Palo Alto Baylands

Hi all, I feel bad that I haven't posted for a little while, but with the holidays and everything, I haven't had too much of chance. Anyways, here I am!

On December 22, my Mom and I ventured out to the Baylands. We happened to have a fantastic couple of hours. We first stumbled upon this Ring-necked Pheasant:

The Baylands are very famous for their waterfowl. There were a few Ruddy Ducks around, which were adorable as they were so small.

There was also this Northern Harrier female hunting around the area. We can tell that it is a female and not a juvenile because of the streaking on the breast.

Now, one of my favorite birds there was this Cinnamon Teal. The color is fantastic, and when they fly they have bright blue secondaries. I will say, this is one of my favorite birds ever.

This bird was kind of puzzling. I think it is a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow because of the bright pink bill, but I would appreciate some insight.

Every year or so,  I have been informed that the Baylands get about six White-faced Ibis. I happened to come on a day when they had one. This bird kept on following me, and I feel that there were two, because I saw one in a small canal, and not one minute later, I saw another one feeding in a flock of Snowy Egrets. Who knows?

Here is a small flock of Gadwall. I like their pattern a lot because they are plain at first, but become more interesting as you look at them.

This Golden-crowned Sparrow posed so nicely in this tree for me and gave me great looks.

Here is a male and female Cinnamon Teal taking flight. The under-pattern of their wings really sets off their bodies.

My mom pointed out this setting in the background of the Baylands, and I really liked it.

Here is a flock of the female local Bicolored Redwing Blackbirds. I originally thought they were Brewer's Blackbirds, but I was emailed that I had I.D.ed them incorrectly. I still have time to learn though.

Here is a less than decent picture of a Song Sparrow, but, this bird is different from the ones in Chicago, and is of a different subspecies. A subspecies, for those of you that don't know, is a bird that has cousins that make up a bird species. So there is a Pacific Coast cousin, a Pacific Northwest cousin, etc.

My Mom caught sight of this Double-creasted Cormorant fishing, and ths fish in this birds mouth was still alive when it was swallowed.

Here was probably the bird of the day. I think that it is a Mew Gull because of the bill size and its overall look. I would love to hear opinions.

This is a Greater Scaup, because the 'peak' of the crown is more in the front of the head. I have also been told to look at the notch on the bill. The Greater has a much bigger one and the Lesser a very small one.

Last bird of the day was what I think to be a Glaucous-winger Gull. I think so because of its overall size, and the sort of uniform coloration of the bird itself. Insight is welcome.

Well, thats all for now, so thanks for reading. I hope to post again, but we'll see how that works out.

Nathan