George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary – Page 43

Kingfisher & Lincoln’s

Last night at Reifel it was the 25th annual Corn & Pig Roast.

It was a beautiful evening for it and a good time was had by all. Then it was back there again this afternoon to help out on the trails. There was a good variety of warblers around. Black-throated Grey, Orange-crowned, Townsend’s, Yellow and Yellow-rumped to name a few. Some I managed to see, but no photos of any of them.

There were a couple of Belted Kingfisher working the ponds. Also spotted in the outer ponds today was a Stilt Sandpiper. I did not manage to locate or see it. I believe this is the first sighting for Stilt for this summer/fall migration. Then it was back to the inside trails to check for warblers again. While they were still not cooperating,

… this Lincoln’s Sparrow finally did. I had been watching it for a while,

… but it had been sticking to the ground and mostly out of sight. Eventually it did pop up into the bramble for these shots. Lincoln’s Sparrow have been showing up over the last week in the bay area.

Purple Martin

Another Sunday afternoon volunteering at Reifel. Not a huge crowd today, but there have been some interesting birds around of late. The focus of attention today, however, was Purple Martin. In particular the nesting boxes in the northwest marsh as there had been reports recently they may be nesting here. So I made my way out along the outside dyke just beyond the tower. From a few different vantage points you could see the Purple Martin coming to roost on the poles above the nesting box. Eventually I could see the adult female land at the opening of a nest box and exhibit feeding behaviour. While watching this a Peregrine Falcon showed up overhead,

… and the Purple Martin were up harassing it right away. This was the afternoon’s entertainment. As for getting a closer look at the nesting box, it was difficult as they are some distance out in the marsh. As more birders with scopes stopped by, you could see at least two juveniles being fed at the opening in the nest box.

As you can see from this crop, they are just too far away for the camera. The nesting box in question is the lower left one on the right pole (adult present at opening with another atop the pole). What makes all this interesting is that while Purple Martin have been seen at the sanctuary before, this may be the first nesting record.

Lesser Yellowlegs

It was fairly quiet on the visitor and birding front at Reifel this afternoon. There was, however, one of the regular shore birds that stood out a little from its counterparts.

The worn adult/breeding plumage on this Lesser Yellowlegs was noticeably different than the rest of the Lesser Yellowlegs (non breeding/juveniles). Always a good learning experience to see varying plumages and have them explained by experienced birders.