LAS GALLINAS "WILDLIFE PONDS"

 
I've been avoiding the Las Gallinas Wildlife Ponds even though they're considered to be a birding hotspot in Marin.  My reason for this is because the Las Gallinas "Wildlife Ponds" are actually holding tanks for treated liquid waste...  As horrible as that sounds, I made a big mistake overlooking this location.  It's not at all what you'd imagine it to be.  Las Gallinas is full of birds, and it's also full of birders.  I met a lot of great people and spotted a few rare birds (Blue-Winged Teal and a Wilson's Snipe).  All the bird-nerds at Las Gallinas said it's worth coming back in the evening to spot owls, so I'll make a point of doing that soon.  The trees in the center of the pond were full of Night Herons and the banks were full of all types of ducks.  I helped a few fellow bird watchers spot a Harrier, and they in return pointed out a Blue-Winged Teal.

I still have not given up on my never-ending quest to see a burrowing owl.  In fact, I spent most of Saturday wandering through the fenced in fields at Abbots Lagoon.  Unfortunately I did not find one, but I did spot a few western meadowlarks.  While exploring the fields of Abbots Lagoon, I did find a lot of holes.  BIG holes.  Some of them were so deep they looked like they went a long way into the ground.  It's my understanding that Badgers dig these holes, and then the owls move into them once they're vacant.  So on the chance that a Badger was still living in them, I decided it probably wasn't a good idea to risk sticking my hand inside.

Point Reyes has an endless supply of great birding locations.  Another one of these is Olema Marsh.  I checked this spot out after Abbots Lagoon and spotted a large group of Cinnamon Teal.  When the sun shines on them their cinnamon-reddish colour almost glows.  They're beautiful ducks.

I've seen a lot of hummingbirds, but I haven't confirmed any of the sightings yet.  I've really got to focus on my field guide if I'm ever going to accurately identify them.

63 species and counting !