Priya and Caitlin
April 22:
Our small but intrepid Birdathon team, Priya Pharate and Caitlin Dempsey, set out to bird at Ulistac Natural Area on a wet spring morning that alternated between steady rain and brief breaks of sunlight.
Neither we nor the birds were deterred by the weather. An exuberant northern mockingbird provided a running soundtrack, cycling through an impressive range of calls that at times suggested red-shouldered hawks, killdeer, lazuli buntings, and hooded orioles were all sharing the same tree.
While we officially recorded 47 species (see checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S325603273), we resisted the mockingbird’s attempts to convince us to push that total past 50.
Black Phoebe: Caitlin Dempsey
The rain had one clear benefit: it kept mosquito activity low, particularly near the eucalyptus grove.
We were pleased to be true to our team’s banner image with a sighting of a western tanager perched high on a snag, standing out even against the gray sky.
Warblers were far more audible than visible. Wilson’s warblers, orange-crowned warblers, and a single MacGillivray’s warbler were all heard singing, while yellow-rumped warblers gave characteristic “chek” calls from within the oak canopy. Bewick’s wrens were singing throughout Ulistac.
White-throated Sparrow: Caitlin Dempsey
Other active species included Nutall's and hairy woodpeckers, black-headed grosbeaks, bushtits, dark-eyed juncos, lesser and American goldfinches, flocks of house finches, blue-gray gnatcatchers, California scrub jays, American crows, and a ruby-crowned kinglet moving through the canopy. Lingering winter residents, including white-throated sparrow and golden-crowned sparrows, were also present, a reminder of the seasonal overlap typical of spring migration.
Near the wetland edge, a great egret hunted while a hairy woodpecker worked into oak bark in search of insects. In the reeds, song sparrows and red-winged blackbirds provided a steady chorus.