Merced Mallards

Rolled over to the Village to check mail, and on way back parked under Owl's Old Oak by Bobcat Meadow....paddled out to Chapel Bridge....Mallard call, and sighted Mallards midway between the Bridges....far away pic....thought to follow, but thought too to check Chapel Meadow...thereabout quiet...one old Coyote track...back at the Merced, lost sight of Mallards...paddled along the South Bank to Sentinel Bridge, but no luck....made a circuit of Bobcat Meadow counterclockwise...quiet....and sat awhile at the Edge of Flicker Grove, expectant Mallards might fly in....but quiet...thought I heard soft calls of Hawk over by the Oak Grove...picked up and checked, quiet, but heard Mallard call again...returned to Chapel Bridge, and sighted Mallards near the opposite Bank, where Mallards likely were all along!...and Eight Mallards!....Acorn Woodpecker, Blue Jays, Little Bird calls here and there, Ravens....sunny blueblue with streaks of high haze, warm...report of Trees budding in the Foothills....and report of Baby Bobcat at the Trainwreck...report a week old...'no bigger than a Squirrel!'....first Bobcat sighting for reporter after being hereabout for eight years!...

Common Goldeneye

I have an old pic of Common Goldeneye that I posted Jan. 10, 2008, and didn't, couldn't, id at time, even tonight looking through Sibley I couldn't, but Duck's Eye is kindofa give away, and using search in Google Images: goldeneye duck, I was able to id...very cool, a new, old bird!....I took time to go through the old Nature Notes archive too, there was an about Ducks quote I was looking for, which actually is in one of the ebay Notes I got, but wanted the web version to copypaste...anyway, in looking about, found a chart of Duck sightings from 1922 to 1940, and will try to post that too...gist of it all, for sometime, is that Ducks are rare in the Valley, and each sighting a kinda treasure, which can be said for most critter sightings hereabout!