Acorn Woodpecker

One of the things I enjoy about birding is all the things I continue to learn about birds, even after the original sightings. This is where a good photo is particularly helpful.  A week ago I took a photo of an Acorn Woodpecker while at Lake Mendocino in California.  Today, while editing photos of the trip I became aware that one of the photos I had taken was of a female Acorn Woodpecker. (notice the black band between the white forehead and the read crown) I previously only had a photo of a male in the Critters section of Cascade Ramblings.  Now I have both male and female photos of the Acorn Woodpecker.

Red-tailed Hawk

This fleeing Red-tailed Hawk is one of the first birds we spotted on a hike we took today.  A call yesterday to our friend Eddie Harrod set up this trip, and at his suggestion we started at Cottage Grove’s North Regional Park. We took the paved path that winds through Cottage Grove’s new Disc Golf Course, then skirts along the edge of the Middle Field Golf Course.  We had a section we had to endure through houses and businesses, but soon picked up another paved path that took us through the East Region Park where the birds were the most numerous on and around the many ponds.   A call to Eddie’s wife Jeannie provided a shuttle for us back to our cars.  We ended up with a hike of almost 5 miles and identifying 15 different species of birds.    

Great Birding Trip

We are back home in Elkton now, concluding our trip down into Northern California.  Besides the wedding that was the purpose of the trip, we got to do a lot of birding in some great new places. This photo of a Marbled Godwit was taken during a stop near Eureka California. We were looking for a break from driving, and I recalled a county park I had seen on the map on Humboldt Bay right off Hwy 101 called Fields Landing. We parked the motor home, and while Jeanette made some fresh coffee, I stepped out with Buster and right way noticed a good number of birds. The net result is three new Critter photos for Cascade Ramblings, this MarbledGodwit, a Black-bellied Plover, and a Willet. In all during our trip I was able to add new photos of 9 different species of birds.  

Lake Mendocino

This has turned out to be a really strange stop!  We arrived here at Kyen Campground at Lake Mendocino with high hopes, the weather was perfect, warm and sunny, the lake was beautiful, and the campground looked inviting in a wooded setting.  But, as we drove through the campground, the occupied sites all appeared to be homeless people, tents and stuff strewn around, and almost no vehicles.  We did not have a comfortable feeling.  Luckily for us, as we were starting to drive away we stopped to talk with the campground hosts.  They assured us it would be alright, some would be leaving, it would be quiet, and offered to help us with a site next to them. I had just got the motor home leveled, and the slide out, when Jeanette started spotting birds.  She asked for her binoculars, and then a chair, and that was as far as we got.  We were besieged with birds, for the next 45 minutes we identified a dozen species of birds right from our site. Most exciting for us were a number of Oak Titmice, a brand new bird for us. Strange, we were set to drive away, and 15 minutes later we were in a birders paradise. Sort of like 0-60 in 5 seconds.

Novato RV Park

We picked Novato RV Park to stay in because of its proximity to San Rafael where Tony & Maggie’s wedding was held yesterday.  It has worked out well for us as a base of operations to meet with family and attend the wedding.  It’s on the pricey side at fifty dollars a night, but it’s been very convenient and has a store, deli, laundry, and free Wi-Fi. Another big plus is its location right next to Rush Creek Open Space, a 522 acre preserve with miles of trails for hiking, running, & cycling, and the Rush Creek Marsh, a huge birding area. You probably got the picture;- -  I’ve spent time birding there the last three days, counting hundreds of birds and adding four new birds to my Life List, plus a couple of photos to the Critters section.  Tomorrow, we start back north, planning on a first night’s stay at Lake Mendocino.   

Ferndale to Cloverdale

Yesterday was primarily a travel day, didn’t take any photos or do any birding, just drove from Ferndale to Cloverdale, with a stop in Willets for diesel and groceries. It was a pretty route through the redwoods and brought back memories of our bicycle tour from Canada to Mexico 12 years ago on this same route. Here in Cloverdale we are camped at the Cloverdale Citrus Fairgrounds, another one of those "under the radar" good RV camping spots. It was 80 degrees when we arrived yesterday afternoon, so we spent some time sitting and relaxing on the shady side of the motor home. Today we move on to Novato to be ready for the big day of Tony & Maggie’s wedding on Saturday.  We will be staying in the Novato RV Park and attending the wedding rehearsal dinner tonight.  My mistake not a “rehearsal dinner” - - a “Soiree”.

Traffic Delay

OK, we are used to traffic delays because of road work and bridge construction, but this was a first for us, having to stop and wait for a herd of Elk to cross.  We were heading south on Hwy 101 when this incident occured, interesting enough right at the Stone Lagoon Information Center. Luckily, Jeanette had just cleaned the windshield this morning, because I snapped this photo from the driver’s seat. (Remember, you can click on the image to see a larger view.) In spite of the delay we were able to stay on schedule and are set up this afternoon at one of our favorite and usual stops Ferndale, in the Humboldt County Fairgrounds Campground.  

This was the main bull.

This cow was the last slow-poke coming across. Notice my Garmin GPS screen in the lower right hand corner. Incidentally, the GPS did not pick up the elk herd.