Rare Male Smew spotted in Soulsbyville, CA; January 2007Welcome to backyard birding. My name is Jamie and will be your host throughout this website. I live in the small town of Groveland, CA which is near Yosemite National Park. I am very new to the birding world and this is how my journey began. While attending the beautiful Columbia College in Sonora, CA I took a basic Biology class. I love animals of all sorts so Biology was a fun and exciting yet a challenging class for me. Towards the end of the semster (April 22nd, 2006) students of that particular class were required to go on a Saturday field trip. We could choose wildflowers or bird watching. I have had previous though, very little experience in this with my Fiance's mother, Marie (Thanks Marie!) and so choose to go on the bird watching field trip. Our instructor Mr. Guy Van CLeave was very knowledgable about the brids we saw /heard that day. Ever since that day I have been fanatically invloved with birding. I created a Yahoo group May 2006 which is titled backyard birding . I would love to chat about birds so if you are interested toss me an e-mail (birding_jamie@yahoo.com) or send me a message through my Yahoo groups home page.
This site will contain ONLY the photos and sounds of birds I have captured on camera/video MY SELF. There will be very few exceptions to this rule and they will be clearly noted.
NEWS:
*** Please be patient as I update this site. Soon this site will be under a different domain name and with an all new look!!!
*** Rare Male Smew spotted in Soulsbyville, CA; January 2007
***Columbia College Birding Class **UPDATED 3/9/07
Here are some fo the birds that are common in the Modesto to Yosemite National Park area: again, these are birds I have personally sighted, ID'd, and photographed myself.
If there are errors anywhere on this site please let me know as I wish to keep my data as accurate as possible.
Sightings are from April 25th to current. Updated: 11/04/2006
All working links listed below have photos and information on that particular type of species unless other wise noted which, is listed in ORANGE. Many of these links include a number of different characteristics: audio files, live video, & baby photos.
***NEW*** Jamie's life list at a glance (Being Updated, will be available soon)
NOW in taxanomic order / date first ID'd
eared grebe 11/04/2006
pied-billed grebe 10/13/2006
western grebe 11/05/2006
clark's grebe 7/22/2006
sooty shearwater 8/2006
black / least storm petrel 8/2006
brown pelican 8/2006
brown booby 8/2006
blue footed booby 8/2006
magnificent frigatebird 8/2006
brandts cormorant 8/2006
double crested cormorant 8/2006
american bittern 10/1/2006
great blue heron 7/22/2006
reddish egret 8/2006
great egret 9/23/2006
snowy egret 8/2006
green heron 8/31/2006
white-faced ibis 11/10/2006
mute swan 1/28/2007
canada goose 4/25/2006 ****hear this bird ***baby photos
canada gooslings 5/9/2006
wood duck 5/17/2006 ****baby photos
mallard duck 4/25/2006
american wigeon 12/25/2006
ring-necked duck 1/23/2007
canvas back 11/25/2006
common goldeneye 12/10/2006
barrows goldeneye 12/10/2006
buffelhead 11/04//2006
common merganser 7/22/2006
ruddy duck 10/21/2006
hooded merganser 1/23/2007
smew 1/23/2007
turkey vultures 8/2006
turkey vultures, juvenile 7/22/2006
red-shouldered hawk 6/6/2006
northern harrier 11/18/2006
white tailed kite 11/18/2006
coopers hawk 3/26/2007
red tailed hawk 5/12/2006
ferruginous hawk 12/10/2006
osprey 7/22/2006
bald eagle, adult 7/22/2006
bald eagle, juvenile 8/19/2006
american kestrel 9/30/2006
prairie falcon 1/20/2007
common peafowl 1/27/2007
california quail 5/3/2006 ***baby photos
american coot 11/04/2006
wislons plover 8/2006
killdeer 5/17/2006
black necked stilt 5/17/2006
american avocet 5/17/2006
greater yellowlegs 11/04/2006
long-billed curlew 1/06/2007
marbled godwit 8/2006
black turnstone 8/2006
dunlin 11/18/2006
least sandpiper 12/19/2006
long billed dowitcher 11/18/2006
wilsons snipe 10/01/2006
yellow footed gull 8/2006
heermanns gull 8/2006
rock dove, checkered adult 6/3/2006
rock dove, natural adult 6/17/06
rock dove, dark adult 8/2006
white winged dove 8/2006
mourning dove 5/9/2006 ****hear this bird
greater roadrunner 8/2006
barn owl 7/22/2006
burrowing owl 12/02/06
belted kingfisher 7/30/2006
black-chinned hummingbird 5/21/2006
anna's hummingbird 5/21/2006 ****hear this bird ***LIVE video
northern flicker 5/9/2006
acorn woodpecker 4/29/2006 ****hear this bird ***LIVE video
lewis's woodpecker 10/14/2006
downy woodpecker 12/16/2006
nutall's woodpecker 7/4/2006
red-breasted sapsucker 9/30/2006
black phoebe 5/20/2006
says phoebe 8/2006
vermilion flycatcher 8/2006
loggerhead shrike 9/23/2006
stellers jay, adult pacific 4/30/2006 ****hear this bird
scrub jay, adult interior western 4/25/2006 ****hear this bird
yellow-billed magpie 9/29/2006
american crow 4/30/2006
common raven 8/2006
barn swallow 5/3/2006 ****hear this bird ****baby photos
cliff swallow 5/9/2006 ****hear this bird ***baby photos
oak titmouse 6/8/2006
white-breasted nuthatch 9/24/2006
rock wren 1/06/2007
ruby-crowned kinglet 11/10/2006
mountain bluebird 1/27/2007
western bluebird 5/9/2006
varied thrush 12/27/2006
american robin 4/30/2006 ****hear this bird+
hermit thrush 1/26/2007
northern mockingbird 11/18/2006
phainopepla 11/4/2006
cedar waxwing 12/10/06
european starling 5/15/2006 ****hear this bird ****baby photos
black headed grosbeak 4/30/2006 ****hear this bird
california towhee 10/14/2006
spotted towhee 9/30/2006
vesper sparrow 1/27/2007
savannah sparrow 11/04/2006
dark eyed junco slate colored 10/29/2006
oregon species 5/28/2006
white crowned sparrow 10/14/2006
golden crown sparrow 5/6/2006
bullock's oriole 5/4/2006
western meadowlark 9/23/2006
red winged blackbird 4/25/2006 ****hear this bird ***LIVE video ****baby photos
brewers blackbird 4/30/2006
house finch 5/25/2006 ****hear this bird ***LIVE video ****baby photos
yellow varient 06/29/2006
orange varient 12/15/2006
lesser goldfinch 5/20/2006
american goldfinch (NO Photo, but information is available. I have not personally ID'd this species as of yet)
pine siskin12/08/2006
house sparrow (also called the english sparrow) 5/20/2006