Dare I say it?

Sure, okay....IT'S ALMOST JUNE and no mosquitoes! This time last year Crow Valley was like the jungle. I poured repellant all over my clothes and took a deep breath and braved a trip around the campground. I have no complaints. Barring any ill effects on the bird community I think this is just lovely. I spent six hours at Crow Valley today. If I hadn't pooped out I could have stayed all afternoon. Mostly familiar faces, but ones I was eager to see:

Northern Mockingbird. The pair at work again nest-building, I think.

A new and great bird...well, pointed out to me once before I think, but this time my own find.

Orchard Oriole. Threw me off by hanging out with a female Bullocks.

A lovely female (I think) Black-headed Grosebeak

After a while I decided to sit in the shade and let the birds come to me. My only real takers

were a pair of Swainson's Thrush

I followed several (again I think) Red-headed Woodpeckers around Crow Valley.

I missed one unrepeatable fantastic photo op, but did get some nice views.

It was really time to go (my legs were doing their pondwater/molasses routine) and my only lament was not getting a Common Nighthawk shot. TA DA....on the way back to the car.

Left just in time to drive through a hailstorm heading West on 14.

More of today's photos:

The Complete Crow Valley list:

(not counting the Empids and the one Macgillivray's Warbler I think I saw)

American Robin

Western Kingbird

Chipping Sparrow

Blue Jay

House Wren

Brown Thrasher

Northern Flicker

Western Meadowlark

American Kestrel

Red-headed Woodpecker

Gray Catbird

Swainson's Thrush

Yellow Warbler

Spotted Towhee

Yellow-breasted Chat

Lark Sparrow

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Downy Woodpecker

Northern Mockingbird

Red-tailed Hawk

Wilson's Warbler

Eastern Kingbird

Common Nighthawk

Warbling Vireo

Orchard Oriole

Black-headed Grosbeak

 

New Birds at Dixon

I realized I wanted to head to Dixon Reservoir today (I skip it often) but I was hesitant 'cause I've been really snake-phobic lately....I survived, snake-free (at least while at Dixon.)
In addition to the usual suspects:

So this is a Gray Catbird; somehow I think this is a very

usual bird and I'm supposed to have seen a million of them and yet

today I saw my first pair. I thought they were awesome!

Cannot ignore the posing birds! Another realization today (okay I might have been sleepy)

It makes sense that Eastern Kingbirds are in the same family as Western (aside from 

lots of OBVIOUS reasons) because they make the same noisy springtime commotions!

No great photo, I know, but I think this is my first concrete

view of  a Savannah Sparrow...

Yellow-rumps and Yellow throughout.

Mallard. :)

Resourceful Wren.

Not my only mystery empid of the day.

Two really iffy photos of something I'm suspecting is a Field Sparrow. 

(awaiting ID confirmation.) They were all sorts of un-cooperative....

and confusing too!

Running Deer and Riverbend

Started out gloomy, just like every other non-summer day lately. [Okay wait, I CAN NOT complain; not a mosquito in sight....If this keeps up it will be a fab summer indeed....well maybe not for the nighthawks.....]

FOS Violet-green Swallow. Right after a quick flyover from a Least Tern. 

I still find them completely beautiful.

Okay, I know this one's an easy one... For the silhouette group.

First good looks at Eastern Kingbirds this year.

Its the Mink buddy! Saw one three times today, the third time 

it was carrying a large snack!

Spotted Sandpiper? So I'll say...

At some point, brief pockets of sunshine crept in. This Common Merganser

must have thought it an appropriate time to dry off. Had to turn around on

the trail when I came across two mallards doing the same.

A very pretty little flycatcher. I'm gonna call him Least. Hey, could be, right?

Yup. Sun means Bullsnake. Scared the bejeebees out of each other.

More little flycatchers, most of them pewees maybe, hanging around

with Blue-gray Gnatcatchers.

Also about this morning:

American Robin

Great-blue Heron

Wood Duck

Northern Flicker

Downy Woodpecker

Chipping Sparrows

American Goldfinch

Yellow Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Bullock's Oriole

The tiniest of Peeps (looked just like a Spotted Sandpiper only teeny)

Osprey

House Wren

Cormorant

One rogue farm goose

Snowy Egret

Great Egret

Red-winged Blackbird

Grrrrrackle

More from today:

Dry Spell

A momentary dry spell today in between showers. I walked around Prospect Ponds Natural Area and over to the Environmental Learning Center.

Song Sparrow basking in the brief spot of sunshine.

I never know whether its worth walking around the ELC or not. 

Never seems to be much going on....but every once in awhile...

FOS Western Tanagers frolicking among some blooms.

Lots of furtive thrushes (mostly Swainson's, think I saw one Hermit).

One billion House Wrens. I like this one's camouflage.

This one was posing. I'm always happy to take a photo of a posing wren...even more so

if its not in the shade!

And then, something new. A Blackpoll Warbler. 

Would never have seen it if I hadn't taken a chance on the ELC.

See how that works?

Also out and about in the momentary sunshine: GBH, Green-tailed Towhee, Cormorant, Shoveler, BWTeal, Yellow-rumped Warbler and Yellow Warbler, Downy Woodpecker, Kingfisher and American Robin.

Wet Day at Latham

On the way to school yesterday, too wet for a walk. So drive by birding. Thought I'd see who was around at Lower Latham.

The general avian mood of the day.

Sparrows aren't generally who I think of as Latham

residents, but they were plentiful yesterday!

The Clint Eastwood Sparrow.

and one for my artsy silhouetteish group.

some very hunkered-down Phalaropes

and on my second drive by, a prize: the FOS Black-necked Stilt.

Also at Latham today: a pair of Avocet (Beebee Draw) FOS Western Kingbird, Cinnamon Teal, Gadwall (I think) Yellow-headed Blackbirds, FOS Ibis, and probably lots of quietly hiding from

the rain things. Oh, and one muskrat.

Sora Portrait Session

A short visit to Running Deer before school today. Quiet....but miraculously on the way out a Sora presented itself. [Okay, maybe I was keeping an eye out for the Sora on account of Tom and Mary France having noticed it earlier this week....] However my surprise was genuine.

When it realized it'd been spotted, it darted back into the reeds. I sat on the ground and waited. The Sora reappeared and allowed me to watch it putter around. Here are some photos from our portrait session:

Absolutely helped the day. And really lovely to share that quiet space

with the Sora for a few moments.