A Not Exactly Black Brewer's Blackbird in Bishop, California

I guess the birds are where you find them. Brewer's Blackbirds (Euphagus cyanocephalus) are exceedingly common in my home territory, roosting by the thousands on telephone wires and trees around the city. But it's not all that often that I see one up close.

I was in Bishop, California last weekend on a short break from our geology field studies, enjoying breakfast at the Schatt's Bakery in the middle of town. With outdoor seating, it wasn't much of a surprise to see birds looking for a handout. A Blackbird seemed to own the post behind our table and I got a couple of shots of the iridescent feathers in the morning sunlight. It's obvious that "black" is only kind of an average for the color of this bird...

And the intensity of those eyes...

A Bit of an Unusual Sight: Greater White-fronted Geese East of the Sierra Nevada

We were in the eastern Sierra Nevada and Owens Valley last weekend for a geology field study course, but of course I was on the lookout for interesting birds. We stopped at the Mono Lake County Park and I saw a flock of geese that got my curiosity up. They were clearly Greater White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons), which is a species I normally expect to see back home in the Great Valley. I checked out the eBird Range map for the species, and saw that they are indeed a little unusual. There are sightings almost every year, but usually of just one or two at a time. Local birders have noted the unusual size of the group, more than two dozen.

I don't know if this flock is off course, or if they are just passing through on their way farther south. The great majority of this species winter in the refuges of the Great Valley, including the San Joaquin River NWR a few miles west of my fair city of Modesto. In any case, their presence is a sure sign that fall has arrived. They've spent the summer in the Arctic, but it's getting colder out there now.