Joe Morlan
jmorlan.bsky.social
Joe Morlan
@jmorlan.bsky.social
#addBirder
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens)
13 December 2025. Calera Creek, Pacifica, California, USA.

Active and jumpy, these little birds seldom hold still for photography. This is the gray-flanked subspecies "P. r. barlowi" which ranges south of the Golden Gate and into the East Bay.

#Birds
December 15, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope)
11 December 2025. Crab Cove, Alameda, California, USA.

This handsome adult male showing a solid white patch on its upperwing coverts. The fine vermiculated herring-bone pattern of gray shows only at close range.

#Birds
December 12, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)
11 December 2025. Ballena Bay Yacht Club, Alameda, California, USA.

Adult are starting to show breeding (alternate) plumage with bright red gular pouch. Can we call it a "Ruby-throated Pelican?"
December 12, 2025 at 3:14 AM
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)
30 November 2025. Lloyd Lake, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, USA.

Endemic to North America, the male's extravagant white crest with black trim may be raised in ritualized courtship display giving them an outrageous foppish profile.

#Birds
December 1, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)
16 November 2025. Nob Hill Pond, Redwood Shores, California, USA.

This widespread species gets its name from the patch of bright green on its secondaries usually concealed on swimming birds. Here it shows when the wings are partly raised. An immature male.

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November 30, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
20 November 2025. Pescadero, California, USA.

Striking a menacing pose, an adult showing reddish head skin and small ivory colored bill. They take three years to get full adult coloration.

#Birds
November 24, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus).
18 November 2025. Pier 94, Salt marsh restoration, San Francisco, California, USA.

A rare visitor to the Bay Area with most records being males. This is the first female I have photographed. It is In its first winter (formative plumage).

#Birds
November 19, 2025 at 4:43 PM
European Mantis (Mantis religiosa)
12 September 2025. Pier 94, Salt Marsh Restoration, San Francisco, California, USA.

Usually called "Praying Mantis" they were introduced to North America from Europe. They can change color from brown to green.
November 13, 2025 at 12:49 AM
Surfbird (Calidris virgata)
04 November 2025. Hayward Landing, Hayward, California, USA.

Endemic to North America, breeding in the mountains of central Alaska and the Yukon and wintering along the Pacific Coast from Alaska to South America.

#Birds
November 6, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica)
04 November 2025. Hayward Landing, Hayward, California, USA.

Originally found 02 November 2025 by Ed Yong, a first winter (formative plumage) bird retaining juvenile wing coverts and tertials.

#Birds
November 5, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)
26 October 2025. North Lake, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, USA.

Frequently misspelled, they were named in honor of the German naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller who collected the first specimen.

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October 30, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis)
28 October 2025. Mirada Surf County Park, El Granada, California, USA.

A rare vagrant in California. The sharply pointed and attenuated rectrices indicate an immature (formative plumage) and the all dark primary coverts and alula indicate a female.

#Birds
October 29, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata)
27 October 2025. Elsie Roemer Bird Sanctuary, Alameda, California, USA.

Harsh backlighting was a challenge. Found by Deborah Crooks October 24, a very rare and declining late Fall migrant in California.

#Birds
October 28, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
24 August 2025. Shamrock Ranch, Pacifica, California, USA.

Posing on a dead sunflower head. A female of the race "J. h. pinosus" which is largely resident. They are distinguished by having more extensive pinkish color on their sides.

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October 24, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Columbian Black-tailed Deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus).
23 October 2025. San Pedro Valley Park, Pacifica, California, USA.

Note sideways cud chewing action. Not often seen in the wild, deer usually repair to a safe place to chew their cud.

#Nature #Wildlife
October 23, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
01 August 2017. Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District, San Rafael, California, USA.

A peaceful reflective setting. An adult in breeding plumage showing black chin and bill ring.

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October 22, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Cooper's Hawk (Astur cooperii)
22 August 2025. Pacifica, California, USA.

A juvenile Cooper's Hawk perching on our backyard fence checking out our bird feeders. They feed on small birds.

#Birds
October 21, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
24 August 2025. Point San Pedro, Pacifica, California, USA.

Late nestlings. Likely a second brood. The yellow "gape flanges" attached to the edges of the bill and yellow-orange mouth lining stimulate the adult birds to feed their babies.

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October 20, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus)
9 October 2022. Lake Merced, San Francisco, California, USA.

A blue iridescent male striking a tail-up pose. Still expanding their range, they were first recorded in California along the Colorado River in 1964.

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October 19, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
16 October 2025. Skylawn Cemetery, Highlands, California, USA.

They breeds across much of the continent, choosing gravel bars when available. But they have become well adapted to nesting on roadsides, golf course edges and even tar & gravel rooftops.

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October 18, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra)
16 October 2025. Skylawn Cemetery, Highlands, California, USA.

Famous for different populations having different call types and bill sizes.

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October 17, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Hudsonian Whimbrel (Numenius hudsonicus)
13 October 2025. Coyote Point Recreation Area, San Mateo, California, USA.

Taxonomy in transition. Formerly lumped with the Eurasian Whimbrel they are scheduled to be split in the next Clements/eBird update.

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October 15, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva)
13 October 2025. Coyote Point Recreation Area, San Mateo, California, USA.

A nice bright juvenile found 09 October by Michael Long. Increasingly scarce in California.

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October 14, 2025 at 3:28 PM
White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi)
13 October 2025. Coyote Point Freshwater Marsh, San Mateo, California, USA.

Scarce along the immediate coast, this bird was first reported 07 October by Tom Duncan. A non-breeding adult showing the green and bronze sheen.

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October 14, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Western Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis)
14 September 2025. Fort Mason, San Francisco, California, USA.

Formerly split from the virtually identical Cordilleran Flycatcher under the name "Pacific-slope Flycatcher."

#Birds
October 12, 2025 at 10:49 PM