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| Caspian Terns - Point Reyes 2026 |
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| Caspian Terns - Point Reyes 2026 |
"The regal Caspian Tern is the largest tern in the world, easily recognized by its brilliant red fish-knife of a bill and deep, raspy call. Found all over the world, the Caspian favors both freshwater and saltwater environments. It feeds mostly on fish, captured in nimble aerial dives."
I didn't see them diving for fish, but I was able to see them swooping around the Abbotts Lagoon area.
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| Caspian Terns - Point Reyes 2026 |
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| Spotted Towhee (Fairfax) - Marin County 2026 |
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| Spotted Towhee (Lake Lagunitas) - Marin County 2026 |
Very vocal! Lots of them this season.
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| Wood Ducks - Lake Lagunitas 2026 |
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| Wood Duck - Lake Lagunitas 2026 |
I've been seeing them on a pretty regular basis recently.
Both photos taken with a Nikon Z7II, 24-200 zoom lens. Substantially cropped.
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| Pigeon (Fairfax) - Marin County 2026 |
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| Pigeon (Fairfax) - Marin County 2026 |
"The band-tailed pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata) is a pigeon native to the Americas, and one of the largest pigeons in this region. It is largely gray, but with a thin white collar on the nape and a purple-gray breast.
"The genus Patagioenas is the most closely related living genus to the extinct passenger pigeon, and as a species of this genus, the band-tailed pigeon has been investigated for the potential use in efforts to bring back the passenger pigeon species."
Morning walk sightems.
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| Turkeys (March) - Marin County 2026 |
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| Turkeys (May) - Marin County 2026 |
Seen during our walks in the last few months. iPhone photos.
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| Crow at Twin Peaks - San Francisco 2026 |
Taken during a recent hike up to Twin Peaks. As I noted before, the crows there are really quite big. I saw tourists feeding them, so they see no need to move away from humans.
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| Acorn Woodpecker - Lake Lagunitas 2026 |
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| Pileated Woodpecker - Lake Lagunitas 2026 |
Bottom photo taken during one of our Saturday walks . . . a Nuttall's Woodpecker. "In particular, these woodpeckers prefer oak woodlands, although they also occur in riparian sites and chaparral in the most southern parts of their range because of the decrease in oak abundance."
The Sony RX100 I used focused mainly on the branches, not the bird.
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| Nuttall's Woodpecker - Marin County 2026 |
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| Spotted Towhee (Fairfax) - Marin County 2026 |
Making its very distinctive call. There's been a lot of them around recently, but usually they're hidden in the background foliage. This one was right out there! Photo taken with a Sony RX100.
An earlier post showing one taken in Point Reyes in 2013: Monday Spotted Towhee Blogging.
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| Egret - Point Reyes 2026 |
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| Heron - Point Reyes 2026 |
Birds seen on my March hike. They ended up switching places while I watched.
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| Willets - Sonoma County 1976 |
I've listed the location as Sonoma County, but that's a guess. Don't remember taking this, but it's right there on the contact sheet.
"The willet is a particularly elegant and heavily built shorebird" says Wikipedia. So it seems! Bird ID from Barbara, as usual.
Photo cropped from a 35mm negative taken by a Nikon F SLR.
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| Crows, Tree Branches (Fairfax) - Marin County 2026 |
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| Crows, Fog (Fairfax) - Marin County 2026 |
Morning walk crows.
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| California Towhee (Fairfax) - Marin County 2026 |
"Along the Pacific seaboard from southern Oregon to Baja, this plain brown bird is a common denizen of brushy places, from wild chaparral hillsides to the borders of gardens and city parks. California Towhees sometimes hide in the shrubbery, where they may be noticed mainly by their sharp callnotes and the squealing duets of mated pairs. At other times they come out on open ground, to scratch in the leaf-litter with both feet as they search for food."
It was perched on a car's rearview mirror for some reason, waiting long enough for me to turn the Sony RX100 on and zoom in for this shot.
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| Heron - Lake Lagunitas 2025 |
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| Heron - Lake Lagunitas 2025 |
Same bird in both photos, taken on October 19th last year.
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| Hooded Mergansers - Lake Lagunitas 2025 |
"The bird is striking in appearance; both sexes have crests that they can raise or lower, and the breeding plumage of the male is handsomely patterned and coloured."
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| Egret, American River - Sacramento Valley 2025 |
It was raining as we approached the American River to find this egret looking annoyed.
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| Heron, American River - Sacramento Valley 2025 |
Rain-obscured impressionistic photo taken on the banks of the American River.
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| Phoebe, American River - Sacramento Valley 2025 |
In the rain! Technically, a Black Phoebe . . . but I've always just used "phoebe."
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| Hairy Woodpecker (Fairfax) - Marin County 2024 |
Small woodpecker with a distinctive high pitched "squeep" call. There are two of them hanging around here this year . . . maybe one is the same bird in last year's photo!
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| Ducks - Bishop 2025 |
Taken during an afternoon walk in Bishop City Park. The South Fork of Bishop Creek runs right through the park with a large mallard population enjoying the pristine water.
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| Turkeys, Fog - Lake Lagunitas 2025 |
Taken last January, probably out the car window.
Happy Thanksgiving!
