Mindful Birding Missive: 16 July 2026
Dear Bird Friends,
 
Eight people met at the library under cloudy skies. At the library, we observed American Robins in the blackberries, White-crowned and Song Sparrows, and House Finches. From the community church parking area we watched a high-flying Cooper's Hawk, who eventually came closer and flew overhead. As we walked across the meadow between the condos and Blue Heron Bistro, Barn Swallows swept close, catching insects we kicked up. Spinning in a circle to follow them made us dizzy! A Dark-eyed ("Oregon") Junco searched for snacks beneath the dumpsters.
 
Weeks Point Way is always fun with it's varied habitats. As we were watching the Bald Eagle who often perches on the dead tree at the kayak launch and other birds, a visitor took this photo from the Weeks Wetland viewing platform and shared it with me. 
 
Image courtesy of Robert Pierron
 
A Glaucous-winged Gull dove at the eagle and American Crows dove at a Common Raven. Chestnut-backed Chickadees hung upside-down from pine limbs. Turkey Vulture soared overhead. European Starlings perched in a snag while others foraged in the mudflats and wetlands, along with Killdeer and Western/Least Sandpipers (too distant to identify species). Farther out, Great Blue Heron hunted. Bewick's Wren sang briefly from a hidden perch and we heard the loud koo-ing of Eurasian Collared-Dove who then flew over us. House Sparrow males perched atop rose hedges. Finally, two bright male American Goldfinches perched atop a fencepost quite close by - stunning!
 
The next walks will be on Tuesday August 4 & Thursday August 20. Outings are limited to 6 people for a quality experience, so please sign up early at the library or by emailing Beth@LopezLibrary.org
 
With gratitude and wonder,
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.