Bolinas Lagoon Birding Special!

American avocets in flight, photo by Kelly Wohlwend

Birding Tip #9:  Revisit Your Favorite Birding Spots!  You might see something new!   

Hint:  If you are a beginning birder, the best place to start practicing is an open water body that isn't too large, like a lake or lagoon.  The best types of birds to learn if you're a beginner are waterfowl because they are generally large, have distinguishable features and generally don't move around too much.  They also aren't obstructed by bushes and trees, generally.

Author's note:  All of the photos in this post were taken by the author (Kelly Wohlwend) at Bolinas Lagoon on February 2nd, 2013.  The species counts were also done on this day.  For more of my photos from Bolinas Lagoon please visit my other blog, Kelly A. Wohlwend Photography.  The link is at the top of this blog.  Thank you and enjoy!

I recently returned to Bolinas Lagoon along Highway 1 just south of Point Reyes National Seashore. Not only is the area stunning, the amount of birds is mind blowing! I was shocked the first time I saw the mudflats and open water literally swarming in small (sometimes large) feathered bodies, but seeing it again was just as awe inspiring. 

Bolinas Lagoon is an absolutely fantastic, can't miss birding location for a number of reasons.  The eastern side of the lagoon is protected forestland, providing excellent habitat, the lagoon is large, which gives birds plenty of space to spread out and stay away from people (this is good for those shy species!) and the ecology of the lagoon changes with the tides!  During part of the day the tide is in and populated by ducks and grebes and the rest of the time the mudflats are exposed, which is perfect habitat for shorebirds, such as sandpipers and plovers.

I also discovered another rich birding spot here at Bolinas, the Bolinas Lagoon Open Space Preserve (trail head sign seen above).  It is a small, forested thicket with a few winding, dirt trails that lead you out onto the marshy expanse of the lagoon.  I wasn't expected to see as many birds as I did.  Before I talk about the birds I saw at the preserve I am going to talk about my experience birding along the eastern shore of Bolinas Lagoon.

Bolinas Lagoon, eastern shore, photo by Kelly Wohlwend

When you first approach the lagoon, it doesn't seem too big, but as soon as you turn a corner it opens up in front of you like the ocean.  When the tide is high it's spectacular!  One thing I can't show in pictures is what it sounded like, thousands and thousands of birds chirping, squawking, cawing, croaking, screeching and countless other vocalizations I can't even describe.   The photo to the right does not do the image of the lagoon and its birds justice.  There were just too many to capture with one camera shot, this is merely a fragment of the lagoon.  Time for the species count!

Birds at the lagoon

Bolinas Lagoon Species Count
(* represents a first time sighting!)

Northern pintails, Bolinas Lagoon, photo by Kelly Wohlwend

• American Wigeon
• American Avocet
• American Kestrel (just north of the lagoon)
• Belted Kingfisher
• Bufflehead
• Common Goldeneye
• Great Egret
• Greater Scaup
• Greater Yellow-legs
• Green-winged Teal
• Horned Grebe
• Long-billed Curlew
• Mallard
• Marbled Godwit*
• Mew Gull
• Northern Pintail
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Ruddy Duck
• Snowy Egret
• Surf Scoter
• Turkey Vulture
• Western Gull
• Willet
• Unknown sandpiper species

American wigeons, Bolinas Lagoon, photo by Kelly Wohlwend

The bird species I saw in the most abundance, by far, were American wigeons. The males are characterized by their white facial stripe, green and speckled gray/brown heads, white bill with a black tip, rufous colored bodies and white and black rumps.  The females are more drab with the same rufous colored bodies and a speckled gray head lacking the green and white facial stripe seen on the male.  (In the photo to the right, focusing on the two wigeons on the right, the one to the far right is a female, the one immediately to her left is a male). 

Eurasion wigeons are an uncommon species that look similar to the American wigeon but the Eurasion's head is a brighter rufous color and lacks the green.  In the females, the color of the head blends in with the body.  Eurasion wigeons also have a flatter shaped head.  So far, I have yet to see one.  Another duck species which I have seen before and absolutely love are green-winged teals. 


They are relatively shy and are difficult to approach, so I was fortunate to get such good photos.  The green-winged teals I saw at Bolinas Lagoon were foraging in the shallow water on the mudflats.  I'm particularly fond of them for their striking colors but also for their size.  They're slightly larger than a bufflehead.

The male (left) is very beautiful, with a steel gray body, black and tan rump and a green and dark auburn colored head.  On the side of the body the white stripe is significant when distinguishing between the green-winged teal and the Eurasian subspecies.  The Eurasian subspecies looks nearly identical but lacks this white bar.  The female green-winged teal is rather drab but the green wing feather is very noticeable on her body (right). 

One thing I will say about Bolinas Lagoon is even though it is huge and the birds are numerous and packed together, generally multiple species, it is a great place for relatively new birders.  I would have a good pair of binoculars and your field guide, for sure (a camera with a zoom lens won't hurt either or a scope would be even better) but waterfowl are relatively easy to identify because they sit relatively still for long periods of time.  When identifying birds in thick understory and the birds are small (this can be tricky with sparrows because they all look relatively similar) birding can get frustrating.  I like to recommend people begin birding on waterfowl. 

Now the journey takes us to Bolinas Open Space Preserve on the west side of the lagoon.

If you want to visit the preserve there are a few things to note.  There is side street parking next to the trail head, which is marked with the sign pictured above.  There is only room for about six cars, so it can be hard to park on a weekend.  The trail can also get a bit muddy in spots so be prepared!

When I first walked into the preserve and I saw the blanket of nonnative species and thicket of relatively bare trees, I wasn't expecting much bird wise.  I was happily mistaken.  So here's the list!

BolinasLagoon Open Space Preserve Species Count

("audio" next to the species means I identified the bird by its vocalization)

Bolinas Open Space Preserve once the trail leaves the trees with Bolinas Lagoon in the distance, photo by Kelly Wohlwend

• American Robin (audio)
• Anna's Hummingbird
• Bewick's Wren (audio)
• Black Phoebe
• Bushtit
• Common Raven
• Fox Sparrow
• Great Egret
• Hairy Woodpecker
• Hutton's Vireo
• Osprey
• Pacific Wren
• Pine Siskin (audio)
• Red-shoulderd Hawk (audio)
• Ruby-crowned Kinglet
• Scrub Jay
• Song Sparrow
• Spotted Towhee (audio)
• Marsh Wren?
• Peregrine Falcon?
  

You may be wondering why I have question marks next to two of the species?  Well, I'm 99% sure they're what I saw but the wren darted into the bushes so quickly (twice) I couldn't get it in my binoculars.  Given the cocked tail, color of the body, size of the bird and the habitat, my guess is a marsh wren.  Unfortunately it never vocalized.  The peregrine falcon is also almost a certainty.  It was a fly over and even though I briefly got it in my binoculars it was masked by the thick tangle of tree branches.  But the wing shape, wing beat pattern, size shape and color of the bird all indicate a peregrine falcon.

Osprey perched at the preserve

Osprey diving over the lagoon

The views from the preserve are a reason to go even if there were no birds.  It's spectacular, especially on a clear day.  I was treated to a wide variety of birds, a few I'm going to talk about now.  I did see an osprey perched in the middle of the marshy field on a post (left).  He was incredibly far away, so I didn't get a decent photo.  It was exciting to later see him diving in the lagoon (right).  The birds didn't seem spooked by his hunting, most likely because he's a fish eater. 

A bird I did see and want to talk about in detail is the hutton's vireo.  They are a cute, small greenish-yellow bird that greatly resembles a ruby-crowned kinglet, which were also preening the twigs for bugs at the preserve.  At first I thought it was a kinglet, but the size made me think twice, immediately.  The hutton's vireo and the ruby-crowned kinglet are in completely different families, the hutton's is in the family Vireonidae and the kinglet, Regulidae.

Some of the main differences:
The first and most noticeable is the hutton's vireo lacks black wing bars below the second white stripe on the wings.  In the picture below of the vireo, notice the two white stripes on the wings?  There is some black present between the stripes but on the ruby-crowned kinglet there is a dark black stripe below the lower white stripe.  This is the easiest way to tell these two species apart.

The second and third main differences are the size and eye markings.  The hutton's vireo is a full inch longer than the kinglet and has a larger wingspan by two inches.  The vireo also has more prominent eye markings.  Notice in the photo below the large, white eye ring.  The white also continues to the beak (slightly less noticeable in this photo) and the beak is larger in the hutton's, as well.  In the ruby-crowned kinglet, the eye ring is less prominent and the kinglet lacks the white patch that continues to the beak. 

The fourth main difference is the vocalizations.  The ruby-crowned kinglet sings a soft, sweet, high pitched ascending song.  The hutton's vireo sings a varying series of warblers and high pitched notes.  I would recommend visiting The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds website and listen to these songs.  This is a great website for listening to bird songs and exploring life histories of birds.

Hutton's vireo, Bolinas Lagoon Open Space Preserve, photo by Kelly Wohlwend

Snowy egrets and a great egret, Bolinas Lagoon, photo by Kelly Wohlwend

Before I conclude my journey at Bolinas Lagoon I wanted to share one more photo that I took at my last stop before leaving.  A group of snowy egrets all stood in a line with a great egret standing sentry in the back.  As I got as close as I could without leaving the pullout, one by one the snowy egrets took to wing and flew a short distance to other bank.  The great egret watched his subordinates with great care.  It definitely put a smile on my face.

Thank you for coming on this journey with me to the beautiful and breathtaking Bolinas Lagoon!