Blue Grosbeak (Passerina caerulea)
Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, where I had intended to visit, was closed for emergency levee repairs so I fell back on Plan B, cruising the country roads outside Davis California looking for this species. As it turned out the spot I picked to pull over and ready my camera was right under this bird's favorite singing tree. I then noticed the nearby sunflower fields and decided this spot would do.
Technical notes: Sony a1, Sony 600mm GMaster & 1.4x TC. big tripod. 1/1000 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400. Processed with Adobe Camera Raw & Photoshop.
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Blue Grosbeak #06, Yolo County California 01 July 2025
Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana)
Technical notes: Sony a1, Sony 600mm GMaster, tripod & pocket blind. 1/250 sec @ f/8, ISO 400. Processed with Adobe Camera Raw & Photoshop.
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Western Tanager #25, Lake County Oregon
28 May 2025
Green-tailed Towhee (Pipilo chlorurus)
Technical notes: Sony a1, Sony 600mm GMaster, tripod & pocket blind. 1/320 sec @ f/8, ISO 800. Processed with Adobe Camera Raw & Photoshop.
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Green-tailed Towhee #11, Lake County Oregon
28 May 2025
Townsend’s Solitaire (Myadestes townsendi)
Technical notes: Sony a1, Sony 600mm GMaster, tripod & pocket blind. 1/400 sec @ f/8, ISO 800. Processed with Adobe Camera Raw & Photoshop.
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Townsend's Solitaire #03, Lake County Oregon
28 May 2025
female White-headed Woodpecker (Dryobates albolarvatus)
Technical notes: Sony a1, Sony 600mm GMaster, tripod & pocket blind. 1/250 sec @ f/8, ISO 400. Processed with Adobe Camera Raw & Photoshop.
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28 May 2025
Wilson's Warbler (Cardellina pusilla)
A Wilson's Warbler was part of a wave of neotropical migrants passing through my yard on their way to breeding grounds farther north. Other spring migrants the same morning included Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii), Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus), Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana) and a couple of Yellow Warblers (Setophaga petechia), none of which are typically observed in my yard. It was an exciting few hours.
Technical notes: Sony a1, Sony 300mm GMaster, 2x TC & tripod. Photographed from inside my backyard blind. 1/500 sec @ f/8, ISO 800. Processed with Adobe Camera Raw & Photoshop.
Wilson's Warbler #17, Sacramento County California
13 May 2025
male Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana)
A pair of Western Tanagers was part of a wave of neotropical migrants passing through my yard on their way to breeding grounds farther north. Other spring migrants the same morning included Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii), Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus), Wilson's Warbler (Cardellina pusilla) and a couple of Yellow Warblers (Setophaga petechia), none of which are typically observed in my yard. It was an exciting few hours.
Technical notes: Sony a1, Sony 300mm GMaster, 2x TC & tripod. Photographed from inside my backyard blind. 1/320 sec @ f/8, ISO 800. Processed with Adobe Camera Raw & Photoshop.
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Western Tanager #12, Sacramento County California
13 May 2025
female Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus)
Black-headed Grosbeaks rarely visit my yard but the best odds are during spring migration. Three of these birds took turns at the bird bath and took advantage of the suet feeder.
Technical notes: Sony a1, Sony 300mm GMaster, 1.4x TC & tripod. Photographed from inside my backyard blind. 1/640 sec @ f/8, ISO 800. Processed with Adobe Camera Raw & Photoshop.
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Black-headed Grosbeak #09, Sacramento County California
25 April 2025
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)
This species, despite being common in the right habitat, eluded me for many years. A visit to the salt water marshes of Martinez Regional Shoreline Park proved to be all I needed.
Technical notes: Sony a1, Sony 300mm GMaster, 2x TC, hand-held with shoulder stock. 1/1250 sec @ f/8, ISO 1000. Processed with Adobe Camera Raw & Photoshop.
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Common Yellowthroat #06, Contra Costa County California
17 April 2025
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
A pair of Red-tailed Hawks has built a nest near the top of an enormous redwood tree in my front yard. I'm not sure if this is the male or female, they look nearly identical. In most raptor species the female is larger so if I see them side-by-side I can make a guess. This one has more ragged plumage than the other, note the missing secondary wing feather and the battered ends of the tail feathers.
Red-tailed Hawks are the most common raptor in most of California. The usual advice when identifying a raptor in the state is to assume it's a Red-tailed Hawk unless proven otherwise. This species has a wide range of plumage variation including no red on the tail. Key identifying field marks: a soaring hawk with broad wings & relatively short tail, dark leading edge of the wings' underside and a band of streaks across the belly. Some individuals are much lighter (more typical of birds in eastern North America) and some are nearly black. On a perched bird viewed from the back the scapular feathers are lighter colored than the back & upper wing coverts, forming a "V".
Technical notes: Sony a1, Sony 600mm GMaster, 1.4x TC & a very large tripod. 1/6400 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 1250. Processed with Adobe Camera Raw & Photoshop.
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Red-tailed Hawk #35, Sacramento County California
06 April 2025
Northern House Wren #27, Sacramento County California
28 March 2025
07 February 2025
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Technical notes: Sony a1, Sony 600mm GMaster, 1.4x TC & a very large tripod. 1/800 sec @ f/8, ISO 800. Processed with Adobe Camera Raw & Photoshop.
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Red-tailed Hawk #32, Placer County California
03 February 2025
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)
The Common Goldeneye is a regular winter visitor on Sacramento County's American River but as it prefers large open water getting close enough for photographs can be challenging. Bringing a camera in a kayak on flat water is risky enough, a river with patches of white water adds another dimension to the risk so I chose to stick to terra firma.
An inlet at a county park was large and deep enough that the birds felt comfortable, occasionally wandering within camera range. Finding a spot with suitable light and backgrounds I planted myself in a ground-level chair, covered myself with camo-print netting and waited.. and waited... and waited.
Technical notes: Sony a1, Sony 300mm GMaster, 2x TC, ultralight tripod. 1/2000 sec @ f/8, ISO 400. Processed with Adobe Camera Raw & Photoshop.
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Common Goldeneye #35, Sacramento County California
27 January 2025
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)
Found year-round in wetlands and marshes in California's central valley and the coastal Lower 48 as well as much of Central and South America, this vociferous bird can also found in breeding season in the west's Great Basin.
The Cosumnes River Preserve in southern Sacramento County where I found this bird is a seasonal wetland with a wide variety of wildlife habitats.
Technical notes: Sony a1, Sony 600mm GMaster, 1.4x TC & a very large tripod. 1/8000 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 800. Processed with Adobe Camera Raw & Photoshop.
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Black-necked Stilt #14, Sacramento County California
15 January 2025
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)
One might guess from this bird's name that this is not the only sandpiper with yellow legs; if you did, you'd be correct. The Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) is larger with a proportionally longer bill that lives in very similar habitat. These two species are easiest to identify when they're feeding side-by-side.
The Cosumnes River Preserve in southern Sacramento County where I found this bird is a seasonal wetland with a wide variety of wildlife habitats.
Technical notes: Sony a1, Sony 600mm GMaster, 1.4x TC & a very large tripod. 1/8000 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 800. Processed with Adobe Camera Raw & Photoshop.
more Lesser Yellowlegs photographs
15 January 2025