More to the point: Anyone photograph any birds?
Last week, SF Kossacks had two esteemed out-of-area visitors, which was all the excuse we needed for a birding trip. One of them (matching mole) was kind enough to provide a wish list back in November, and discussions in the comments added a few more. A quick glance at the list suggested an obvious place to go - Solano County and Woodbridge Road. We weren't going to get them all but we had a pretty good chance for everything except Red-throated Loon. Well, you can't be greedy about these things.
Not a bird, but an interesting sighting at Cosumnes Preserve.
So, yeah.
Back in November, who knew there'd be no rain? Like literally... no rain. And all those slam-dunk species I'd been looking forward to showing off were nowhere around.
Hanging out at a bridge, just after seeing the one ferruginous hawk of the day. (see what they were looking for here)
It was really nice to finally meet matching mole and bwren in person (once she heard about the expedition, she came to town and joined us!) We mixed things up between the two cars a bit so all the locals got to spend some time with the visitors. We had a picnic lunch out at Woodbridge Road, a place known for wintering flocks of Sandhill Cranes, along with lots of waterfowl.
Bloggers need Cheetos! No cranes, but if you look in the water above the pole at the right, you can see a Coot.
So I got some nice pictures of our group. And that really cool bit of railroad equipment. But bird photos? Here you go:
Awesome, huh?
We ended with dinner in SF, where our birding group was joined by more SF Kossacks and we celebrated birthdays for kimoconnor (who birded with us) and dharmasyd. My photography at dinner was just as good as my bird photo.
Well, at least you can see matching mole's T-shirt. I'll try to get his face in the photo next time he visits.
BTW, here's our list for the day, as tallied by bwren:
I'm sure the photo quality has nothing to do with that list of cocktail specials....
In all seriousness, it was a lot of fun. Even the slowest day of birding is still a great way to spend a day, especially when it's with such a great group of people.
Sunday morning update: For the first time in months, I woke up to the sound of rain. Actual rain, not drizzle. I'd been planning to work in my garden today, and in previous years I would have been bummed. I couldn't be happier today! Not sure how long this will last, but it's great to hear that sound again.