Currently in between business conferences, I am loafing in Napa Valley. Unable to find a bird guide (Grrrr), I randomly drove around this morning looking for birds. With the countryside being so dry, I thought it would make the most sense to find water. Looking at the map, I headed off to Hennessey Lake. As soon as I got out of the car, I heard the crik-crik Western Grebes. Scanning the lake from a distance, I saw what looked like white sticks planted out in the water. It was a flotilla of Grebes. Cool. Even though I have seen them many times before, it was still a thrill to see so many.
The walk around the lake produced: Steller and Western Scrub Jay, Acorn Woodpeckers, California Quail, Oregon Junco, Spotted Towhee, some sort of dark sparrow protecting its hard-won worm from a maurading western fence lizard, Turkey Vultures, Red-tailed Hawk, a big flock of Bicolored Blackbirds, Black Phoebe, Great Egret, Canada Goose, Mourning Dove, Oak Titmouse, Coot, Pied-billed Grebe and maybe some others that I forgot.
Of special note, was the very dark, almost chocolaty Winter Wrens I saw feeding young at Muir Woods yesterday. The woods was also full of Wilson’s Warblers and Brown Creeper. I mean full, they were everywhere I looked. Oh yeah, and there were Chestnut-backed Chickadees too.
I hope to bird the marshes on the way back to the city tomorrow.
Stumble It!
4 Comments
July 17, 2008 at 8:02 am
I love western grebes. They look so elegant.
July 18, 2008 at 10:09 am
Winter Wrens are my favorite! Glad you are having good birding in CA!
July 21, 2008 at 5:54 am
The marshes outside of Napa were not good birding. The wildlife pull-outs are on the east-bound side, we were heading back west. We did squeeze off the highway twice to scan the fens. Of special note were a small raft of white pelicans and a large-ish flock of black-neck stilts. We gave up and headed down to San Fran.
March 1, 2009 at 2:54 pm
You might enjoy the Knoxville Wildlife area, near Lake Berryessa, in Napa County. I have photographed lots of different birds along the Napa River, too.