Bird of the day – an unexpected Vaux’s Swift, over Las Gallinas wildlife ponds. Record shot

Today was our last birding around the Greater San Fransisco area and the final full day with Bob & Sue, before we drop them off at their airport hotel tomorrow morning. We visited half a dozen sites around North Bay and, perhaps surprisingly, added a number of State, GABRAT and America ticks. After we’ve said our farewells tomorrow, Jane and I make the long drive north to the California / Oregon border. We’ve really enjoyed being based here in Petaluma for these past few days. The town has a real community feel – friendly, with interesting buildings, very good places to eat and accessible birding. A fitting place to end this stage of our Great American Birding RoAd Trip. As far as the numbers go, we’ve now birded five States, driven well over five thousand miles and seen over 420 species – 167 of those in California. Who knows what the next three weeks has in store.