January 1st, 2013: Cosumnes River Preserve and vicinity

         To kick off the New Year, my family decided it would be fun to head out to Cosumnes River Preserve and go birding. This preserve is a project started by the Nature Conservancy, whose goal is to protect this quintessential habitat. We awoke at 6:00 AM and left the house at 6:30 AM. We arrived at our destination however only at 8:15. As soon as I walked out of the car, the frigid air chilled my fingers and had me shivering extensively. I was used to the Central Valley being hot, arid, and almost desert-like. Never before had I gone birding there so early. Nevertheless, I was motivated and ready to bird. Carrying my spotting scope over my shoulder, we walked onto the frozen boardwalk (the boardwalk had literally frozen overnight). The first birds we noticed were the expected anatids: Mallards, Gadwalls, Cinnamon Teals, Green-winged Teals, Northern Shovelers, and Northern Pintails. American Coots were of course everywhere, and congregated in large groups, as they are wont to do. Suddenly, a Northern Harrier surged from the reeds and flew over the flocks of ducks, scattering them apart. It circled around several times, when out of nowhere, a second harrier joined it. This duo struck fear into all the denizens of the marsh's eyes. However, these two raptors were only after the rodents that live in and around the reeds. One of the raptors even got lucky:

Northern Harrier flying off with its quarry
(notice the white rump, and long tail)

        As we continued walking down the boardwalk, we made more and more discoveries. Marsh Wrens and Common Yellowthroats cavorted around playfully, but warily, never approaching the boardwalk too closely. A Virginia Rail grunted from within the reeds. Western Meadowlarks sang from atop the numerous trees that bordered the marsh. To my surprise, there were even Spotted Towhees in these same trees, in a habitat different from which they usually thrive in.

Spotted Towhee
(notice the red eye, the rufous sides, and white spots on its wings)

      As we walked down the boardwalk, we flushed an incredible bird. Usually undetectable, nearly invisible, I would've missed this bird if it hadn't flown out and shown itself. The American Bittern is a long sought-after bird for me. This bird had always eluded me....until now. Its stocky, bulky stature was immediately noticed, along with its thick and bright yellow legs, and extensive streaking. This pleasant surprise was really unexpected, which made this find that much more special.

      We arrived at the end of the boardwalk, which was a viewing platform that let us see more of the marsh. Unfortunately, nothing truly of interest was visible. However, we suddenly started hearing loud and boisterous honking coming from behind us, that slowly increased in volume. We turned around to find a cloud of geese flying towards us. The number of geese baffled me. I knew that in this area, geese migrate in large flocks. I had seen the pictures and the videos, but nothing compared to seeing the real thing. All of these birds flying in unison was truly a spectacular sight. These birds were Greater White-fronted Geese. These geese breed in the high arctic during the summer, but descend south to the Central Valley, the Gulf Coast, and Central America to winter. The most easily noticed field marks were their egregious white underparts and bold dark barring on their bellies. 

Greater White-fronted Geese
(notice the white underparts,  the black barring on belly,
and the white front)

Numerous Greater White-fronted Geese landing

      However, these geese weren't alone. Mixed in the large flock were several Snow Geese, new birds for me. They really stood out because of their entirely white bodies. Once I had my binoculars on them, I also noticed the black on the primaries, another essential field mark. I was able to distinguish this bird from its close cousin the Ross's Goose by the black "grin" they had on their bills. Ross's Geese lack this seemingly silly field mark. Also, these birds were about the same size as the white-fronted geese, which immediately eliminated Ross's Goose for they would have been much smaller.

Greater White-fronted Geese with Snow Geese
(notice the all-white bodies, the black on the primaries,
and the black "grin" they have)

      Once the majority of the large flock had passed, we decided to continue our visit of this fantastic preserve. As we were leaving the boardwalk, a Belted Kingfisher flew over and landed on a tree. It lacked the rusty-colored belt, which indicated that it was a male (only females have this rusty-colored belt). On the ground nearby, an American Pipit hopped around, but quickly flew off with the arrival of my parents. Once it took flight, it showed its thin, white outer tail feathers, a good field mark to keep in mind. We walked through a open forest of riparian habitat afterward, which didn't yield much. Numerous Ruby-crowned Kinglets made themselves noticed with their typewriter-like calls. A Nuttall's Woodpecker called from nearby, and soon after, it flew into the tree in front of us. Its barred back and red crown were especially noticeable in the morning light. Due to the lack of activity, we decided to head to the Visitor's Center and see what there was to see. My mother however stayed behind for a little bit to photograph something on the ground. She then came to us and showed us photos on two Ruby-crowned Kinglets brawling ferociously. One of the birds even had its ruby crown exposed, a rare sight.

Belligerent Ruby-crowned Kinglets
(notice their white wing bars and yellow-green secondaries,
their white eye-rings, and the ruby crown that isn't always visible)

        As we left the Visitor's Center, a curious Lincoln's Sparrow popped out of the reeds to survey the premises. It was surprisingly close to us, which offered the perfect opportunity to observe and scrutinize the bird, to assimilate every field mark of this bird. Very closely related to the Song Sparrow, these two Melospizas can be easily mistaken for each other. Lincoln's Sparrows are overall buffy in tone, and have very fine streaking. Song Sparrows on the other hand are much more brown, and maybe even rufous, and have much thicker streaks. This approachable bird was the perfect subject for this lesson in differentiation.

Lincoln's Sparrow
(notice the overall buffiness, and the fine streaks)

       We had time to kill, so we headed back to the boardwalk, in hopes of finding some new birds. As we were about to walk onto the boardwalk, we flushed yet another bird. This time, the bird wasn't a lifer, but was nonetheless exciting. The bird was a Wilson's Snipe, easily identified thanks to its long straight bill, and thick, yellow streaking on its back. What I enjoyed about this sighting was that I had gotten my lifer snipe the previous year at the same location. It was like going back to my roots. Afterward, as we were walking down the boardwalk, we heard another Virginia Rail, but this time, it sounded like it was much closer, so we attempted to find it. It seemed like a daunting task, but we actually managed to locate it. We noticed its red bill, and gray face. Finding a rail is always a rewarding experience.

        Finally, we began hearing the resonating rattling and honking we had been hoping to hear. This signaled the presence of the preserve's most famous bird, the Sandhill Crane. These cranes breed in Canada and parts of northern USA during the summer, and fly south to the Central Valley and New Mexico to winter. These entirely gray birds may seem dull solely through a written description, but seeing them in real life exceeds any previous expectations. They fly elegantly in flocks and land on the ground remarkably gracefully. In the right light, their red crowns appear as if they were painted on. These were remarkable birds that I had great pleasure in admiring. 

Sandhill Cranes
(notice the gray body, the extended neck, and the red crown)

Sandhill Cranes
(notice the gray body, the long neck, and the red crown)

        As I was scoping these flying beauties, I noticed four white birds flying in the background. I adjusted my scope to focus clearly on these birds. I was enchanted when I found out that these birds were Tundra Swans, another lifer for me. These birds breed in the high arctic and migrate south along both coasts during the winter. These birds were completely unexpected, which is why I was taken aback when I saw them, but happy nonetheless.

        As we were leaving, I noticed a small, plump bird foraging at the edge of a reed bed. I put my binoculars on it, and found out it was a Sora, an elusive bird that usually stays hidden within the reeds, rarely exposing itself. It seemed completely oblivious to our presence, which let us approach it and photograph it.

Sora
(notice the yellow bill, the black face, the gray chest,
and the brown, streaked back)

        This concluded our visit to Cosumnes River Preserve. Filled with many surprises and awesome sightings, this visit proved to be very successful. The 3 lifers also made this day just a little better than it already was.

        We noticed that it was only 11:30 AM, and we were all famished. We had lunch at In-N-Out, and then headed to our next destination: Oak Grove Regional Park. We actually stumbled across this locale randomly because we were in search for a specific bird: the Yellow-billed Magpie. This California specialty is found only in the Central Valley. In the right habitat, this species thrives. This park seemed perfect for these magpies: it was open country, with scattered trees, just what they like. Unfortunately, this park seemed void of any magpies. We did however spot a Coyote, which is always a fun sight.

Coyote

       We wandered around the park, searching for these magpies. We were so desperate, we even resorted to playing their calls. Unfortunately, that didn't even suffice. The only birds that were present were Western Scrub-Jays, Acorn and Nuttall's Woodpeckers, European Starlings, and Red-shouldered Hawks. Though these are all great birds, they weren't the birds were after. Suddenly, a Red-tailed Hawk flew overhead, flying towards a tree. Once it landed in that same tree, it stirred things up, sending several Northern Flickers and Acorn Woodpeckers away. But then, a long tailed, black and white bird flew from inside the thick branches of that tree to the canopy. It was the Yellow-billed Magpie! Not only that, but it also had a friend. We had two magpies in front of us which was fantastic. Though these birds weren't lifers for me, I hadn't ever seen them clearly through binoculars before. I had only previously seen them perched atop trees, while careening down the highway. These playful individuals remained high up in the canopy, but did offer some photo-ops that we took full advantage of.

Yellow-billed Magpie
(notice the yellow bill, the blue primaries, the white wing patches and belly,
and the long tail)

       This find was the perfect way to end the first day of the New Year. Seeing how spectacular this day was, I can only imagine what else 2013 has in store for me. I wish you all a Happy New Year, and a great year of birding!