Mindful Birding Missive: 16 June 2026
Dear Birders,
 
As a reminder, starting in July, I'm going to offer walks on 1st Tuesdays and 3rd Thursdays to accommodate folks who can't come on Tuesdays. Thus, July walks will be on the 7th (1st Tuesday) & the 16th (3rd Thursday).
 
On June 16th, 4 of us (there were cancellations) met at the end of Weeks Point Way on a breezy morning. The bay and surroundings appeared fairly devoid of birds, but a slow, attentive pace revealed many gems. Bald Eagles put on a show calling from perches and flying overhead, often near several master soaring birds, the Turkey Vultures. We searched for Killdeer chicks, but saw only adults in the mudflats and wetland. House Finch flew and sang at the same time; this is usually diagnostic as Purple Finches don't usually sing in flight. We also saw a male House Finch feeding juveniles in a small tree; at least 3 begged from him, calling and fluttering their wings.
 
House Sparrows flew under house eaves and foraged in the driftwood. An all gray and white gull flying overhead was Glaucous-winged. Barn Swallows flew high and low. The largest swallow, a dark Purple Martin, flew high overhead. We spotted Violet-green Swallows entering a nest box attached to a garage. One male and 5 female Mallards tipped up in the Weeks Wetland pond. Three White-crowned Sparrows (clear breast) counter-sang (sang at the same time from different perches). Song Sparrow (streaked breast) sang from atop a cedar. Pastel-colored Cedar Waxwing perched long for good views by all, crest up.
Watching Cedar Waxwing along Weeks Point Way
 
Two Belted Kingfishers flew, chattered, and dive-bombed each other, then separated. Great Blue Heron uncharacteristically soared over. Savannah Sparrow sang from a post. American Crows flew over and perched. Our bird neighbors are always present if we take our time in their home areas. 
 
The next walks will be on Tuesday, July 7 & THURSDAY JULY 16. Outings are limited to 6 people for a quality experience, so please sign up early at the library or by emailing Beth@LopezLibrary.org
 
Grateful for birds,
Beth

Recommended Resources
Cornell Lab's All About Birds

An amazing free resource from Cornell University. A field guide online plus articles, Live Cams, Courses, and more. Look up each bird we saw to see multiple photos of each species, including male/female/immature, perched/flying images, as well as food, nesting, behavior, and conservation information.

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America
by Jon L. Dunn

National Geographic's iconic, best-selling guide for birders and birding enthusiasts of all levels includes unique subspecies maps never before seen in a field guide; extensive migration information overlaid on species maps; field-mark labels on all artwork; text updates with new species; reorganization reflecting taxonomic changes in the bird community; organization, readability, and increased page count.
Peterson field guide to birds of western North America / : Includes Birds of Hawaii
by Roger Tory Peterson

"A new edition of the best-selling field guide, with 25 all-new plates covering the birds of Hawaii"
The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America
by David Allen Sibley

Now completely revised and updated, the authoritative guide to over 700 birds of the American West from renowned birder, illustrator, and New York Times bestselling author David Sibley Compact and comprehensive, this guide features 715 bird species, plus regional populations, found west of the Rocky Mountains. Entries include stunningly accurate illustrations--more than 5,046 in total--with descriptive captions pointing out the most important field marks. Each entry also includes the most current information concerning frequency, nesting, behavior, food and feeding, voice description, and key identification features. This improved edition includes: - Updated habitat, description, behavior, and conservation text for each species account and all family pages.- New and revised illustrations of species and regional forms.- New design featuring species accounts in columns, allowing for better comparison and more illustrations and text.- Current taxonomic order and up-to-date common names.- All maps revised to reflect the most current range information.- More species and rarities included. The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America contains more than 652 updated maps drawn from information contributed by 110 regional experts across the continent, and shows winter, summer, year-round, migration, and rare ranges.