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Slater
Trad climber
Central Coast
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Jan 20, 2012 - 11:56pm PT
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Inca Dove is pretty!
Hey ya'll is it worth birding in the rain?
Prolly not but just wondering.
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Crimpergirl
Sport climber
Boulder, Colorado!
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Jan 20, 2012 - 11:57pm PT
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I find the rain is okay. On the other hand, when it's windy, it's not so good. ymmv.
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Tony
Trad climber
Pt. Richmond, CA
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Jan 21, 2012 - 02:51am PT
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Slater,
It worked out for us today, although the rain was pretty light. And then, the aquatic birds could care less about rain. We managed to see this lifer. Not as rare as Riley's LeConte's, but still a pretty good bird:
Scuffy,
I think this it what those people were looking for the other rday.
It was the highest tide of the season and the Fish & Game folks were doing their annual census by flushing the rails by boat. For a while this Clapper was hunkered down on some high ground.
Eventually the boat scared it up like this Virginia Rail.
Edit: For those of you in the East Bay, the tides will be about as high the next couple of mornings
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Bob D'A
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Jan 22, 2012 - 09:13pm PT
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A few from today...
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BLD
climber
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Jan 22, 2012 - 09:15pm PT
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nice! love the flicker!
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BrassNuts
Trad climber
Save your a_s, reach for the brass...
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Jan 22, 2012 - 10:24pm PT
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Okay, so we haven't been anywhere exciting lately, so here are just a few pics of the local pond birds - common, but fun to visit!
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scuffy b
climber
heading slowly NNW
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Jan 23, 2012 - 01:27pm PT
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Nice, Tony.
I'm sure you're right, about all the serious birders there to see the
Sparrow. Amyjo had mentioned it, and seen a crowd there the previous week.
The whole time we were at that boardwalk, I only had one view of any
songbird in the reeds, a Yellowthroat that showed for about 15 seconds.
Amy speculated about a Marsh Wren, but the place was surprisingly quiet.
The Grebes, ducks and Rails were enough for me.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jan 23, 2012 - 04:00pm PT
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How many Goldfinches can you count?
Trust me, there's about 50!
I cheated and counted 'em on the ground :-)
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cyndiebransford
climber
31 years in Joshua Tree, now Alaska
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Jan 24, 2012 - 06:42pm PT
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Yesterday I birded at the Salton Sea while on my way to Joshua Tree. It was fantastic! I got 7 new life birds.
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Crimpergirl
Sport climber
Boulder, Colorado!
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Jan 24, 2012 - 07:51pm PT
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Enjoying all of these birds. We headed out to the Barr Lake area in search of the Snowy Owl. The rascal did not reveal himself. Seems no one saw him Sunday while we were there, but he's been seen since. Stinker. May head back over there this weekend.
Did see my first Rough-Legged Hawk! No photo though. I saw a jet black raptor - almost like a jet-black Red-Tailed in terms of body shape. He let me check him out pretty good before he flew. He was unwilling to be photographed unfortunately. Clearly a Dark Morph. Very cool.
BrassNuts got some photos of the trip. Maybe he'll post them soon.
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amyjo
Trad climber
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Jan 24, 2012 - 11:54pm PT
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As If By Magic
Dear Cyndie,
What a great trip and JT still to come!
So many birds.
I am troubled however by your Dowitchers.
I think we should turn them into Whimbrels.
They show the characteristic long heavy beak -
long and heavy, ponderous even, & radically curved at the tip.
(LB Dowitcher's beaks are long, but straight.)
Even at that distance one can still see a heavy eyestripe
and dark head with another stripe.
The overall shape is distinct, more chesty maybe.
(Fleetingly I considered Curlews.
They do have the curved bill but on them it's slender.)
I keep coming back to the overall shape as well.
And they're not doing that frantic pecking which they
always seem to be doing when I see them (ie acting like sewing machines.)
So,
Whimbrels.
Anyone else thinking along these lines?
To quote a benevolent presence somewhere about,
Peace.
Dowitcher pictures
and Whimbrel/Curlews follow for comparison.
South Dakota Birds and Birding
Nature Photography - Done Naturally
http://sdakotabirds.com/species_photos/long_billed_dowitcher_7.htm
Click below for Whimbrel Curlew comparisonhttp:
//www.nemesisbird.com/2011/07/whimbrel-and-long-billed-curlew-comparison-cibola-nwr-az/
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Mike Bolte
Trad climber
Planet Earth
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Jan 25, 2012 - 12:50am PT
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Ha! Amyjo - I went through the exact same line of thinking as you. Dowitcher -> Curlew -> whimbrel.
Alasdair - love the eagle action shot!
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Willoughby
Social climber
Truckee, CA
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Jan 25, 2012 - 01:39am PT
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Shoulda stopped at Long-billed Curlew. Whimbrel is actually pretty rare at the Salton Sea in winter.
And that would-be Ruff is a Black-bellied Plover so far as I can tell.
Hummer on the nest looks like an Anna's at first blush, but in that aviary it could be all kinds of things. Female Magnificent is another strong contender, if they have those in there. Female Anna's is my best guess though.
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cyndiebransford
climber
31 years in Joshua Tree, now Alaska
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Jan 25, 2012 - 01:48am PT
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Thank you all for your observations and corrections. I am lame at bird identification, yet I really enjoy looking at birds. With yout help I will improve.
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Roughster
Sport climber
Vacaville, CA
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Jan 25, 2012 - 01:56am PT
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I assume everyone here has seen the Crimson Wing? IMO one of the greatest bird movies of all time. The Arrival of the Birds Song and Sequence along the still lake as they land is an image that will stick with you forever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4HNriWg7_A
I challenge anyone who loves the inherent beauty of nature to watch this and not feel tears well up in your eyes. The music and images are amazing and the soundtrack to the film is something everyone should own.
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amyjo
Trad climber
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Jan 25, 2012 - 12:29pm PT
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Willoughby
Thanks.
On mature reexamination....furiously
back pedaling
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amyjo
Trad climber
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Jan 25, 2012 - 12:39pm PT
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Cyndie,Bolte,
So sorry.
What Willoughby says
The things one sees the morning after
Location...Season(!) What I don't know.
Then, the bill is not stubby enough for Whimbrels
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cyndiebransford
climber
31 years in Joshua Tree, now Alaska
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Jan 25, 2012 - 12:54pm PT
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Okay ya all how about a little help with this raptor at the Salton Sea?
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Mike Bolte
Trad climber
Planet Earth
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Jan 25, 2012 - 01:26pm PT
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I defer to Willoughby who seems to really know his stuff, plus the "right location", "right time of year" arguments are almost always good in birding.
I'm still thinking a *little* bit the same thing Amyjo *was* thinking: dark top of head and strong eyestripe are what I associate with Whimbrel. Here is a Curlew from Elkhorn Slough a month ago (i.e. winter). Click it for a larger version.
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