West County Hawkwatch 2020/2021 Event dates are listed below, More dates coming soon. We are a North Bay Area, (Ca.) group bringing attention to North American Birds of Prey and the threats they face. We provide Identification and Education Programs, Hikes, Tours and ID Workshops. We also monitor encroachment of wind turbines into the North Bay, we do Nest Site protection, Raptor Migration counts, Studies and Documentation. Donations received fund youth Educational and Book Programs.
Monday, November 23, 2020
Neat video for folks just getting into Birds of Prey "Raptor Identification Raptor ID for Beginners"
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Webinar, 11-19-2020 7pm Pacific Time, PowerPoint West Coast Migration Hawk Talk
Here is a link to the zoom webinar registration for the upcoming presentation:
https://sonomalandtrust.zoom.
Webinar, 11-19-2020 7pm Pacific Time, PowerPoint West Coast Migration Hawk Talk
Every year we do a series of Raptor Identification and Natural History presentations, these are in person events at hosted venues... Sadly this year we are not meeting but....
We are offering online trainings and this one focuses on the Jenner Headlands Hawkwatch annual Fall migration
It will be a fun event and its Free! looking forward to seeing you there!
Nov 19, 2020 07:00 PM in Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Here is a link to the zoom webinar registration for the upcoming presentation:
https://sonomalandtrust.zoom.
Sunday, October 25, 2020
Update from 10-24-20 The Wildlands Conservancy [Guided] Raptor tour, Estero Americano.
Birds seen on our trip....from 10-24-20 The Wildlands Conservancy [Guided] Raptor tour, Estero Americano.
(all photos copyright to original photographers, use here for non profit and educational purposes only)
Day started with Red-tailed Hawks and American Kestrels.
below is some Red-tailed Hawk photos, details under photos

(above) Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk, bird has two tone brown and tan look, note barred tail
Adult Red-tailed Hawk, dark hood, dark leading edge of wing, brick red tail, buteo form.
Adult bird, good belly band, dark leading edge on wing, dark hood, brick red tail
Photo on right shows "scapular 'V' " the pattern of tan fathers on the birds middle to upper back

^ Above Red-tailed Hawk details on age and morphs...
American Kestrels[below]
American Kestrels, Female on left, Male on right
Kestrel Range aboveThen we saw a couple owls, Burrowing and Short-eared Owls
Short-eared OwlShort-eared Owl Short-eared Owl - range
Short-eared Owls above photos, we saw one flush from a small group of low bushes as we crested the hill
below; Burrowing Owls, lucky to get both in flight views and multiple perch views.
Above photos Burrowing Owls, true to their form they love burrows.....
All day long we had Turkey Vultures
wings held at a dihedral or swallow V and primary feathers at the tips of the wings "fingered out" and small non bird of prey like head, more of a scavenger head....
Down at the Estero we had a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk fly in out of the sun, once passed us we could see the crescents in the wings, aka 'windows' aka translucents'
you can see the crescents aka translucent here at the base of the primary flight feathers that helped us make the identification call, the other things that helped were the smaller buteo form and the quicker accipiter like wing beats, below is a photo of an adult
Closing out he day with good looks at a Northern Harrier [Male] below
Male Northern Harrier

Age and male/female Northern Harrier
Book we mentioned that goes into detail on all these and highly recommend for the next step in Raptor ID if you are going to take it
Its got three different covers here are the two most popular covers.


Please check out Facebook page, like and if possible recommend us based on your days experience: on Facebook www.facebook.com/WestCountyHawkWatch
Check the website for upcoming events: official Web page www.westcountyhawkwatch.com
And here on this page we post reports from past events, like the event we had yesterday, described above: on Google Blogger http://westcountyhawkwatch.blogspot.com
thanks for coming out, it was a fun day, Larry Broderick
Estero Americano information
https://www.wildlandsconservancy.org/preserve_estero.html
ESTERO AMERICANO COAST PRESERVE
In late December 2016, through the combined efforts of Sonoma Land Trust and other funding partners (State Coastal Conservancy, Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation) The Wildlands Conservancy acquired the 547-acre Estero Ranch. Located on the border of Sonoma and Marin Counties, this acquisition prevents habitat fragmentation from development and expands the California Coastal Trail, as well as recreational use of the Estero Americano.
Estero Americano Coast Preserve is a coastal prairie with a three-quarter-mile stretch of Pacific Ocean coastline. The property includes a one-mile section along the mouth of the Estero Americano estuary, which is part of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. Due to its diverse assemblage of wetland communities and estuarine habitats, the property is recognized by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife as one of the most significant habitat areas in the State.
The Preserve will provide a hiking experience through wild, coastal California with breathtaking views of the Estero Americano, Point Reyes, and Bodega Head, and offer prime wildflower and wildlife observation and whale watching opportunities.
Thursday, January 30, 2020
Updates for folks who attended recent outings and presentations
Greetings everyone, we've had such good events the last couple of weeks we wanted to thank everyone for coming out, Trione - Annadel presentation a couple weeks back, Sonoma Land Trust presentation a week ago, Lynch Canyon Open Space raptor tour a couple weeks ago, and Skaggs Island raptor tour a week ago....
I wanted to personally thank you all for coming out, January 26th at Skaggs Island was great with Merlin's and Coopers Hawks, an elusive Great-horned Owl to top it off, also saw lots of Red-tailed Hawks, Harriers, Kites and a handful of Kestrels.... On January 11th Lynch Canyon it was an incredible outing with multiple Rough-legged Hawks, a Golden and a Bald Eagle, lots of Red-tailed Hawks, Harriers, Kestrels and a few Kites.
We have a Few more dates coming up, please check the dates and events below with the webpages for Sonoma Land Trust, Solano Land Trust as well as Madrone Audubon. Also will follow up here on this page with some Silhouettes and Identification photos... soon, sorry super busy at the day job.
lots of planning and logistics for this event.
Thursday, January 9, 2020
Updated; hikes, walks, outings and presentations. West County Hawkwatch 2020
Jan 11th Saturday, 10am to 1:30/2pm Lynch Canyon Open Space, with Solano Land Trust,
2020 Madrone Audubon Presentation, Raptor ID and Natural History presentation, Evening Class, April, Announcement coming soon.
Go to outings page: https://sonomalandtrust.org/outings
Home > Events > Birds of Prey solanolandtrust.org/events/birds-of-prey
For more info, updates and resources check out these pages:
official Web page www.westcountyhawkwatch.com
on Facebook www.facebook.com/WestCountyHawkWatch
on Google Blogger http://westcountyhawkwatch.blogspot.com
Jenner Bald Eagles Group on Facebook www.facebook.com/JennerBaldEagles
Larry Broderick 707-791-0335, talk, text, message...











































