Ten eager birdwatchers of various degrees of experience (one had been birding for 10 minutes! and had already seen 5 life birds) greeted Dan Bloch and myself. It was a lovely day with great promise. Loudly singing Marsh Wrens greeted us at the beginning with a Green Heron skulking in the tules, looking very suspiciously at us. Black Phobes chirped/tail bobbed for us with an Ash-throated Flycatcher making a brief appearance. I suspect that it is the same one that we saw last month and may be breeding there. Lotsa bugs there! Hanging out along the slough a Great Blue Heron, a Great Egret, and a few Snowy Egrets with some juveniles were seen. Mallards and Canada Geese showed up here and there. Barn and Cliff Swallows darted overhead. The hazing and netting that the WPCP has been doing is working. The numbers of Brown-headed Cowbirds, Great-tailed Grackles, and European Starlings was down. Only one Great-tailed Grackle was seen, flying away! Red-winged Blackbirds were out in the tules lifting up and showing off their brilliant red epaulets. To finish off the trip, American White Pelicans flew in and landed on the water to feed. Here is the eBird list graciously recorded by Dan. https://ebird.org/checklist/S247127413
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
