Tuesday, 16 June 2009:
I swung by the Radio Road ponds after work, ummm, 2.5 months ago (what? me behind on photos? nahh!), hopeful to see a reported Caspian Tern fledgling.
Northern Pintail / Anas acuta
There were, as usual, many Forster’s Terns, flying around noisily.
Forster’s Terns / Sterna forsteri
Also typical for the time of year, a family of Mallards floated by.
Mallard / Anas platyrhynchos family
Atypically, they were the only family I saw. Other early summer visits here have turned up literally dozens of ducks with young ‘uns.
Black Skimmer / Rynchops niger
A lone Black Skimmer shared a narrow island-let with several American Avocet, and stayed there throughout my visit – too bad, as they’re fun birds to watch when they’re foraging, with their long, jutting mandible and colorful bills.
American Avocet / Recurvirostra americana
To my collection of thousands of American Avocet photographs, I added a few more. They’re extremely common year-round here, but I never get tired of them, especially when they’re in alternate plumage (ie. buffy-headed), as they are in early summer.
Caspian Tern / Sterna caspia with food
I saw a Caspian Tern dive and come up with a fish, which it brought to an island, but no young ‘un emerged to eat it. The adult seemed agitated, and I wondered if its offspring had become heron food. Most likely so, as the pen-bird email list reported many attempted sightings of the chick, but none successful.
American Avocets / Recurvirostra americana
Sure, more Avocets. Why not?
Gadwall / Anas strepera
Somewhat less common was a solitary Gadwall, unremarkable save for its black derierre.
Marbled Godwit / Limosa fedoa
Amid the numerous Avocets was a Marbled Godwit, doing a very poor job of blending in.
Forster’s Terns / Sterna forsteri
The Forster’s flock took off noisily, did a few laps around the ponds, and then settled back down onto their island.
Ruddy Duck / Oxyura jamaicensis
A male Ruddy Duck in spiffy alternate plumage and a baby-blue bill hung out by a levee, and then it was about time for me to head homeward.
Common Raven / Corvus corax
But I couldn’t resist one last stop to photograph a Raven that pecked by the side of the road.
This was a nice short outing (not even really an outing, as I stayed in my car as I drove along the ponds, since that startles birds less than walking around does), which is exactly what Radio Road is best suited for. That I picked up a few year birds is testament to the fact that I haven’t been birding very much on the SF peninsula lately, rather than the rarity of anything I saw.
Location: Redwood Shores Observation date: 6/16/09 Number of species: 18 Canada Goose - Branta canadensis 5 Gadwall - Anas strepera 3 Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos 10 + Northern Pintail - Anas acuta 2 Ruddy Duck - Oxyura jamaicensis 6 Snowy Egret - Egretta thula 5 Black-crowned Night-Heron - Nycticorax nycticorax 5 Killdeer - Charadrius vociferus 2 Black-necked Stilt - Himantopus mexicanus 4 American Avocet - Recurvirostra americana 20 Willet - Tringa semipalmata 5 Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis 7 Caspian Tern - Hydroprogne caspia 2 + Forster's Tern - Sterna forsteri 20 + Black Skimmer - Rynchops niger 1 American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos 5 Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia 1 Brewer's Blackbird - Euphagus cyanocephalus 10 + = year bird This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
We get a few Pintail and Gadwell migrating through our area.
Not many though. Old Duffer
http://oldduffersnaturecinema.blogspot.com
Welcome, Old Duffer! I would love to see the migrants in Sitka one of these days – the area looks beautiful.
Your Pintail image is wonderful! I also like how brilliant the blue bill of the Ruddy Duck came out. Looks like it was a nice evening.
Thanks, Heidi. There’s nothing quite like a Ruddy Duck in alternate plumage, eh? They’re the only bird I can think off offhand whose bill dramatically changes color along with their partial molt
Hi Adam! Great set of shots here. The Caspian Tern chick was definitely around in mid June–I saw it at the end of June. But I think you are correct, someone else from the Audubon Society thinks it became heron food too.
It’s very quiet now without all the Forster’s around!
Yeah, those Forster’s make quite a nice racket, don’t they?
I think the last picture is of a bird too slender to be the Common Raven. Rather, I would say it’s an American Crow.
Yes, I expect you’re right – thanks!