I did not go birding the weekend after my three day weekend - too many school things to do! I did, however, go to my local Almaden Lake and Los Alamitos Creek Trail on Friday afternoon after school. I had 97 birds for the month, and would try to get to 100, even though I knew it would be close to impossible.
My grandpa drove me to the lake, and I started off at once, seeing a COMMON MERGANSER.
Moving down the trail, I got all of the common woodland birds - HERMIT THRUSH, AMERICAN ROBIN, CEDAR WAXWING, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, EUROPEAN STARLING, BUSHTIT, CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, OAK TITMOUSE, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, and many SPOTTED TOWHEES. This must be the county hotspot for Spotted Towhees! It was here that I spotted *;)* my first one, back in May of 2013. The trail looks quite different in winter:
As we turned back, I saw a large murder of at least 40 AMERICAN CROWS passing overhead. Wow! Walking along the hill covered with California chaparral, I heard a rustle in the bushes, and focused my binoculars through a fence. With their long, down-curved bills, the CALIFORNIA THRASHERS could not be mistaken for anything! It would have been great to get a photo, but the thrashers melted into the chaparral as soon as they saw me. I did get a shot of an overly fluffed-up WESTERN SCRUB JAY:
Farther back down the trail, I encountered a GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW that posed for me:
It was dusk when I arrived at the half dried-up lake, and I saw the gulls that had been roosting on the island earlier had now been replaced by DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, and CANADA GEESE were everywhere, together with more Common Mergansers, AMERICAN COOTS, and MALLARDS. I also saw my second SPOTTED SANDPIPER of the month on the exposed sandbar.
Summary:
Birds seen: 33
New birds: 1
Big Year count: 98
Summary of January:
January was a great month in terms of numbers for me. Even though I didn't reach 100 in my county in one month, I did get my highest number so far in a month in Santa Clara County, starting out with 98 birds for my 2014 Big Year. This number lacks many easy birds that should be gotten at the bay. While going over my Big Year plans, I realized that I focused too much on passerines and not enough on ducks, gulls, and shorebirds. I will have to change that later this winter with some trips to the bay. And, yes, I will grit my teeth, and attempt a trip to Ogier Ponds (or another gull-gathering place), and try to get gulls for my Big Year. ;) I hope February brings many more good birds and experiences.
Good birding,
Sergey
My grandpa drove me to the lake, and I started off at once, seeing a COMMON MERGANSER.
Moving down the trail, I got all of the common woodland birds - HERMIT THRUSH, AMERICAN ROBIN, CEDAR WAXWING, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, EUROPEAN STARLING, BUSHTIT, CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, OAK TITMOUSE, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, and many SPOTTED TOWHEES. This must be the county hotspot for Spotted Towhees! It was here that I spotted *;)* my first one, back in May of 2013. The trail looks quite different in winter:
As we turned back, I saw a large murder of at least 40 AMERICAN CROWS passing overhead. Wow! Walking along the hill covered with California chaparral, I heard a rustle in the bushes, and focused my binoculars through a fence. With their long, down-curved bills, the CALIFORNIA THRASHERS could not be mistaken for anything! It would have been great to get a photo, but the thrashers melted into the chaparral as soon as they saw me. I did get a shot of an overly fluffed-up WESTERN SCRUB JAY:
Farther back down the trail, I encountered a GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW that posed for me:
It was dusk when I arrived at the half dried-up lake, and I saw the gulls that had been roosting on the island earlier had now been replaced by DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, and CANADA GEESE were everywhere, together with more Common Mergansers, AMERICAN COOTS, and MALLARDS. I also saw my second SPOTTED SANDPIPER of the month on the exposed sandbar.
Summary:
Birds seen: 33
New birds: 1
Big Year count: 98
Summary of January:
January was a great month in terms of numbers for me. Even though I didn't reach 100 in my county in one month, I did get my highest number so far in a month in Santa Clara County, starting out with 98 birds for my 2014 Big Year. This number lacks many easy birds that should be gotten at the bay. While going over my Big Year plans, I realized that I focused too much on passerines and not enough on ducks, gulls, and shorebirds. I will have to change that later this winter with some trips to the bay. And, yes, I will grit my teeth, and attempt a trip to Ogier Ponds (or another gull-gathering place), and try to get gulls for my Big Year. ;) I hope February brings many more good birds and experiences.
Good birding,
Sergey
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