Some Recent Bird Sightings

A week ago, we visited Staten Island, CA. It is an island in the Sacramento-San Jouquin River Delta. More importantly, Staten Island is owned by The Nature Conservancy and is managed to allow conservation friendly agriculture and as a place for birds to stop on winter migrations as well as to winter over. For this area, it means we have an opportunity to see Sandhill Cranes, Tundra Swans, White-fronted Geese and many other birds. On this visit, we got to see the Sandhill Cranes, Cackling Geese, Snow Geese and Sora.

The Sora (Porzana Carolina) was my surprise bird. I didn’t even know they existed. It is one of those drab, gray birds that hide in the brush, along streams and irrigation ditches. But drab and gray is not a fitting description. They are quite beautifully marked and have a bright yellow bill. Three Sora gave me the rare opportunity to see them in the open and photograph them.

Please click on caption to see images in higher resolution.

These and other images are available to purchase on my website: www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting larry.klink@earthwatcher.us.