Get Rad Arcata Marsh

Peregrine Falcons are the expected falcon at the marsh, so it was nice to find this Merlin next to the road, glaring at joggers that went by. She was probably thinking about extirpating the local Dunlin flock. All photos from today are from Arcata Marsh, CA.

Any visiting birder to Humboldt County eventually ends up at the Arcata Marsh. It's the obvious place to go. The marsh is good birding much of the year, is easy to get to, gets rare birds, and handles the town of Arcata's wastewater all at once. It's convenient location right in town makes it accessible to even the laziest, most transportation-deprived birder. The marsh has hosted everything from White-winged Tern to Sulfur-bellied Flycatcher (I've come across Ruff, Tufted Duck, American Tree Sparrow there, among other melters of faces), and is a great spot to see massive concentrations of shorebirds during migration. Basically, it has everything. Sure sketchy dudes sleep in the bushes and some weird shit happens...not dangerous, just weird...this is Arcata, after all...but don't let that deter you. Do not fear the weird, my friends, for this is a quality spot. Don't forget to check the Oxidation Ponds too, which are right next door.

If you are one of those people with some free time and an itch to travel, Godwit Days will be going down next month in Arcata. Godwit Days is a multi-day birding festival with multitudes of field trips and events, and has been running ever since 1996, so those folks know what they're doing. Check it out!

Do you have a local Merlin? Have you made your weekly sacrifice of fresh shorebird blood? Well you better do it soon, because Merlins will soon be pulling stakes and getting northbound.

This Fox Sparrow is ending another creature's life. Can you imagine death by Fox Sparrow? If you ever find yourself hiding in the leaf litter, it won't be long before one of these birds finds you.

A younger Golden-crowned Sparrow. Look at that back pattern...I think I will get that tattooed across my shoulders. Tribal tattoos are OUT, Golden-crowned Sparrows are IN.

At first I thought this was a pure Eurasian ("Common") Green-winged Teal, as I could see no sign of the vertical white breast stripe of American birds. Upon looking at my photos closely, it looks like there is almost a hint of one, but its so bloody faint its hard to say for sure.

Nevermind. There's that horrid stripe. I was wrong! It's a hybrid! Oh well.

What is the deal with this Northern Shoveler? Not only is it in a weird molt, it flies around with it's feet sticking up at a ridiculous angle.

See? Here's a closer look...compare the weird bird's foot position with that of the background shoveler. What are you trying to prove, bizarro shoveler?

Feeding frenzy...many invertebrates are being demolished here. Northern Shovelers, Cinnamon Teal, Green-winged Teal and Buffleheads.

I admit it. It has taken me years to get a good Yellow-rumped Warbler picture, of the "Myrtle" variety (like this one) or otherwise. That's a huge weight off my shoulders. I don't know what I could possibly say about these birds that you wouldn't already know, except they are going to start getting really sexy looking soon and transform into facemelting birds.

Buffleheads are one of those birds that are hard to get tired of, no matter how bloody common they may be. I love the bubblegum pink feet.

Another bird I've seen many thousands of but have no good pictures of are Marsh Wrens. While I wouldn't go so far as to say this is a good picture, I think it kind of shows a Marsh Wren doing what Marsh Wrens do best.