Читать книгу Afoot and Afield: San Francisco Bay Area. A Comprehensive Hiking Guide онлайн

22 страница из 110

Early spring is a good time to spot birds at Sonoma Valley Regional Park.

Common birds seen from the trails include acorn woodpeckers, western scrub-jays, Steller’s jays, spotted towhees, dark-eyed juncos, sparrows, and California quail, the state bird. Hawks, falcons, vultures, golden eagles, and kites soar above many Bay Area parks. If you learn to “bird by ear,” identifying species by their distinctive notes, calls, and songs, you will quickly expand your list, because many birds are frustratingly hard to spot, especially in dense foliage. Birding with a group also improves your odds of seeing and identifying a large number of species, including rarities.

REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS

A variety of snakes are present in the Bay Area, including California kingsnake, rubber boa, California whipsnake, yellow-bellied racer, garter snake, gopher snake, and western rattlesnake. Gopher snakes are often mistaken for rattlers, but a gopher snake has a slim head and a fat body, whereas a rattlesnake has a relatively thin body compared with its large, triangular head. Gopher snakes are common, but rattlers are seldom seen.