One of the hobbies I started since last year was birdwatching. I am far from being proficient, and I am still getting my sandpipers confused. This is just a page for my personal record on what I observed and the distinctive field marks that I learned along the way.
Locations:
- Backyard
- Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve
- Irvine parks (including Irvine Regional Park)
- San Francisco vicinity (including Point Reyes)
- San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary
- San Jacinto Wildlife Area
- Glacier National Park and vicinity
- Waimea Valley
- Merced National Wildlife Refuge
- Santa Ana River
Field Guides used:
- Peterson Field Guide to Birds
- Sibley Birds West
- Birds of Southern California
Hawks at a Distance- Merlin app
- Sibley Birds v2 app
My eBird profile page is here.
Life-list:
- African Penguin
- Western Bluebird
- Lesser Goldfinch
- Bushtit
- Tree Swallow
- Black Phoebe
- Osprey
- Snowy Egret
- Caspian Tern
- Black-necked stilt
- Western Grebe
- Great Blue Heron
- American Coot
- Mallard
- Song Sparrow
- House Finch
- House Wren
- Mourning Dove
- American Avocet
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Black Skimmer
- Hooded Oriole
- European Starling
- Great Horned Owl
- Western Gull
- Willet
- Allen’s Hummingbird
- Rock Pigeon
- Northern Mockingbird
- California Scrub-Jay
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Common Gallinule
- Northern Harrier
- Turkey Vulture
- Brown Pelican
- Brandt’s Cormorant
- California Gull
- Brewer’s Blackbird
- American Robin
- Canada Goose
- White-faced Ibis
- Green Heron
- Great Egret
- Greater Yellowlegs
- Forster’s Tern
- Killdeer
- Greater Roadrunner
- California Towhee
- Western Sandpiper
- Wilson’s Phalarope
- Long-billed Dowitcher
- American White Pelican
- Common Yellowthroat
- Spotted Towhee
- Pied-billed Grebe
- Cassin’s Kingbird
- Hermit Thrush
- White-crowned Sparrow
- California Quail
- American Wigeon
- Ring-billed Gull
- American Crow
- Black-crowned Night-Heron
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Say’s Phoebe
- Ring-necked Duck
- Cedar Waxwing
- Swinhoe’s White-eye
- Sanderling
- Long-billed Curlew
- Bufflehead
- Surf Scoter
- Lesser Scaup
- Reddish Egret
- Marbled Godwit
- Horned Grebe
- Ruddy Duck
- Red-breasted Merganser
- Common Goldeneye
- Redhead
- Green-winged Teal
- Northern Pintail
- Blue-winged Teal
- Brant
- White-tailed Kite
- Anna’s Hummingbird
- Savannah Sparrow
- Peregrine Falcon
- American Kestrel
- Belted Kingfisher
- Eared Grebe
- Least Sandpiper
- Gadwall
- Cinnamon Teal
- Egyptian Goose
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Ruddy Turnstone
- Semipalmated Plover
- Bewick’s Wren
- Oak Titmouse
- Acorn Woodpecker
- Wood Duck
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Vermilion Flycatcher
- Clark’s Grebe
- Golden-crowned Sparrow
- Iceland Gull
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Black Oystercatcher
- Northern Flicker
- Chestnut-backed Chickadee
- Mew Gull
- Hooded Merganser
- Heermann’s Gull (Not pictured)
- Whimbrel
- California Thrasher
- Northern Shoveler
- American Pipit
- Ridgway’s Rail
- Western Meadowlark
- Loggerhead Shrike
- Barn Owl
- Red-shoulder Hawk
- Wilson’s Snipe
- Mountain Plover
- Yellow-crowned Night-heron
- Masked Booby
- Snow Goose
- Phainopepla (Not pictured)
- Red-crowned Parrot
- Indian Peafowl
- American Goldfinch (?)
- Common Raven
- Nuttall’s Woodpecker
- Cattle Egret
- Mandarin Duck
- Mountain Bluebird
- Swainson’s Hawk
- Thick-billed Kingbird
- Pine Siskin
- Red-throated Loon
- Black-headed Grosbeak
- Great-tailed Grackle
- Golden Eagle
- Calliope Hummingbird
- Brown-headed Cowbird
- Pin-tailed Whydah
- Western Tanager
- Wilson’s Warbler
- Swainson’s Thrush
- Northern Rough-winged Swallow
- Pacific-slope Flycatcher
- Greater White-fronted Goose
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Townsend’s Warbler
- Yellow Warbler
- Scaly-breasted Munia
- Pelagic Cormorant
- Pigeon Guillemot
- Cooper’s hawk
- Pygmy Nuthatch
- Stellar’s Jay
- Barrow’s Goldeneye
- Black-billed Magpie
- Eurasian Collared-Dove
- Red-crested Cardinal
- Common Waxbill
- White-rumped Shama
- Common Myna
- Warbling White-eye
- Red-vented Bulbul
- White-tailed Tropicbird
- Zebra Dove
- Spotted Dove
- Pacific Golden-Plover
- Java Sparrow
- Wrentit
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Red-necked Phalarope
- Clark’s Nutcracker
- Little Blue Heron
- Royal Tern
- Costa’s Hummingbird
- Fox Sparrow
- Sandhill Crane
- Snowy Owl
- Mexican Duck
- Lark Bunting
- Lark Sparrow
- Horned Lark
- Western Kingbird
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- Barn Swallow
- Common Grackle
- Bullock’s Oriole
- Yellow-headed Blackbird
- House Sparrow
- Rock Wren
- Violet-green Swallow
- Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
- Neotropic Cormorant
- Ruff
Kit Ng, Ph.D. 