Birding in Fresno

I’ve become so habituated to carrying my Canon with me when I walk that I do the same even when I’m on vacation on not really expecting to see birds. We went on several walks in Fresno with Jeff and Debbie and saw something I wouldn’t expect to see at home on every walk.

I got used to seeing Scrub Jays in California, but I was quite surprised when I realized that this jay was in the process of swallowing a lizard whole.

It’s far too wet for ground squirrels in the Puget Sound area, but they seem to love the Fresno area.

I didn’t recognize this bird when I first saw and thought I was adding another “first” to my list. However, it turned out to be a juvenile White-Crowned Sparrow, a bird I see fairly often at home, but only in adult plumage.

This one looked like a lot of different birds I’ve seen while birding, but I certainly didn’t recognize at first. I’m still not positive, but I think it’s a Orange-Crowned Warbler, a bird I occasionally see at home.

Birding hundreds of miles from home definitely keeps me on my toes and enriches my experience of new places.