A practical guide to bird watching in Sonoma County, California
(Unless otherwise indicated, all phone numbers are in the 707 area code)
A small gallery of birds I’ve recently photographed
in and around Sonoma County
Recent Photos
© Colin Talcroft, 2009-2020. All rights reserved.
Unless noted, all photos by the author. If you would like to use one of my images, please ask for permission for non-commercial use with proper credit or commercial use with proper compensation.
About my photographs
As some people ask: I mainly use an Olympus OMD-EM1 Mark II today. I now use the Olympus 40mm-150mm F=2.8 Pro telephoto lens with a 1.4X teleconverter, which gives me the equivalent of a 420mm lens on a 35mm camera at f=4.0. In the past I have used an Olympus E-3 and an Olympus OMD-EM5 (in the digital realm; y first serious film camera was an Olympus OM-2). I virtually always shoot without a tripod, because I hate carrying one. What you see on this site is entirely hand-held.
Cattle Egret, Ninth St. Rookery, Santa Rosa
March 28, 2012
Hermit Thrush, Spring Lake, Santa Rosa
March 28, 2012
Great Egret, Ninth St. Rookery, Santa Rosa
March 28, 2012
Great Egret, Ninth St. Rookery, Santa Rosa
March 28, 2012
Steller's Jay collecting nest material
Spring Lake, Santa Rosa, March 28, 2012
Ruddy Duck, male in breeding plumage, Lucchesi Park
Petaluma April 4, 2012
Male Gadwall, Ellis Creek Water Treatment Facility
April 7, 2012
Female Cinnamon Teal
Ellis Creek Water Treatment Facility, April 7, 2012
California Quail, Santa Rosa
April 24, 2012
Great-tailed Grackle, Place to Play Park, Santa Rosa,
June 13, 2012
Snowy Egret in flight
Place to Play Park, Santa Rosa, June 25, 2012
Anna's Hummingbird (female)
Stone Castle Lane, Santa Rosa, August 12, 2012
Red-necked Phalarope (late juvenile)
Doran Beach, Bodega Bay, September 5, 2012
Eurasian Collared-dove
Spud Point Marina, Bodega Bay, September 13, 2012
Western Gull, Doran Beach, Bodega Bay, September 13, 2012--Yes, he swallowed it
Pectoral Sandpiper, Ellis Creek Water Treatment Facility, September 24, 2012
Cape May Warbler, UC Davis Bodega Marine Lab
October 1, 2012
Tropical Kingbird, Sandpiper Ct. near Whaleship Rd., Bodega Bay, October 1, 2012
Western Tanager (female), Dunbar Road, Kenwood
October 27, 2012
Black-necked Stilt, Shollenberger Park, Petaluma, November 10, 2012
American Robin, near Occidental
December 30, 2012
Probable Red-naped x Red-breasted Sapsucker
Spring Lake, Santa Rosa, December 12, 2012
Tree Swallow, Tolay Lake Regional Park
February 9, 2013
Cackling Goose, Ellis Creek Water Recycling Facility, Petaluma, February 24, 2013
Snowy Plover (breeding plumage)
Doran Beach, Bodega Bay, March 28, 2013
Black-necked Stilts copulating
Place to Play Park, Santa Rosa, March 6, 2013
Killdeer, Ellis Creek Water Recycling Plant, Petaluma April 18, 2013
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Spring Lake, Santa Rosa, May 14, 2013
California Thrasher
Pine Flat Rd., Healdsburg, June 1, 2013
Sage Sparrow
Pine Flat Rd., Healdsburg, June 1, 2013
Wilson's Warbler
Hole in the Head, Bodega Bay, June 26, 2013
Warbling Vireo
Spring Lake, Santa Rosa, July 31, 2013
Virginia Rail, East Rail Pond, Bodega Bay
September 10, 2013
Variant Heermann’s Gull,showing white in wings
Near Campbell Cove, Bodega Bay, September 20, 2013
Blackburnian Warbler, Point Reyes (Marin County)
September 28, 2013
Black-throated Blue Warbler, Owl Canyon, Bodega Bay
October 14, 2013
American Bittern, Spring Lake, Santa Rosa
October 29, 2013
Green Heron, Spring Lake, Santa Rosa
October 29, 2013
Anna’s Hummingbird, Stone Castle Lane
Santa Rosa, November 7, 2013
Red-tailed Hawk--a beautiful dark-morph bird
Near the Bodega Farm Pond, November 27, 2013
Hutton’s Vireo, Frati Lane
December 29, 2013
Cinnamon Teal, Ellis Creek Water Treatment Facility
February 1, 2014
Bushtit, Stone Castle Lane, Santa Rosa
March 31, 2014
Ash-throated Flycatcher, Spring Lake, Santa Rosa
July 11, 2014
Western Tanager (female), Hole in the Head, Bodega Bay
September 6, 2014
Snowy Egret, Lake Ralphine, Santa Rosa, November 28, 2014
Townsend’s Warbler, Diekmann’s Store, Bodega Bay
January 17, 2015
Nashville Warbler, Diekmann’s Store, Bodega Bay
January 17, 2015
Bewick’s Wren
Willowside Rd., Santa Rosa, April 18, 2015
Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Lake Ralphine,
Santa Rosa, August 2, 2015
Greater Yellowlegs, Ellis Creek Water Recycling Plant
September 15, 2015
Evening Grosbeak, 14th St. and St. Helena Ave.,
Santa Rosa, December 7, 2015
Magnolia Warbler, Diekmann’s Bay Store, Bodega Bay
October 21, 2015
Great-tailed Grackle (male), Lake Ralphine, Santa Rosa, December 20, 2015
White-faced Ibis, Ellis Creek Water Treatment Facility Petaluma, January 24, 2016
Sage Thrasher, Shollenberger Park, Petaluma, February 4, 2016
Young Pacific-slope Flycatcher,
Howarth Park, Santa Rosa August 3, 2016
Probable Tennessee Warbler
Owl Canyon, Bodega Bay, September 13, 2016
Female California Quail
Spring Lake, Santa Rosa, December 18, 2016
Male Black-headed Grosbeak
Willowside Rd., Santa Rosa, April 15, 2017
Female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Odd Fellows Cemetery, Santa Rosa, March 17, 2017
Anna’s Hummingbird at an Echium, Stone Castle Lane, Santa Rosa, June 22, 2017
Northern Mockingbird in the rain
Imagery Estate Winery, Highway 12, April 15, 2018
Pacific Wren, Howarth Park, Santa Rosa
December 19, 2017
Great-tailed Grackle (male), Lake Ralphine
Santa Rosa, November 28, 2017
Hooded Oriole (female) on a rose bush
Stone Castle Lane, Santa Rosa, August 2, 2017
Orange-crowned Warbler
Howarth Park, Santa Rosa, May 25, 2018
Slate-colored Junco
Stone Castle Lane, Santa Rosa, February 1, 2019
Common Loon, non-breeding plumage
Bodega Harbor, June 29, 2019
Cedar Waxwing, Sierra Arroyo Creek
Santa Rosa, December 15, 2019