Posted in News, Sightings, Web Updates on Nov 16th, 2009 Comments Off
We have a new addition to the BFS Bird List! On Saturday, November 14, and Monday, November 16, a Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola) was seen among the cattails on the south side of pHake Lake. This small, chicken-like shore bird frequents freshwater marshes, where it most often remains hidden in dense vegetation. [...]
Our hidden trail camera captures a Great Egret (Ardea alba) fishing off one of the islands in pHake Lake.
Posted in News, Sightings, Web Updates on Oct 25th, 2009 Comments Off
We have a new addition to the BFS Bird List! On Sunday, October 25, a Sage Thrasher (Orescoptes montanus) was seen hopping down the road on the eastern side of pHake Lake (photo below).
The Sage Thrasher is the smallest thrasher. It has a brownish-gray back, prominent dark streaking on white underparts, thin white [...]
Posted in News, Web Updates on Sep 13th, 2009 Comments Off
Monthly bird survey records for the Bernard Field Station (2001-present) are now available on eBird!
‘eBird’ is an online checklist program launched in 2002 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. eBird is free and available to anyone, although to get the most out eBird’s features, you may want to register [...]
Some of this year’s bird chicks are now fledging, and around the BFS you can see a number of these ‘big babies’, which are adult size (or nearly), but still want their parents to feed them. Here are two recently spotted calling “Mom, Mom!” (or maybe “Dad, Dad!”):
Posted in News, Web Updates on Jun 10th, 2009 Comments Off
Our annual update to the BFS Bird List been completed. Many thanks to our BFS Web Intern Maya Nakamura for doing the update! Here is a summary of the revisions:
All links have been checked and updated as needed.
There are a few taxonomic changes:
California Quail (Callipepla californica): Formerly in Phasianidae, Callipepla is now placed in Odontophoridae.
Blue-gray [...]
Just in case you were fantasizing about nature’s creatures living in perfect harmony, you can get a dose of reality from two recently-spotted BFS denizens, who are clearly looking out for #1…
Exhibit 1 is the Brown-headed Cowbird:
Brown-headed Cowbirds, Molothrus ater, are small blackbirds that do not build their own nests. Instead, females lay their [...]