The Bird Count at Elkhorn Slough

Wild Roses
Originally uploaded by egret's nest.

I only counted the birds I could identify with a high degree of certainty. Birding with kids (and with my own scattered brain) is somewhat difficult. I don't have enough experience with birding to rely on my experience so often my ids rely on photos and hours pouring over books and the internet but how else will I learn.

Still, it was fun to get out and see what I could see. Birding with the kids in a place like Elkhorn Slough was a blast -- they saw so many birds -- you can't help it! They are everywhere!

Here's my list. . .
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)
Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon)
Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus)
Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii)
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)
California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis)
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)

There were plenty more birds that I saw but couldn't ID or heard but never saw (and therefore couldn't ID).

The hedgerows of Wild Roses along the path to Hummingbird Island are worth the price of admission ($2.50).

What an amazing place!