Most birders like to keep LISTS. So, of course, I have to have one for my gallery. I began the “Wildlife Gallery & Studio List” the day I opened shop, April 20th 1991.
With a list, comes rules that I have set up for myself and that I adhere to like law. For a species to be officially counted on my gallery list, I have to have seen or heard it, either from within the actual gallery or from the small cement slab that lays one step outside of each of the two gallery doors. From that vantage point I can count anything that I can identify, no matter how far away it is. I’m limited only by my optical power and weather condition such as heat waves, wind, rain and glare. In short, my list is confined to an area of 16 X 23 feet!
The gallery is located in downtown Bolinas, Marin County, California. Bolinas is situated just south west of the San Andreas fault at the extreme southern end of the Point Reyes Peninsula, nestled between the Bolinas Lagoon and the Pacific Ocean. While I’m bordered on two sides by water, I can’t see any from the gallery. There was, however, a three day period when a hellish windstorm blew down a fence across the street, allowing me to see about 100 feet of the Bolinas Lagoon and giving me nine new gallery birds in that brief window of time. Unfortunately the fence was quickly repaired thereby shutting off my view of salt water! The main gallery window faces south across a patio, adorned with numerous feeders and a large granite water sculpture that acts as a liquid bird magnet. Beyond is a lush garden with a couple of small fresh water pools hidden behind a fence. Framing that area is a heavily forested hillside composed of Coast Live Oak, Douglas fir and numerous other plant species. On fall mornings this hill is a drop in zone for southbound migrants, as these are simply the last trees of choice before crossing the mouth of the Bolinas Lagoon. During the evenings, this hillside catches full sun and is a warm, buggy and perfectly illuminated swath of green. There is a small gap where I can see the backside of Mount Tamalpais approximately three miles to the east otherwise most of my view is at fairly close quarters. There is also a nice swath of sky for hawks, swallows or high-flying migrants. There is often a passage of birds at an incoming high tide as shorebirds and ducks exit the lagoon and pass over the gallery to seek high ground at the Bolinas Water Treatment Ponds.
One more cool thing! I have always wondered how many species a person could record in a single tree. A few years, my friend Josiah Clark gave me a small Red Elderberry tree that I planted in the patio right outside my picture window. I decided to keep a list of every bird that I saw land in, or feed from, his tree. Well, as Josiah would say, “Check it out”! Look for the “J” next to the name of each bird to see what has graced the branches of his tree.
The species below are listed in the order they were first recorded with the date they were first seen.
LIST STARTED ON APRIL 20th 1991
“W” indicates species that have visited, (bathed or drank from) the Water fountain.
“F” indicates species that have Fed from the Feeders, (seed feeders or hummingbird feeders).
“J” Indicates Birds seen in or feeding from Josiah’s Red Elderberry.
1991
1. 4/20 Great Blue Heron
2. “ Western Gull W, F (!) Eating Bird Seed
3. “ Pine Siskin W, F, J
4. “ House Finch W, F, J
5. “ Band-tailed Pigeon
6. “ Cedar Waxwing W
7. ” Orange-crowned Warbler W, F, J
8. “ American Crow W, F, J
9. “ Red-winged Blackbird F
10. “ European Starling W, J
11. “ Osprey
12. “ Double-crested Cormorant
13. 4/21 Song Sparrow W, F, J
14. “ Wrentit W
15. “ Barn Swallow
16. “ Pacific-slope Flycatcher W
17. “ Western Scrub-Jay W, F, (Seed, 2 House Sparrows, 1 Rat, & 2 Deer Mouse) ,J
18. “ Belted Kingfisher
19. “ Caspian Tern
20. “ American Goldfinch W, F, J
21. “ Turkey Vulture
22. “ Northern Rough-winged Swallow
23. “ Cliff Swallow
24. “ Ring-billed Gull
25. “ Anna’s Hummingbird W, F, J
26. “ Glacous-winged Gull
27. 4/22 Black-bellied Plover
28. “ Yellow-rumped Warbler W, J
29. “ Purple Finch W, F, J
30. “ Red-shouldered Hawk W
31. “ Chestnut-backed Chickadee W, F, J
32. “ California Gull
33. “ Short-billed Dowitcher
34. “ White-crowned Sparrow W, F, J
35. 4/23 White-tailed Kite
36. “ Brewer’s Blackbird W, F
37. “ Mourning Dove W, F
38. 4/24 Red-tailed Hawk
39. “ Wilson’s Warbler W, J
40. “ California Quail W, F, J
41. “ Spotted Towhee W, F
42. 4/26 Warbling Vireo W, F, J
43. “ Golden-crowned Sparrow W, F, J
44 “ Violet-green Swallow
45. 4/27 Common Loon
46. “ California Towhee W, F, J
47. “ House Sparrow W, F, J
48. “ Whimbrel
49. “ Great Egret
50. 4/28 Northern Mockingbird W, J
51. “ Hairy Woodpecker
52. “ Mallard
53. “ Bushtit W
54. “ Vaux’s Swift
55. 5/1 Allen’s Hummingbird W, F, J
56. “ Cooper’s Hawk F, (House Sparrow)
57. “ Brown Pelican
58. “ Common Raven
59. 5/2 Tree Swallow
60. “ Least Sandpiper
61. “ American Robin W, J
62. 5/10 Downy Woodpecker
63. “ Snowy Egret
64. 5/13 White-throated Swift
65. 5/14 American White Pelican
66. 5/16 Bonaparte’s Gull
67. 5/19 Olive-sided Flycatcher
68. 5/21 Brown-headed Cowbird W, F, J
69. 5/23 Purple Martin
70. 5/24 Killdeer
71. 6/1 Yellow Warbler W, J
72. 6/12 Swainson’s Thrush W, J
73. 6/15 Black-headed Grosbeak W, F, J
74. 8/30 Greater Yellowlegs
75. 9/5 Pygmy Nuthatch
76. 9/6 Brown Creeper
77. 9/10 Western Tanager W
78. 9/11 Western Wood-Pewee
79. “ Townsend’s Warbler W, J
80. “ Sharp-shinned Hawk F, (House Sparrow), J
81. 9/14 Western Sandpiper
82. 9/20 Steller’s Jay F
83. 9/22 Merlin F, (Fox Sparrow)
84. 9/29 Broad-winged Hawk
85. “ Northern Flicker
86. 10/3 American Kestrel
87. 10/8 Black Turnstone
88. 10/9 American Pipit
89. “ Pacific Wren
90. 10/16 Black Phoebe W, J
91. 10/17 Hermit Thrush W, F, Seed (!)
92. “ Canada Goose
93. 10/18 Hutton’s Vireo W
94. 10/23 Varied Thrush
95. 10/24 Dark-eyed Junco W, F, J
96. 10/31 Ruby-crowned Kinglet W, F, (Hummer Feeder), J
97. “ Spotted Sandpiper (Heard only)
98. 11/2 Mew Gull
99. “ Herring Gull
100. 11/10 Tricolored Blackbird
101. 11/11 Northern Harrier
102. 11/15 Black-crowned Night-Heron
103. 11/20 Golden Eagle
104. 11/22 Northern Shoveler
105. 12/7 Northern Pintail
106. American Wigeon
107. “ Long-billed Curlew
108. 12/21 Peregrine Falcon
109. “ Short-eared Owl
110. 12/21 Greater White-fronted Goose
1992
111. 1/17 Fox Sparrow W, F, J
112. 6/16 Heermann’s Gull
113. 6/30 Elegant Tern
114. 7/22 Nuttall’s Woodpecker
115. 8/4 Common Yellowthroat W, J
116. “ Orchard Oriole W
117. 10/2 Lesser Goldfinch W, F, J
118. 10/5 Golden-crowned Kinglet
119. 10/12 Red-breasted Nuthatch W, J
120. 10/22 Red-breasted Sapsucker W
121. 11/1 Tropical Kingbird
122. 11/8 Willet
123. 11/15 Red Crossbill
124. 11/17 Western Bluebird W, J
125. “ Marbled Godwit
1993
126. 3/6 Barn Owl
127. 4/30 Semipalmated Plover
128. 6/20 Bewick’s Wren W, F
129. 9/13 Black-throated Gray Warbler
130. 9/26 Rock Dove W, F
131. 9/30 Acorn Woodpecker
132. 10/5 Long-billed Dowitcher
133. 11/1 Swamp Sparrow
134. 11/5 Great Horned Owl
135. 11/12 Snow Goose
136. “ Ross’s Goose
137. 12/1 White-throated Sparrow W, F, J
1994
138. 4/17 Pileated Woodpecker
139. 5/16 Wandering Tattler (Heard only)
140. 7/29 Hooded Oriole W, F, J
141. 8/24 Rufous Hummingbird W, F, J
142. 11/3 Western Meadowlark
143. 12/6 Swainsons Hawk
144. 12/11 Ferruginous Hawk
145. “ Clay-colored Sparrow W, F, J
1995
146. 4/24 Ash-throated Flycatcher
1996
147. 9/1 Willow Flycatcher
1997
148. 7/13 Lincoln’s Sparrow W, F, J
149. “ Green Heron
150. 8/3 Chipping Sparrow F
151. 9/22 American Redstart
152. 10/6 Surf Scoter
1998
153. 2/22 Thayer’s Gull
154. 3/12 Bald Eagle
155. 4/18 Brant
156. 4/25 Bullock’s Oriole
157. 5/17 Bank Swallow
158. 7/22 Magnificent Frigatebird
159. 8/28 Prothonotary Warbler
1999
160. 1/10 Williamson’s Sapsucker
161. 1/20 Dickcissel W, F, J
162. 1/30 Common Goldeneye
163. 2/6 Forster’s Tern
164. 5/14 Black-legged Kittiwake
165. “ MacGillivray’s Warbler W
166. 9/19 Chestnut-sided Warbler W, J
167. 9/22 Say’s Phoebe
168. 10/2 Lesser Yellowlegs
169. 10/4 Marsh Wren
170. 10/25 Rough-legged Hawk
2000
171. 10/4 Pacific Loon
172. 10/28 Surfbird
173. 10/31 Harris’s Sparrow F
174. 10/17 Sanderling
2001
175. 2/6 Dunlin
176. 5/7 Zone-tailed Hawk
177. 9/26 Nashville Warbler W, J
2002
178. 5/16 White-faced Ibis
179. 5/17 Eastern Phoebe
2003
180. 8/15 Lucy’s Warbler
181. 10/3 Blackpoll Warbler
182. 10/15 Glacous Gull
183. 10/21 Lesser Nighthawk
2004
184. 9/28 Northern Waterthrush W
185. 10/23 Tennessee Warbler W, F, J
186. 10/23 Cackling Goose
187. 11/4 Tundra Swan
188. 12/10 Bufflehead
189. “ American Avocet
190. “ Red-breasted Merganser
191. 12/11 Western Grebe
192. 12/12 Gadwall
193. “ Ruddy Duck
194. “ Clark’s Grebe
195. 12/13 Horned Grebe
196. “ Greater Scaup
2005
197. 5/13 Savannah Sparrow W, F
198. 10/25 Palm Warbler
199. 10/31 Indigo Bunting W, F
2006
200. 9/7 Lazuli Bunting W, F, J
201. 10/5 Cassin’s Vireo
202. 10/15 Blackburnian Warbler
203. 11/9 American Tree Sparrow W, F
2007
204. 4/26 Eurasian Collared Dove F
205. 8/23 Calliope Hummingbird W, F
206. 8/27 Ruby-throated Hummingbird F
207. 9/11 Black-chinned Hummingbird W, F, J
208. 9/12 Broad-tailed Hummingbird W, F, J
209. “ Western Kingbird
210. “ Bairds Sandpiper
211. 9/13 Brewers Sparrow
212. 10/29 Green-winged Teal
2009
213. 5/3 Rose-breasted Greosbeak W, J
2010
214. 4/4 Pacific Golden-Plover
2011
215. 5/15 Red-throated Loon
216. 10/4 Costa’s Hummingbird F, J
2012
217. 10/5 Magnolia Warbler
218. “ Hermit Warbler
219. 10/6 Townsend’s Solitaire
220. 11/2 Spotted Owl (Heard only)
221. 12/4 Lark Sparrow
222. 12/20 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
MAMMALS
1. Opossum F
2. Brazilian Free-tailed Bat
3. Little Brown Myotis
4. Raccoon F
5. Norway Rat F
6. Striped Skunk
7. Western Gray Squirrel W
8. White-footed Deer Mouse
9. Coyote, (Heard only)
10. Harbor Seal (Heard only)
11. Broad-footed Mole
12. Mule Deer
13. Sonoma Chipmunk F
14. Shrew-Mole
15. Long-tailed Weasel
16. Grey Fox
REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS
1. Terrestrial Garter Snake W
2. Pacific Tree Frog
3. Western Fence Lizard
FISH (being carried by Osprey)
1. Leopard Shark
2. Striped Bass
3. Jack Smelt
4. Flat Fish (? species)
BUTTERFLIES & MOTHS
1. Pipevine Swallowtail
2. Anise Swallowtail
3. Satyr Comma
4. Monarch
5. Spring Azure
6. Cabbage White
7. Pale Swallowtail
8. Variable Checkerspot
9. West Coast Lady
10. Western Tiger Swallowtail
11. Red Admiral
12. Umber Skipper
13. Lorquin’s Admiral
14. Acmon Blue
15. Buckeye
16. California Sister
17. White-lined Sphinx Moth
18. Cecropia Moth
19. Field Crescent
DRAGONFLIES
1. Red Saddlebags
2. Black Saddlebags
3. Pacific Forktail
4. Swift Forktail
5. Blue-eyed Darner
6. Widow Skimmer
7. Cardinal Meadowhawk
8. Common Green Darner