I went on my first bird walk with the Golden Gate Audubon Society last week. Pamela Lewellyn led us through some of the restricted access breeding areas at the Hayward Regional Shoreline. She was decked out with her Leica spotting scope on a Gitzo tripod. Mmmm... gear. Not exactly my flavor, but it's still gear.
It was cool getting to go beyond the locked gates. There were quite a few birds I'd never seen before, like a Ruddy Duck (who knew?), Killdeer and Black Skimmers. There were also lots of shorebirds. I think we saw Avocets, Godwits, Curlews and Dowitchers.
Female Red-winged Blackbirds
Marsh Wren nest
Female Great-Tailed Grackle
American White Pelican
Most of the birds' nests were on these islands.
Colony of Forster's Terns
There were lots of Tern and Avocet chicks on these islands.
Forster's Tern in flight
Black Skimmer flying with terns Black Skimmers are supposed to be rare in the San Francisco area, so this was a real treat.
2 Black Skimmers in flight - The most we saw.
Black Skimmer
Killdeer Parent & Chick
I had a photo of one from the trip, but I can't seem to get it into the blog post for some reason. I didn't get any shots of American Avocet chicks, so here are some from another time.
Snowy Egret
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