Mindful Birding Missive: 1 September 2026
Where are you?
Photo by Gayle Blair
Dear Bird Friends,
 
Eight bird people met at the south Hummel Lake parking area on this calm, quiet morning. Red-breasted Nuthatches dominated the avian choir, but only some of us caught glimpses of them high in the conifers. One upward-creeping Brown Creeper was spotted, brown against brown bark. Dee-dee-ing Chestnut-backed Chickadees remained hidden. Bright-songed Bewick's Wren chorused from deep in the hedge. Rock Pigeon winged high overhead. Out of the blue sky came a loose flock of American Robins, some settling in the tops of the trees. Two Song Sparrows appeared and disappeared, sang or foraged in blackberries. A lump on the side of a tall snag turned into a Turkey Vulture through binoculars. European Starling perched briefly on a distant treetop. Even the lake was quiet with the exception of some 10 Wood Ducks, mostly females/immatures in the dense lily pads in the far southeast corner. On our walk back through the field, Barn Swallows twittered and darted high above. Though sightings were few, as ever it was lovely to be outside among the birds. (Thank you, Gayle, for the lovely photo.)
 
The next walk will be on Thursday, September 17. 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 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.