Field Blog 10

Locations: Maddox Park, Sacramento County, California, US (38.598694,-121.349729) (30 m)

Site Description: This week I went birding at a park near my house. There were a few other people also at the park, most walking their dogs or getting some exercise done, but everyone was sure to keep their distance from each other. The playground area of the park was closed down but the paths and grassy area were still open for people to walk around. Overall, the park grounds were very flat and had open grassy space in the middle. All around the edges were various tall trees. There are lots of olive trees in this park along with some oak trees and others. There were lots of squirrels around and many butterflies as well. I would often see a butterfly in the corner of and think its a bird at first instance. Most of the trees were heavily leafed and branched. There were not any shrubs or bushes, just tall trees so I was mainly looking up to see any of birds. I also only saw birds landing higher up in the trees today. Overall, I saw a varying size of birds from small songbirds to larger sized crows. The largest bird I saw was the American Crow. There were lots of bird calls and chirping, and it was difficult to get a visual on the birds even if I could hear where they were coming from due to all of the branching. I saw about 7 different taxa and the key bird species seen included: Black Phoebe, California Scrub Jay, American Crow, Oak . Titmouse, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, and Cedar Waxwing. 

Species Account: Cedar Waxwing was a key species I saw on this trip. I had never seen this species before and I took note of all their features so I could use my Sibley guide to identify them the best. These birds were very sleek looking and had a smooth gradient going from a darker to a lighter color overall moving down. It also looked like the feathers on their head were slicked back. They had dark black striping near their eye and a white area around the black. I did not hear their song at all during this trip but the Sibley Guide described them as very high pitched so it is possible I just did not hear it. Cedar Waxwings are medium sized birds that are known to be a silky brown color and a yellow tipped tail and a dark mask around the eyes (Sibley). These were the distinctive features that helped me identify it. They are known to be in this area around winter, so they are likely to be migrating soon (Sibley). The flocks fly in tight groups similar to Starlings (All About Birds).They are commonly found in opened wooded areas (All About Birds). They mainly eat berries and insects (Audubon). Overall, I thought they are a very pretty bird and one of my favorites now.

NarrativeI went birding for about an hour in a park near my neighborhood. I started birding around 2 pm and the weather was very nice. It was a very sunny day and overall pretty clear. I did not see many soaring birds from the park today. It was very quiet when I first got to the park but I realized that the birds were not found in the open area of the park. I had to go to the trees at the edges where it was much more shaded and quiet to find birds. I mainly was looking in the branches and trying to listen for bird songs to identify them. I did not hear many new calls overall during this trip — except for a scrub jay, oak titmouse, and a crow. The Oak Titmouse was very loud and vocal and it was in the same tree the whole time. I also noticed a possible nest in that tree, so I think lives in the tree. I not see many soaring birds, even the crows I saw and heard were on the ground/low down. The Cedar Waxwings I saw were also very quick to flit from branch to branch and usually quickly flew away together. They travelled in a large group and all moved tree to tree together. I got a picture of them sitting on a high branch in a tree and they sat very still. When they did fly away, they were all very coordinated and flew at the same time. I also saw some California Scrub Jays sitting on a fence but they were also going up higher into the tree branches. They were extremely loud and vocal. When I first heard their call, I thought it was a crow before realizing it was a scrub jay. A new bird I also saw was a Barn Swallow. It had a bright back and wings while its chest was a rust/peach color. I saw 2 of them and was able to get some photos. They were both pretty low to the ground. 

Additional Photos or Media: https://ebird.org/checklist/S67220544

 

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