[SBB] Beyond Phalaropes: the other birds

[Mark Bohrer <[[email protected]]>]

I find it hard to be single-minded about my wild subjects, even for 
high-profile ones like red phalaropes. Other residents vied for my 
attention yesterday on my way to and from the rarer birds in Crittenden Marsh.

The first guy I saw was a savannah sparrow (SS) doing the splits in the weeds:
http://www.mountain-and-desert.com/Wildlife/Birds/Perching_BZ/DBZ-SS0002-56.htm 
or
http://tinyurl.com/7c33a

I tried to get closer, but he flew off to join his more-skittish friends. 
(What you see here is a crop of a more-distant image.)

A squadron of American white pelicans (WP) winged gracefully past the PG&E 
towers. Gulls on the catwalk (probably RG), American coots in the marsh 
(AC) and other ducks (NS, CT, GW, MD) ignored them:
http://www.mountain-and-desert.com/Wildlife/Birds/Duck-like/DBD-aDUCKgrp0004-5.htm 
or
http://tinyurl.com/dy4a7

On the marsh, I could see northern shoveler (NS) and gadwall (GW) couples 
foraging:
http://www.mountain-and-desert.com/Wildlife/Birds/Duck-like/DBD-NS0029-57.htm 
or
http://tinyurl.com/7fkn2
http://www.mountain-and-desert.com/Wildlife/Birds/Duck-like/DBD-GW0003-67.htm 
or
http://tinyurl.com/9o36p

Many small birds make their homes in the weeds around the marsh. As I was 
climbing back up to the path, something about the hunter checkin box didn't 
look quite right. A black-backed chickadee (BC) had decided the wooden 
duck's tail made a good perch (another crop of a shot made through the weeds):
http://www.mountain-and-desert.com/Wildlife/Birds/Perching_BZ/DBZ-BC0004-56.htm 
or
http://tinyurl.com/7zn8b

Then I noticed one of the lumps in Stevens Creek was really a ruddy duck 
drake (RD):
http://www.mountain-and-desert.com/Wildlife/Birds/Duck-like/DBD-RD0035-56.htm 
or
http://tinyurl.com/8tjbx

There were more flocks in the weeds on the way back. Golden-crowned 
sparrows young and old (GS) flew away from me, but a few held their ground 
including this juvenile:
http://www.mountain-and-desert.com/Wildlife/Birds/Sparrows_&_Starlings/DBY-GS0169-56.htm 
or
http://tinyurl.com/7f5lj

And this adult:
http://www.mountain-and-desert.com/Wildlife/Birds/Sparrows_&_Starlings/DBY-GS0171-5.htm 
or
http://tinyurl.com/7dbfl

And the predators were there too. I missed a Cooper's hawk (CH) as it 
spooked the phalaropes a first time, but managed to track a northern 
harrier (MH) as it forced everybody to scatter a little later:
http://www.mountain-and-desert.com/Wildlife/Birds/Hawk-like/DBE-MH0079-56.htm 
or
http://tinyurl.com/8pwcm

There were also a couple peeps I couldn't identify. Can anyone help?
Here they are:
http://www.mountain-and-desert.com/Wildlife/Birds/Sparrows_&_Starlings/DBY-unk0001.htm 
or
http://tinyurl.com/9v95d

http://www.mountain-and-desert.com/Wildlife/Birds/Sparrows_&_Starlings/DBY-unk0002.htm 
or
http://tinyurl.com/7rwan

All comments (and answers) welcome.



Mark Bohrer
Precision Copywriting
www.precision-copywriting.com
(408) 866-9405

Technical copy in plain language
= CEOs buying from you 


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