Very exciting sighting! On a trip to survey the park for the San Mateo County Birding Guide.
I heard them, which is an easier way to secure this ID than visually.
This bird was quite tame, and stayed visible for a long while, enabling me to get some great pictures.
One of our guides said this was the Western Eyed Click Beetle, and gave its Latin name as Alaus melanops - with this page from Bugguide - http://bugguide.net/node/view/6354
In the hands of Rich Hoyer, guide extraordinaire
On GBNA Spearfish Trip; we also saw McCown's and Chestnut-collared Longspurs at this stop, but no pictures...
I cannot tell the difference between this species and Western Fence Lizard. Wish I remembered more about the size...These two pictures are of the same lizard
Peggy heard something in a tree, then saw motion - then we watched this baby bear come trundling out of a tree. Never did see the mother - which was worrisome at the time.
I do not feel certain about this ID, as the distinctly giraffe-like pattern of the lizard in my picture is not what the Peterson Lizard Guide illustrates for this species.
The lump on the left hand side of the picture is NOT a cow pile - it is a Common Poorwill! Black Point Road is one of the best places to observe this favorite species
At the feeders where one can sometimes see the Gray-crowned Rosy-finch.
Not the best picture, but I have such fond memories of this species, and of this trip!
Peggy and I took my Mom to Paris for a week. We were really showing her around, so we didn't bird much. But I love this picture of a Wood Pigeon at Notre Dame!
This was seen during a pelagic bird trip out of Cape Hatteras in North Carolina, led by Brian Patteson. I forget if anyone on the boat was able to identify this to species. I assume that Scalloped Hammerhead is the most common Hammerhead Shark in that area.
Seen riding with the boat on a pelagic birding trip out of Hatteras with Brian Patteson.
Pelagic birding trip off of Hatteras with Brian Patteson yielded some great non-birds, as well as wonderful flocks of birds, too.
Seen while participating in the Palo Alto Summer Bird Count, along the Waterwheel Trail in Monte Bello OSP.
