but they didn't seem interested in coming into view. The pastures look August rough, which might be part of that -- I do hope we get rain soon. Other highlights included two bitterns and a sharp-shinned hawk. Otherwise nothing exceptionally noteworthy. One banded Ross's Goose showed up in my photos, it's been reported.

chuq



Merced National Wildlife Refuge, Merced, US-CA
Jan 8, 2012 7:15 AM - 1:15 PM
Protocol: Traveling
10.0 mile(s)
Comments: 7-10, then 2:30-5:30PM
62 species

Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) 250
Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens) X
Ross's Goose (Chen rossii) 12000
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus) 4
Gadwall (Anas strepera) X
American Wigeon (Anas americana) 4
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) X
Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera) 3
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) X
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) X
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) 6
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) X
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) X
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) X
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) 1
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) 3
American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) 2
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 4
Great Egret (Ardea alba) 12
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) 3
Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) 25
White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) 3
White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus) 1
Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus) 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) 1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 11
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) 4
American Coot (Fulica americana) X
Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) 1500
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 25
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) X
American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana) X
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) 1
Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) 1
Dunlin (Calidris alpina) 5
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus) 3
Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata) 2
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) X
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) X
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) 1
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 1
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) 5
Say's Phoebe (Sayornis saya) 1
Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) 3
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) X
Common Raven (Corvus corax) 2
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) 12
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) 1
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 1
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) X
American Pipit (Anthus rubescens) 11
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) X
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) X
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 1
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) X
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla) X
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) X
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) 8
Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) X
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) X
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) X




+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Chuq Von Rospach, photographer, writer, and herder of cats

email: chuqvr@...
blog: http://www.chuqui.com
photos: http://chuqui.smugmug.com
more photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chuqui

Folks,

The famed Falcated Duck was present late afternoon, showing beautifully for two
dozen or so birders on the first observation platform at Colusa. On this pond
as
well were a number other interesting birds including 4 drake Eurasian Wigeon,
many Cackling Geese (mostly minima), Greater White-fronted (including a one or
two that looked like "Tule" Geese, but I'd love some verification on that,
Ring-necked Ducks and a Peregrine Falcon.

Matthew Dodder
Mountain View, CA

http://www.birdguy.net
http://www.zazzle.com/mdodder

Dear Birders,



Yesterday and this morning I did transect surveys in the Tall Forest and at
Orr Ranch. Both surveys were very slow, but the befores and afters made the
outings worthwhile. Yesterday I refound the ruff in the first check
northeast of the Equipment Pad. I had missed it on two previous visits
since the CBC on 3 January. About 45 minutes before sunrise, there was a
short-eared owl over the grass/brush east of the forest. I had walked out
there on the CBC but I didn't encounter this one. Over the ponds south of
Desmond Road, especially the pond closest to the railroad tracks near
Franklin Blvd., there were some 500 swallows. Almost all were tree
swallows, but I picked out two barn swallows also. Where were all the
swallows on the CBC? This morning a male prairie merlin was perched on the
perimeter of the ranch house area at Orr Ranch, the sky blue-looking dorsum
and reddish streaking on the breast making this a lovely animal. On the
northernmost pond behind the Visitor Center were rough-winged swallows, at
3-to-2, outnumbering the trees swallows. Forty-five minutes later when I
passed by again, there were roughly 50 tree swallows and only a single
rough-wing. At the south end of these managed wetlands, I heard what
sounded like an abbreviated series of least bittern keks. These may have
been less commonly given notes of Virginia rail. Unfortunately, they
sounded maybe 150 meters out and there was no repeat performance.



Best,

John Trochet

Sacramento

Sorry folks, but a hacker succeeded in hijacking my list of contacts.
Please ignore the "no subject" email, which of course is something we
should all do all the time.

--
Cheers,
Len Blumin, Mill Valley, California
len.blumin@...
Swaro 80 HD, 30X, DCA, CoolPix 6000
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenblumin/

agreed a couple first year Red-shouldered Hawks.

--






L. Broderick. 707-975-7047

West County Hawk Watch (Sonoma/Marin/Solano)



email. northcoastraptor@...

info. www.google.com/profiles/northcoastraptor.

pictures. www.flickr.com/photos/west-county_hawk-watch

yes, good call, it is a hybrid


John Sterling

26 Palm Ave
Woodland, CA 95695
530 908-3836
jsterling@...

www.sterlingbirds.com (photos, classes, tours, county birding)


On Jan 11, 2012, at 7:23 PM, David wrote:

Hi All,

After reviewing the pictures we took at Lake Solano on Jan. 9, 2012, I took a good look at the sapsucker we saw. (I heard pecking on a tree trunk and discovered the bird close to the ground while we were walking around in the park. I took a quick look, and said Sapsucker and really didn't look at it again. David went and took a picture, but didn't say anything about it looking different.)

I posted the bird in the SAPSUCKER album and would appreciate comments as to whether or not the bird is a Red-breasted-Red-naped Hybrid or ??

Thanks so much!
Denise Hamilton
Napa
Napabirders@...

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi All,

After reviewing the pictures we took at Lake Solano on Jan. 9, 2012, I took a good look at the sapsucker we saw. (I heard pecking on a tree trunk and discovered the bird close to the ground while we were walking around in the park. I took a quick look, and said Sapsucker and really didn't look at it again. David went and took a picture, but didn't say anything about it looking different.)

I posted the bird in the SAPSUCKER album and would appreciate comments as to whether or not the bird is a Red-breasted-Red-naped Hybrid or ??

Thanks so much!
Denise Hamilton
Napa
Napabirders@...