Jeffer Giang

Concluding the Birdathon with 94 unique species! I want to reiterate to my pledgers that the site allows you to adjust your pledges before anything is charged to your credit card since I made the mistake of estimating 50 birds for the weekend. Sorry! Lol.

I went to Tolay Lake Regional Park this morning and had two FBC Sonoma members join me. Later in the evening, I stopped by the "9th St Rookery" in Santa Rosa to find the Cattle Egrets which I haven't seen in the county yet (and where a bunch of Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, and Black-crowned Night Herons are nesting with plenty of baby birds!!!). Ended the evening with a short walk through my neighborhood to see if I could add any other birds I hadn't seen this weekend yet.

Some female birds I saw:

Western Bluebird (juvenile would have spots but this one didn't)

Probable: Cattle Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Egrets since there were lots of nests with parental units around (I cannot confidently say which one was which but they were definitely there).

Hooded Oriole!

Gadwall

Red-winged Blackbird

Brewer's Blackbird

Tree Swallow (looked more grayish and was near what was probably its nesting box-- don't think it was a juvenile)

I am only assuming some of these pairs aren't just queer parents...

Other highlights: LOTS of Red-winged Blackbirds mobbing other birds today-- witnessed some mobbing a White-tailed Kite, American Crow, American Kestrel, and a Red-tailed Hawk!

Went to Bolinas Beach for a Queer Surf meetup this morning (I wasn't surfing though). I saw some Terns... I am not great at identifying Terns. I guess they are most likely Caspian Terns based on recent eBird sightings but I didn't think their beaks looked carrot-like enough. Oh well. That's one new bird for the weekend, either way....

I needed a break from all the time spent birding over previous two days and had a nice time just sitting at the beach, casually looking at the birds, and watching friends surf.

I will resume birding as much as I can tomorrow morning lol.

Thanks again to everyone who has donated so far!

21 unique bird species today (48 total species this morning)!

Had a fantastic time birding with the other chapter co-leads this morning during our hike near Duncan's Mills. We unfortunately had planned our Birdathon outings a bit last minute since we had just wrapped up our May outing so not that many members have signed up to join us this weekend (plus it's a holiday weekend) but hoping this momentum will lead to future Birdathons to raise money for local organizations.

Highlights:

Hermit Warbler!

Brown-headed Cowbirds actually perched on top of a cow (and one of them a female).

Saw some female Dark-eyed Juncos (and a fledgling).

So many Wilson's Warblers and Swainson's Thrushes.

Olive-sided Flycatcher.

Purple Finch (Not sure if juvenile or female).

Golden-crowned Kinglet with its very high pitch call!

Today's checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S139505941

Report for the whole Birdathon so far: https://ebird.org/tripreport/133920

Oops I underestimated how quickly I'd see 50 birds.

Got to continue birding at Santa Rosa Creek Trail this evening. We saw 38 species-- 34 of which were unique compared to birds I saw in the morning.

Highlight was seeing a pair of Bullock's Orioles depart from the nest and one of them returning to feed their BABIES. The photo attached appears to be the male-- we did not see the female again after both birds initially flew off from the tree.

Will tally up female birds from team members for the FBC Sonoma page at the end of the Birdathon! I will make note of 1 female Bullock's Oriole to add to the team tally.

Follow my eBird trip checklist for more detailed info: https://ebird.org/tripreport/133920

Went to the coast this morning-- stopped by Blind Beach before volunteering for seabird monitoring with Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods. Of course I had to count those birds for the birdathon (then stopped by Doran Beach and Bodega Head after). I'm creating an eBird trip report for all four days of the Birdathon.

Highlights this morning include:

4,195 Common Murres at Gull Rock

148 Brandt's Cormorants (some sitting on nests!)

Nesting Pelagic Cormorants at Bodega Head

Northern Harrier harassing a Red-tailed Hawk.

I am focusing on overall species but tried to make an effort to notice female birds.

Well... I did see one Pelagic cormorant pair-- one bird brought in nesting material to the partner who was sitting on the nest. I don't know which one was the female bird, but it's probably one of them!

Also witnessed a female Brown Cowbird rejecting a male Brown Cowbird.

Saw many Surf Scoters today-- female Surf Scoters seem to be more easily identifiable among species I saw today.

...And I think a female Wild Turkey? Hmmm.

Will try to add photos into my eBird checklists by the end of each day but for now, here is the nesting Pelagic Cormorant I saw at Bodega Head.