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Radio Road Birding

4 September, 2009 by Adam R. Paul

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 by you.

Northern Pintail / Anas acuta

There were, as usual, many Forster’s Terns, flying around noisily.

Forster's Terns by you.

Forster’s Terns / Sterna forsteri

Also typical for the time of year, a family of Mallards floated by.

Mallard family by you.

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 and American Avocet by you.

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 by you.

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 w/fish by you.

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 by you.

American Avocets / Recurvirostra americana

Sure, more Avocets.  Why not?

Gadwall by you.

Gadwall / Anas strepera

Somewhat less common was a solitary Gadwall, unremarkable save for its black derierre.

Marbled Godwit & American Avocet by you.

Marbled Godwit / Limosa fedoa

Amid the numerous Avocets was a Marbled Godwit, doing a very poor job of blending in.

Forster's Terns by you.

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 & "mutt" Mallard by you.

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 by you.

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)

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Posted in Birding, Nature, Photography | 8 Comments

8 Responses

  1. on 6 September, 2009 at 12:14 Old Duffer

    We get a few Pintail and Gadwell migrating through our area.
    Not many though. Old Duffer
    http://oldduffersnaturecinema.blogspot.com


    • on 9 September, 2009 at 07:59 Adam R. Paul

      Welcome, Old Duffer! I would love to see the migrants in Sitka one of these days – the area looks beautiful.


  2. on 8 September, 2009 at 16:09 Red

    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.


    • on 9 September, 2009 at 08:00 Adam R. Paul

      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


  3. on 9 September, 2009 at 08:54 Vivienne

    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!


    • on 13 September, 2009 at 10:02 Adam R. Paul

      Yeah, those Forster’s make quite a nice racket, don’t they?


  4. on 23 March, 2010 at 12:08 maailmajapaikat

    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.


    • on 4 April, 2010 at 09:33 Adam R. Paul

      Yes, I expect you’re right – thanks!



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    I am an avid nature lover and amateur photographer, living in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury. On this blog, you will find photos and narratives from birdwatching outings, hikes, as well as any other random travels. For more information, see here.
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