Today is the first day of my winter vacation from work. I don't have to start work again until after the new year. I spent this morning sleeping in, though I took a slow walk through the yard at noon. 3 White-throated Sparrows and an Orange-Crowned Warbler seem to be winter residents this year. The warbler sipped from a Red-breasted Sapsucker well. A Cooper's Hawk flew high over head. A high pressure system is moving in and temperatures are rising. Beautiful weather again. Just in time for another bike trip.
So the plan is to leave early tomorrow morning- once again, before first light. I'll stop in to see if the GLAUCOUS GULL that Alvaro Jaramillo found the other day is still in Half Moon Bay. Then on to the city. I hope to get there early enough to try for the GRAY CATBIRD that has been in Golden Gate Park for the past couple of weeks. One night in the city and then up to Point Reyes.
I'm looking forward to getting up to Point Reyes again. There have been a few good birds (that I still need) seen all clustered together near Abbott's Lagoon. I missed the PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOVERS the last trip up there, but they have been reported there recently. The fact that there are LAPLAND LONGSPURS and now a MOUNTAIN PLOVER very nearby, gives this trip some great potential. A WINTER WREN was seen a couple of weeks ago in Inverness, but hasn't been seen lately. Hopefully I can find a little time to poke around for it.
Point Reyes is so beautiful that it doesn't really matter anyway. There will be tons of great birds regardless of whether I've seen them or not.
On a different note, I just found my camera. Here are a couple of semi-recent random pictures from various place.
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| The Local Harlequin- This bird has took up residence at Pescadero State Beach a couple of years ago. This was taken through my scope. That's a female surf scoter diving behind him. |
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| Modus at the Golden Gate on the last Point Reyes trip |
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| Burrowing Owl- Okay, it's blurry, but it was fun finding this one. | | | |
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| Elk at Sunrise in Point Reyes |
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| Modus and the Sage Thrasher I found on the SF Bay. I know you can't really see the bird well, but I thought it was cool to get them in the same shot. |
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| Sage Thrasher through the scope. This was the first one I'd ever seen in San Mateo County. |
It was great to meet you today, Mark. Thanks so much for your help in finding the two plover species and longspurs! I ended up finding a rough-legged hawk at the end of the road and a white-throated sparrow at Five Brooks on the way home. I really admire what you're doing. I'm sure we've used more than a few gallons of gas this year, though I guess it could be worse (my Mini gets 38 mpg :). Where and when did you see the thrasher? Good luck the rest of the year, and congrats on the record! -Matt Perry
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