The Natural History of Bodega Head

    White-throated Sparrow ( Zonotrichia albicollis ) in our backyard in Cotati on 19 February 2025.

    Chipping Sparrow ( Spizella passerina ) on the University of Vermont campus on 7 October 2024.

    A quick shot of a Fox Sparrow ( Passerella iliaca ) at our backyard bird bath.  I was struck by the length of its toes!  

  Who me? Golden-crowned Sparrow ( Zonotrichia atricapilla ), 4 March 2020  

  Lincoln's Sparrow ( Melospiza lincolnii ), an uncommon migrant and winter resident in the Bodega Bay area.  Note the narrow buffy...

We haven't spent much time outside lately because of the wildfire smoke and poor air quality, but at times there have been quite a few b...

This morning I was interested to see that we received almost 2 inches of rain last night.  Some of the local birds took advantage of the pud...

  White-crowned Sparrow ( Zonotrichia leucophrys ) bathing on 5 April 2018.  We often notice a lot of bird activity at the bird bath wh...

Just a few shots of "Ipswich Sparrows" ( Passerculus sandwichensis princeps ) at Duxbury Beach, Massachusetts, on 22 December 2017...

A few more photos from Abbotts Lagoon on 24 November 2017:   Mixed flock of shorebirds (including Sanderling, Dunlin, Least Sandpiper...

  Brewer's Sparrow ( Spizella breweri ), photographed on Bodega Head on 2 September 2017. I don't have much experience wit...

  White-crowned Sparrow taking a bath in the rain today (4 March 2017). 

  Someday I'll get better pictures of a Lark Sparrow ( Chondestes grammica ), but I thought I'd share this one for now becaus...

  Harris's Sparrow (Zonotrichia querula) , spotted in the village of Salmon Creek on 3 January 2015. This is a rare bird in Son...

Today I was very excited to catch up with an old friend.     Before moving to California, I spent some time monitoring Grasshopper Sp...

In the 1960s, Rich Stallcup and C.J. Ralph discovered that outer Point Reyes is a "migrant trap."  In Rich's words (from the P...

Three sparrows in the genus Zonotrichia have been recorded on Bodega Head.  Zonotrichia means "banded thrush."  Although these s...

Of the 14 species of sparrows recorded on Bodega Head, three species nest here (the others are migrants, winter on Bodega Head and then move...