Got up around 6:00 am and headed over to the Mather Lake Regional Park for a walk. On the way there, I saw a White-Tailed Kite “kiting” in the air; and later, when I left, I saw a Say’s Phoebe “kiting” in the air.  Like bookends.

It was about 39°F when I got to the park, and remained relatively cool (under 60°) all day. A lot of the willows are now starting to get their leaves, the wild plum trees were in blossom, and some of the other trees were just starting to bud new leaves and catkins.  Here and there, the Jointed Charlock plants were blossoming. They’re basically “weeds” but I think the flowers are pretty, especially in their variety of colors.

Among the sparrows, I also saw a couple of chubby Robins. One of them, seemingly, had lost an eye, but it was still able to get around all right. Robins hunt by sound, listening for worms under the surface of the ground…so losing an eye wouldn’t be too much of a disadvantage as far as finding food goes.

There were both Mourning Doves and Eurasian Collared Doves cooing from the trees and telephone lines.  The Great-Tailed Grackles and House Wrens were out singing, too. So much birdsong!

The real standouts of the day, though, were the Tree Swallows. They were everywhere, foraging for bugs, chasing one another, singing their gurgly songs, looking for nesting cavities. One of the folks in the Birding California Facebook group suggested I read “White Feathers: The Nesting Lives of Tree Swallows” by Bernd Heinrich… so that’s on my wish list right now. Heinrich noted that the Tree Swallows line their nests with only white feathers.

 There were lots of Coots and some Pied-Billed Grebes swimming and foraging around the edges of the lake. One of the grebes caught a little fish, and swallowed it down whole. I got a video snippet, but the bird turned its back to me for most of it. Hah!

I also got some really bad, really fuzzy video of a muskrat as it swam its way across the lake. It was headed toward shore, but I can’t move very fast with my cane. When I got to the place where I thought it might have landed, it was already gone. Sigh.

CLICK HERE for the full album of photos.

One of the last bits of video I got was of a pair of Canada Geese. I’ve seen this species of geese all over the place, in forested areas, along the river, lakes and ponds, and in urban areas. But I’d never seen them mating before. The geese form pair bonds that last throughout their lives, but they won’t form a bond or start mating until they’re about three years old.

A lot of the display I watched, before I started filming, was the typical “Triumph Display” where the pair approach one another honking loudly. The honking is followed by a sort of “snorting” or “snoring” sound and the threat of a bite.  Once in the water, the pair I was watching did the “head-dipping” routine — like they were bathing, dipping their heads into the water and then lifting the head so the water flowed over their neck and body.  Then the male mounted the female. She was bouncing like a bobber, and he had trouble staying on top, so I don’t know if he actually accomplished anything. Poor dude. 

As I mentioned before, on my way out of the park, I saw a brown bird “kiting” in the air over a field. I didn’t recognize what it was at first, so I took some video of it.

Luckily, the bird flew in closer to the edge of the road and landed briefly on the fencepost, so I was able to get a few clear shots of it. I was surprised to realize it was a Say’s Phoebe.

According to Cornell, these phoebes kite when they’re foraging and when the male is displaying around a nesting site to show the female where it is. Say’s Phoebes, unlike the Black Phoebes, don’t make mud nests to they don’t need to nest near a water site. They can sometimes use old nests of Black Phoebes, but otherwise build their nest of a variety of materials, like weeds, wood and other plant fibers, rocks, cocoons and spiderwebs, hair, paper, basically whatever is readily available and can be easily manipulated.

Like the Black Phoebes, the Say’s nest in or around ledges, where the nest can be partially or wholly covered to protect it from the weather, like on rafters, shelves, ledges, drainpipes, eaves, etc. I’ve never found one, but now, at least, I know what I’m looking for.

I walked for about 3½ hours and then headed back home. This was hike #27 in my #52HikeChallenge.

Species List:

1. Almond Tree, Prunus dulcis
2. American Coot, Fulica americana
3. American Mistletoe, Phoradendron leucarpum
4. American Robin, Turdus migratorius
5. Anna’s Hummingbird, Calypte anna
6. Audubon’s Warbler, Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Setophaga coronata auduboni
7. Azolla, Water Fern, Azolla filiculoides
8. Beaver, American, Beaver, Castor canadensis [sign on tree]
9. Bishop Pine, Pinus muricata [fascicles of TWO needles]
10. Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans
11. Brewer’s Blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus
12. Bushtit, American Bushtit, Psaltriparus minimus
13. California Ground Squirrel, Otospermophilus beecheyi
14. California Quail, Callipepla californica [heard]
15. California Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma californica
16. California Wild Rose, Rosa californica
17. Canada Goose, Branta canadensis
18. Candleflame Lichen, Candelaria concolor [bright yellow-orange]
19. Common Stork’s-Bill, Erodium cicutarium
20. Cork Oak, Quercus suber
21. Coyote Brush Bud Gall midge, Rhopalomyia californica
22. Coyote Brush Rust Fungus, Puccinia evadens
23. Coyote Brush Stem Gall Moth, Gnorimoschema baccharisella
24. Coyote Brush, Baccharis pilularis
25. Crow, American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos
26. Double-Crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auratus
27. Eastern Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger
28. Eurasian Collared Dove, Streptopelia decaocto
29. European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris
30. Fremont’s Cottonwood, Populus fremontii
31. Golden-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia atricapilla
32. Goodding’s Black Willow, Salix gooddingii
33. Great Egret, Ardea alba
34. Great-Tailed Grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus
35. House Wren, Troglodytes aedon
36. Interior Sandbar Willow, Salix interior
37. Jointed Charlock, Wild Radish, Raphanus raphanistrum
38. Killdeer, Charadrius vociferous
39. Mallard Duck, Anas platyrhynchos
40. Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura
41. Muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus
42. Mute Swan, Cygnus olor
43. Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus
44. Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Picoides nuttallii
45. Oyster Mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus
46. Pied-Billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps
47. Poison Oak, Pacific Poison Oak, Western Poison Oak, Toxicodendron diversilobum
48. Red-Winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus
49. Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula
50. Rusty Popcornflower, Plagiobothrys nothofulvus [tiny]
51. Say’s Phoebe, Sayornis saya
52. Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia
53. Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor
54. Tule, Common Tule, Schoenoplectus acutus
55. Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura
56. White Tailed Kite, Elanus leucurus
57. White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys
58. Willow Pinecone Gall midge, Rabdophaga strobiloides