Central California

Cheated a little bit today and headed over into Solano and Yolo Counties with John Luther and Jim Lomax; both were very interested in the Sage Thrasher, so they picked me up at my hotel and we headed over to the Napa-Sonoma Marshes, and we couldn't believe it: there he was waiting for us!  (The guys were very happy that they didn't even have to get out of the car in freezing temps...)  He still appeared very thrush-like, all puffed up in the fence!

We headed on down to the parking area to hike the dike after that, and I picked up several county/trip birds including Forster's Tern (#100 for Napa), Horned Grebe, Virginia Rail, and Black-necked Stilt.  Upon returning to our cars a large walking group was just arriving, so we figured we timed it just right! The thrasher was still at the same spot but in a more open area on the ground, acting even more like a thrush, bouncing around with the robins!  Hopefully he'll stick around for awhile...
 

John Luther (left) and Jim Lomax come to help me pad the list!

The Napa-Sonoma Marshes; you can walk for miles on the dikes!

Denise Hamilton had told me (and also reported on the listserves) that a Costa's Hummer had come to their yard the night before, so we tootled over there next, and they still happened to be home, so we all schmoozed in the back yard for awhile before they talked each other into going for the Sage Thrasher before work J, leaving us to enjoy the mob of American and Lesser Goldfinches (mostly the former), Juncos, Zonie sparrows, and a lady Anna's coming in to their hummer feeder.  A single Pine Siskin coming to their thistle feeder was new, and just before we left a male Selasphorus sat briefly on a twig before ringing off (I'm assuming Allen's this time of year).
 

American Goldfinches and a token Pine Siskin at the Hamiltons' feeders

                                                                                        House Finch                                            Female Anna's Hummingbird

Jim was interested in that first-year white-winged gull I had at Kennedy Park yesterday (as he needs Thayer's for the county), so we wheeled over there and checked out the Goose Pond; John spotted two new gulls for me (Mew and Herring) and then we checked out the pond where the Brant had been, but we couldn't find anything unusual.
 

                                            Mew Gull back at the Goose Pond at JFK                                                      J&J scanning the marsh (below) for a wintering Brant

From there the guys wanted to help me elevate my Solano County list a little (plus I thought it would be fun to try for the rarities I didn't have time to chase when I first arrived), so we headed down to the freeway and then up Pleasants Valley Road towards Solano Lake, looking first for the Northern Shrike.  A couple of other Unknown Birders were already there searching with no luck, and after awhile two young birders arrived (Dan and Darrell) who had just come from Solano Lake looking for a reported Hammond's Flycatcher (with no luck) and were on their way to find a Tufted Duck in Vallejo, I believe.  They had seen the shrike that morning, so we decided to go on up to the lake and try for the shrike again on the way out.
 

A "birder convergence" at the traditional Northern Shrike spot

Jim searches the hillsides

The lake was great: the first thing to greet us was a family of River Otters!  Most of the water birds were actually on the Yolo County side, but the highlight for me was a male Barrow's Goldeneye in with a large flock of Americans!  Green Heron was new for the trip as well, and in the wooded area John found me a Red-breasted Sapsucker in a tree that was riddled with his holes, while a Phainopepla called in the background.  We crossed the bridge over to Yolo County and cruised the river (Jim told of often getting waterfowl on one side of the river, then crossing over to herd them to the other side of the river in order to get them in both counties) and added a nice female Common Merganser to the list and admired a massive cave-in near the road!  We came back and poked around the campground, getting what was probably the same Common Merganser on the Solano side, and enjoyed a female Downy Woodpecker bullying a male Nuttall's who was trying his best to ignore her!  A covey of California Quail posed on a fallen log near the camp host, which was a real treat!
 

                                                                             River Otter at Solano Lake                        Red-breasted Sapsucker

Jim checks out the cave-in along highway 128 (the mileage marker is still upright!)

Putah Creek

Trail at the campground

                                                                                        Mallards                                                                                                    Bufflehead (male left, female right)

Female Common Merganser

This female Downy Woodpecker (left) was harrassing a male Nuttall's (right) over a hole!

California Quail (with female at right)

We checked the shrike spot again to no avail, so decided to head down Putah Creek Road towards Davis to try for the Ovenbird, but on the way the guys spotted a shrike on the wire (nowhere near "the spot"), and it was indeed the Northern!  We all piled out and got great scope views; he even chased a kinglet a little!  Nice bird!  (The guys figured he was about a mile down the road from where everyone had been traditionally looking...)  Proceeding to the Putah Canal we added Hooded Mergansers to both counties, then headed toward Davis.
 

Digiscoped Northern Shrike (thanks again, Jim!)

Putah Creek

Hooded Merganser and cormorant log

Common Goldeneye

Came to the famous bridge where we all split up and kind of poked around the vegetation, and within the scope of about five minutes John had the Ovenbird down in the riverbed!  I slipped and slid down there and saw he had the thing practically at his feet!  I snuck up behind him and enjoyed this very un-warbler-like warbler poking around the vegetation like a little rail and chopping up a worm he had found!  Another familiar Michigan bird (as was the shrike; I told the guys that I had in all probability seen a Northern Shrike as a kid on our Christmas counts before seeing a Loggerhead in Florida), but a real treat to see for the first time in California!
 

John tries to kick up the Ovenbird...

...and succeeds!

Made a quick stop at Lagoon Valley RP to see if there were any "real" geese in with the funnies; a couple were close, but no banana.  Headed home after that, having had just a delightful day getting to know these two birding pillars and enjoying every minute of it; thanks, guys!