Some of the trip participants birding Alexandre Dairy in the Smith River Bottoms. On Saturday, 7 December, I led a group of 6 other birders around many of the coastal hotspots in Del Norte County--the northernmost coastal county in California. This was the first of my local day tours that I am billing as "Stewardship Day Tours" since part of the proceeds from each trip will be donated to a local environmental non-profit. For this trip part of the proceeds went to Redwood Parks Association.
We've been having a real cold spell in Northwestern California (well, most of the West Coast, really!) and the day ranged from 25 F to about 40 F with winds from 0-15 mph making for a pretty chilly day! Despite the chill in the air we had a great day of birding, tallying 95 species! Highlights included FOUR species of jay [Blue (a stakeout in Brookings, OR), Gray, Steller's and Western Scrub]. Other highlights for the day were: BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, BLACK SCOTER, ROCK SANDPIPER, and GLAUCOUS GULL. The "Best Looks Ever of a Common Bird" award went to some WILSON'S SNIPES that were foraging out in the open from just 10 feet away and perfect lighting on some male COMMON MERGANSERS that made their green head sheen shine like an emeral more than any of us had even thought was possible!
We've been having a real cold spell in Northwestern California (well, most of the West Coast, really!) and the day ranged from 25 F to about 40 F with winds from 0-15 mph making for a pretty chilly day! Despite the chill in the air we had a great day of birding, tallying 95 species! Highlights included FOUR species of jay [Blue (a stakeout in Brookings, OR), Gray, Steller's and Western Scrub]. Other highlights for the day were: BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, BLACK SCOTER, ROCK SANDPIPER, and GLAUCOUS GULL. The "Best Looks Ever of a Common Bird" award went to some WILSON'S SNIPES that were foraging out in the open from just 10 feet away and perfect lighting on some male COMMON MERGANSERS that made their green head sheen shine like an emeral more than any of us had even thought was possible!
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