 |
| Downy Woodpecker |
From Shasta we drove all the way to Vallejo, CA, where my grandpa lives. We stayed in Vallejo for a week in an Airbnb with my uncle Greg. We hadn't seen him or grandpa for more than four years! We had a lot of time to bird in Vallejo, soI have condensed all the stories down to three highlights.
 |
| Black Phoebe |
Lynch Canyon and Newell Open Space aren’t far from the B&B, about a fifteen minute drive. These two places are essentially the same valley in the same area, just divided by some hills. We visited three times, each more memorable than the last. The first time we went with uncle Greg, mom, and Aurora. It was later than usual, but the birding was still pretty good. We saw two types of phoebes, the Say’s Phoebe and the Black Phoebe. The more common one is the Black Phoebe, which has a dark black head, black breast, and a white underbody. The rarer one, the Say’s Phoebe, is a lot more interesting. It has a pinkish almost orange belly, and is gray above. We saw the former early on, when the light was slightly better. But we saw the Say’s a lot later, so it was way too bright for a decent picture. After the Black Phoebe, we saw a male Anna’s Hummingbird, with its bright scarlet iridescent throat patch - tiny yet beautiful. The whole time we were in California, we were looking for the Ash-throated Flycatcher. So when we were at the exit, dad saw a big flycatcher, and got very excited. We both assumed it was the Ash-throated Flycatcher, with a yellow underbody, and a grayish body. Back at the B&B, while we were downloading the pictures, we decided it looked more like a Western Kingbird. Our reasons were mainly because the belly was more yellow, it had no crest, and had grayish instead of brownish wings. A couple of days later, me and dad went to Lynch Canyon to see if our good luck would hold up. Something I noticed that is very different from Taiwan was that we had to pay a fee to enter Lynch Canyon. This would be unusual in Taiwan except at National Parks. I think in general, the American way is better, since the fees go into the maintenance of the area, making the area cleaner. The birding was good, as we saw a couple of Black Phoebes on the way in. When I stopped to take a picture of the Phoebes, I noticed a dark shape in the sky directly above us. When I finally caught my Dad’s attention, it was nearly out of sight, but we got a good enough look to be confident it was a Golden Eagle! Hoping to get another look, we continued on the trail. Suddenly, we were at the edge of the trees, with miles and miles of endless grassland sprawled in front of us. When we started our trek up a hill, our eagle appeared again, this time with its offspring in tow. I picked up my camera and snapped pictures until my arms couldn’t take it anymore. We pointed the eagles out to an elderly woman passing by, and in return she told us about a delicious blackberry patch not far down the hill. She was absolutely right - me and dad just couldn’t get enough!
 |
| A Golden Eagle flying away |
The next cool birding destination was Angel Island, an island that immigrants from Asia had to go through to arrive in America back in the early twentieth century. Beside the rich history, we also saw quite a few birds. At the museum, we saw ravens, and the comical-looking Acorn Woodpeckers, with clown-like features. We also saw plenty of Brown Pelicans and Band-tailed Pigeons. While we were heading back, dad saw a smallish bird in the shrubs that I didn’t see. I was even more disappointed when Dad said it was a Hutton’s Vireo! I was very bummed that I had missed a lifer completely. After a super-expensive lunch (it was just simple sandwiches, yet it cost nearly hundred bucks!) there was still some time before the ferry came, so we went on a small walk in the woods. We saw a female Allen’s Hummingbird, a green back and rufous underwings.
 |
| the comical-looking Acorn Woodpecker |
Last but not least, me and dad went to the American Canyon Wetlands. We saw two American White Pelicans pretty close, so of course I took a bunch of pictures. We used Merlin sound ID app to help identify the wren-like calls we kept hearing, which turned out to be Marsh Wrens. We were confused at first when it also picked up the sound of the Black Rail, a sensitive species I didn't even know existed! We also saw a lot of shorebirds, including Long-billed Curlews, Marbled Godwits, Willets, just to name a few. The curlew and godwits aren’t too different from the ones found in Taiwan. The willet is pretty unique, with a white patch on each of its wings, which startled me every time they took flight. Another one is the Semipalmated Plover, with a head strap like band around its forehead and another band around its neck, too! Most of these birds were lifers because we didn’t do much wetland birding the last time we were in America.
 |
| Two American White Pelicans |
~Article and photos by Isaac Lang
Comments
Post a Comment