Of First Sightings & Life Lists Compiled of the Feathered Flitterati

Mallard in tranquil setting

In the spirit of childlike exploration and sans souci discovery, you set off hoping to spot a particularly elusive species. Nothing, of course, like the obnoxiously competitive birders in movie, The Big Year.

Mourning Dove posing for a second

Your grandest ambition is to spot a few colorful birds, bring them up close and personal in your fancy new Trailblazer binoculars. Just to see what – you mean who – you can see. That alone is motivation enough to unplug and hoof on over to the local city park or, more ambitiously, ride your bike up to the birding wonderland of the Berkeley Hills.

Masked Lapwings (Tracy Aviary, Salt Lake City, my photo)

To be occasionally rewarded

with a First Sighting!

You hope, wish and pray!

This appears to be a Finch fledgling

A First Sighting is espying an unequivocally identified genus and verifiably named species of a wild bird you've not ever espied before. You may not know the ornithological details and particulars until you confirm things back home in your favorite birding book or, if available on the spot and you have connectivity, your mobile birding app.

Tiny skull found on ground

But it's a singular experience,

an exhilarating sensation.

Elusive but oh-so-common (?) Catbird

But who would ever become excited about sighting a wild bird – or anything wild and natural – for the first time?

Rufous Hummingbird in repose

Well, a naturalist would.

A birder would.

Juvenile Black-headed Grosbeak

But who among you actually watches – that is to say, pays attention! – to our friends, the Feathered Flitterati otherwise known as birds?

Caspian Terns flying about at Abbotts Lagoon, Point Reyes

Okay, some of you might; but still, even if you don't care a whit, you have to admit that this business of first sightings is truly exciting, so stick with me.

Sweet little peepin' Song Sparrow looks like

But which bird?

Duck doing Duck things

From whence did the delicate creature manifest into this realm?

Mother Goose and her Goslings

What is it doing?

Western Tanager high up (the best I could do)

From a human’s limited perspective, it is, after all, just a little old bird, an insignificant, barely noticed, hardly appreciated little creature. (You hope it's a whole lot more than that!) Merely a flighty little fellow so adept at camouflage and aerial legerdemain that heretofore the little cuss has remained unseen and completely off your radar.

Gorgeous Sharp-shinned Hawk in 108-year old Oak

So when you begin to get interested in knowing who’s who in the Pantheon of Birds, what’s what in the Parlance of Avian Beings, seeing a particular bird for a first time incites a sort of fervid glee, an ineffably marvelous sense that the world abounds in mysteries you never dreamed of.

Vulture taking his time deciding whether to roost or split

All over a little old bird.

Poult on the move

You want to shout it to the world – and you can, thanks to “YouTwitFace” – letting everyone know instantly about your uber-cool First Sighting of, say, an elusive Golden-crowned Kinglet or Black and White Warbler.

Brown Pelican chillin' at the Bulb

But does anyone really give a bird turd?

Stilts bein' Stilts (Albany Bulb)

Well, a naturalist does.

A birder does.

Brilliant Finch on wire

In the forested city parks of Codornices and Live Oak, birds come and go, go and come, appear and disappear, and you’re hoping to see a familiar figure or hear a cheery chirp you recognize as – ??

"Headless" Band-tailed Pigeon

Because you’re in the right place at the right time, and because you’re paying attention – voilà! – your reward is a first sighting of, say, a wonderful little Vireo, Wren or Warbler. Or Woodpecker, Flycatcher or Hummingbird. Or Nuthatch, Swallow or Shrike. (You wish.)

 

Cawing Crow

Lately, you’ve been fortunate to catalog a number of First Sightings to augment your Life List – which is, after all, little more than an unattainable compendium of verified sightings of every single bird species on Earth. Not to mention, the “rules” for qualifying a First Sighting are stringent: no double ticking on gender differences, color morph variations, or subspecies. (Say what?)

White Dove spotted in neighborhood

It gets even more complicated, but you always certainly know when you’ve spotted a bird for the first time – there is no feeling quite like the elation that overcomes you with the knowledge that the world just got a bit more interesting by the bird’s real, palpable presence in your consciousness.

Northern Mockingbird fiercely defending

Let’s break it down a bit by the numbers. There are an estimated 100,000,000,000 – as in one-hundred billion – birds, with total species numbering 10,000 worldwide, and about 925 seen in the United States and Canada. For Life List compilers, spotting half of that number would qualify as an outstanding achievement.

Must be a Finch of some kind

The very best most fanatic birders in the US and Canada (an elite few) have fallen short by 150. In my lifetime, I’d be lucky to spot 200 or so; I’d say I’m at about 100 now. But my list, currently being compiled in a somewhat organized, scientific fashion in an Excel spreadsheet, is growing by the month.

Cormorant about to dive or catch a fish

Depending on breeding, migratory, and other habits, preferences, vagaries and vicissitudes, hundreds of different species come and go, pass through, do their brief thing, and then are gone. The window to spot some real gems and up your Life List count with a bounty of fly-by-night exotics, is tight and closes quickly.

Lesser Goldfinch inspecting something

In the Berkeley Hills alone, in the extensive Monterey Pine groves off Inspiration Point, how many Band-tailed Pigeons, Great Horned and Northern Saw-whet Owls, Olive-sided Flycatchers, Violet-green Swallows, Pygmy Nuthatches, Swainson’s Thrushes, Orange-crowned and MacGillivray’s Warblers, Western Tanagers, Red Crossbill and Evening Grosbeaks have I missed!?

Great Blue Heron contemplating next move

Every single one of them,

that's how many!

Yellow-rumped Warbler sweetie

Making up for lost time, in the past few months, my Life List has expanded to include a number of what are referred to as Code 1 species – relatively common and easy to sight, which makes it all the more remarkable that they continue to remain so elusive:

Swallows at MLK Shoreline 

WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH:

Spotted on public utility watershed land near San Pablo Creek, high atop a centuries old oak tree.

White-breasted Nuthatch poking about

WINTER WREN

Spotted in the Tilden / Berkeley Hills, in thick brush near the famous lone Monterey Pine that stands sentinel below Wildcat Peak and can be seen from the bridge coming across from San Francisco.

Rare capture (for me) of what I believe is a Winter Wren

HERMIT WARBLER

Spotted last week, up in the Tilden / Berkeley Hills, at about 700 ft. in a favorite place with long distance views of Mount Diablo on one side and Mount Tamalpais and the San Francisco skyline and bay on the other. This elusive bird was feeding and playing in the high tree branches, and I was lucky to even get a look and snap this photo for documentation and later identification.

Hermit Warbler exciting sighting

CEDAR WAXWING

Spotted a pair of the distinctive birds in a red berry tree in my neighbor’s yard – exotic-looking with a pretty wavy crest and red wing patch. Of all my first sightings, this one was most surprising, for surely I would have seen one at some point in my life, even my pre-ornithological interests.

A very exotic looking guy.

Cedar Waxwings gorging on red berries

BEWICK'S WREN

In Codornices Park, a multi-tiered waterfall flows through a beautiful Redwood Canyon. I spotted Ms. Bewick hopping about in thick ground cover brush, occasionally pausing long enough between skittering antics to get a bead on the face and signature white stripes above each eye.

A very cute little sucker.

Bewick's Wren is common visitor to the yard

LAZULI BUNTING

It's always a special sighting to come upon a Lazuli Bunting feeding in a thistle patch or perched in a bush waiting for a worm to show. They're such pretty birds, it's amazing it took me so long to see one – 

or is that notice one?

Lazuli Bunting hiding in brush

VARIED THRUSH

A very interesting first sighting near a parking lot at the Botanical Gardens off South Park Road in the Berkeley Hills. A group was photographing and observing, so I stopped my bike and asked what the big deal was – a pair of showy Thrushes staking their claim in a small preserved patch of woodland at an intersection of two roads and a golf course.

 Pretty little things, they’ve moved on by now.

Varied Thrush in full view of my lens for just long enough

WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW

November 4, spotted in high coastal hills above Muir Beach, Marin County. Amazing to have never seen this little guy before in my life. Or maybe I have always seen this bird, but never was truly paying attention, 

which helps to explain their invisibility.

Handsome White-crowned Sparrow after a little dip

BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER

I first spotted this elusive bird at Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve one day while exploring a back stretch beyond the gigantic pit where I'd never deigned to venture before; after all, what could possibly be back there?

Mount Diablo dominates far East Bay landscape

Oh, just magnificent views of Mount Diablo's sprawling massif – and a rare sighting of a playful Black-throated Gray Warbler. I saw another one years later in Cragmont Park in Berkeley. A rarity to come upon in my experience.

Black-throated Gray Warbler

AMERICAN BITTERN

I spotted my first Bittern at Big Break Regional Shoreline,

then a few years later at Brazos Bend,

 a nature preserve near Houston, Texas,

where I also saw tons of shorebirds and lounging alligators.

American Bittern, secretive and masterful hunter

WHITE IBIS

A magnificent bird with a large curved beak she uses 

to dig up crayfish and other critters in marshes and bogs.

Never saw one of these until I visited Brazos Bend State Park.

White Ibis on the prowl for a tasty treat

TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE

If I ever saw one in the Bay Area, I hadn't a clue. It wasn't until a visit to Santa Fe, New Mexico that three of them flew down to a creek for a drink that I was able to photograph and video them, and only then, later, was I able to get a positive ID on them.

Townsend's Solitaire couple enjoying a drink and bird bath

And so, the story never ends of First Sightings and an ever-expanding Life List. May I always be fortunate to encounter and meet new friends along life's back stretches, city parks, or wherever the Feathered Flitterati may find themselves in my company – or vice versa.

Zen-like patience
in the Heron now . . .

Enjoy these related posts from berkeleybackyardbirdblog

and see what all the hoopla's about upon notching a First Sighting:

FIRST SIGHTINGS & POSITIVE IDENTIFICATIONS (October 30, 2013)

ADDITIONS TO THE LIFE LIST OF BIRD SIGHTINGS (October 20, 2014)

Eared Grebes
floating in the golden light
on Los Vaqueros Reservoir

Leisurely Birding in the Meadows & Riparian Corridors of Brionesland

California Poppies in bloom along Briones Reservoir

With a car on hand, and a couple of hours to spare, we decide to head to a place I call Brionesland, about thirty minutes away down winding Wildcat Canyon Road in the Berkeley Hills, and then five more winding miles up Bear Creek Road.

Lesser Goldfinch

In Brionesland, you can always be assured of seeing deer, coyote, the occasional bobcat, and once, the only mountain lion I have ever seen in the wild.  Also, birds of all kind abound in the thistly meadows and riparian corridors, with their lush understory and sheltering canopy of many varieties of trees. Raptors and Vultures ply the cerulean skies.

Raccoon standing tall defending territory

Bear Creek Loop is an easy trail that takes us through shaded forest of curvaceous bay, stout madrone and green acorn bearing oak trees. Occasional openings afford excellent bird habitat to witness the comings and goings, hoots and calls, of Sparrows, Warblers, Vireos, Chickadees, Hawks and Turkeys.

Bear Creek in reflective brilliance

Lots of poison oak in through here, too, fading to crimson and adding an autumnal quality to things. Bear Creek itself, the major artery which contributes to the impoundment of Briones Reservoir, is not even a trickle at this rainless time of year, yet a patch here and there of water remains – a life-sustaining gift, these important drinking holes for thirsty residents and passers-by.

Yellow-rumped Warbler ground feeding

After a leisurely mile of hiking, with some pushing uphill, we come to the tinderbox dry meadows of Homestead Valley. This area, where Seaborg Trail splits off from Crescent Ridge Trail, is open range. Tons of yellow star thistle grows in these parts – the bane of park ecologists – but the pernicious non-native weed also provides a highly nutritious food source to sustain large populations of several different species of birds.

Brionesland provides provender aplenty for all wild creatures

During a half-hour observation period, I reel in dozens of Western Bluebirds flitting about and feeding, as well as Song Sparrows and Lincoln's Sparrows (the latter probably mis-identified), Purple Finches (probably mis-identified), immature female Yellow Warblers.

Dry and hot Brionesland

Then, a crème de la crème sighting of a resplendent breeding female Yellow Warbler taking up perch on a dead thistle two inches away from a breathtaking specimen of a Western Bluebird spotting up on the same weed.

Western Bluebirds perched atop tree branches

The contrast of a bright yellow, 4-inch Warbler matched against the indigo-orange vestment of the 7-inch sleeker Bluebird is remarkable for its brilliance of color on display as well as unlikely juxtaposition of two disparate birds. Too bad I'm not equipped for some professional up close photography.

Brionesland open range wildlife habitat (and cows - ugh!)

Oh, well, this one's a keeper

in my forever imagination.

A Goose on the loose

Up a steep hill we climb, surprised at the sun's heat, now fully exposed on the slope at a hot 4 pm, with a patch of shade every so often from a lone tree, until we finally make the crest, where we sit down under a copse of oak trees and take in the view.

Tranquil spot of wildflowers and woodland

Brionesland hills are, par excellence, stunning in their voluptuous unendingness. Brionesland is truly an amazing wild natural area, considering that on all sides the park is surrounded by industry, residential sprawl, and highways. It's large and deep enough to make you forget every last bit of it.

Pretty view of the reservoir

Thank Heavens, for the people and organizations responsible

for preserving these 6,000 acres of bounty and beauty!

Ducks skirting and flirting about on seasonal pond

Retracing our steps to the staging area, we dilly-dally for another twenty minutes in the expansive meadow, hoping to spot a tanager or bunting, but no such luck. A couple of clucking old Wild Toms emerge from nearby underbrush and scurry across for shelter on the other side. A Hawk swoops low. Many Bluebirds, Warblers, and an occasional Black Phoebe.

Red-winged Blackbirds are delightful visitors in bunches

It's hard to pull away from the show,

but the sun is getting low, and it's time to go.

After rains, this is a major newt crossing, hundreds of them

At the car, I find excuses to delay getting in and driving away. Someone once said, near the parking areas is where you'll find all the birds. I hear two or three calls I cannot identify. I trace one particularly pretty melody toward the expanse of hills, but it quiets at my approach.

A pair of Western Bluebirds taking a break

The silence is golden in the dying light. Looking about, I lock eyes with a bobcat hiding in tall brown grass, looking down on the parking area. He's skittish at every sound, but sits there patiently for several minutes, letting me observe him unabashedly, before scampering off at the unnerving blare of a baby crying.

Seasonal pond attracts all kinds of animals (cows, too, ugh!)

And so concludes our beautiful outing in Brionesland, where you can always count on seeing birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians in their natural habitats, especially at the right time of day.

Cows are allowed to graze in Briones Regional Park

I’ve seen lazy bobcats, raggedy-ass coyotes, and a handsome gray fox. I've witnessed the noble spectacle of a nine-point antlered buck leading a family of four across a hillside. Once, I espied a doe and her newly born fawn learning how to walk in a misty morning meadow.

Sweet little Yellow-rumped Warbler

I’ve seen baby rattlesnakes curled up like little turds on the trail, and more than one very large Western Diamondback sunning on a rock. During one outing, I came upon a three-foot long California Kingsnake!

Don't wanna mess with this rattler!

There are major sightings of newts on the mating prowl, big old bullfrogs honking up a storm in mossy ponds shared with turtles where skunks and raccoons emerge from hiding places to slake their thirst and perhaps catch a little frog or fish. The truly patient and lucky can only hope to see the California Tiger Salamander or a rare Alameda Striped Racer. (I’ve seen neither.)

Is this a Violet-green Swallow I wonder?

Brionesland comprises one of the richest biotas in the Bay Area. For bird lovers, it's a treasure trove of avian activity. Commonplace sightings of Oak / Woodland / Bay species include Acorn Woodpeckers, Turkey Vultures, Hawks, Quail, Blackbirds, Kingfishers, and Owls; not to mention (but I will!) regular sightings of waterfowl: Ducks, Geese, Egrets, Herons, Terns, Cormorants and other shorebirds making their way to Brionesland's riparian / lake paradise.

Heron and Egret hang-out along the lake shore

In-the-know birders can espy at various times of the year Ospreys, Bald and Golden Eagles, Chipping Sparrows, Lazuli Buntings, Purple Martins, Lawrence's Goldfinches, and, like finding a nugget of gold in a creek, a glimpse of a Northern Shrike impaling a grasshopper on a wooden fence post.

Blazing blue Briones Reservoir

For us birders,

it can't get much better than this!

Cache belonging to Acorn Woodpeckers

As for the birds,

well, it must be a bit like heaven for them.

Seasonal pond bursting with frogs and newts

Since you enjoyed this post on birding at Briones Regional Park and Briones Reservoir, check out Gambolin' Man's write-up on both places @

BRIONESLAND: READ ALL ABOUT IT (2007)

Briones Reservoir
"bluest body of water
in the Bay Area"
(Tom Stienstra)