I arrived at the kiosk parking lot at 7:45. There were several hundred Red-winged Blackbird flying into the shrubbery east of the lot. They stayed until Keith arrived and flew off as he drove past.

After checking in at the pay station, Keith spotted a Ring-neck Pheasant. From then on the number of birds grew to the thousands.

Along the causeway we saw thousands of ducks and hundreds of American Avocets. Most of the ducks were Northern Shoveler. All of the ducks were a long way north of the causeway and it took us a while to determine what kinds were there. There was a large raft of Lesser Scaup in with the rest of the ducks. A flock of Bonaparte’s Gulls were skimming over the surface of the water. There were a lot of American Pipit flying back and forth along the shoreline. Near the marina we spotted four Long-billed Curlew.

A large covey of Chukar were around the boat trailers at the marina. Keith estimated that there were about 50.

Right after we turned onto the ranch road Keith spotted a coyote down by the lake. About halfway to the ranch we spotted a Prairie Falcon. It sat on a rock for the longest time and we got a very good view of it. We also saw a Red-tailed Hawk, several Kestrel, and several Western Meadowlark along the way.

At the ranch, a Barn Owl was roosting in the silo. Things were pretty quiet around the ranch house, but activity picked up out in the field. Ruby-crowned Kinglets were moving about in a Russian Olive. We also saw White-crowned Sparrow and a White-throated Sparrow at the base of the tree.

We checked out Buffalo Point. There were several Chukar west of the Point. Keith stopped to check for Burrowing Owls but they had left.

Coming back across the causeway there were a lot of Eared Grebe on the south side. We saw a Horned Grebe mixed in with the Eared Grebe and we saw a Common Goldeneye in with the ducks on the north side of the causeway.

Everywhere we went we saw an abundance of bird life. It was like Keith said, “It is really good to have a Global IBA in your own backyard. The best thing about the Island and Causeway is that it is changing on a daily basis. You never know what to expect unless you are there.”

Twelve individuals enjoyed the day: Betty & Keith Evans, Sharen Perry, Jack Rensel, MarJean Muhlestein, Cindy & Steve Sommerfeld, Carolyn and Mort Somer, Coreen & Glen Crouch, and Les Talbot.

Altogether we saw 54 species: Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebe, Eared Grebe, Canada Goose, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Lesser Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Chukar.

Ring-necked Pheasant, American Coot, Killdeer, American Avocet, Willet, Long-billed Curlew, Sanderling, Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson’s Snipe, Franklin’s Gull, Bonaparte’s Gull, California Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Rock Pigeon, Barn Owl, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Black-billed Magpie, Common Raven, Horned Lark.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet, American Robin, European Starling, American Pipit, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark, House Finch and American Goldfinch.