It was an enjoyable Sunday afternoon at the Bay Area Photographers 3rd Annual Photo Exhibition sponsored by the Los Gatos Wild Bird Center.  Over twenty local photographers displayed their bird, wildlife, or scenic photographs, each with their own story to share.

This popular event was a great success, with everyone enjoying the discussions and the diverse selections of framed works of art on exhibit.

Saturday all-day field trip with the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society to the fields near the towns of Davis and Dixon in central California.  We enjoyed perfect weather with sunny blue skies... and observed all color morph variations of SWAINSON'S HAWKS!  

Other highlights included hundreds of WHITE-FACED IBIS, CATTLE EGRETS, & more! .  CLICK PHOTO!     

It's Summer in Morgan Hill, and the HUMMINGBIRDS are providing a spectacular show at our backyard feeder!  They feed all day long... arriving at first light and staying until dusk... swarming all over our backyard!

This photo has TWENTY (20) HUMMINGBIRDS at the feeder at the same time! Incredible!  CLICK PHOTO!     

Visiting The Presidio of San Francisco, which is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, I found this pair of HAIRY WOODPECKERs... a young juvenile being watched and fed by the adult female at their nest hole.

It's wonderful to observe such wildlife experiences even while inside the city of San Francisco!                 CLICK PHOTO!     

Sunday morning field trip with the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society to the foggy Pacific coast along Gazos Creek about 30 minutes drive north of Santa Cruz. The target birds were MACGILLIVRAY's WARBLER and WILSON'S WARBLER... which were heard often, yet challenging to find today.

The foggy weather cleared a bit by noon, so I returned to where I heard them... success!   CLICK PHOTO!     

Reading the report of a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT being seen yesterday at the Gilroy Water Treatment Ponds, I was needing a photo of this distinctive wood-warbler... and now success!  An enjoyable morning with glorious views and song from an interacting pair of YELLOW-BREASTED CHATs!

Additional highlights included YELLOW WARBLER, BELTED KINGFISHER, SPOTTED SANDPIPERs, RED-NECKED PHALAROPEs.      CLICK PHOTO!     

A great trip 2 hours north of San Francisco to Doran Beach Park at Bodega Bay... where it became a photo bonanza of shorebirds in spring breeding plumages!

Highlights included great views of RED KNOT, MARBLED GODWIT, DUNLIN, SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER, SANDERLING, and even a few SURFBIRDs.   The bonus was a RED-NECKED GREBE... my first observation in California.    
                                                       CLICK PHOTO!     

Saturday all-day field trip with the Santa Clara Valley Audubon to Stanislaus County and Santa Clara County.   Highlights included great views of LEWIS'S WOODPECKERs on Mines Road, brief views of a COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRD, and a pair of splendid CANYON WRENs in Del Puerto Canyon.

Observed a total of 52 bird species;  but the disappointing miss was not finding any LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCH.    CLICK PHOTO!     

Spent the day birding in the greater Sacramento area; including Yolo County near Woodland and Davis.

Highlights included YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDs, and at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area there were lots of MARSH WRENs singing in the reeds. On County Road 28H, a BURROWING OWL. In Sacramento, the treat was PURPLE MARTINs!

                               CLICK PHOTO!     

This springtime weather is bringing many Goldfinches to our backyard... with good opportunities for some close-up pixs.

The AMERICAN GOLDFINCH and LESSER GOLDFINCH sometimes look similar, these pixs provide a study of the differences and likeness of these two species including each male & female pixs.  CLICK PHOTO!     

I walked along the Guadalupe Creek Trail in San Jose searching for hummingbirds, when this lone male diving duck passed right in front of me... slowly swimming in the creek near Almaden Road.

The stunningly bright contrasting colors of red, white, and black make this COMMON MERGANSER in full breeding plumage look so different than usual!        CLICK PHOTO!     

Saturday morning birding with the Santa Clara Valley Audubon field trip. The weather was perfect and we all enjoyed good views of  ALLEN'S HUMMINGBIRDs, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDs, BULLOCK'S ORIOLEs.  Just before noon we had a PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER and a singing PURPLE FINCH.  

This beautiful Golden-crowned Sparrow in breeding plumage posed wonderfully for a quick pix!        CLICK PHOTO!     

After spending 4+ hours this morning hoping to see the Red-naped Sapsucker in Stevens Creek County Park... which never happened... I then went to Arastradero Road and its I-280 underpass near Palo Alto... looking to find some WHITE-THROATED SWIFTs.       

YES!  These speedy bullets are nearly impossible to get a decent photo!  I won't tell you how many pixs it took to get these photos!      CLICK PHOTO!       

A several hour drive to Fresno and a visit to Millerton Lake State Recreation Area in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Fresno.
It was a gorgeous day to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather and sightseeing the area.  Some of the highlights included RING-NECKED DUCKs, lots of WESTERN KINGBIRDs, and several flocks of CEDAR WAXWINGS hiding in the trees keeping out of the sun.        CLICK PHOTO!       

Walked the Alviso Marina County Park all the way around the marshy reeds at the southern edge of San Francisco Bay.  The most common birds were Song Sparrows, busy singing away... as Spring is definitely in the air!

This beautiful male COMMON YELLOWTHROAT was also up onto the reeds singing away... and I was fortunate to snap this closeup pix!           CLICK PHOTO!  

A short visit to Bodega Bay north of San Francisco along the Pacific Ocean provided some wonderful views in breeding plumage of COMMON LOONs and HORNED GREBEs.          

Also observed a few RED-THROATED LOONs and a group of five BRANTs.            

                                        CLICK PHOTO!                 

Easter Sunday morning birding with the Santa Clara Valley Audubon field trip. The weather was absolutely perfect after the morning fog quickly burned away in bright sunshine.                                  CLICK PHOTO!

I observed 58 bird species; the surprise was seeing a GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE at Ogier Ponds... none of us had seen this species here, only at the nearby golf course.

A pleasant Saturday afternoon along the Pacific Ocean beaches at Moss Landing, California... and also the wonderful Elkhorn Slough Reserve.  The highlight was this RED-BREASTED MERGANSER in beautiful breeding plumage!             CLICK PHOTO!

Additional species included COMMON LOON, SURF SCOTER, WESTERN GREBE, HORNED GREBE, EARED GREBE, MARBLED GODWIT, LONG-BILLED CURLEW.  

After seeing the SHORT-EARED OWLs in Coyote Valley last weekend, we went north to County Road 28H just north of Davis, California this past weekend.  We met several others there, and we all enjoyed a fantastic owl and raptor show in wonderful sunlight from 4-6pm.

Sightings included 6-8 SHORT-EARED OWLs, FERRUGINOUS HAWK, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, NORTHERN HARRIERs, RED-TAILED HAWKs, WHITE-TAILED KITES.     CLICK PHOTO for SLIDESHOW!

I had read the online postings of sightings of Short-eared Owls in the Coyote Valley just south of San Jose... so I decided to go.  Well, I wasn't the only one... at least 8 cars arrived on Richmond Avenue... as I waited to hopefully see one and maybe get a photo.

It was now getting quite dark, well after sunset. I set my digital camera to ISO 1000, hoping for something, anything. Amazingly, at 5.58pm... I got this one distant photo in near darkness... the only pix which turned out.  CLICK PHOTO!

A fantastic 3-day birding/photography trip with the Santa Clara Valley Audubon along the Pacific Ocean coastline & Morro Bay & San Luis Obispo County.  A round-trip of 486 miles, with sunny weather for the first 2 days; rain on Sunday.  Morro Bay Trip Photo Gallery of 26 new photos!

Overall, a total of 122 bird species observed; highlights include great views of LONG-TAILED DUCK, WESTERN GREBE, CALIFORNIA THRASHER, CALIFORNIA CONDOR, a really stunning sunset scene at Morro Bay.

Sunday morning birding in San Francisco with the Santa Clara Valley Audubon field trip to check out several inlets and parks along the San Francisco Bay shoreline. The rain held off until just before the end of the morning.

I observed 54 bird species; the highlights being close-up views of BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS, LONG-BILLED CURLEW, & many GULLS. Also saw a Red-breasted Merganser in Heron's Head Park.               CLICK PHOTO!

Saturday morning birding with the Santa Clara Valley Audubon field trip. The weather was dry after several days of rain... with a some sunshine finally shining!

Overall, 48 bird species observed; the surprise for myself was a new LIFE BIRD! ...a THAYER'S GULL resting among the hundreds and hundreds of Herring & California & Ring-billed gulls on the pond. Also good views of Belted Kingfishers and several Tree Swallows.

One of my favorites... the all-day field trip to the Panoche Valley with the Santa Clara Valley Audubon. The weather was cold initially, eventually warming into the 50's.  Observed 49 species, including a pair of adult Bald Eagles.

The best treat was close-up views of a GREATER ROADRUNNER right alongside the road! But we still missed finding any Chuckar or Mountain Plover... for my 3rd year in a row!                                    CLICK PHOTO!