Welcome to birdWalker, a website of birding photos and trip reports by Bill Walker and Mary Wisnewski, California birders based in Santa Clara County. We've been collecting our trip reports since 1996, we have now recorded 640 trips and 538 species.

Some of our favorite places to go birding include Charleston Slough and the Duck Pond in Palo Alto, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, and the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.

So far in week 30 of 2008 we have seen 329 species. Last year at this time we had seen 302.

The Bird of the Week is the Pigeon Guillemot
Photographed Thursday, July 26, 2007 at Pigeon Point

in the back we have a peanut feeder, a thistle feeder, and a general purpose seed feeder

the home of the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society. Note to photographers: This site in a deep canyon affords little direct light in the morning, but does offer an interesting variety of passerines visiting the feeders at the Audubon society office or the community garden plots. Choose your angles carefully to deliberately include or exclude manmade perches and backgrounds.

Located near Moss Landing in Monterey County, California. We have recorded 63 species during 10 trips. The first trip was over 9 years ago, the latest trip was 13 days ago.

Note to photographers: Prepare to drive several miles after turning off the highway to get to this beach. This can be a good place to look for Snowy Plovers in late spring, with better light in the afternoon. Porta-potty available. No entrance fee.

Located near Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz County, California. We have recorded 4 species during 1 trips. The first trip was about 1 month ago, the latest trip was about 1 month ago.

I wanted to spend some quality time with the ocean, and also try to find some shorebirds. Turns out I had plenty of both.

Two Bewick's Wrens coming to the platform feeder -- are they a couple?

We observed 14 species 23 days ago at McClellan Ranch in Santa Clara County, California.

We observed 4 species about 1 month ago at UCSC Arboretum in Santa Cruz County, California.

We observed 30 species about 1 month ago at 2 locations in Sierra County, California.

We observed 50 species about 1 month ago at 2 locations in Sierra County, California.

We observed 83 species about 1 month ago at 4 locations in Sierra County, California.

We observed 7 species 2 months ago at 2 locations in Sierra County, California.