How about it?? A new year, a new bird(s)? That's right. Two months into the year, and two new life birds. How did that happen you ask?? Let me share with you.
At the end of January 2020, my friend Donny was moving from Orange county, CA back to Seattle, WA. I flew out to help, and on the last day in California, while he worked, I got to BIRD. Lucky, at the same Caspers Wilderness Park at birded in Feb. 2019. Since it was late winter, sometimes mountain birds from the Rockies migrate down to the coast. I was checking the local ABA listserv for Orange county CA, and looky what showed up.
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| Lewis Woodpecker ABA #622 |
The Lewis's Woodpecker might have woodpecker in its name, but it forages like a flycatcher and flies like a crow. It has a color palette all its own, with a pink belly, gray collar, and dark green back unlike any other member of its family. From bare branches and posts, it grabs insects in midair, flying with slow and deep wingbeats.
The Lewis's Woodpecker was described by Alexander Wilson in 1811 and named after Meriwether Lewis who first saw the bird in 1805 while on his famous westward journey with William Clark.
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| Common Black Hawk ABA #623 |
An aptly-named entirely black hawk with broad wings and short tail with a distinct white band. Flight feathers are slightly paler and it has long yellow legs and yellow on the base of the bill. Typically found in woodlands near water where it hunts; shows an affinity for cottonwood trees at the northern end of its range.
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| Bird Gang 2020 |
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| Undisputed Era Birding |
This was my second to last easy accipitridae hawk species to get. I've seen all the hawks, including a first ever ABA sighting of a Code 5 Crane Hawk in 1988. At Santa Anna NWR, of course.
https://ebird.org/checklist/S17309659
Very luck this Black Hawk wintered at this reseca. What a rush!! Now only Northern Goshawk(1) & Roadside Hawk(4) are left to see.
Next up: COVID-19 & Quarantine
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