Ornithology 3A & B Summary (Fall 2012)

If you miss a class, please check this page and study the listed topics in your field guide. Click here for last semester's calendar.

Class notes by Elisabeth Koster are here. (Plumage and molt terminology here. )
Click here for field trip information. Please check this site before the trip in case of last minute changes!
Please register at eBird and email me your eBird ID. I can then offer to share field trip lists with you.

Click here for a summary of bird name changes from the 53rd AOU supplement.

Here is my photo of a 3rd cycle California Gull.
Click here for my photo of an interesting adult Herring Gull at Half Moon Bay (alternate link).

This was the last class of the semester. We will resume Tuesdays, starting February 5, 2013. Details here and above..

Click here, here, here, and here for Black-tailed Gull photos. Click here for my photos of Black-tailed Gull in Japan.
My detailed account of the Belcher's (aka Band-tailed) Gull in San Diego is here. Photos are here.

Photos of the Salton Sea Ross's Gull are here.
Franklin's Gull photos are here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Laughing Gull photos are here, here, here, here, here and here. My photo of Laughing Gull at the Salton Sea is here. My photo of a 2nd cycle and an adult basic Laughing Gull together in Texas is here, and my photo of a 1st cycle Laughing Gull is here.

Note: There is no class next week because of the Central Valley Birding Symposium and no class the following week, November 22nd becaue of the holiday. We resume November 29th.

The ID Frontiers discussion on Sabine's Gull molt is here.
Click here, here, here and here for my documentation of Little Gulls in California. Click here and here for additional photos of Little Gulls in California.
Click here for my photos and description of a Black-headed Gull at the Salton Sea. Other Black-headed Gull photos are here and here.

This was the first class of the new quarter (Part B). Please register for EA125 if you plan to continue.

Click here and here for Black-legged Kittiwake photos.
Click here for a Red-legged Kittiwake photo from Alaska.
Sabine's Gull photos and notes are here, here, here and here.
Ivory Gull photos and notes are here and here. Ivory Gull from Washington is here.
Swallow-tailed Gull photos from Monterey are here. Click here and here for my Swallow-tailed Gull photos from the Galapagos.

This was the last class of the quarter. Please register for EA125 if you plan to continue.

Click here and here for Wilson's Phalarope
Click here and here for my photos and notes on Red-necked Phalaropes.
Click here and here for Red Phalarope images. My photo of a Red Phalarope at Abbotts Lagoon is here.

Click here and here for my Wilson's Snipe photos and behavioral notes.
Click here for details and photos of the American Woodcock at Iron Mountain, California. I co-authored a full article published in "Western Birds" about this bird. A pdf of that article is here. Click here for my photo of American Woodcock in Ohio and here for a video of that bird.

A first summer Short-billed Dowitcher with analysis is here.
Click here for my photo and analysis of a molting Long-billed Dowitcher. Molting adult dowitchers discussed here are probably Long-billed.
A detailed and somewhat controversial article on dowitcher identification is here (link fixed).

Note: No class next week. Classes resume 4 October.

Click here and here for my Pectoral Sandpiper photos and notes. Click here for photos and analysis of a controversial Pectoral Sandpiper in Vancouver.
Click here, here, here, here, here, here and here for photos of Sharp-tailed Sandpipers in California.
My notes and photos of a Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Half Moon Bay are here and here. Additional Buff-breasted Sandpiper photos are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
My notes and Ruff photos are here, here, here and here. Additional Ruff photos are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.