On April 10th the California Towhees Birdathon team birded within 1 mile of our homes, to see how many bird species we could identify. Some of us stayed in our backyards and some of us ventured out around our neighborhoods.
We were lucky that our Birdathon day was somewhat cool after the hot days the week before, and overall it was an excellent birding morning. However, as early afternoon came around, the winds really picked up with the ensuing storm, and many of us were done for the day. But overall, I think the event was a success for our team, and it really highlighted just how many birds we have in the immediate areas around our homes and what a wonderful variety of habitats we all encompass. This year we had 11 team members and observed 82 unique species.
And I also think it was quite appropriate that the only bird that all members reported was the California Towhee!
And here is a complete list of the birds we identified:
Acorn Woodpecker
Allen's Hummingbird
American Coot
American Crow
American Goldfinch
American Robin
American Wigeon
Anna's Hummingbird
Band-tailed Pigeon
Barn Swallow
Bewick's Wren
Black Phoebe
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Blue-grey Gnatcatcher
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bufflehead
Bullock's Oriole
Bushtit
Californa Towhee
California Gull
California Quail
California Scrub-Jay
California Thrasher
Canada Goose
Cassin's Vireo
Cedar Waxwing
Chesnut-backed Chickadee
Chipping Sparrow
Cliff Swallow
Common Raven
Cooper's Hawk
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)
Double-crested Cormorant
Eurasian-collared Dove
European Starling
Gadwall
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Great egret
Hermit Thrush
Hooded Oriole
House Finch
House Sparrow
House Wren
Hutton's Vireo
Kildeer
Lark Sparrow
Lesser Goldfinch
Mallard
Merlin
Mourning Dove
Northern Mockingbird
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Northern Shoveler
Nuttall's Woodpecker
Oak Titmouse
Orange-crowned Warbler
Pacific-coast Flycatcher
Purple Finch
Pygmy Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-winged Blackbird (California Bicolored)
Rock Pigeon
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Ruddy Duck
Say's Phoebe
Snowy Egret
Song Sparrow
Spotted Towhee
Steller’s Jay
Tree Swallow
Turkey Vulture
Violet-green Swallow
Western Bluebird
White-breasted Nuthatch
White-crowned Sparrow
White-tailed Kite
Wild Turkey
Wrentit
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's)