Ornithology 2B Summary
If you miss a class, please check this page and study the listed topics in your field guide. Click here
for last year's calendar. Annotated photos from our Jan 2006 Texas trip are now here.
May 17
We completed and reviewed the ducks on page 86. Click here
for photos and discussion showing variation in tuft length in male Tufted Ducks. Click here,
here, here,
here, here,
and here for photos of Tufted Ducks in California.
Click here for photos and discussion on scaup identification.
Please preregister after July 1st
if you plan to enroll in the Fall. Click here for
details.
May 10
We completed and reviewed the ducks on page 84. Click here
for photos of the two Common Pochards at Bolsa Chica which we discussed in class.
May 3
We completed and reviewed the ducks on page 82. Click here,
here and here
for my photos of Blue-winged Teal in Texas. Two of my photos of a male and one of a female Blue-winged Teal at
Shollenberger Park - 7 April 2003 are here
(Yahoo Northbay Birds membership required). Photo of a Green-winged Teal misidentified as a Garganey at Baker,
California is here. Photos of another Green-winged Teal
misidentified as Garganey is here. A photo of a
real Garganey in California is here.
April 26
We completed and reviewed the ducks on page 80. Click here
for a photo of an immature male Eurasian Wigeon in San Francisco. Click here
for my photo of an adult male Eurasian Wigeon in Orange County.
April 19
We completed and reviewed the ducks on page 78. Click here
for my account of a Falcated Duck at Honey Lake, California, including a discussion of past records and a link
to a photo of another Falcated Duck from Washington State. The dates of the San Francisco Falcated Duck record,
which we discussed and whose photo was reportedly published in "the newspaper," were 5 Apr-21 May 1953.
Click here for my photo of a male Green-winged
Teal in Texas. Click here and here
for photos of female Green-winged Teal in California, both of which were misidentified as female Garganey. Click
here for my photos and discussion of a recent Baikal
Teal at Mission Hills, California.
April 5
We completed and reviewed the ducks on page 76. Click here
for a photo and discussion of a female Mallard showing male-like plumage characters. Click here
for photos of an apparent "Brewer's Duck," a hybrid between Mallard and Gadwall. Click here
for an excellent recent article on the taxonomic status of "Mexican Duck." Click here
for my photo and commentary on Mottled Ducks in Texas.
Note: There is no class next week because of Spring Break. Class resumes April 19th.
March 29
We completed and reviewed the ducks on page 74. Click here
for my photo of Black-bellied Whistling-Duck in Texas. Click here
for photos and discussion of an escaped Black-bellied Whistling Duck in California showing the clipped rear toe.
March 22
We completed and reviewed the geese on page 72. Click here
for David Sibley's page on Cackling/Canada goose identification. Click here
for my photo of a Cackling Goose (B. r. taverneri) at San Leandro Bay. Click here
for my account with photo of a Barnacle Goose near Modesto. This record was not accepted by the California Bird
Records Committee because of questionable natural occurrence. Click here
for a photo and discussion of an apparent hybrid Barnacle Goose.
This was the last class of the quarter. Please click here to register for part B. Course numbers, dates and descriptions are here.
March 15
We completed and reviewed the geese on pages 68 & 70. Click here
for my photos of immature Greater White-fronted Geese showing pale head/neck. Click here
for a photo of a Bean Goose we saw on the Pribilof Islands on 30 May 1999 and described on Robbie's Alaska trip
report. The consensus was that it belonged to the race middendorffii, largest of all the races. Click
here for photos of a Bean Goose at Grays Harbor, Washington.
Click here and here
for photos of a dark morph Ross's Geese in California. Click here
for my account with photos of an Emperor Goose at Bodega Bay and here
for another photo of that bird. Click here for photos
of an immature Emperor Goose in Lake County. Click here for
a photo and discussion of a controversial immature blue morph Snow Goose in Santa Cruz.
March 8
We completed and reviewed the swans on page 66. Click here
for a detailed Trumpeter Swan identification checklist. Click here
for a summary of Trumpeter Swan sightings in California in the winter of 1998-99. Click here
for Trumpeter Swan photos in Butte County in Jan 2006. An account of my sighting (with photo) of a Whooper Swan
at White Lake, Siskiyou County is here. A photo of the
Whooper Swan family group is here. A video showing a flock
of 8 Trumpeter Swans in Glen County last January is here. The much
beloved Canadian naturalist who excoriated Crows in his writings and deeds was Jack
Miner.
March 1
We completed and reviewed the ibises and spoonbills on page 64. Click here
for photos and my account of a Glossy Ibis in Alviso. Additional Glossy Ibis photos from California are here
and here. A White-faced Ibis (originally thought
to possibly be a Glossy Ibis) at Lake Merced is here.
Another controversial White-faced Ibis, originally thought to be a Glossy is here.
A White Ibis photo from Washington State is here. Roseate
Spoonbill photos from the Salton Sea are here and
one from nearby Fig Lagoon is here. Click here
for my Texas White Ibis photo and commentary. Click here
and here for my Texas Roseate
Spoonbill photos and commentary. Note the corrected scientific name for the Roseate Spoonbill is Platalea ajaja.
February 22
We completed and reviewed the heron, storks and flamingos on page 62. Click here
(view full size) for my photo of a breeding plumage Great Blue Heron showing blue lores.
February 15
We completed and reviewed the egrets on page 60.
February 8
We completed and reviewed the herons on page 58. My account with photos of a Tricolored Heron at Bolsa
Chica is here. A photo of a Tricolored Heron at Pt. Mugu is
here. Click here
for a photo of an immature Little Blue Heron currently being seen at Smith River. Click here
for my account of a Reddish Egret in San Diego including a photo. A photo of a different Reddish Egret in San Diego
is here. A photo of an immature Reddish Egret at Point Mugu
is here. Click here
for my photo of a Reddish Egret in Arizona.