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!
I love western grebes. They look so elegant.
Winter Wrens are my favorite! Glad you are having good birding in CA!
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.
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.