Eight of us met at 6:00am for our walk. It was sunny and warm, and while it got hot, it wasn't unbearable. From 6:00-11:00, temps ranged from the mid-70's to the mid-80's. The real heat is reserved for afternoons.
It was amazingly birdy this morning. Between the usual doldrums of this time of year, combined with the heat, I thought we'd get 50 well-baked species and hurry home before we melted.
Highlights:
Ring-necked Pheasant Our lone male continues
Spotted Sandpiper 2-3 on lily pads in slough
Caspian Tern One flew downslough calling
Anna's Hummingbird Numerous and widespread
Red-breasted Sapsucker One near start of boardwalk
Hairy Woodpecker One east of the weir
Pacific-slope Flycatcher One near start of boardwalk
Red-eyed Vireo 2? near east end of boardwalk
We had a four warbler day, with 1-2 YELLOW WARBLERS, 2-3 male WILSON'S WARBLERS, many COMMON YELLOWTHROATS, and an immature BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER at the Rowing Club.
At the south end of the Dog Meadow, we had 1-2 juvenile LAZULI BUNTINGS being fed by a female. Later, we had a male Laz at the east end of Snag Row.
We had a juvenile(?) BULLOCK'S ORIOLE, our latest sighting ever for that species. We've never had orioles in August-April, so it will be a surprise if we see one next week.
We also had one unseen calling EVENING GROSBEAK apparently flying high above the weir.
The Community Gardens were abuzz with hummingbirds. There were several ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD and at least 2 RUFOUS. Might have been 6-8 hummingbirds in the gardens all told, and there were lots of conflicts (including interspecies jabbing over ownership of particularly nice flowers).
No Tree or Violet-green Swallows.
For the day, 60 species.
== Michael
Juvenile Bald Eagle having breakfast at the model airplane field
Red-winged Blackbird
Marsh Wren photo by Randy Bjorklund
Spotted Sandpiper on the weir. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Female Hairy Woodpecker
Western Wood-Pewee photo by Ollie Oliver
Juvenile Lazuli Bunting
Adult female and juvenile Lazuli Bunting
Female Purple Martin photo by Randy Bjorklund
Red-eyed Vireo photo by Ollie OIiver
Willow Flycatcher photo by Randy Bjorklund
Male Lazuli Bunting photo by Randy Bjorklund
Fish photo by Ollie Oliver
Raccoon at the Rowing Club. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Blue Angels
Blue Angels
Juvenile male Red-winged Blackbird. Photo by Brian Dobbins, 2009-07-25
Juvenile Green Heron. Photo by Brian Dobbins, 2009-07-25
Muskrat. Photo by Brian Dobbins, 2009-07-25
Female Purple Martin. Photo by Brian Dobbins, 2009-07-25