Tom Stienstra’s wildlife checklist
MAJOR MAMMALS
Predators: Badger, bear, bobcat, coyote, fisher, fox, pine marten, mink, mountain lion, river otter, wolverine. Foragers: Beaver, bighorn sheep, deer, opossum, wild pig, marmot, porcupine, pronghorn antelope, raccoon, skunk. Common prey: Cottontail, bush bunny, jackrabbit; ground squirrel, gray squirrel, chickaree, chipmunk, pika.
RAPTORS
Protected: Bald eagle, golden eagle, white-tailed kite, California condor, peregrine falcon, Swainson’s hawk, elf owl, great gray owl. Of special concern: Northern goshawk, northern harrier, California spotted owl, burrowing owl, short-eared owl, long-eared owl. Widespread sightings: Cooper’s hawk, ferruginous hawk, osprey, merlin, prairie falcon, red-tailed hawk, red-shouldered hawk, American kestrel, great horned owl, barn owl, screech owl, turkey vulture. Lesser-seen: Northern spotted owl, Sharp-shinned hawk, Harris’ hawk, broad-winged hawk, rough-legged hawk.
DUCKS AND GEESE
Dabblers: Mallard, Northern pintail, wood duck, green-winged teal, gadwall, blue-winged teal, wigeon, Northern shoveler. Divers: Canvasback, bufflehead, merganser, redhead, goldeneye, scaup, ruddy, coot. Geese: Canada goose, snow, Ross’s, white-fronted, cackling; brant.
SHOREBIRDS & WADERS
Wetlands: Avocet, black-crowned night heron, long-billed curlew, dowitcher, dunlin, great egret, snowy egret, godwit, great blue heron, white-faced ibis, killdeer, rail, snowy plover, sandhill crane, sandpiper, black-necked stilt, swan, whimbrel, willet, yellowlegs.
IN THE OCEAN
Whales: Dolphins/porpoise:Gray, humpback, Orca/killerblue, minke, whale, fin. Pacific white-sided dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, short-beaked dolphin, Risso’s dolphin. Land-based marine mammals: California sea lion, Steller sea lion, harbor seal, elephant seal, sea otter. Marine birds: Tube-nose albatross, auklet, cormorant, western gull, terns, Western grebe, pigeon guillemot, common murre, black oystercatcher, brown pelican, snowy plover, tufted puffin, Leach’s storm-petrel, sanderlings, western sandpiper, shearwater, wandering tattler.