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.

ctalcroft@yahoo.com


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