Introductory sample, selected by Ed Pandolfino

Pictures and sound extracted from Internetby Herb Lindberg

Birds at Bridgepo

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Resident year around

Acorn WoodpeckerWestern Scrub JaySteller’s JayBlack PhoebeSpotted TowheeCalifornia QuailAmerican DipperAmerican Robin

Summer Visitors

Cliff SwallowBullock’s Oriole

Winter Visitors

Dark-eyed JuncoRuby-crowned KingletGolden-crowned Sparrow

Three groups of birds:

Bird Groups

Note: In all the slides with a speaker symbol, move your mouse around until the arrow cursor appears and then click on the speaker to hear the bird’s call. This takes a bit of time for long bird calls.

To jump ahead or back to a specific bird, right click anywhere and use “Go.”

Presentatio

n Use Note

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Residents Year Around

---RESIDENTS YEAR AROUND---

• Nest in communal groups; some guard hoard while others are away

• Can be spotted on dead trees or branches where holes for acorns can be drilled

• Sounds like Woody Woodpecker

Acorn Woodpecker

• Buries acorns that often sprout, so they are critical “oak farmers”

• Piercing call

• It’s blue, and a jay, but is NOT a Blue Jay

Western Scrub Jay

• Generally at higher altitudes than Western Scrub Jay; both found at foothills altitude of Bridgeport.

• Both are aggressive with piercing calls

• Both are blue and jays, but not Blue Jays

Steller's Jay

• Flycatcher

• Usually close to water

• Repetitive two-note song

Black Phoebe

• Forages on the ground doing a ‘two-foot-kick’ dance (kicks material backwards with both feet at once and a hop).

• Covers wide range of altitudes.

• Formerly known as Rufous-sided Towhee

Spotted Towhee

• Male (shown here) has dark, smooth plume and black and white face and throat pattern; females are duller with fuzzy plume.

•Male is chief baby sitter.

• Groups often stay in contact with little sputtering sounds.

• Very susceptible to domestic cats.

• Male’s song is a dragged out “Chi-ca-go” :

California Quail

• A bird of mountain streams, and is always near the water.

• Has a most interesting feeding method: perches on stream rock as here, dives into the water and flies underwater against strong current while eating larvae etc. on rocks and river bottom.

• Also known as the Water Ouzel

• Complex exuberant song -- John Muir’s favorite bird.

American Dipper

• Very familiar bird, often seen walking erect on the ground.

• A clear caroling song; short phrases, rising and falling, often prolonged.

American Robin

Summer Visitors

---SUMMER

VISITORS---

• Vacuums up insects on the wing.

• Builds dense colonies of mud nests under eaves and bridges. Thousands of mouthfuls of mud in each nest for Spring nesting.

• Winters in southern South America.

• This is the Capistrano Swallow.

Cliff Swallow

• Winters in Central America

• Formerly lumped with Baltimore Oriole as Northern Oriole

• Charming, bouncy song, harsh chatter

Song:

Chatter:

Bullock's Oriole

Winter Visitors

---WINTE

R VISITORS---

• Usually found in actively-foraging flocks.

• Primarily a ground feeder, as here.

Dark-eyed Junco

• Non-stop forager with an attitude

•Only shows ruby crown (male) when angry

•Breeds mainly in mountains

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

• Migrates up west coast as far as Alaska

• Lacks “golden” crown until mature

• Plaintive “Oh .. Dear .. me” song

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Credits

• Photographs

– Ruby-crowned Kinglet http://www.nenature.com/RubyCrownedKingletPhoto.htm,http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i7490id.html

– All othershttp://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/photos/fauna/com-Bird.html

• Sound

– American Dipper http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i7490id.html

– All Others:Doug Von Gausig athttp://www.naturesongs.com/species.html