Copyright ©2022 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Last week I met up with some local Audubon club members for a bird walk. Here’s some of the exciting birds we saw.
This first bird was a neat sighting. It’s a Graylag x Swan hybrid we discovered. The ebird monitor for Washoe county wrote me after seeing my images of the goose this. “Your documentation shows this is a “Domestic goose with a mix of Graylag and Swan Goose (aka Chinese Goose) ancestry. The dark stripe from the top of the head down the back of the neck, and the bulging forehead are Swan Goose traits, while the orange bill and a few other features are Graylag traits. ” P.H. Isn’t that interesting! It’s a handsome goose and several people we ran into while admiring and photographing it told us they named him. One family called him Barney, and another one calls him Harry. He’s quite the celebrity there.
Another exciting sighting was a large group of White-fronted Geese. We don’t see those a lot here so, we watched and photographed them for awhile too.
Saving the best for last, and it was the last bird we saw on our way back to the parking before we finished up was the Immature Audubon’s Yellow-rump Warbler. This was a lifer for me! Isn’t it cute!
I’ll be birding with friends this week-end and hoping to see lots of birds. I hope you all have a great week-end!
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more to come…
Circadianreflections Blog 
I didn’t realize I had missed so many of your posts. These are great. The water is almost, but not quite as interesting as the geese!
Agreed the water wasn’t great but, the birds were why I was there. Thank you so much, Denise! 😉😀
I liked the way the water looked … perhaps I didn’t word that right!
LOL! No worries! The birds were better than the slough water. 😀
I thought it had a pretty pattern!
😀
It is always so thrilling to get a lifer! Wonderful to see your yellow-rumped immature, Deborah, and impressive that you could capture a photo, given their flitty ways. The Graylag hybrid is very interesting, not only for its mix, but for how you found out about its background. We saw an abundance of white-fronted geese at the Sacramento NWR this year, so I’m glad you got to see some here. Thanks for letting us join you at the slough, it was fun.
Thanks for coming along via the blog pics, Jet! That was a fun outing. This morning I went birding for a couple of hours and saw this season’s first Turkey Vulture. Spring is almost here! Can you believe they’re not here year round!! 😀
Stunning shots. Thanks for taking us with you on your birding walk.
Thank you for coming along via my post, Damyanti! 😀
Is the hybrid you mentioned something that happened naturally or did breeders bring it about?
I have no idea. It wasn’t banded so my guess would be it happened naturally in the wild.
Nice. The Yellow-rumped Warbler is the most common warbler in our area. They are often referred to as “Butter Butts”.
The Yellow-rumped typically has a broken eye ring also called eye-arcs.
Thank you so much, Robert! We too have lots of Yellow-rumps. They’re so cute.
That was a great outing! A bird with many names and a lifer too, don’t get much better than that. I think you should go with your own name and give it the name “Bird with many Names”! You got some excellent shots to the boot 🙂👍!
Thank you so much, John!
Wow, you sure had a great week with these handsome guys. Great shots, and have fun birding.
Thank you so much, Judy! It was a fun week-end. 😀
These are very beautiful and successful photos of birds. You photographed two different types of goose. The goose with the white ring over its nose is a rather rare species in Germany.
Thank you so much, Werner!
As I was looking at the photos you shared with us, what occurred to me is how many adornments us humans require to feel we are ready to face the world. And these gorgeous photos show the birds are perfect … just the way they are. Great eye!
So true! I rarely leave the house without at least lipstick on! 🤣 Thank you so much!
Congratulations on a great birding day, Deborah. These are all wonderful. I may see lifers without even knowing it. 🙂 I’m not much for feeding the birds but at one place in the Preserve you can (although not everyone follows the recommendations for the correct food). Your photos make me want to get to the Preserve again soon. Because of family obligations, I haven’t been there for months. 😦 But sometimes it’s just too much on top of everything else. I’ll just enjoy your photos for today. ❤
Thank you so much, Janet! I’m seeing more and more signs at the parks up in Reno saying only feed the ducks and geese frozen peas, or lettuce and one park has a pond monitor making sure that’s happening. I don’t feed them either, and only put food in my feeders in the Winter since food is plentiful for them the rest of the year.
Beautiful pics. Deborah with interesting info about this goose. It is great getting out with others who love birding and know where the best places are. The warbler looks very similar to our Thornbill.
Thank you so much, Ashley!! I’d love to see your Thornbill!
Isn’t it wonderful to meet up with our winged friends. Brilliant captures.
It’s great fun. Thank you so much, Rebecca!
Hi Deborah, I like that the one bird is named! Such amazing photos and interesting facts too. Happy Friday! 😃
Thank you so much, Jill! I hope you had a lovely week-end!
How marvelous! A mixed breed bird. That seems like a rate find as well. Beautiful photos Deborah!
Thank you Cheryl! I’m not sure if I should count it as a lifer, but I’m leaning that way since I doubt I’ll see another goose x swan mix soon. 😀
Thank you, Deborah. So nice seeing the photos you produce.
Thank you so much, John! I’m so glad you enjoyed seeing the birds and geese.
😊
Congrats on the YRW lifer, Deborah! 🤗💃😊 They are so cute and entertaining! I’m jealous with the White-fronted Goose which would be a lifer for me, been chasing sightings of one here and there around me for two months now. It’s never there when I get there! 🤦♀️
Thank you so much, Donna! I feel for you since I have been there just last spring looking for a long tailed duck. I never saw it! 😭 I hope it returns this spring and I do finally see one. I hope you see that White-fronted goose too! I’m rooting for you!!
Rooting for you too! Guess what, both the WFGoose and the Golden Eagle (always seen couple miles from the goose) were both seen again two days ago. Ugh! These sightings are just two miles from my home. I bet they’ve both flown over my house, trying to get my attention. 😉🤣 No luck yesterday, I’m going to check out the area again this afternoon while out. 🙂
I hope this afternoon you see one or better still both of them!
I thought I found the Golden Eagle, took distant photos and got home to find it was a juvenile Bald Eagle. lol I told myself while driving around that I probably passed the GE several times in my circling, and it was sitting there wondering what the heck that lady lost or is looking for! 🤣
Arg!!! Hang in there you’ll see it I know you will!
👍 🙂
Congrats with your lifer, Deborah. It indeed is cute! 🙂
Thank you so much, Peter!
Absolutely stunning! I feel as though I can reach our and touch the feathers. The composition is as lovely as the photos.
Thank you so much, Jennie! 😀🙏🏻
You’re welcome!
I’ve only seen Canada Geese, so it was a treat to see these two and “Junior” as well 😊. Fine shots, Deborah!
Thank you so much, Belinda! They were a treat to see. 😀
Your photos are so detailed. Just beautiful. Enjoy your bird days. I anticipate many more photos to come.
Thank you so much, Ally! I hope we have great sightings even better, it will be good see friends I haven’t seen in awhile.
These are beautiful, Deborah. How nice of them to get back to you with information about Harry. Three wonderful finds, you much have been in your glory. Thanks for sharing your excellent photos! I hope you have a great weekend.
Isn’t that something how some have named him. One lady brought food and was coaxing him out of the slough to hand feed him. I’m not so keen on that, but he was a happy goose! Thank you so much, Dan! I hope you have a great week-end as well.