The Valley Citizen is proud to feature Jim Gain’s series, “Learn 100 Common Valley Birds,” a guide to the most common birds in the San Joaquin Valley. Daunting as it may seem, most people can learn to recognize 100 species if they enjoy going outdoors and developing a closer relationship with nature. Even getting to know 25 species is more than worth the effort. Learning the birds both heightens the […]
Learn 100 Valley Birds
Learn 100 Valley Birds #20: Two Warblers and a Vireo (#30, 31, and 32)
Jim Gain is one of the San Joaquin Valley’s most accomplished amateur naturalists and photographers. His Reflections of the Natural World website is trove of spectacular nature photography, including species from places like Belize and Yucatan. We’re proud to present Jim’s “Learn 100 Common Valley Birds” series here. ed. Wilson’s Warbler – Species #30 The Wilson’s Warbler (Cardellina pusilla) is a small, brightly colored songbird that can be found in […]
Learn 100 Common Valley Birds #14: Wild Turkey
Perfectly appropriate for Thanksgiving Day, Post #14 in Jim Gain’s “Learn 100 Common Valley Birds” series is the Wild Turkey. We’re proud to post Jim’s fine work, and urge you to visit his Reflections of the Natural World for more of his fine work and spectacular images. Introduction The Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is the heaviest upland ground bird native to North America. It is the ancestor to the domestic […]
Learn 100 Valley Birds #12: Wintering “White” Geese – Part II
In Part I of the Our Wintering “White” Geese post, we learned about the larger “white Goose with the Grinning Patch”, the Snow Goose. In this post, the star of the show is the smaller Ross’s Goose. Introduction The Ross’s Goose is a Fairly Common Winter Visitor found almost exclusively in winter in the Central Valley. Similar to the Snow Goose, its preferred habitats are fresh emergent wetlands, adjacent waters […]
Learn 100 Valley Birds #9: Killdeer
The Killdeer (Charadrius vociferous) is a Common Resident in the San Joaquin Valley. Killdeer belong to the plover family Charadriidae, with 68 species worldwide. As their Latin specific name indicates, they are quite noisy (vociferous). Description Killdeers’ upperparts are mostly brown with white underparts. Their upper chest is interrupted by 2 black bands. The sexes are monomorphic (alike) and plumages are essentially identical throughout year. Distribution Killdeer can be found from Canada, […]
Learn 100 Valley Birds #8: Northern Flicker
We’re always excited to post another in Jim Gain’s “Learn 100 Valley Birds” series. See more of Jim’s excursions into nature at Reflections of the Natural World. Number 8 in our series, and number 13 overall, the Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) is a medium-sized bird of the woodpecker family. It is native to most of North America, parts of Central America, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands, and is one of […]
Learn 100 Valley Birds #7: Valley Goldfinches
This is a three-fer post featuring the three species of Goldfinch that occur in the Valley. The first two, American Goldfinch and Lesser Goldfinch are Common Year-round Residents of the valley, while the third species, Lawrence’s Goldfinch, is a bonus species Rare Year-round Resident here. American Goldfinch – Spinus tristis Introduction The American Goldfinch is a Common Year-round Resident. It is one of our smallest bird species and the only […]
Learn 100 Valley Birds #6: Loggerhead Shrike
The Loggerhead Shrike is a Fairly Common Resident in the San Joaquin Valley and can be found in grasslands, freshwater wetlands and chaparral habitats. There are two species of shrike regularly found in the US, the Loggerhead Shrike and the Northern Shrike. However, the Northern Shrike is a very rare vagrant to the Central Valley. Status Loggerhead Shrikes are currently considered a California Bird Species of Special Concern (breeding), priority […]
Learn 100 Valley Birds #3: Common Valley Owls
Today’s post is another three-fer offering that includes the three owls that most Valley Visitors are likely to encounter in an urban setting: Great Horned Owl, Barn Owl and Western Screech-Owl. There are other possible owl species that one might come across in the grasslands and foothill woodlands away from town. One of those, the Burrowing Owl, will have its own future post and the others are considerably less likely […]
Learn 100 Valley Birds #2: Anna’s Hummingbird
Jim Gain calls Anna’s Hummingbird, the second in the “Learn 100 Birds” series, a “three-fer” because it illustrates one of the basic tactics for building a local birding list. This tactic involves knowing a birding fundamental: Learn the most common bird and you will often also learn one or two other similar but less common birds. The Anna’s Hummingbird offers a classic case. In the San Joaquin Valley, if you […]