Yesterday I birded the McAbee Entrance to Almaden Quicksilver County Park. Normally, I do a 4 mile loop that passes by Guadalupe Creek and the reservoir but I needed to shorten my route this year. I took my time and took advantage of the many benches along my route. This is the kind of birding that requires a lot of listening - chirps and calls from the tree tops, rustling of leaves, and the tapping of woodpeckers. I find it very relaxing.
I didn't spot anything unusual this year but had better luck with the *Hairy Woodpeckers* (2) and *Fox Sparrows* (3). I had lots of the usual suspects - *Golden-crowned Sparrows*, *Acorn Woodpeckers*, *California Scrub-Jays*, and *Yellow-rumped Warblers*. And, my favorite moment was hearing a bunch of rustling in the oak leaves - it was a loud rustling so I was thinking deer or even boar. But, when I found the source of the noise, it turned out to be a very large group of *Band-tailed Pigeons* foraging in the leaf litter. Something startled them and they all burst into the air and flew over my head.
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