Thanksgiving Break - six days that I knew I needed to use to my advantage. How I spent these six days would probably determine the outcome of my big year, and I knew that. The first day (Wednesday, November 26th) I decided to take a rest from school and enjoy a walk with my dad and brother in Santa Teresa County Park.
Unfortunately, there was nothing of note in the Pueblo Picnic Area except for more Acorn Woodpeckers than I'd ever seen and some nice Hermit Thrushes. However, a new bird for my park list was present near Santa Teresa Creek: a male Purple Finch. A Rufous-crowned Sparrow sang from a nearby slope.
The first standout bird of the trip was found by my dad - he noticed a bird landing on a telephone pole in the residential area near the Fortini Trail. It looked almost exactly like an Acorn Woodpecker, but I couldn't see any white on its face or chest, or on its wings when it flew. It looked like a miniature crow, but I was sure it was a woodpecker, so that left one possibility - a Lewis's Woodpecker! Upon examining photos, we were able to confirm the ID of this rarity, which has been surprisingly common this winter in the south county.
We moved up the Stile Ranch Trail, where we found a male Northern Harrier, Savannah Sparrows, and Western Meadowlarks.
However, the real highlight of the trip was found on the rock wall (pictured above). I noticed some movement, and saw a small bird working its way all over the wall, darting from stone to stone. Rock Wren! This awesome bird wasn't a yearbird, but it definitely made my day. After some hard work, I managed to get some photos.
I ended the trip without a yearbird, but it was still a day to remember.
Summary:
Birds seen: 35
New birds: 0
Big year count: 193
Good birding,
Sergey Pavlov
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