March 19, 2016: Birding Outing to Whelan Lake

It was a cool overcast day when 28 birders gathered on the shores of Whalen Lake for the semi-annual walkabout there. We were pleased to welcome to our group a couple of snowbirds from Vancouver and Alex, a junior birder from Oceanside. Generally one burns as they head towards the city’s settling ponds, but not so on this occasion. To some extent this may have kept our raptor count on the low side as they waited for the heat and a bit of a breeze. Nonetheless, it was a fruitful day with a total of 59 species spotted. This compares to a year ago when we had 69. One looks at these lists and tries to figure out why the differences, but no ready answers come to mind. It was especially rewarding to see four white-tailed kites and two loggerhead shrikes. Both these birds used to be regularly seen in greater numbers, so it is nice to have them back again. 
 
March 19, 2016 March 21, 2015
SWANS, GEESE & DUCKS
Wood Duck Wood Duck
Gadwall
Mallard Mallard
Cinnamon Teal Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Bufflehead Bufflehead
Rudy Duck Rudy Duck
GREBES
Pied-billed Grebe Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Eared Grebe Eared Grebe
BITTERNS & EGRETS
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret Great Egret
Snowy Egret Snowy Egret
White-faced Ibis
AMERICAN VULTURES
Turkey Vulture Turkey Vulture
White-tailed Kite  (4)
HAWKS & FALCONS
Northern Harrier Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk Cooper’s Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel American Kestrel
RAILS, COOTS & STILTS
Virginia Rail (H) Virginia Rail (H)
Sora (H)
Common Gallinule Common Gallinule
American Coot American Coot
PLOVERS & SANDPIPERS
Black-necked Stilt Black-necked Stilt
Killdeer Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
GULLS
Western Gull
TERNS
Forster’s Tern
PIGEONS & DOVES
Eurasian Collared-Dove Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove Mourning Dove
TYPICAL OWLS
Great Horned Owl with chicks
Barn Owl
HUMMINGBIRDS
Anna’s Hummingbird Anna’s Hummingbird
Allen’s Hummingbird Allen’s Hummingbird
WOODPECKERS
Nuttall’s Woodpecker Nuttall’s Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker Northern Flicker
FLYCATCHERS & SHRIKES
Black Phoebe Black Phoebe
Say’s Phoebe
Cassin’s  Kingbird Cassin’s  Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
VIREOS
Hutton’s Vireo
Bell’s Vireo
JAYS & CROWS
Western Scrub-jay Western Scrub-jay
American Crow American Crow
Common Raven Common Raven
SWALLOWS
Tree Swallow Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
BUSHTITS
Bushtit (and a very active nest) Bushtit
WRENS
Bewick’s Wren (H)
House Wren House Wren
Marsh Wren
KINGLETS & GNATCATCHERS
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet
BLUEBIRDS, THRUSHES & ALLIES
Robin
Wrentit (H)
MOCKINGBIRDS & THRASHERS
Northern Mockingbird Northern Mockingbird
California Thrasher
STARLINGS & WAXWINGS
Cedar Waxwing
WARBLERS
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Common Yellowthroat Common Yellowthroat
Wilson’s Warbler Wilson’s Warbler
TOWHEES & SPARROWS
Spotted Towhee Spotted Towhee
California Towhee California Towhee
Song Sparrow Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow
ORIOLES & BLACKBIRDS
Red-winged Blackbird Red-winged Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle Great-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Hooded Oriole
FINCHES & ALLIES
House Finch House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch Lesser Goldfinch
OLD WORLD SPARROWS
House Sparrow
59 Species in Total 69 Species in Total


 
Until next time,
 
Flyin’ high,
 
Doig Walkley
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