Citizen Science, General Blog, Naturalist, photography, Volunteering

Not a Lot Out Today, 10-24-20

I got up around 6:30 this morning and headed over to the Cosumnes River Preserve to see if conditions have gotten better for the birds since the last time I was there… and no, they haven’t; not really. There’s still no water in the majority of the wetland areas, and the pools are empty. There are currently more birds in the ag lands surrounding the preserve than in the preserve itself.

I drove along Bruceville and Desmond Road to see what was there. I saw a lot of Meadowlarks and Sparrows and Finches, for the most part. There was one Meadowlark that got up onto a fence-line and sang for quite a bit. I was able to get still shots and a video snippet of it.

There were a few quail out, along with several Great Blue Herons, Goldfinches and lots of Greater White-Fronted Geese.  I could hear Sandhill Cranes and saw them flying overhead, but only saw two on the ground, and they were fairly far away.

Savannah Sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis

Because the preserve was so dry and pretty much a bust, I drove over to Staten Island Road to see what was there. There were lots of geese and cranes, but most of them were very far from the road.

Sandhill Crane, Grus canadensis

I saw several Red-Tailed Hawks, and a couple of Northern Harriers, including one that flew low to the ground along the side of the road. I was able to get some still shots and video of it. I saw it dive into the tall grass a couple of times, but didn’t see if catch anything.

CLICK HERE to see the full photo album.

Because I wasn’t seeing very much, I cut my visit short and headed back home. In total, including travel time, I was out for about 4 hours.

Species List:

  1. American Coot, Fulica americana
  2. Brewer’s Blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus
  3. Broadleaf Cattail, Bullrush, Typha latifolia
  4. Cackling Goose, Branta hutchinsii
  5. California Quail, Callipepla californica
  6. Canada Goose, Branta canadensis
  7. Dallis Grass, Dallisgrass, Paspalum dilatatum
  8. Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias
  9. Great Egret, Ardea alba
  10. House Finch, Haemorhous mexicanus
  11. Lesser Goldfinch, Spinus psaltria
  12. Marsh Wren, Cistothorus palustris
  13. Northern Harrier, Marsh Hawk, Circus hudsonius
  14. Red-Tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis
  15. Red-Winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus
  16. Sandhill Crane, Grus canadensis
  17. Savannah Sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis
  18. Say’s Phoebe, Sayornis saya
  19. Tule, Common Tule, Schoenoplectus acutus
  20. Western Meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta
  21. White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys