Created 28-Sep-21
Our September birding transect out of Escobar Gate blew me away: there were so many exciting encounters.
We all paused at the "Phainopepla Tree" **, a dead Valley Oak at the top of a ridge. My companions noticed a colorful bird which they identified as a Sapsucker -- but something did not look right. Later, sending my photos to local birding experts, we discovered that this was a hybrid of two species. Sapsuckers are rare at Jasper Ridge, and it is even more interesting to see a hybrid of two rare species.
Most interesting to me was to notice the Sapsucker grasping a twig in what seemed like a useful position for probing cavities for insects. Do Sapsuckers use tools? I only have a few photos; the Sapsucker spent some time bending over and probing the tree beforehand, but I could only see the back of its head.
There were so many other interesting encounters this morning that I have split this section into ten (!) galleries. You can visit the one(s) you are interested in.
1. An overview of the morning, in chronological order, with something from (almost) each gallery.
2. The adventure with the hybrid Sapsucker.
3. A White-breasted Nuthatch walks up and down the tree at the same time.
4. Moving on... a (male?) Tarantula, looking for a mate, approaching my camera lens -- seeing a reflected Tarantula?
5. Serpentine rocks, covered in colorful lichen.
6. An adult Golden Eagle, soaring high above. [These photos are poor quality.]
7. A juvenile Golden Eagle, flying closer. Distant in time and location from the adult.
8. Courtship behavior of Red-tailed Kites. Check out photos #10 and 11. In this species, the female is generally larger.
9. A general summary of other landscapes, trees and plants, seen this exciting morning.
10. Other birds and bird behavior. Not as exciting as that featured earlier, but this still might be interesting to birders and/or bird lovers.
** The Phainopepla Tree is named after the rare (for San Mateo County) birds seen here, eating mistletoe, in December 2009 and a year or two following. My introduction to the birding group was when I guided some Jasper Ridge birders here to see the Phainopeplas; they have invited me on their monthly bird transects since then. And I even saw another Phainopepla, in 2017, in Death Valley!
We all paused at the "Phainopepla Tree" **, a dead Valley Oak at the top of a ridge. My companions noticed a colorful bird which they identified as a Sapsucker -- but something did not look right. Later, sending my photos to local birding experts, we discovered that this was a hybrid of two species. Sapsuckers are rare at Jasper Ridge, and it is even more interesting to see a hybrid of two rare species.
Most interesting to me was to notice the Sapsucker grasping a twig in what seemed like a useful position for probing cavities for insects. Do Sapsuckers use tools? I only have a few photos; the Sapsucker spent some time bending over and probing the tree beforehand, but I could only see the back of its head.
There were so many other interesting encounters this morning that I have split this section into ten (!) galleries. You can visit the one(s) you are interested in.
1. An overview of the morning, in chronological order, with something from (almost) each gallery.
2. The adventure with the hybrid Sapsucker.
3. A White-breasted Nuthatch walks up and down the tree at the same time.
4. Moving on... a (male?) Tarantula, looking for a mate, approaching my camera lens -- seeing a reflected Tarantula?
5. Serpentine rocks, covered in colorful lichen.
6. An adult Golden Eagle, soaring high above. [These photos are poor quality.]
7. A juvenile Golden Eagle, flying closer. Distant in time and location from the adult.
8. Courtship behavior of Red-tailed Kites. Check out photos #10 and 11. In this species, the female is generally larger.
9. A general summary of other landscapes, trees and plants, seen this exciting morning.
10. Other birds and bird behavior. Not as exciting as that featured earlier, but this still might be interesting to birders and/or bird lovers.
** The Phainopepla Tree is named after the rare (for San Mateo County) birds seen here, eating mistletoe, in December 2009 and a year or two following. My introduction to the birding group was when I guided some Jasper Ridge birders here to see the Phainopeplas; they have invited me on their monthly bird transects since then. And I even saw another Phainopepla, in 2017, in Death Valley!
9/28/2021 Overview
Visitors 66
12 photos
Created 22-Dec-23
Modified 22-Dec-23
9/28/2021 Hybrid Sapsucker on Phaenopepla Tree
Visitors 28
34 photos
Created 22-Dec-23
Modified 22-Dec-23
9/28/2021 White-Breasted Nuthatch visits the Phaenopepla Tree
Visitors 9
8 photos
Created 22-Dec-23
Modified 22-Dec-23
9/28/2021 Tarantula
Visitors 19
25 photos
Created 22-Dec-23
Modified 22-Dec-23
9/28/2021 Serpentine Rock with Colorful Lichen
Visitors 3
12 photos
Created 22-Dec-23
Modified 22-Dec-23
9/28/2021 Adult Golden Eagle -- High Above
Visitors 5
13 photos
Created 22-Dec-23
Modified 22-Dec-23
9/28/2021 Juivenile Golden Eagle at Jasper Ridge
Visitors 7
5 photos
Created 22-Dec-23
Modified 22-Dec-23
9/28/2021 Courtship Flight of Red-tailed Hawks
Visitors 17
17 photos
Created 22-Dec-23
Modified 22-Dec-23
9/28/2021 Other Landscapes
Visitors 4
25 photos
Created 22-Dec-23
Modified 22-Dec-23
9/28/2021 Other Birds
Visitors 9
28 photos
Created 22-Dec-23
Modified 22-Dec-23
Dan Quinn