I got up around 6:00 am today and was out the door by 6:30 to head out for some nature walking with my friend and fellow naturalist Roxanne.  After stopping at a drive-through for some breakfast, we went first to the Cosumnes River Preserve, taking Franklin Blvd. instead of the freeway. Once we got near the preserve, we drove down Bruceville and Desmond Roads to see if there was anything interesting in the agricultural fields yet. We were going on the hunt for Sandhill Cranes which had been reported in the area.

All along the route, we saw large flocks of Wild Turkeys in the empty lots and fields. They’re getting ready for the males to do their fall/winter strut.

We saw lots of sparrows and finches in the brambles and tules on the roadside, including Song Sparrows, Savanah Sparrows, House Sparrows, White-Crowned Sparrows, House Finches and Lesser Goldfinches. Among them was a bird I’d never seen before: a little bright yellow fellow with a black mask. He was in among some tules and I kept saying, “what IS that?!”, as I tried to get his picture. The shots I got weren’t all that good, but they were good enough to make an ID. He was a Common Yellowthroat, Geothlypis trichas. They’re migrating through the area now, so several people have seen them. 

Another nice sighting further along the road was a Say’s Phoebe, Sayornis saya.  We see Black Phoebes all the time, but the Say’s not so much. There were also Red-Winged Blackbirds and Brewer’s Blackbirds feeding and flying in small flocks; some singing from the tree tops.

It was so great to see all bird-life activity again after the dearth of it for the past several weeks. Migrations are starting. We should be seeing tons more birds over the next several months.  The only thing that really seemed to be obviously missing were the hawks. We only saw a couple of them during the whole trip.

There were lots of cattle in the fields, some of them bellowing loudly.  In one field, close to the fence line, there were whitish Charolais Cattle: moms with calves. Some of the calves were playing with one another, bouncing around, jostling and head-butting each other.  So cute!

At the preserve itself, there still isn’t very much water; most of it is still bone dry which doesn’t bode well for the migratory birds. We did see a lot of Least Sandpipers in one little marshy area along with some Killdeer and one or two Greater Yellowlegs.

Along the boat ramp, we found several trashline spiders and their webs, and some larger orb-weaver webs (some with spiders, some without). There were some dragonflies flitting about, but none of them would sit still for any length of time. I think I got a single photo of a Variable Meadowhawk. Down by the water, I could see the Water Hyacinth was still clogging part of the waterway, but they must’ve cleared it out around the dock because it wasn’t around there.

CLICK HERE for the full album of photos.

We when got back to the car, we headed over to Staten Island Road. On the way there, we had to stop for a bit while a farmer used his tractor to clear a fallen tree limb off the road. We gave him a thank-you wave when he was done.

Along Staten Island Road, nothing much is flooded there yet, so there weren’t a lot of different waterfowl that we could see.  We did see lots of Sandhill Cranes, though, which is what we were hoping to see.  Adults and juveniles were in the fields, doing their crackling-calls to one another, feeding, flying overhead. It was great to see them.  We also saw a flock of Cackling Geese, the shorter cousins of the Canada Geese.

We drove up and down the road once, and then headed over to the Woodbridge Ecological Preserve. 

On the way there, we saw a Northern Mockingbird posing nicely on top of a road sign, but just as I raised my camera to take its picture, the battery died. I told the bird to wait while I changed out the spent battery for a new one, and Roxanne quipped, “Watch. It will wait until you’re ready again, and then fly away.” And sure enough. The bird sat there, looking handsome, while I changed out the battery and as soon as I lifted my camera to take its photo, it flew away.  Hah!

There were more cranes at the preserve, but they were in the fields across from the fenced-in preserve. In one field there was over 200 of them! Amazing.            

There was water on the ground in the preserve itself, on the other side of the fence, and there were birds in the water, but everything was too far and backlit, so we couldn’t get any decent photos of any of them.  We did see a flock of White-Faced Ibis flying overhead, and could also hear lots of Red-Winged Blackbirds in the elderberry bushes along the road. In the culverts on one side of the road, water was running and there was more water hyacinth growing in there, and Great Egrets fishing.

We saw signage for The Black Hole wetland preserve, a privately owned preserve overseen by the Wetland Preservation Foundation.  I sent them an email to see if I can get Roxanne and I onto the property to do some photography and species identification.

We were out and about for about 6 hours and headed back home.

Species List:

1. Alfalfa, Medicago sativa
2. Amaranth, Redroot Pigweed, Amaranthus retroflexus
3. Azolla, Water Fern, Azolla filiculoides
4. Bagrada Bug, Bagrada hilaris
5. Black Angus Cattle, Bos Taurus var. Black Angus
6. Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans
7. Blue Elderberry, Sambucus nigra cerulea
8. Boxelder, Box Elder Tree, Acer negundo
9. Brewer’s Blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus
10. Buttonbush, Cephalanthus occidentalis
11. Cackling Goose, Branta hutchinsii
12. California Quail, Callipepla californica
13. California Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma californica
14. Charolais Cattle, Bos Taurus var. Charolais
15. Club Gall Wasp, Atrusca clavuloides
16. Common Crow, American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos
17. Common Duckweed, Lemna minor
18. Common Yellowthroat, Geothlypis trichas
19. Convoluted Gall Wasp, Andricus confertus
20. Coyote Brush, Baccharis pilularis
21. Dead Man’s Foot Fungus, Pisolithus arhizus
22. Deer Grass, Muhlenbergia rigens
23. Devil’s Beggarticks, Bidens frondosa
24. European Honeybee, Western Honeybee, Apis mellifera
25. Flat-Topped Honeydew Gall Wasp, Disholcaspis eldoradensis
26. Fremont’s Cottonwood, Populus fremontii
27. Fuzzy Gall Wasp, Disholcaspis washingtonensi [round faintly fuzzy galls on stems]
28. Goldenrod Bunch Gall, Goldenrod Floret Gall Midge, Solidago canadensis
29. Goldenrod, California Goldenrod, Solidago velutina californica
30. Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias
31. Great Egret, Ardea alba
32. Greater Yellowlegs, Tringa melanoleuca
33. House Finch, Haemorhous mexicanus
34. House Sparrow, Passer domesticus
35. Hoverfly, Margined Calligrapher Fly, Toxomerus marginatus [very tiny]
36. Interior Sandbar Willow, Salix interior
37. Killdeer, Charadrius vociferous
38. Least Sandpiper, Calidris minutilla
39. Lesser Goldfinch, Spinus psaltria
40. Marsh Wren, Cistothorus palustris [nest]
41. Mistletoe Gall, caused by Mistletoe  haustorium growing on a tree
42. Mistletoe, American Mistletoe, Big Leaf Mistletoe, Phoradendron leucarpum
43. Narrowleaf Milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis
44. Northern Harrier, Marsh Hawk, Circus hudsonius
45. Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos
46. Oak Apple Gall Wasp, Andricus quercuscalifornicus
47. Oleander Aphid, Aphis nerii
48. Orange Sulphur Butterfly, Colias eurytheme
49. Pin Mold, Order: Mucorales
50. Potato, Russet Potato, Solanum tuberosum
51. Red Cone Gall Wasp, Andricus kingi
52. Red-Winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus
53. Rio Grande Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo intermedia
54. Rough Cocklebur, Xanthium strumarium
55. Sandhill Crane, Grus canadensis
56. Sandhill Skipper, Polites sabuleti
57. Savannah Sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis
58. Say’s Phoebe, Sayornis saya
59. Small Honey Ant, Prenolepis imparis
60. Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia
61. Spiny Turban Gall Wasp, asexual, fall generation, Antron douglasii
62. Swainson’s Hawk, Buteo swainsoni
63. Swamp Smartweed, False Water-Pepper, Persicara hydropiperoides [pink]
64. Tall Flatsedge, Cyperus eragrostis
65. Trashline Orb Weaver Spider, Conical Trashline Spider,  Cyclosa conica
66. Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura
67. Valley Oak, Quercus lobata
68. Variegated Meadowhawk Dragonfly, Sympetrum corruptum
69. Water Hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes
70. Western Fence Lizard, Blue Belly, Sceloporus occidentalis
71. Western Meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta
72. Western Spotted Orbweaver Spider, Neoscona oaxacensis
73. White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys
74. White-Faced Ibis, Plegadis chihi
75. Yellow Wig Gall Wasp, Andricus fullawayi
76. ?? spider egg sac