Sonoma County Feminist Bird Club

I finally went to the Santa Rosa Creek trail and WOW is that a birdy spot! I got really good looks at female black-headed grosbeak and bullocks orioles (on a nest!), and lots of super cute yellow warblers. Also saw a female Cooper’s hawk 🔥 I’m sad to go back to work tomorrow and not spend the day birding. This has been so much fun and a huge thank you and shout out to all the donors 🙏🥰🩷

Based on team members' reportings, we have the following counts of female birds:

Common Murre x1 (but probably 2000 lol)

Brandt's Cormorant x1 (probably more like 50 because of all the nesting pairs, but hard to ID which ones)

Pelagic Cormorant x1 (possibly 4 seen)

Brown-headed Cowbird x2

Surf Scoter x20 at least

Wild Turkey x 2

Bullock's Oriole x1

Dark-eyed Junco x2

California Quail x7

Western Bluebird x3

Acorn Wooodpecker x2

Chestnut-backed Chickadee x 1

Bushtit x 2

Red-shouldered Hawk x1

Black-headed Grosbeak x2

Purple Finch x1

Starling x1

Great Horned Owl x1

Bewick's Wren x1

Hooded Oriole x1

Gadwall x1

Red-winged Blackbird x2

Brewer's Blackbird x2

Tree Swallow x1

Steller's Jay x1

Lesser Goldfinch x1

Cattle Egret x1

Great Egret at least 1

Snowy Egret at least 1

Black-crowned Night Heron at least 1

Mallard x1

Violet-green Swallow x 1

Cooper's Hawk x1

Great job, team! Whew, that was difficult but a great practice for #FemaleBirdDay.

Photo: Female (California Bi-colored) Red-Winged Blackbird seen at Tolay Lake Regional Park.

It’s been so fun participating in this! Definitely a huge challenge and learned so much how to slow down and tune into the finer details as a birder. I got really frustrated a few times but then I would see something that would delight me. Today it was seeding two Steller’s Jays, one feeding something to the other and then looking it up to learn males feed females during breeding season!!

Final birding outing:

- Female redwing blackbird

- Female mallard 

- Female steller’s jay (male feeding female!)

- Female violet green (I’m 75% sure on this one: I saw it in the nest with building materials, but there were 30 other violet green swallows around also building nests in other places so I think it counts)

- 2x Quail 

- Bushtit

- Female (or immature?) lesser goldfinch (video)