We returned to Lake Ralphine after Jeff and Debbie arrived in Santa Rosa and saw more birds than we had on our earlier visit, although still not as many as I’m accustomed to seeing there on previous visits. Perhaps there were more birds simply because it was a weekday, not a weekend, and there weren’t as many people walking around.
I’ll have to admit that I was excited to get a picture of this Green Heron,
even if it insisted on hiding in the foliage. I used to see them regularly at Spring Lake, but I haven’t spotted one there for years, or anywhere else for that matter.
It’s hard to miss the Swans at Lake Ralphine, though I’m used to seeing several, not a single one.
We also managed to spot two Acorn Woodpeckers, though their granary looked remarkably sparse compared to ones we’ve seen in the past.
One of the problems with building your granary in a popular park is that it tends to be removed when it appears to pose a hazard to park visitors. We’ve seen several trees being removed at the park in recent years.
The surprise sighting of the day, though, was a small flock of Great-tailed Grackles, a bird I’ve never seen except in Arizona and Colorado.
Santa Rosa is supposed to be outside their normal range, though they are found in Southern California, too.
What seemed like a successful day of birding was capped off by this little Oak Titmouse leading us almost directly back to our car.
