Date: 12/13/25 10:04 am From: Jane Tatchell via groups.io <Jane...> Subject: Re: [pen-bird] Recce for Palo Alto CBC at Coal Mine Ridge OSP, Friday Dec 12
Ring-billed Duck -> Ring-necked Duck!
Jane
---- On Sat, 13 Dec 2025 10:00:52 -0800 Jane Tatchell <Jane...> wrote ---
Peter Headland and I prepared for the CBC yesterday with a 7.5 mile tramp round Coal Mine Ridge. It was productive, with 38 species detected.
It was a sunny, calm day, dominated by flocks of American Robins, hundreds of them! A Pileated Woodpecker that called, then zoomed by, was a rewarding sighting. On the pond at the top of the preserve, there were a great many Mallards, with a couple of American Wigeons and a Ring-billed Duck. At the adjacent lake, just outside the preserve, were three Hooded Mergansers. At the end of the day, in the gathering dusk, we heard two Great Horned Owls duetting. They weren't the only birds that seemed to be pairing up or claiming territories - there were Common Ravens, Red-shouldered Hawks, and Red-tailed Hawks vocalizing in pairs.
On the non-bird front, there were a great many fungi and also an owl pellet with many tiny bones.
