April 18, 2022
9:30 to 13:30
Today, I took Restoration Ecology students out to the Laguna de Santa Rosa, for a tour hosted by Brent Reed. We started at the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation headquarters, and later walked on the Laguna de Santa Rosa trail.
My first bird of the day was a Red-shouldered Hawk seen perched on a light post while driving to the site, and once we arrived, lots of birds were present at the headquarters. Canada Goose flew overhead, while Western Bluebird hunted from their perches on the fence that bordered the road. I saw both Mourning Dove, and Eurasian Collared Dove (a species I don’t remember seeing before in Sonoma County). Tree Swallow were using the nest boxes near the viewing platform, and I enjoyed watching them coming and going from the boxes during the 15 minutes we spent at the platform. I’m always happy to see these gorgeous birds so close up.
While we were in the greenhouse where restoration plants are propagated, a Turkey Vulture soared not far above our heads.
After our introduction to the restoration operations, Brent gave us a tour along the Laguna de Santa Rosa Trail, so we could view restoration sites of varying ages (including a site that my Restoration Ecology class had worked on back in 2016). On our way to the trail, we saw Wild Turkey from the vans. Then walked through the meadow, along the creek, past the vernal pool habitat, and finally, ended up at Kelly Pond, where we sat to eat lunch before cutting back through the grasslands.
Violet-green Swallow were hunting over the meadow, and I was able to photograph one who landed in an oak tree. I saw a single Great Blue Heron fly away from us not long after we’d started hiking the trail, where Brewer’s Blackbird, Northern Mockingbird, and more Western Bluebird were seen, as well as American Crow and a Red-tailed Hawk.
Down near the creek, a single juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron flushed from the trees when we came too close, and some Mallard few overhead. We also saw a good variety of birds at Kelly Pond, including more Mallard, Golden-crowned Sparrow foraging along the path, and a cooperative Anna’s Hummingbird who sat in a bush near where we ate lunch, giving everyone great views. On the pond, I was pleased to see a Pied-billed Grebe (the first I remember seeing in a few years), and a Purple Finch was perched high in a snag near the pond. I also saw some interesting invertebrates and plants, including a Western Tiger Swallowtail and Seven-spotted Ladybug. Downingia (Maroon-spotted, I think) was growing along the trail between Kelly Pond and the place where we’d parked, and we saw Wide-leaved Pepperweed, Miniature Lupine and Sonoma Sunshine, as well.
One of my students had jokingly claimed to have seen more birds than I had (a running joke throughout the semester, since this fellow didn’t really know much about birds), and bragged about seeing some California Quail that I had missed. So, I was pleased to hear a quail call near Kelly Pond, allowing me to count it for the day, as well (haha).
It was a great trip, and although it wasn’t the right time of year for us to do any hands-on restoration projects, I think the students did enjoy it, and learned a lot about the work done by the Foundation. And of course, I saw loads of birds, which always makes me happy.
Species List
Laguna Foundation Headquarters: Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos), Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), Western bluebird (Sialia mexicana), European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), Mourning dove (Zenaida macroura), California Towhee (Melozone crissalis), Canada Goose (Branta canadensis), Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria), Song sparrow (Melospiza melodia), Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor), Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura), House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus), Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans), Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto), Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Laguna de Santa Rosa Trail: Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina), Western bluebird (Sialia mexicana), Song sparrow (Melospiza melodia), Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), Brewer’s Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus), Northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos), American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura), Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna), Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla), California Quail (Callipepla californica), Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps), Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus), Seven-spotted Ladybug (Coccinella septempunctata), Santa Barbara Sedge (Carex barbarae), Valley Oak (Quercus lobata), Maroonspot Calicoflower (Downingia concolor), Rough-fruited Buttercup (Ranunculus muricatus), Miniature Lupine (Lupinus bicolor), Pacific Poison Oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum), Common Vetch (Vicia sativa), Wild Radish (Raphanus sativus), Broad-leaved Pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium), Boxelder (Acer negundo), Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia), Coyote Brush (Baccharis pilularis)
Let me know what you think!