Pintail Identification

The Northern Pintail is a truly elegant duck, with its slender neck of contrasting light and dark tones.

The Northern Pintail is a very exciting bird to see. There is something very regal and elevated in the experience of watching this bird glide slowly along a marsh at sunset, its long tail behind balanced by the neck that appears to have been carved out of wax. A winter visitor to many areas, the Northern Pintail is a bird worth driving to find.

Get to Know Your Pintails

Northern Pintail | Anas acuta | 25" - 29"
The landscape is inspiring with its mix of muddy bank and mirror-like water. We watched the surface gradate slowly from sky blue, to gold and green, to apricot and finally to lavender and deep blue. Here, in this setting, we observed the majesty of the Northern Pintail. Read Article »

- Read the Latest News from the Birding Sonoma County Blog -

	Tomales Bay State Park Closure - One Upset Birder January 22, 2008, Point Reyes, CA Governor Schwarzenegger is planning to close our beautiful, sacred Tomales Bay State Park in Marin County along with 42 other desperately-needed and exuberantly cherished state parks throughout California. Closing all of these wonderful parks would not even take us 1% in the direction of being back in the black. And think of what will have been lost. Read Article »

	Bay Area Oil Spill A Disaster For Birds November 11, 2007, Kenwood, CA When the Cosco Busan crashed into the Bay Bridge, every birder I know immediately thought of what this disaster would mean for the birds. In addition to our beloved birds, whales will be swimming through the oil, as will seals, sea lions and other marine mammals. West Marin is one of my favorite places on earth, and to see it thus spoiled fills me with sorrow and anger. Read Article »

	Bewick's Wren - A hidden Bay Area bird worth seeking! October 7, 2007, Glen Ellen, CA Today, we'll turn our gaze on Bewick's Wren, Thryomanes bewickii, one of the larger SF Bay Area Wrens. Bewick's Wren, like most wrens, will instantly strike you as being 'all-tail'. Identification clue number one for wrens is that they tend to hold their tails up-turned, as if in proud of their lovely plumes. Read Article »

	The White-crowned Sparrow has returned! September 24, 2007, Kenwood, CA This trusty little bird disappeared when the weather heated up, early in the year, heading north to cooler Canada. Just this afternoon, my husband called me to the window excitedly. There, at the foot of the photinia hedge, a lone White-crowned Sparrow was hopping humbly through the green grass. Read Article »