Mindful Birding Missive: 4 August 2026
Dear Bird Friends,
 
Six of us met at the library under hazy skies. At the library, we heard Spotted Towhee call, but did not see them. In the blackberries, White-crowned Sparrows tucked in among the thorns. Vari-sized flocks of American Crows squawked from apple trees, willows, and all round the village and wetland. Adults plucked clams from the bay mudflats and dropped them on the road. Here are the remains of one's breakfast.
 
Canada Geese grazed in the meadow; do you see the Bald Eagle flying in the upper left corner of the photo? There were Turkey Vultures outside of the photo frame, too. 
 
Passing by the bakery, we saw male House Sparrows searching for crumbs.
 
From Weeks Point Way, we scanned the low tide mudflats of Fisherman Bay to see small "peeps" scurrying; probably Western or Least Sandpipers. A larger Killdeer foraged nearby. Flocks of European Starlings also foraged in the saltgrass or perched atop tall firs. A male Belted Kingfisher rattled overhead and perched on a log. Barn Swallows swept over hawking insects. One pair of Bald Eagles perched on the osprey pole and another pair perched on different firs along the channel. At one point, one of these bumped the other off its perch and we saw a feather float away. A sweet end to the morning. 
 
Other birds observed: House Sparrow males near the bakery.
 
The next walk will be on 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.