date and time: 8 November 2025. Starting at 06:51-12:40
weather: Clear skies, no wind, 48-67f. Vegetation was all covered in dew in the first few hours and a thin fog to start.
route: We drove the dirt roads E from Farm Center Gate then N to the preserve boundary, then S to the Love Shack where we got out and walked a short bit of the road alongside Garcia’s Swamp. Then we drove to the end of the road in the Accidental Forest and walked downriver following the overflow channel then upriver to the log jam area. We returned to the car before driving to the Equipment Pad on Wood Duck Slough. We walked the tall forest loop S along Wood Duck Slough then N on the W side of the forest, sticking to the main dirt roads and not going on the trails that run beyond the pump and weir in the slough. We then drove off to the W, stopping to scan the moist fields N of the access road.
birds:
Snow Goose: 4
Greater White-fronted Goose: 3500
Cackling Goose: 6
Among White-fronts
Wood Duck: 13
Mallard: 6
Northern Pintail: 30
Flyovers
teal sp.: 1
Looked like a female Green-winged Teal, but with all dark undertail coverts. Seen on Wood Duck Slough.
duck sp.: 1
Wild Turkey: 8
Mourning Dove: 16
Most seen flying past the Love Shack early on
Anna’s Hummingbird: 3
Sandhill Crane: 400
Sandhill Crane (Lesser): 130
Sandhill Crane (Greater): 35
Killdeer: 1
Long-billed Curlew: 1
Flyovers
Greater Yellowlegs: 9
American Herring Gull: 1
Larus sp.: 15
Probably CA gull
Snowy Egret: 4
Western Cattle-Egret: 1
Among Great Egrets and cranes in a damp watergrass field
Great Egret: 30
One seen eating a vole
Turkey Vulture: 9
Most seen on roost perches
White-tailed Kite: 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk: 1
Very confiding adult perched by the Wood Duck Slough trail and surrounded by angry birds
Northern Harrier: 1
Red-shouldered Hawk: 1
Red-tailed Hawk: 3
Belted Kingfisher: 1
Acorn Woodpecker: 3
Downy Woodpecker: 3
Nuttall’s Woodpecker: 5
Northern Flicker: 8
American Kestrel: 2
Black Phoebe: 4
Say’s Phoebe: 2
Hutton’s Vireo: 2
Both making scolding calls at a Sharp-shinned Hawk. One seen well too
California Scrub-Jay: 7
American Crow: 4
Oak Titmouse: 14
Horned Lark: 4
Flyovers
Tree Swallow: 5
Bushtit: 55
Wrentit: 14
Ruby-crowned Kinglet: 48
Golden-crowned Kinglet: 2
White-breasted Nuthatch (Pacific): 7
Northern House Wren: 5
Bewick’s Wren: 4
European Starling: 25
Varied Thrush: 1
Hermit Thrush: 32
Mostly heard chup and weep calling but several seen too. Very abundant in all places forested. Lynette’s rough count was 31 and Konshau’s was 33.
American Robin: 80
Most of them were in the tall forest canopy eating California Grapes
Cedar Waxwing: 15
American Pipit: 4
Flyovers
House Finch: 5
Purple Finch: 1
Flight calls and short warble calls heard
Lesser Goldfinch: 6
American Goldfinch: 5
Fox Sparrow: 3
All Fox Sparrows were in the dense Cephalanthus on the E side of Wood Duck Sl. Three of them singing, somewhat garbled songs
Fox Sparrow (Sooty): 2
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon): 12
White-crowned Sparrow: 50
Golden-crowned Sparrow: 30
Many in the tall forest
Savannah Sparrow: 35
Song Sparrow: 5
Song Sparrow (heermanni Group): 5
Lincoln’s Sparrow: 6
California Towhee: 2
One at equipment pad and another at the house by Farm Center Gate
Spotted Towhee: 40
Western Meadowlark: 5
In pasture N of preserve boundary
Red-winged Blackbird: 3000
Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged): 200
Two large flocks of mostly females seen between rice fields at the N end of our route. A couple males seen among them
Brown-headed Cowbird: 80
Feeding on spilled rice among blackbirds
Brewer’s Blackbird: 200
Orange-crowned Warbler: 13
Tally, all detected by chip call
Common Yellowthroat: 2
One male seen
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon’s): 16
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle x Audubon’s): 1
We watched one eat grapes for a while. It had a contrasty white throat (with a tiny yellow tinge at the chin) that didn’t quite extend behind the auriculars. Faint supercilium. It was maybe more towards the Audubon’s side. Chip sounded like Audubon’s.
Townsend’s Warbler: 3
All in Tall Forest, one a bright male
Note that our list is also available on eBird, though in following with John’s surveys we included it all on one list that crosses multiple eBird hotspots. We might divide the lists in future.
Best,
Konshau