200

Late last month, I reached my 200th lifetime bird – the Mute Swan. Not a lot of fan-fare, but a solid number for me.

From the Gualala Point Park, I nabbed bird #198, the Heermans Gull. It’s actually quite a beautiful gull; the dark coloring body with bright white head could almost make one mistake it for a Bald Eagle from a distance.

Life #198 – Heerman’s Gull

Before going back to the bay area for business, I managed to finally see my first petite-nemesis bird, the Olive Sided Flycatcher. This bird was making noises all around our home for a solid two weeks. I’d spend 30 minutes sitting in a single spot — the bird continuously making sound and I could not see him. To add insult, the description of the bird is “almost always sitting in plain view.” OH. MY. GOD. Before I rage-quit on the bird, I finally saw him perched up — in plain view. Phew.

Lifer #199 – Olive Sided Flycatcher

I spent two weeks back in the back area where I added the Mute Swan as bird #200. This was a short birding trip I did with my step-daughter where we got good views of the Swans, along with great views of Common Gallinules and Western Kingbirds.

Lifer #200 – Mute Swan

Closer to home, I checked back in on the Cooper’s Hawks nest and found 4 ( maybe 5 ) fledglings getting quite large. I managed a few photos and a video of the mom coming in to feed them.

Lastly, closer to Gualala home, I had a fantastic experience watching the Humpback Whales from the Gualala Bluff Trail. They were still pretty far out from shore, but with a lot of zoom and a little luck, I managed some nice photos and a pretty good video.