Natural Born Birder - Offshore

California - Smoke break birding.
February 2006

Although not an offshore trip this was work related - visiting the Schilling Robotics in Davis, California. As usual, and somewhat predictably, time was restricted and other than one 20 minute walk all the birds I saw were either from the car on the way to work or around the factory car park.

Most of the birds seen were during "coffee" breaks taken in the factory parking park - still being a smoker there was no choice but to go outside and hence some birds were seen. Smoking may not be the most politically correct of activities but without being "forced" outside I would have missed most of the species listed below.

There was obviously some good birding in the area - especially towards Sacramento where I saw some wetlands whilst being driven to the airport as I left......

Once again all pictures were taken using my binoculars as a telephoto lens. "Digibinning" rather than digiscoping - although I suspect digibinning is a better term for most of what I do as the vast majority of the pictures end up in the recycle bin.....The Nikon Coolpix is merely held up to lens of my binoculars and pictures taken that way; steadying the bins on a bench or a fence post helps but the pictures are not as good as those taken with a telescope. Chromatic abberation seems worse when attempting photography this way.


Cooper's Hawk, Accipiter cooperi	Killdeer, Charadrius vociferous

Great (White) Egret	Ardea Alba	Quite common in roadside fields between Woodland and Davis
Canada Goose	Branta canadensis	Common in roadside fields between Woodland and Davis
Mallard	Anas platyrhynchos	Common
Turkey Vulture	Cathartes aura	Two seen well over the parking lot
Northern (Hen) Harrier	Circus cyaneus	Several over roadside fields
White-tailed Kite	Elanus leucurus	One seen hunting over the road between Woodland and Davis
Cooper's Hawk	Accipiter cooperi	1-2 regular around the factory
Red-tailed Hawk	Buteo jamaicensis	2-4 regular around the factory
American Kestrel	Falco sparverius	One over wasteland near the factory
Killdeer	Charadrius vociferus	Several displaying in the parking lot
Ring-billed Gull	Larus delawarensis	Seen in small numbers
Gull sp	Larus sp.	A larger gull was regular. American Herring Gull?
Mourning Dove	Zenaida macroura	Occasional singles noted
White-throated Swift	Aeronautes saxatalis	Small flocks of up to 6 seen over Davis
Northern Flicker	Coluptes auratus	One seen a couple of times in the parking lot
Black Phoebe	Sayornis nigricans	One seen near the factory
Western Scrub Jay	Aphelocoma californica	1-4 seen in the factory parking lot
Yellow-billed Magpie	Pica nuttalli	Up to 4 noted in the parking lot
American Crow	Corvus brachyrhynchos	Very common
Northern Mockingbird	Mimus polyglottos	A few "always" around
European Starling	Sturnus vulgaris	Very common
Yellow-rumped Warbler	Dendroica coronata	A few noted in the vicinity of the factory
Western Meadow Lark	Sturnella neglecta	A flock of at least 20 on waste ground near the factory
Red-winged Blackbird	Grallina cyanoleuca	Very common roadside bird
Brewer's Blackbird	Euphagus cyanocephalus	Common
House Finch	Carpodacus mexicanus	Common on waste ground near the factory
White-crowned Sparrow	Zontrichia leucophrys	Common
House Sparrow	Passer domesticus	Small numbers around Davis, 30+ at Sacramento airport.

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Northern Flicker, Coluptes auratus	Western Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma californica


Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos	White-crowned Sparrow, Zontrichia leucophyrs


House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus	Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura