Foster Road Field Trip

Fifteen people enjoyed a leisurely walk along Foster Road this morning.  Yellow-breasted chats and gray catbirds were very accommodating.  They posed on the top of the shrubs, and serenaded us with their complete repertoire of songs and calls.  Rufous hummingbirds glowed in the sunlight and put on aerial shows.  Yellow warblers and black-headed grosbeaks flitted in and out of the trees and house wrens sang from the thickets.  Identifying willow flycatchers and western wood peewees was easy because of their distinctive calls.  A western flycatcher and warbling vireos were more of a challenge to find – but we finally were able to find them.  A lazuli bunting sat on a tree limb so we all could enjoy it's brilliant blue color.  It was a fun morning of birding. 39 total species were seen.

Black-headed grosbeaks at Bennington Lake

The first thing I heard when I got out of the car this morning at the lake for our Tuesday walk was a black-headed grosbeak.  It didn't take me very long to find it up in the treetop happily singing away. We heard three others on our walk, but only got a look at a couple of them.  There were lazuli buntings singing and posing nicely on dead branches in several places, and the Bullock's orioles were very noisy and visible.  I like it when I get to see the birds!  And today even the yellow warblers were easy to spot.  We got a good, but brief look at at Wilson's warbler and a very brief, not good look at a MacGillivrary's warbler.  Calliope hummingbirds were on their usual perches and the male black-chinned hummingbirds were doing their buzzy display sounds.  The young great horned owls have found shelter away from the bank in the parking lot.  We didn't see them today, but we did see one of the adults so know they were close by.  We watched the osprey catch a fish and a great blue heron had a stare down with us as we passed on the trail.  We got a brief view of an eastern kingbird and saw several western kingbirds.  It was a beautiful morning – almost hot in the sunny stretches of the trail; but the best part of the walk was not having to wade across the canal!

 

Here Come the Birds!

Bennington Lake was alive with birds this morning.  On the water were ruddy ducks, buffleheads, a ring-necked duck, mallards, coots and northern shovelers. A spotted sandpiper, several killdeer and a great blue heron were on the shore. The Bullock's orioles have returned – we heard them all around the lake and got good looks at a couple of them.  As we got to the bench on the east side of the canal we heard a yellow-breasted chat.  After much searching we found him right in the open where we could see him well.  Paul carries his scope with him, so we were able to really get a good look.  Thank you Paul!  We also saw a lazuli bunting and a beautiful male yellow-rumped warbler.  We saw western kingbirds in several places. Yellow warblers and house wrens were abundant.  There were two ospreys, a red-tailed hawk and two northern harriers soaring overhead.  Of course cliff, tree and rough-winged swallows were everywhere.  The young great horned owls were on the bank in the parking lot.  Next week will bring even more birds, so get out there and enjoy!