Towheeblog

Here are some more images from my recent birding trip on behalf of the Golden Gate Audubon Society.  As I blogged earlier we had 125 species in three days and the spring sing was underway.Here are the two competing bluebirds of the west as climate change encourages the lowlander, Western, to move into the territory once dominated by Mountain. Both are now found in the meadows around Howard Prairie and Hyatt Lakes, 4500-5500 feet in elevation. Mountain males get the prize for bluest, check out those pasty looking wildflowers in the background.  The Western male gets points for bolder design.Cassin’s Vireo above, some of the yearling crane flock below, along with the ubiquitous Canada Geese.Dipper blinks at Little Hyatt Lake…and here is another of those dam Dippers:

Green-tailed Towhee sings with gusto and perfect pitch.WH Woodpecker approaches nest hole, upper right. Below: tanager and then Vesper Sparrow with pale eye-ring visible, a useful field mark that.Black-headed Grosbeak, above, along Keene Creek.  Below cormorants nesting above Hyatt Lake, double-crested naturally as they are our only inland cormorant here in the west.Lazuli guy against the sky…who’s blue now?Focus your iris on this iris.Larkspur above, needing no introduction.  One of my first lizards of spring…at 4500′ and movin’ fast.Tree Swallows use only high-gloss finish when appearing in public.