Gualala Birds

Earlier this month I watched a Youtube video by Bob Duchesne talking about what expert birders don’t tell beginners.

As a beginner, I’m definitely interested in hearing from experts what I’m missing. But what stuck with me from the video wasn’t what he said I was missing, rather what I have.

What I have, he says, is the joy of discovering a new bird species. There are only so many birds in the US that most of us get to see (lower 48, ~ 950 species.) While that is a big number, a lot of birders seem to get to the 6-700 species seen within their first 8-10 years of active birding. That leaves the next few hundred birds which seemingly take another 8-10 years. Because of this rapid slowing of seeing new species, that means expert birders are now seeing the “same ‘ole birds” for a long period of time.

I feel like I’m in a sweet spot – I have… let me see.. checking eBird… hold on… just hit 130 species. I’ve added 10 new species just in the last 30 days. I still get excited about new species sightings… lifers. One thing I’ve noticed this year is that I seem to get “batches” of new birds. For example, in June I only added 5 new species. But now that I’m looking at my list, I see that this year I’ve been adding on average about 7-8 birds per month. Seeing this data and now writing it down actually shifts my perception. There were periods in August and September where it felt like I was standing in my normal spots and seeing nothing. That wasn’t true… the “regular” birds could still be seen, but I had hit a dry spell of a week of not seeing anything new or exciting. What my data says is I shouldn’t have felt like I was seeing nothing – i was averaging 2 new birds a week!

(Exciting sightings – that should be a post on its own. There are birds I don’t see often enough that when I do see them, I get excited. Pick any owl as a starter.)

I’m still trying to find my rhythm for this blog – how do I manage my musings vs actual bird sightings.

The last few days have been pretty exciting regarding bird sightings – so I think I’ll break this up into “musings” vs pure sightings.

I’ve had a few exciting new finds this month… and one less than exciting.

Let’s start with the less than exciting find out of the way – and it’s my most recent.

I had been out walking the dog when I heard a large group of geese like birds flying southbound – Merlin Bird ID was already running, so I whipped out my phone to see Cackling Goose show up. The flock was pretty far away, but I was able to get a photo with enough detail to verify Cackling Goose,

Lifer # 126 – Cackling Goose

This bird… looks like a very common Canada Goose we see frequently — but they have a shorter head. A new lifer is a new lifer, so I’ll take it.

Now, the next trio are more exciting to me.

I love a good raptor, and this one didn’t disappoint. I had seen this hawk landing on this specific tree at a distance every night at 6pm, but never with my camera in hand. This particular night I was ready and was able to get a photo of him – again, at a distance, but good enough for id.

Lifer #124 – Ferruginous Hawk

I mentioned this guy in my initial blog post, but this was a real surprise to me.

He was a lone flyer as the sun went down… I give to you

Lifer # 125 – Tundra Swan

Finally, a bird that I recently capture at Walnut Creek California just a week before seeing him in Gualala. I was really excited to see him in Walnut Creek, even though he was 50 yards away. But in Gualala, I got close to him…. or rather, he got close to me ! The bonus is this bird meows like a kitten.

Lifer # 123 – Red-breasted Sapsucker

My journey with becoming a birder has coincided with me moving to Gualala, California in 2025. Well, that’s not totally true.

I actually started birding in 2014 – well, maybe less of a birder and more bird-curious. I was primarily a photographer who needed beautiful subjects. I joined a few local birding club outings and enjoyed the camaraderie, but never got serious about birding per-se. This fling lasted until early 2016 when I stopped looking at the birds.

What changed?

Two words: Step-daughter and eBird/Merlin Bird ID.

My daughter-in-law started birding early this year and it somewhat re-ignited my curiosity. My wife supported my idea of purchasing a “birding lens” for my camera, and next thing you know I’ve got Merlin Bird ID installed and I’m out staring at bushes for an hour at a time.

I’m still a beginner birder. My “life list” is at 126. I still only have a visual memory of maybe 20-30 of those birds, and an audio memory of maybe half that. I use age as an excuse – it’s harder to memorize things. But that doesn’t stop the enjoyment of seeing the birds and the enjoyment of hearing a Northern Flicker buried deep in the woods and recognizing its call.

I’m hoping to use this blog as a place to document those 1-hour at a time birding session I have, while being able to highlight my highs and lows while still a beginner.

Life Bird 125 was a lone Tundra Swan flying overhead – the fact I was able to recognize it as “this isn’t one of the normal birds I see” is exciting unto itself. And I hope to be able to share just a bit of that joy and maybe a nice photo once in awhile.

For now, I’ll share some recent sightings and maybe do some back-fill story telling.

Time to leave the nest.