October 6 Part 2 - Holbrook-Palmer Park in Atherton

I've been visiting this park since 2013 and have recorded a few life birds here. It's a guaranteed place to see the California Jay and Black Phoebe. This is a city park that has a nice mix of grassy and treed areas.  In Autumn, there's an abundance of leaf litter on the ground.



Back in 2015, I saw my first ever Oak Titmouse, a small crested bird somewhat related to Chickadees. I saw one again this year but had bad luck getting a photo. I'd just walked from bright sun into a heavily shaded area and had not set my camera accordingly. The shot below shows the results.


Oak Titmouse - Holbrook-Palmer Park, Atherton CA - 2017 Bird #206

Just as I reset my camera, a commuter by went screaming by just outside the park. The bird flew and I did not see it again. I took this photo in the same area in 2015.


Oak Titmouse - Holbrook-Palmer Park, Atherton CA - October 2015.

There's a baseball field in the park and it has a famous name:



Along the back part of the park I encountered my first ever California Scrub-Jay. However, it was not a lifer as I'd seen many before when they were named Western Scrub-Jay.

The Western Scrub-Jay was split into two species in 2016. The more common one is the California Scrub-Jay, which I've seen quite a few times. The other species is called Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay and is seen from Nevada east to Texas.


California Scrub-Jay - Holbrook-Palmer Park, Atherton CA - 2017 Bird #207 

Here's a couple of shots of Juncos in the same area of the park:


Dark-eyed Junco - Holbrook-Palmer Park, Atherton CA

Dark-eyed Junco - Holbrook-Palmer Park, Atherton CA

And one more Scrub-Jay in a different part of the park.

California Scrub-Jay - Holbrook-Palmer Park, Atherton CA

Finally, one of the best photos I took on the day was this Black Phoebe.

Black Phoebe - Holbrook-Palmer Park, Atherton CA

It was time to go check into my hotel and plan the next day's birding activities.