By Steve and Martha Ellis
A flock of recently-arrived Golden-crowned Sparrows shared our assembly site at the Fort Casey lighthouse. From the nearby bluff, we found Heermann’s Gulls and spotted a Great Egret standing atop a raft of floating kelp. Further along the bluff we identified Rhinoceros Auklets, Common Murres and Double-crested Cormorants. A harbor seal and northern sea lions were also present offshore. A Cooper’s Hawk back near our vehicles rounded out the sightings.
Sunshine brought out the passerines at the park picnic grounds. We found flocks of Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Golden-crowned Kinglets and Red-breasted Nuthatches. Several Yellow-rumped Warblers sifted through the trees, with some individuals putting on a flycatching demonstration.
We then traveled to Crockett Lake, where spotting scopes revealed Western Sandpipers, Semi-palmated Plovers and California Gulls. Barn Swallows coursed over the lake and an American Kestrel perched on one of the martin nest boxes. Distant ducks on the lake included Green-winged Teal and Northern Pintail. Our final sighting was an American Pipit taking an exuberant bath in a parking area puddle.
This field trip’s total was 44 bird species seen.