March Bird Sightings from the Elkhorn Slough Reserve

South Marsh Loop: Common & Red-throated Loons; Pied-billed,Western & Clark’s Grebes; Double-crested Cormorants; Great Blue Heron; Great & Snowy Egrets; Buffleheads; Red-breasted Mergansers; Northern Pintails; Common Goldeneye; Canada Geese; Mallards; Northern Harrier; Turkey Vulture; White-tailed Kite; Red-shouldered & Red-tailed Hawk; California Quail; Killdeer; Willets; American Avocets; Lesser & Greater Yellowlegs; Long-billed Curlew; Marbled Godwit; Spotted Sandpiper; Sandpiper spp.; Dowitchers spp.; Ring-billed & Western Gulls; Mourning Dove; Barn Owl; Forster’s Tern; Band-tailed Pigeons; Anna’s & Rufous Hummingbirds; Belted Kingfisher; Acorn, Downy & Hairy Woodpeckers; Northern Flicker; Black & Say’s Phoebe; Steller’s & Western Scrub-Jay; Hutton’s Vireo; American Crow; Tree & Cliff Swallow; Chestnut-backed Chickadee; Oak Titmouse; European Starling; Bushtit; Pygmy Nuthatch; Bewick’s Wren; Ruby-crowned Kinglet; Cedar Waxwings; CA. Thrasher; Orange-crowned, Yellow, Townsend’s & Wilson’s Warblers; Common Yellowthroat; Spotted & CA. Towhee; Song Sparrow; Brewer’s & Red-winged Blackbirds; American Robin; Western Meadowlark; House Finch; Dark-eyed Junco; White & Golden-crowned Sparrow; American Goldfinch; Lesser Goldfinch

North Marsh Overlook: Greater Egrets; Canada Geese; American Wigeon; Blue-winged, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teals; Killdeer; Northern Shovelers; Northern Pintails; Black-necked Stilts; American Avocets; Greater Yellowlegs; Marbled Godwits; Dowitchers spp.; Black Phoebe; Western Scrub-Jay; Common Yellowthroat; Song Sparrow

Five Fingers/Long Valley: American White Pelican; Great & Snowy Egret; Mallards; Canada Geese; Northern Pintail; Greater Scaup; Buffleheads; Common Goldeneye; Red-breasted Mergansers; Turkey Vulture; White-tailed Kite; Red-tailed Hawk; Cooper’s Hawk; Willet; Long-billed Curlew; Marbled Godwit; Western Gulls; Sandpiper spp.; Mourning Dove; Acorn Woodpeckers; Northern Flicker; Anna’s Hummingbird; Say’s Phoebe; Western Scrub-Jay; American Crow; Tree Swallows; American Robin; Chestnut-backed Chickadee; Common Yellowthroat; Bushtits; Bewick’s Wren; Cedar Waxwings; California & Spotted Towhee; White-crowned, Golden-crowned & Song Sparrows; Brewer’s Blackbirds; American Goldfinch;  Dark-eyed Junco

Hudson’s Landing: Pied-billed Grebe; Western Grebe; Great Blue Heron; Great Egret; Canada Geese; American Wigeon; Mallards; Blue-winged, Green-winged, & Cinnamon Teals; Lesser Scaup; Buffleheads; Common Goldeneye; Ruddy Ducks; American Coots; Black-bellied Plovers; Black-necked Stilts; American Avocets; Greater Yellowlegs; Dowithcers sp.; Marbled Godwits; Willets

Visitor Center Area : Tree Swallows; Say’s Phoebe ; lots of Painted Ladies (butterflies)

Thanks again to our spotters: Annie McNeill; Katherine Klein, Shirley Murphy, Plant ladies and your  reporter Sheryl Gaebelein

 

February Sightings at Elkhorn Slough Reserve

These are the sightings from the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve from February 2009.

South Marsh Loop: Pied-billed Grebe; Western Grebe; American White Pelicans; Brown Pelicans; Double-crested Cormorants; Great Blue Heron; Great & Snowy Egrets; Gadwalls; Buffleheads; Ruddy Ducks; Red-breasted Mergansers; Northern Pintails; Green-winged Teals; Common Goldeneye; Canada Goose; Mallard; Scaup sp.; Northern Harrier; Turkey Vulture; White-tailed Kite; Red-shouldered Hawk; Red-tailed Hawk; California Quail; Killdeer; Willets; American Avocets; Lesser Yellowlegs; Greater Yellowlegs; Long-billed Curlew; Whimbrel; Marbled Godwit; Spotted Sandpiper; Sandpiper sp.; Dowitchers sp.; Ring-billed Gull; Western Gull; Mourning Dove; Great Horned Owl; Barn Owl; Forster’s Tern; Anna’s Hummingbird; Belted Kingfisher; Acorn Woodpecker; Downy & Hairy Woodpecker; Northern Flicker; Black & Say’s Phoebe; Steller’s Jay; Western Scrub-Jay; Hutton’s Vireo; American Crow; Tree Swallow; Chestnut-backed Chickadee; Oak Titmouse; European Starling; Bushtit; Bewick’s Wren; Ruby-crowned Kinglet; California Thrasher; Wrentit; Common Yellowthroat; Yellow Warbler; Townsend’s Warbler; Spotted Towhee; California Towhee; Song Sparrow; Brewer’s Blackbird; American Robin; Western Meadowlark; House Finch; Dark-eyed Junco; White & Golden-crowned Sparrow; House Sparrow

Visitor Center Area : Western Meadowlark; Say’s Phoebe; European Starling;

Thanks again to our spotters: Annie McNeill; Katherine Klein, Shirley Murphy, Plant Ladies and your reporter Sheryl Gaebelein

 

Mid March at the Slough

We found this blog from a teacher who attended the recent Elkhorn Slough Reserve’s teacher workshop.

She gave a nice account of her day’s sightings and some nice photos too.

http://egretsnest.wordpress.com/2009/03/16/trip-report-elkhorn-slough/

Here’s some of her bird sightings:

Canada Goose – Branta canadensis     2
Mallard – Anas platyrhynchos     8
Bufflehead – Bucephala albeola     10
Common Merganser – Mergus merganser     1
Western Grebe – Aechmophorus occidentalis     1
Double-crested Cormorant – Phalacrocorax auritus     10
Great Blue Heron – Ardea herodias     1
Great Egret – Ardea alba     8
Snowy Egret – Egretta thula     4
Turkey Vulture – Cathartes aura     4
White-tailed Kite – Elanus leucurus     1
Northern Harrier – Circus cyaneus     1
California Gull – Larus californicus     X
Forster’s Tern – Sterna forsteri     10
Anna’s Hummingbird – Calypte anna     3
Belted Kingfisher – Megaceryle alcyon     1
Black Phoebe – Sayornis nigricans     4
Western Scrub-Jay (Coastal) – Aphelocoma californica californica     2
American Crow – Corvus brachyrhynchos     4
Common Yellowthroat – Geothlypis trichas     2   **LIFER**
Song Sparrow – Melospiza melodia     4

 

Seal Pups at Elkhorn Slough

The first Harbor Seal pups of the season have been seen at Elkhorn Slough…

http://elkhornsloughsafari.blogspot.com/2009/03/first-seal-puppy.html

 

The Story behind the Sea Otter with Video Camera

Many of you have seen the now famous photo of the sea otter holding a video camera taken by Enrique Aguirre.  Here is the story behind that incredible photo in the photographer’s own words.

 

Birders Needed at Elkhorn Slough

SPRING MIGRATORY SHOREBIRD MONITORING
Please join us for the second spring shorebird survey to catch the migrants as they move through the area as well as census the resident shorebirds.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Teams of volunteer birders will be counting birds within defined areas along the main channel (by boat), and at four walk-in estuarine sites. We particularly need help from expert birders (i.e. those that can readily identify the various species of waterbirds and shorebirds), but also welcome novices to count easily identified species. Please RSVP if you can join us, and list your first and second choice locations:

Main Channel boat survey 7:00am-11:00am
North Harbor (Jetty Road), 8:00-10:00am
Parson’s Overlook, 8:00-10:00am
South Marsh, 8:00-10:00am
North Marsh 4:00-6:00pm

For more information or to sign up contact ,
Suzanne Fork
email: skfork “at” gmail.com
Research Biologist
Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve
831-728-2822

 

Nest boxes at Elkhorn Slough Reserve

The Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve just posted an update of their research monitoring bird nest boxes at the Reserve.

http://www.elkhornslough.org/research/PDF/2008_nestbox_report.pdf

Volunteer Shirley Murphy is checking a nest box with a flashlight and small dental mirror so as not to disturb chicks

This program monitoring about 150 nest boxes in the oak woodlands of ESNERR began in 1998. Each spring and summer the nestboxes are monitored weekly by a team of volunteers. By carefully checking the boxes and consistently recording what they see, the volunteers are able to obtain data on:
- nest box occupancy (which boxes are occupied and by which species)
- phenology (timing of reproductive events)
- indicators of reproductive success (clutch size, hatching rate, fledging rate)
- parasitism (blowflies in nesting material)

Monitoring these parameters serves as one way of keeping track of the health of oak woodland communities around the ESNERR over time. For instance, dramatic declines in nest box use or fledging rate would serve as a warning signal alerting managers to potential problems in these habitats. These data also would motivate a search by researchers for new negative environmental influences in the area.

To see more about this program and how to get involved go here:

http://www.elkhornslough.org/research/bird_nestbox.htm

 

Early Spring Flowers at Elkhorn Slough

Check out what the warm weather has sprung on us…

http://elkhornsloughrestoration.blogspot.com/2009/02/early-spring-flowers.html

 

Elkhorn Slough Otters never disappoint

Just when I thought I’d seen every otter photo possible – This one is a must see…

http://enriqueaguirre.blogspot.com/2009/02/its-wild-wild-world.html

 

Gray Fox Family Video

This is a video filmed by Ken Collins, our Assistant Land Steward at the Elkhorn Slough Foundation, and posted on our new Elkhorn Slough Foundation You Tube channel.