What a difference six months makes. The migrating ducks and geese were gone. But the Heron’s and Egret’s came on in full force, as did the Terns as they swooped down on the lake to sweep fish from the lake’s surface. A Gallinule thought is was part of our group and came out to greet us, just ten feet away. Speaking of feet, his were that bright yellow color with an orange band at the top of his ankle (do birds have ankles?) that one would think was a F&W band it was so distinctive. What were the white-faced ibis doing on that lake? Well they weren’t, six of them were high flyers a few thousand feet up trying to avoid any potential Russian BUK missiles.
There were fifteen birders, with some new faces, taking the Mathis Route through the park. These eyes spotted 47 species, compared with 57 species identified almost six months ago to the day.
Here’s our list, with a comparison to the January count:
| July 26, 2014 | January 25, 2014 |
| – | Canada Goose |
| Mallard | – |
| – | Northern Shoveler |
| – | Northern Pintail |
| – | Ruddy Duck |
| – | California Quail |
| Pied-billed Grebe | Pied-billed Grebe |
| Double-crested Cormorant | Double-crested Cormorant |
| Great Blue Heron | – |
| Great Egret | – |
| Snowy Egret | – |
| Green Heron | – |
| Black-crowned Night-Heron | Black-crowned Night-Heron |
| White-faced Ibis | – |
| – | Turkey Vulture |
| – | White-tailed Kite |
| – | Cooper’s Hawk |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | Red-shouldered Hawk |
| Red-tailed Hawk | Red-tailed Hawk |
| – | American Kestrel |
| Common Gallinule (Moorhen) | Common Gallinule (Moorhen) |
| American Coot | American Coot |
| – | Western Gull |
| – | Rock Pigeon |
| Caspian Tern | – |
| Forster’s Tern | – |
| Least Tern | – |
| Eurasian Collared-Dove | Eurasian Collared-Dove |
| Mourning Dove | Mourning Dove |
| – | Greater Roadrunner |
| Anna’s Hummingbird | Anna’s Hummingbird |
| – | Allen’s Hummngbird |
| – | Red-naped Sapsucker |
| – | Red-breasted Sapsucker |
| Nuttall’s Woodpecker | Nuttall’s Woodpecker |
| Downy Woodpecker | Downy Woodpecker |
| – | Northern Flicker |
| Pacific -slope Flycatcher | |
| Black Phoebe | Black Phoebe |
| Say’s Phoebe | Say’s Phoebe |
| Cassin’s Kingbird | Cassin’s Kingbird |
| Bell’s Vireo | |
| Western Scrub-Jay | Western Scrub-Jay |
| American Crow | American Crow |
| – | Common Raven |
| – | Tree Swallow |
| Cliff Swallow | – |
| Bushtit | Bushtit |
| Bewick’s Wren | Bewick’s Wren |
| – | House Wren |
| Marsh Wren | Marsh Wren |
| – | Ruby-crowned Kinglet |
| – | Blue-grey Knatcatcher |
| Western Bluebird | Western Bluebird |
| Wrentit | Wrentit |
| Northern Mockingbird | Northern Mockingbird |
| European Starling | European Starling |
| Phainopepla | – |
| – | Cedar Waxwing |
| Orange-crowned Warbler | Orange-crowned Warbler |
| Yellow Warbler | – |
| – | Yellow-rumped Warbler |
| Common Yellowthroat | Common Yellowthroat |
| – | Spotted Towhee |
| California Towhee | California Towhee |
| Song Sparrow | Song Sparrow |
| – | White-crowned Sparrow |
| Red-winged Blackbird | Red-winged Blackbird |
| Great-tailed Grackle | Great-tailed Grackle |
| Hooded Oriole | – |
| House-Finch | House-Finch |
| Lesser Goldfinch | Lesser Goldfinch |
| House Sparrow
Flying high, ’til next time, Doug Walkley |
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