Category Archives: birding

#52HikeChallenge, birding, Citizen Science, General Blog, lichen, Naturalist, photography, Volunteering

Lewis’s Woodpeckers at Lake Solano, 02-01-23

February 1, 2023 The Chubby Woman

I got up early this morning to get myself ready to head out to Lake Solano Park with my fellow naturalist, Roxanne. We stopped for coffee first and then drove through the city of Davis into Winters and stopped at the Putah Creek Café for breakfast. When we were done there it was almost 10:00 AM, but it was still cold outside, so I figured we hadn’t missed too many of the critters that might normally be out earlier in the morning.

Along the way to and from Winters, we counted the hawks we saw along the highway, and ended up seeing about a dozen of them. [When we see a lot of hawks, we feel it’s a good birding day.] The majority of the hawks were Red-Tails, but we also saw a few Red-Shouldered Hawks.

When we got to the park we were surprised to see that the gate to the upper parking lots was closed, and only the small lower parking lot was open to the public. I think that helped to keep the number of visitors to a minimum, which I liked. Usually that lower lot is loaded with cars, but today only a few of the stalls were taken, so we had no trouble finding a place to park. Throughout the whole day, we only saw about four other people in the entire park, so the place was wonderfully quiet, and we didn’t feel rushed or crowded in any way. [The other people there seemed all to be birders who were very pleasant and shared some of their sightings with us.]

Nearest to the parking lot, we walked down to the boat launch area on the lake and got to see large flocks of Bufflehead ducks. Mixed in with them, we also saw several smaller flocks of Lesser Scaups, both males and females. I was hoping the little Buffleheads would do some of their courtship rituals, but they were more interested in getting warm and eating.

While we were at the boat launch are we also saw the first River Otter of the day. It was a solitary one, swimming along the edges of the tules. Later we saw a raft of three of them, swimming in the lake and fishing.

As always, I made sure to log the sightings into the Otter Spotter community based science database at the River Otter Ecology Project website.

There were a few more songbirds here than we saw at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge the other day. There were lots of little warblers and some Ruby-Crowned Kinglets, a few sparrows, Spotted Towhees, Robins and a chubby Hermit Thrush that seemed to show up here and there along the trail.

CLICK HERE for the full album of photos.

In the trees were a lot of Acorn Woodpeckers moving their acorns back and forth between different holes in their granary trees. We also heard some Northern Flickers. What I was really hoping to see was a Lewis’s Woodpecker as I’d heard that they were out in the park. We were excited to find several of them– and many gave us a hard time photographing them. Hah! Finally, one of them flew up into the naked branches of a tall tree, and we were able to get some pictures of it before it flew off again.

Other cool sightings today were being able to see Belted Kingfishers across the lake, Phainopeplas in the trees (one being chased by a Mockingbird), and an Osprey. The Osprey flew in one direction overhead, and then a few seconds later, it flew back — with a huge bass in its talons. It moved too quickly for me to get any photos of it. Roxanne said that the fish in the bird’s talons looked like a torpedo.

There weren’t as many egrets and herons there as I expected to see, but we did get to see a Great Blue Heron land in a tree very near to where we were walking along the trail.

Roxanne was hoping to see some Hooded Mergansers and some Wood Ducks in the water. We did find the Hooded Mergansers (both males and females),but the Wood Ducks eluded us.

I got a video snippet of a pair of the Mergansers, and they were swimming close to one another, lifting their heads up in a synchronized manner, as though drinking, but not taking in any water. I wondered if that was the “Drinking” behavior associated with courtship. According to Cornell, “…Drinking is a ritualized behavior that can be distinguished from normal drinking motions by the strongly depressed crest and almost vertical orientation of the bill [in the males]…”

We saw quite a few Double-Crested Cormorants flying, necks outstretched, over the water, and also saw one stopping on a log to fan its drenched wings dry.

Among the plants, the Toyon were covered in red berries, and the Manroot and Pipevine vines were just starting to wake up. I’m still not really back to my full “naturalist brain” mode yet, so I’m sure I missed a lot of stuff. I tried getting some photos of lichen, too, but there wasn’t much of that to see at the park. We also didn’t see any fungi thee, which I thought was weird.

We walked for almost fours hours (and covered a slow mile and a half). I thought I did pretty well, even though I had to sit down several times along the way. I got a lot of exercise and fresh air, and got to spend the day with my friend. Super! We got back home around 3:00 PM.

This was hike #2 in my #52HikeChallenge for this new year.

Species List:

Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus
Alder, White Alder, Alnus rhombifolia
American Robin, Turdus migratorius
Arundo, Giant Reed, Arundo donax
Blackberry, Armenian Blackberry, Rubus armeniacus [red canes]
Audubon’s Warbler, Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Setophaga coronata auduboni
Belted Kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon
Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans
Black Walnut,Eastern Black Walnut, Juglans nigra
Blue Elderberry, Sambucus nigra cerulea
Brewer’s Blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus
Bufflehead Duck, Bucephala albeola
California Buckeye Chestnut Tree, Aesculus californica
California Mugwort, Artemisia douglasiana
California Pipevine, Dutchman’s Pipe, Aristolochia californica
California Quail, Callipepla californica [heard]
California Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma californica
Canada Goose, Branta canadensis
Candleflame Lichen, Candelaria concolor [bright yellow-orange]
Cattail, Broad-Leaved Cattail, Typha latifolia
Common Goldeneye, Bucephala clangula
Crow, American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos
Double-Crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auratus
Eurasian Collared Dove, Streptopelia decaocto [heard]
Gray Pine, Pinus sabiniana
Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias
Great Egret, Ardea alba
Grebe, Pied-Billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps
Green Heron, Butorides virescens [heard]
Gull, Larus sp.
Hermit Thrush, Catharus guttatus
Hooded Merganser, Lophodytes cucullatus
Hooded Rosette Lichen, Physcia adscendens [hairs/eyelashes on the tips of the lobes]
Lesser Scaup, Aythya affinis
Mallard Duck, Anas platyrhynchos
Lewis’s Woodpecker, Melanerpes lewis
Lodgepole Pine, Pinus contorta
Manroot, California Manroot, Bigroot, Marah fabaceus
Mistletoe, Broadleaf Mistletoe, Phoradendron macrophyllum
Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura
Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus [heard]
Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos
Oak, Coast Live Oak, Quercus agrifolia
Oak, Interior Live Oak, Quercus wislizeni
Oak, Valley Oak, Quercus lobata
Oak Apple, California Gall Wasp, Andricus quercuscalifornicus
Osprey, Pandion haliaetus [flyover with fish]
Otter, North American River Otter, Lontra canadensis pacifica
Peafowl, Indian Peafowl, Pavo cristatus [heard]
Phainopepla, Phainopepla nitens
Red-Shouldered Hawk, California Red-Shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus elegans [12 on the highway]
Red-Tailed Hawk, Western Red-Tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis calurus
Red-Winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus
Rose, California Wild Rose, Rosa californica [pink]
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula
Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia
Sparrow, White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys
Towhee, Spotted Towhee, Pipilo maculatus
Toyon, Heteromeles arbutifolia
Tule, Common Tule, Schoenoplectus acutus
Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura
Western Bluebird, Sialia mexicana
Western Gray Squirrel, Sciurus griseus
Western Pocket Gopher, Thomomys sp. [mounds]
White Sweetclover, Melilotus albus
Willow, Salix sp.

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#52HikeChallenge, birding, Citizen Science, General Blog, Naturalist, Volunteering

A Day at the SNWR, 01-25-23

January 25, 2023 The Chubby Woman

I got up “early” this morning, around 6:30 AM, to feed and potty my dog Esteban, and to get myself ready to go to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge with my friend and fellow Naturalist, Roxanne, I hadn’t there in “forever”, and this year weather and flooding made in impossible to get into the place. (It was actually closed yesterday because they needed to male repairs to the auto tour route. )

I remember one year (2019?) when I took my class of naturalists to the refuge, and the auto tour route was closed behind us when a sink hole opened up on the road. The whole place is a wetlands area, so puddles, sink holes, soft spots, and mires are not unusual here.

The Nature Center was closed because it’s being expanded and getting a new roof.

It was 35ºF at the house when we left, but already 47ºF at the preserve, so we figured it would be a lovely weather day. What we weren’t prepared for was the wind, which made the air feel colder than it actually was, and caused enough chop on the water of the larger pools that it interfered with the waterfowl, and kept them grounded.

Even before we got into the refuge itself, we saw flocks of Snow Geese gathering near the freeway on-ramps and in the fields along Princeton Road. The geese were also common throughout the refuge proper, most of them sitting close to the ground to avoid the wind.

And we also got to see a Bald Eagle sitting in a tree just before the entrance to refuge. That was exciting. The eagles were on my bucket list for the day, and it was thrilling to see one so close so early in the day. We also saw other eagles in the refuge, including some juveniles. One eagle, maybe 4 ½ years old, flew overhead then circled around, scaring up a small flock of Black-Necked Stilts, before landing in a tree on the side of the road. The eagles are strong enough to fly against the wind when they want to.

Inside the refuge, we saw quite a few different species, but very few songbirds and very few shorebirds. The wind was a factor in that, but the amount of water on the landscape was also an issue. We always look forward to the ponds filling with water each year, but this year we’ve already had an inordinate amount of rain so the ponds are almost “over full”. Everything was wet. There weren’t any of the drier areas where smaller birds, and birds like the Snipes, could rest and feed. As the water recedes and areas dry, we might seen more of those little birds.

CLICK HERE for the full album of photos.

All of the water is appreciated by the egrets and herons, though, who hunt and feed in it.

The coolest and most frustrating sighting we had for the day was seeing an otter run across the road right in front of the car. It moved so fast, I couldn’t get any clear photos of it on the road, and then it ducked down into a wager-filled slough along the side of the road. Once in the water, it could move faster and disappear for periods of time under the surface. There were so many twiggy trees and weeds along the edge of the slough that we couldn’t get the camera to focus on the animal itself… So, the only photos I got were blurry images of its tail. Like I said, it was cool but totally frustrating.

Oh, and it was clear enough to see snow-covered mountains all along the horizon in almost every direction. So beautiful!

When we were done driving the auto tour loop, we headed into Williams and stopped at Granzella’s for a late lunch. It was a chilly windy, fun and fulfilling day.

Species List:

American Coot, Fulica americana
American Pipit, Anthus rubescens
American Wigeon, Anas americana
Arundo, Giant Reed, Arundo donax
Ash, Oregon Ash, Fraxinus latifolia
Audubon’s Warbler, Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Setophaga coronata auduboni
Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Bee, Western Honeybee, Apis mellifera
Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans
Blackberry, Armenian Blackberry, Rubus armeniacus [red canes]
Black-Necked Stilt, Himantopus mexicanus
Brewer’s Blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus
Bufflehead Duck, Bucephala albeola
California Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma californica
Columbian Black-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus
Crow, American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos
Double-Crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auratus
Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus sp.
Eurasian Collared Dove, Streptopelia decaocto
Field Mustard, Brassica rapa
Gadwall, Mareca strepera
Grasses, Saltgrass, Distichlis spicata
Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias
Great Egret, Ardea alba
Greater White-Fronted Goose, Anser albifrons
Great-Tailed Grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus
Green-Winged Teal, Anas carolinensis
Gull, Larus sp.
Gull, Herring Gull, Larus argentatus
Gull, Ring-Billed Gull, Larus delawarensis
Jointed Charlock, Raphanus raphanistrum
Killdeer, Charadrius vociferous
Loggerhead Shrike, Lanius ludovicianus
Mallard Duck, Anas platyrhynchos
Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura
Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus [heard]
Northern Harrier, Circus hudsonius
Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos
Northern Pintail, Anas acuta
Northern Shoveler, Anas clypeata
Otter, North American River Otter, Lontra canadensis
Pacific Pond Turtle, Western Pond Turtle, Actinemys marorata
Paper Wasp, Golden Paper Wasp, Polistes aurifer
Poison Hemlock, Conium maculatum
Raccoon, Common Raccoon, Procyon lotor [tracks]
Red-Shouldered Hawk, California Red-Shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus elegans
Red-Tailed Hawk, Western Red-Tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis calurus
Red-Winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus
Rio Grande Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo intermedia
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula
Snow Goose, Chen caerulescens
Snowy Egret, Egretta thula
Sparrow, House Sparrow, Passer domesticus
Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis
Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia
Sparrow, White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys
Sunflower, California Sunflower, Helianthus californicus
Swainson’s Hawk, Buteo swainsoni
Teasel, Wild Teasel, Dipsacus fullonum
Tule, Common Tule, Schoenoplectus acutus
Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura
Western Fence Lizard, Blue Belly, Sceloporus occidentalis
Western Meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta
White-Faced Ibis, Plegadis chihi
Willows, Salix sp.
Wren, Marsh Wren, Cistothorus palustris

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#52HikeChallenge, birding, Citizen Science, fungi, General Blog, lichen, Naturalist, photography, Surprises, Volunteering

A Birthday Walk at River Bend, 01-22-23

January 22, 2023 The Chubby Woman

I went out a bit later than usual today, the first time I’ve been out walking in nature for over a month. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to last or how far I could go — my strength and stamina have been pretty minimal since the chemo infusion in December 2022.

I went to the American River Bend Park, and surprised myself in being able to travel a mile… but it took me almost four hours to do that. I had to stop and either it in the car, or sit at a picnic table to catch my breath and relax for a few minutes. Near the end of the walk, my neck and shoulders were hurting from carrying my backpack, and my left leg (where the cancer is) was getting cranky, but I made it. I left the house around 9:30 am and got back home around 2:00 pm. It was clear, crisp and cold while I was out (in the 40’s), and the wind coming off the river was frigid so I was bundled up in layers.

I was looking specifically for fungi, but was open to whatever else I might find. The cool thing about the River Bend Park is that it has a lot of diversity among species: plants, animals, fungi. So you never know what you’ll see, but you’re always guaranteed to find something.

Among the fungi I found were Blewits, Brownits, Deer Mushrooms, Red Threads, a Yellow-Staining Milk Cap, Stubble Rosegills, and others. But most of the mushrooms were few and far between; most of the time I was finding only single specimens. I was looking for but didn’t find any earthstars, large Inkcaps, puffballs, Hellvella mushrooms, coral fungi or birdsnest fungi. I don’t know if it’s too early in the season to see those, or too late.

Of the jelly fungi I found, I was surprised that I didn’t see any yellow Witch’s Butter. I found lots of the Brown Jelly Fungus, and even some Crystal Brain. And in some places the Black Jelly Roll fungus was so prolific it poured off the dead wood substrate and collected in big bubbly-oil-looking puddles on the ground. On one specimen of the stuff, I saw some tiny bright pink Springtails and little pale yellow-orange mites with long spidery legs.

CLICK HERE for the current album of photos.

I also stopped to get lichen photos, although that wasn’t my focus for today. There was a lot of Powder-Edged Speckled Greenshield, covered with soredia. I have to get back into the swing of things, though. I need to look more closely and use the “eyeball” (my macro lens) more.

There were lots and lots of Wild Turkeys around the park; male troupes, everyone looking extra shiny and colorful. Some of them ran up to the car looking for handouts. That’s not a good thing. They shouldn’t get that used to humans.

I didn’t see many other birds, though, which kind of surprised me. Maybe it was too windy for the smaller birds? I got a glimpse of some sparrows, and a Cooper’s Hawk (who kept his back to me), but not many others (other than the ubiquitous Black Phoebe). Because the river was running high and fast, there weren’t many water fowl or shorebirds around. I got some photos of Mallards and a solitary female Common Goldeneye, but that was about it. The only birds I saw and heard a lot of were the Acorn Woodpeckers. They were working hard to get windfall acorns into their granary trees.

Among the mammals I saw were a handful of Fox Squirrels, and a couple of small herds of Columbian Black-Tailed Deer. I saw most of the deer as I was heading out of the park and was seated in my car. I was able to get photos of them — does, yearlings, and 4-pointer bucks — through the open windows of the car.

As I said, I was out for about four hours, and even though it wore me out, I enjoyed it soooo much. I missed being out in nature, and was happy I was able to do this on my birthday. A gift to myself.

This was hike #1 of my #52HikeChallenge for this new year.

Species List:

Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus
Agaric Mushroom, Coprinopsis uliginicola
Alder, White Alder, Alnus rhI ombifolia
Anna’s Hummingbird, Calypte anna [heard]
Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans
Black Witches’ Butter, Black Jelly Roll, Exidia glandulosa
Bleachy Entoloma, Entoloma ferruginans
Blewit Mushroom, Purple Core, Lepista nuda
Boreal Button Lichen, Buellia disciformis
Brown Jelly Fungus, Leafy Brain, Phaeotremella foliacea
Brownit Mushroom, Clitocybe brunneocephala
California Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma californica
Canada Goose, Branta canadensis [fly over]
Candleflame Lichen, Candelaria sp.
Columbian Black-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus
Common Goldeneye, Bucephala clangula
Cooper’s Hawk, Acipiter cooperii
Coral Spot, Nectria cinnabarina
Crow, American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos
Crust Fungus, Stereum sp.
Crystal Brain Fungus, Myxarium nucleatum
Deer Mushroom, Pluteus cervinus
Eastern Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger
Giraffe Spots Crust Fungus, Peniophora albobadia
Great Egret, Ardea alba
Green Shield Lichen, Flavoparmelia caperata
Gull, Larus sp.
Hairy Curtain Crust, Stereum hirsutum
Hoary Rosette Lichen, Physcia aipolia
Impatient Inkcap Mushroom, Tulosesus impatiens (formerly Coprinellus impatiens)
Killdeer, Charadrius vociferous
Little Mite, Linopodes sp.
Mallard Duck, Anas platyrhynchos
Oak, Interior Live Oak, Quercus wislizeni
Oak, Valley Oak, Quercus lobata
Olive, Olea europaea
Pin-Cushion Sunburst Lichen, Polycauliona polycarpa
Pleated Marasmius, Red Thread, Marasmius plicatulus
Powder-Edged Speckled Greenshield, Flavopunctelia soredica [pale green, lots of soredia]
Ribbon Lichen, Ramalina leptocarpha
Rio Grande Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo intermedia
Sparrow, White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys
Springtail, Subclass Collembola
Tall Psathyrella, Psathyrella longipes
Trumpet Lichen, Cladonia fimbriata
Tuberous Polypore, Polyporus tuberaster [similar to Dryad’s Saddle]
White Stubble Rosegill, Volvopluteus gloiocephalusi [white or gray mushroom, slick cap with colored center, pale pink to gills, papery volva]
Yellow-Staining Milk Cap, Lactarius xanthogalactus [reddish cap, milky

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#MigrationCelebration, birding, Cancer, Citizen Science, General Blog, Medical/Cancer, Naturalist, photography, Volunteering

A Lovely Drive at the Yolo Bypass, 12-09-22

December 9, 2022 The Chubby Woman

Since I last posted, when I quit chemotherapy, things haven’t changed a whole lot. But I do see little improvements in my condition. I can walk a little further without getting winded; over the last few days the vertigo has receded a bit and only seems to get triggered if I bend over. Every tiny improvement helps.

Today, I was literally in tears when my friend Roxanne took me out to the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area. I hadn’t been outside in Nature for a MONTH, and was getting very depressed about that. We were out for about 5 hours, and because we stayed on the auto tour loop I never had to get out of the car. The vertigo wasn’t as issue as long as she didn’t drive too fast taking turns… and was only triggered when I needed to use a porta potty and had to bend over to lift the lid on the toilet. Hah!

The other issue for me was that I catch a chill really easily now – I don’t know what that’s about – so I was in my heavy coat and knit cap. When we’re birding from the car, we keep the windows open so the camera can see out without obstruction. It was maybe 53º outside, but with windchill it felt like 47º. Luckily, Roxanne has a car that lets you set different inside temperatures for the driver and passenger, so she set her side of the car to 66º and I set mine to78º and we were comfy even with the windows open.

And, oh my gosh, as I said, I was literally in tears with happiness when we first headed out to the bypass. And I was surprised to hear the sound of my own voice laughing over our in-car chatter as we drove along the auto tour route. I literally hadn’t heard myself laugh for over a month. The chemo has taken so much from me, it was nice to get a little joy back. Nature heals…literally. Before I left the house I took my blood pressure and pulse. They were 141/81 and 129. (My pulse has run real fast since chemo.) When I got back home from being out in nature, they were 127/87 and 113. I needed that sooooo much.

CLICK HERE for the album of photos. I may add more to this as I process more of the photos.

While we were out we saw over thirty different species of birds, but the coolest thing we found were American Bitterns. They’re somewhat secretive birds that usually hang out in the high grasses and tules, so we’re happy when we can spot one. Today, we spotted FIVE of them. I was so excited!

We also came across two young, “orphaned” Snow Geese in different ponds. There was no flock of Snow Geese anywhere around them, so we surmised the youngsters couldn’t keep up with the flock and either dropped out when the flock was flying over the bypass, or had been left behind when the flock left the bypass. They seemed healthy enough; I hope they’ll be okay.