Early Birding at Elkhorn Ranch
4/25/08

Early Saturday morning, April 12, six supporters of the Elkhorn Slough Foundation joined expert birder Rick Fournier for three hours of non-stop birding at Elkhorn Ranch. The weather was lovely and the location offered a fresh perspective on Elkhorn Slough from a protected property that’s not open to the public.

As we squinted through binoculars, we could clearly view the Elkhorn highlands across the glistening waterway. These lands have been the focus of the Elkhorn Slough Foundation’s mission over the past 25years. Along with our supporters, we’ve been working hard to conserve and restore this watershed for the community’s health and enjoyment for generations to come. Saturday’s walk was a perfect opportunity to sample a piece of our success—a healthy habitat sustaining a diverse population of birds.

During our excursion we made the following sightings: Pie-billed Grebe, Eared Grebe, Western Grebe, Clark’s Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Green Heron, Turkey Vulture, Canada Goose, Gadwall, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup, Red-tailed Hawk, American Coot, Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Greater Yellowlegs, Willet, Marbled Godwit, Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Long-billed Dowitcher, Western Gull, Forster’s Turn, Mourning Dove, Eurasian Collard Dove, Barn Owl, Anna’s Hummingbird, Black Phoebe, Western Strub-Jay, American Crow, Tree Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Barn Swallow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Oak Titmouse, Marsh Wren, European Starling, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, California Towhee, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, House Finch, American Goldfinch. We also saw: Anise Swallowtail Butterfly, Gopher Snake, Blue-eyed Grass, Suncup, California Poppy, Intermediate Fiddleneck, Creeping Rye, California Meadow Barley, and rare white Owl Clover.

Not a bad catch for a three hour tour! Thank you to Rick Fournier for sharing his time and expertise, to John Kenney for his knowledge of flora and fauna and to our supporters for making our work possible. To learn more about arranging private birding tours with Rick and Monterey Birding Adventures, visit www.montereybirdingadventures.com.

For more Slough sightings, including a photo of the gopher snake seen on this trip, visit our new Sightings Blog at http://sloughsightings.wordpress.com/