First, the standard disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. That said, if Friday was any indication, we could have a great day with matching mole on 1/26.
When he said he would be visiting the Bay Area and was up for a day of birding with local Kossacks, I asked if he had a wish list of species he'd like to see. Based on his list, I think a trip to Solano County and the Delta is the best plan. For example, this is what we saw as soon as we turned onto Branscombe Road for the start of the "official" trip:
Adult Red-tailed Hawk (front pole) and Adult Ferruginous Hawk (rear pole).
How's that for a compare and contrast opportunity? Not bad, but if you really want to compare....
.... you need to see them closer together. The 'tail decided it wanted the other pole and got a bit aggro on the ferrug, who took off across the open field. It was calling as it flew away - the first time I've ever heard a ferrug call.
Okay, that's a promising start.
Our plan for the day was to tool around southern Solano County, north of Highway 12, and look for hawks and Mountain Plovers (a winter specialty in this area). It's pretty dry out there right now - it should normally be greening up after the first few winter rains by now, but we've only had one storm system so far this fall. That means the fields aren't flooded and we'll be missing out on shorebirds and ducks we might normally see. And Friday was warm... way too warm for late November, and almost no breeze. There was a good chance that hawks would be high in thermals and we wouldn't see them.
It wasn't just hawks and plovers we wanted to see, of course. Savannah Sparrows, like the guys above, are great little birds that we rarely see near our urban homes. They were constant companions throughout the day. We headed down Creed Road and saw a big dark redtail on a power tower. One of the things I love about this area is that there are a lot of dark-morph hawks around; eye-candy for plumage buffs. As we drove under the redtail, I was just remarking that it sure was a big one when it took off. Oh. The reason it was so big was that it was actually a Golden Eagle. (sorry, no pix.)
But seriously, look at this redail. You could probably call it a rufous-morph, but I call it just plain gorgeous. Good numbers of them out there, and we had to look at every one, just to make sure it wasn't a Ferruginous or Rough-legged. We continued down Creed, crossed Highway 113 and started looking for Mountain Plovers, who had been reported near the "Elbow". No luck. At the next stop, there was the sound of the air being torn and a flock of shorebirds took flight with a Prairie Falcon in hot pursuit. Even if there had been plovers, they were not going to make themselves visible now. We decided to move on to Woodbridge Road, near Lodi, for Sandhill Cranes and friends.
The cranes did not disappoint. They were there in good numbers, and many of them were surprisingly close to the road. There are a couple of official pullouts for the crane preserve out there, but almost any wide shoulder along the road is a good place to park and watch birds. One thing that was pretty great was that there were both Greater and Lesser Sandhills, and they were associating in mixed flocks. You could really see the size difference, and also a color difference (Lessers looked darker, although it doesn't show well below).
Greater and Lesser Sandhill Cranes
The cranes are the marquee attraction on Woodbridge Road, but there's a lot more to see out here. The road is only about five miles long, but every stretch offers another reason stop and look around.
For example, this field full of geese. Most of the time, you'd see this flock, think "eh, Canada Geese" and move on. But look at those short necks and stubby little bills. It's a field full of Cackling Geese. They're noticeably smaller than Canadas, and not nearly as widely distributed.
Not particularly rare, but still always a delight was this Belted Kingfisher. You can tell it's a female because her name is BEKI. (But mostly because of her rusty belly band.) Even though there's a lot of water around, it doesn't seem the most productive place to fish. There's a levee with the Sacramento River flowing fast and deep beyond; there's a ditch that's covered in water hyacinth for much of its length, and there are flooded fields that are only filled with water some of the time. Nonetheless, a few kingfishers were making a living out here.
The flooded fields are only a few inches to a few feet deep; in many cases you can still see the stubble from the crops poking above the water. Though they are only temporary, these "wetlands" support a lot of birds. (It was sad to see that some of fields along Woodbridge are being turned into orchards and vineyards.)
Maybe it's worth taking a closer look at those bits of stubble...
You might have a successful Snipe Hunt. We stopped the car when my friend somehow noticed this Wilson's Snipe hanging out. After oohing and ahhing a bit, we noticed that there were actually dozens of them.
And of course, there were the ever-present redtails. It's apparently a great place for them we saw a few dozen individuals over the five mile stretch. That was this guy, sitting on a pole above us, completely unfazed by nearby humans. He dropped down to grab a quick meal, not 30 feet from us. Dove onto a pile of stubble and reached in for a mouse... pinpoint accuracy.
After eating, he had to take care of one thing before taking off...
It was great to see this next bird. First, because it's such a stunner - a dark morph bird with a deep, rich walnut color. But when it took off, one leg dangled (though you can see it appears to be able to perch normally). Normally, that dangling leg might be a bummer; you hate to think that a beautiful bird like that has been injured and probably won't be with us long. Well, that's what we thought when we saw a beautiful dark morph redtail with a dangling leg on this same stretch of road last year - literally within a few poles of this perch. It is almost certainly the same bird, and it's great to see it still hanging in there. (no pun intended.)
After a few hours, we backtracked and began heading back - giving ourselves plenty of time for a second try at Mountain Plovers. We headed east on Highway 12, with a quick stop at a fruit stand along the way to pick up some yummy, Delta-grown nuts. (Yes, that's why the orchards are going in all over. Still, I prefer orchards to tract housing.)
The thing about looking for Mountain Plovers is that you're generally searching nearly bare ground, looking for dirt clods that move. If you happen to spot a dirt clod that has eyes instead of one that moves, then you've found a Burrowing Owl. That's always fun, too.
They often associate with Killdeer or Long-billed Curlews, so if you can spot any of those flocks, that's a good starting point. Can you see the lumps that might be birds instead of dirt or cowpies? Good eyes! Can you tell the Killdeer from the Mountain Plovers? Here's a key.
Well, at this point the day is feeling pretty successful and we could head back, but we still have another hour of daylight. Maybe a stop at Grizzly Island? Sometimes good for roughlegs, and there are other delights out there as well. We stopped to stare at a huge Prairie Falcon who took off the moment I raised my phone to the spotting scope for a photo, then dashed to Grizzly Island Road.
We stopped a short distance down the road, where an adult female Northern Harrier skimmed the marsh near us. In just a few short miles, the habitat changes from the dry rolling grasslands of the Solano Hills to the tidal Suisan Marsh, and the mix of raptors changes as well. Out here, there are many more harriers and kites in the mix.
On the margins of the day, it can also be a good place to see Short-eared Owls. This one followed almost the same path as the harrier, then crossed the road and worked the far edges of the marsh. As it headed back in our direction it got into a scuffle with another harrier before dropping down into the reeds and out of sight.
We headed out a little further to a bridge where Barn Owls can sometimes be seen. As we pulled into the place where we aren't supposed to park, we noticed a dark figure racing toward us. First time I've ever seen one of these guys out here. Can't say it's a welcome sighting.
This, on the other hand, was. A Loggerhead Shrike, taking in the last rays of the day from its slender perch. We wandered for a few more minutes, then began our trip home. One quick stop to try to re-spot the Short-eared Owl and take in a chorus of rails made for a great end for a wonderful day.
