Birdin' San Joaquin

I went birding yesterday at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary. I went by myself because Libby was at school. I had a better time than I anticipated (oops!), so it wasn't a perfect trip. I was also going to try and take some pictures, but our digital camera's gone wonky. It won't stay on for more than 30 seconds (despite fiddling with the auto-off settings), so I couldn't digiscope any birds.

I got there in the early afternoon, and the weather was perfect. It was sunny and cool, in the seventies, I guess, with a bit of a warm inland breeze that carried the gentle scent of sage.

Bird-wise, there wasn't a whole lot going on, but there were some birds that were my first of the season (FOS) and two lifers. That puts my life list at 301, as I was at 299 before the trip. There was a Pectoral Sandpiper in one of the ponds there, which had been reported ahead of time. This is a fairly rare bird for Southern California. I also had a Sora, and then, later, two Sora, feeding in the same pond. Soras are fairly common, but you hardly ever see them because they spend most of their lives in the reeds. So, that was a great bird, much anticipated, and interesting. It's a pleasantly unique bird.

It was feeding with a much larger Common Moorhen, which is always a fun bird. This Moorhen lacked the red facial shield, which is a very interesting feature.

Oh, and as I was preparing to go, I saw a Bobcat moving in and out of the reeds, followed by an agitated flock of small birds.

Anyway, here's the list in no particular order:

Eared Grebe (FOS)
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egregt
Snowy Egret
Black-crowned Night Heron
Sora (Lifer)
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Ruddy Duck
Gadwall (a very pretty male)
Green-winged Teal (molting into breeding plumage) (FOS)
Blue-winged Teal (a female or two)
Cinnamon Teal (mostly drab, but there was one very vivid Drake)
Northern Shoveler
Ring-necked Duck (quite a lot of these, in the deeper ponds) (FOS)
Mallard (of course)
Long-billed Dowitcher
Pectoral Sandpiper (lifer)
Least Sandpiper
American Avocet
Black-necked Stilt
Kildeer
American White Pelican (FOS)
Turkey Vulture
Osprey (FOS), there were at least two
Red-tailed Hawk
Northern Harrier
American Kestrel
American Crow
California Gull
Forster's Tern
Belted Kingfisher
Mourning Dove
Anna's Hummingbird
Cassin's Kingbird
Black Phoebe
Common Yellowthroat (tons and tons)
Song Sparrow (also tons and tons)
White-crowned Sparrow (FOS)
Red-winged Blackbird

There was a very small flock of swallows that stayed far enough away that I couldn't identify any of them. I think that's 42, which isn't too bad. Two lifers in the same day is pretty awesome, though.