Well it’s not unheard of but pretty rare to see Pectoral Sandpipers in Shasta County. You see the Pectoral Sandpiper is a medium-sized sandpiper that breeds on wet tundra in both the North American and Siberian Arctic and winters mostly in southern South America1. I know range maps basically show the “average” or “normal” range […]
Author: Larry Jordan
Larry Jordan is an avid birder and amateur photographer living on the Pacific Flyway near the Central Valley of Northern California. He is a board member of his local Audubon Society and is a bird and wildlife conservationist. Larry contributes to several wildlife conservation organizations and is a BirdLife International "Species Champion." He is also Habitat Manager for the Burrowing Owl Conservation Network, an organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of the Western Burrowing Owl population in the United States. Larry has been blogging about birds since September of 2007 at TheBirdersReport.com
Common Raven in the Fog
After releasing a pair of juvenile Brown Pelicans at Fort Baker that had been rehabilitated by International Bird Rescue, I decided to head up to Hawk Hill in the Golden Gate National Park to partake in the annual Hawk Watch. but luckily for me… Unfortunately, Hawk Hill was fogged in… there was a lone […]
Clark’s Nutcracker at Lassen Volcanic National Park
This handsome corvid was named after Captain William Clark, the explorer of Lewis and Clark fame, in 1805. It inhabits the high montane regions of the western United States and Canada, preferring coniferous forest dominated by one or more species of large-seeded pines1. Click on photos for full sized images. Our Audubon group makes an […]
Anna’s Hummingbirds at the Waterfall: Birds Can’t Resist Moving Water
If you want to attract birds to your yard you need three main attributes, food, shelter and water. For most song birds, a water source is essential for both drinking and bathing, and if you have a choice, running water is your best bet. Birds can’t resist moving water, as demonstrated by the Anna’s Hummingbirds […]
Summer Scenes of Critters at the Pond
A couple of weeks ago I kept hearing a simple, three pitched call from the yard. I went out to investigate and it was the Black-headed Grosbeak fledgling calling to be fed. Click on photos for full sized images. It was a familiar song but I hadn’t heard it since last year and it is […]
The Duck Stamp Brings in a Lot of Money
According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), in their 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation report, there are approximately 13.7 million hunters in the United States and nearly 71.8 million wildlife watchers. Of those 13.7 million hunters, only 2.6 million hunt migratory birds and only about 1.3 million hunt waterfowl. […]
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes Removing the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) from the List of Threatened and Endangered Species
Yet another tragic misstep by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) in it’s seemingly never ending quest to satisfy cattle ranchers and big game hunters is reflected in its proposal to delist the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus). In its press release Friday, June 7th, FWS writes “The proposal comes after a comprehensive review confirmed […]
Purple Martins Building a Nest in a Woodpecker Hole in a Dead Snag
The Purple Martin (Progne subis) is a well known and popular bird in eastern North America where it breeds almost entirely in human-made martin houses. Only a few records of natural nestings east of the Rocky Mountains have been reported during the twentieth century1. Here in western North America however, where Purple Martins are less […]