There are still birds up in the Northern part of the county that I would love to chase, but at the moment my schedule will not allow the time to get up there. Once again I considered a 2-day blitz to Santa Maria but (probably wisely) decided against it. I headed out to make the rounds in Goleta instead.
There are not presently any birds being reported in this area that I have not already seen this year, but anything could show up at any time - it pays to keep checking the same locations. As I visited the various spots on my loop this morning I recalled the birds I have seen in here in the past that would be new for the year - Long-tailed Duck, White-winged Scoter, American White Pelican, and Grace's Warbler to name a few.
Also, by continuing to visit that same spots I get a front row seat to observe the flow of species over time. For example at the UCSB lagoon I saw the first Scaup and Redhead ducks of the season - winter cannot be far away.
It was a clear and bright morning with good conditions for photography. I have now posted photos of 212 of the 269 species for the year. I hope to continue to add to this number.
I finished the morning's expedition at the old Ocean Meadows Golf Course. My nemesis bird, the Grace's Warbler, has not put in an appearance here yet this season but could arrive any day - fingers crossed. I was also hoping to get some better photos of the female Vermilion Flycatcher, which I did.
Back in Vermont a Northern Gannet was seen yesterday, bringing Vermont's total to 265 species for the year. The race continues to be very close!
Some photos from today:
After today the year's total still stands at 269
The Score: Vermont 265, Green Big Year 269
There are not presently any birds being reported in this area that I have not already seen this year, but anything could show up at any time - it pays to keep checking the same locations. As I visited the various spots on my loop this morning I recalled the birds I have seen in here in the past that would be new for the year - Long-tailed Duck, White-winged Scoter, American White Pelican, and Grace's Warbler to name a few.
Also, by continuing to visit that same spots I get a front row seat to observe the flow of species over time. For example at the UCSB lagoon I saw the first Scaup and Redhead ducks of the season - winter cannot be far away.
It was a clear and bright morning with good conditions for photography. I have now posted photos of 212 of the 269 species for the year. I hope to continue to add to this number.
I finished the morning's expedition at the old Ocean Meadows Golf Course. My nemesis bird, the Grace's Warbler, has not put in an appearance here yet this season but could arrive any day - fingers crossed. I was also hoping to get some better photos of the female Vermilion Flycatcher, which I did.
Vermilion Flycatcher - female.
Vermilion Flycatcher - female.
Back in Vermont a Northern Gannet was seen yesterday, bringing Vermont's total to 265 species for the year. The race continues to be very close!
Some photos from today:
Redhead - male
Red-winged Blackbird - female
Greater Yellowlegs
Greater Yellowlegs
Osprey
Coopers Hawk
The Score: Vermont 265, Green Big Year 269
Today I rode a total of 26.5 miles
More later,
Glenn
No comments:
Post a Comment