July 2010
Thanks also to the Boyd Family for hosting our first ever Bristlecone Audubon Field Trip. We spent a wonderful July morning wandering through flocks of black tern and white-faced ibis, and spying on several species of wetland birds making their living wading, flying and foraging among the bulrush, cattail, hay meadow and willow brakes of the Boyd–Humboldt River Wetland IBA (National Audubon Important Bird Area). It certainly is nice to know that people like the Boyds are taking to heart their role as stewards of the Humboldt River floodplain. We owe them a great debt of gratitude. The American avocets and sandhill cranes, the bobolinks and black-necked stilts seemed to be nodding in approval as well.
Boyd-Humboldt River Wetland July 17 morning fieldtrip totals:
American White Pelican 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 2
Snowy Egret 3
Black-crowned Night-Heron 2
White-faced Ibis 20
hawk sp.
Greater Sandhill Crane 2
Killdeer 5
Black-necked Stilt 6
American Avocet 6
Willet 3
Long-billed Curlew 7
Wilson's Snipe 2
Wilson's Phalarope 12
gull sp. 1
Black Tern 10
Forster's Tern 6
Mourning Dove 1
Western Kingbird 1
Black-billed Magpie 5
American Crow 1
Common Raven 10
Barn Swallow 7
Cliff Swallow 40
American Robin 8
Sage Thrasher 1
European Starling 2