More Wildflowers

This spring, I've set the informal goal of learning one or two new wildflowers every time I get out in the field. I'm learning--slowly, one plant at a time. For someone who never (well, practically never) finds new life birds close to home, it's been great fun. It's not hard to find new flowers, either. The big, showy ones--lupines, poppies, sunflowers--are noticed by even the least nature-oriented people. Once you open your eyes, however, you start seeing different species everywhere. In addition to a couple books I've borrowed from the library, I've been using CalFlora to identify some of the plants I've come across. If you've got a few spare minutes, I can highly recommend toggling around on there for a few minutes!



Amsinckia menziesii--Common Fiddleneck. Irvine Regional Park, Orange, 3/8/10.



Marah macrocarpus--Wild Cucumber. Irvine Regional Park, Orange, 3/8/10.



Claytonia perfoliata--Miner's Lettuce. Irvine Regional Park, Orange, 3/8/10.



Eucrypta chrysanthemifolia--Spotted Hideseed. Irvine Regional Park, Orange, 3/8/10.



Camissonia cheiranthifolia--Beach Evening-Primrose. Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, Huntington Beach, 3/12/10.



Abronia umbellata--Beach Sand-Verbena. Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, Huntington Beach, 3/12/10.

Wild Card

Last night around eight o'clock, I decided to ride my bike to Bolsa Chica and some other coastal places down that way the next morning. It's amazing how casual my decisions to embark on lengthy bike rides have become; today, I rode nearly sixty miles after only a couple hours of planning. When I first began pedaling long distances, I planned the trips out at least a week in advance. I was actually planning on riding out to Chino today to look for a few lousy birds I needed for my Bigby list (Eurasian Collared-Dove, Gray Flycatcher... bleh), but when I realized last night that I'd need more than an hour to plan out this route (I've never ridden there before), I spontaneously decided to go to Bolsa Chica instead. I'm glad I did.

Riding to Bolsa Chica is a long and boring way to spend a couple hours. The route dives right through some of the nastiest urban jungle imaginable; it is possible to ride a mile and only see a dozen House Sparrows and a pigeon or two. The promise of a few new Bigby birds was alluring, however. Most of the potential new birds were wild cards--scarce, not guaranteed. Amazingly, I managed to find just about every possible new bird.

My luck began at Estancia Park in Costa Mesa. A Pine Warbler has wintered here the previous three winters, so I decided to pop over (the park is only a half-mile from the bike trail) to see if it was back. To be honest, I wasn't expecting anything. I scouted out the place a few weeks back and came up empty. I rolled up to the patch of pines the bird preferred, pished, and within five seconds, a small yellow bird flitted toward me. Eventually, it showed its face, and I was delighted to see that the Pine Warbler had returned for its fourth winter in a row. Additionally, it was a new Bigby bird for me.

The next wild card was Common Goldeneye. Contrary to its name, Common Goldeneyes are downright rare in Orange County. The Santa Ana river mouth has been a dependable place from them in the past, so I carefully scanned the ducks as I rode along. After looking through endless flocks of scaup, Bufflehead, and Red-breasted Mergansers, I found two female Common Goldeneyes. Sweeeet! Second Bigby bird of the day.

My next destination was Bolsa Chica. Well, not really. I talked myself into walking to the end of the Huntington Beach Pier to sea if there were any pelagic birds to be had. A visit of a few minutes turned into an hour and a half vigil. The birding was amazing.

First, a Northern Fulmar flew by. I wasn't expecting this one at all; not only was it a new Bigby bird, it was a new county bird! Next, after picking through the gobs of Surf Scoters bobbing around in the swells for several minutes, I stumbled across a female Black Scoter. Another new county and Bigby bird, and one that I hadn't thought I'd ever get. Just as I was thinking the day couldn't get any better, a Pomarine Jaeger flew by. Bigby bird #5 for the day...so far. These birds were the highlights of a whole mess of nearshore birds: loons of three flavors, Parasitic Jaegers (including one mercilessly chasing a tern up over the beach), Black-vented Shearwaters, Brant, and Western Grebes.

I hugged the beach as I continued northward to Bolsa Chica. As it turned out, this paid off. I bumped into some impressive flocks of gulls. Most of them were the expected Western, California, Ring-billed, and Heermann's, but one of the flocks contained no fewer than six Mew Gulls.



The gull flocks also contained numbers of Royal Terns. A common bird, to be sure, and one of the more numerous tern species in California in the winter. However, I don't usually get to see them up so close.



Interestingly, one of the terns seemed to be begging from another! The bird's behavior, plus its paler-colored bill from the other birds, makes me think it's a young one clinging to one of its parents. It's grown up and undoubtedly capable of catching his own fish, but still, a free meal from Dad beats working for your own dinner.



I finally got to my main destination of the day, Bolsa Chica. After quickly scoring the only sure new Bigby bird of the day, Snowy Plover in the back part of Bolsa Chica, I headed down the boardwalk to see what was around. Unfortunately, I hit it just about right at high tide, the worst time to bird Bolsa Chica. Shorebirds were nearly absent, undoubtedly trying to find somewhere that wasn't submerged. That was fine with me, though. The bird I was really looking for was Thayer's Gull, the next wild card of the day.

Prospects were looking good when I rounded the bend and found a couple thousand gulls roosting near the first overlook. California, Ring-billed, Western, Herring, Glaucous-winged...repeat. After fifteen minutes of laboriously sorting through the gulls, I managed to pick out not one but two Thayer's Gulls: an adult and a first-cycle. Happy with my seventh new Bigby bird of the day, and yet another wild card, I left Bolsa Chica.

At this point I experienced the lowest part of the day. While packing up my bike in the Bolsa Chica parking lot, I couldn't find the two little bungee cords I use to fasten my tripod to my bike rack in the pannier bag where I usually put them. I thoroughly rummaged through the bag without success. Next I checked the other pannier bag, and then my backpack, and then my pockets, and then the ground around my bike. They had disappeared. I was crushed. Those were my special tripod bungee cords! I secured my tripod with my belt instead. It worked... the tripod didn't fall off.

With about an hour left before I had to head home, I decided to pop over to the beach again to see if I could pull out a White-winged Scoter and make the Scoter Sweep. After locking up my bike and trekking over the broad beach, filling my shoes with even more sand. When I crested the small rise, I shaded my eyes and gazed upon flocks of scoters as far as the eye could see in both directions. It was overwhelming. There were thousands of scoters! I was surprised when the first non-Surf Scoters I found were three more Black Scoters, generally considered to be the most uncommon of the three. It was difficult to know where to start. Scoters were bobbing in the swells everywhere, some diving, some sleeping, some just sitting. To get a better view, I clambered atop a lifeguard tower (there was no one around to care) and began scanning. After half and hour of combing the flocks, I finally found a female White-winged Scoter, my last new Bigby bird and wild card of the day.

I had a long ride ahead of me, so I swung by subway and picked up the best sandwich ever: a sweet-onion chicken teriyaki sub on wheat bread with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and banana peppers. Mmmmm. Fueled up, I did the long ride home in about two hours, arriving just around dark. Whew. Fifty-seven miles, and eight new Bigby birds. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday!

A Wild Ride

I had the crazy idea to ride my bike to Bolsa Chica in Huntington Beach on Saturday, a sixty-something mile round trip. I did this once before, and it almost killed me. However, the allure of new Bigby birds attracted me, so I set off at dawn on Saturday.

The ride takes me down the Santa Ana River. It goes right through some of the sketchiest parts of Orange County; thus, birds are scarce. The only notable bird I saw in two hours of riding was a Baird's Sandpiper in a small puddle in the riverbed. I arrived at Bolsa Chica in the late morning after a stop at Harriet Wieder Regional Park, where I saw nothing interesting save a Pectoral Sandpiper (my first new Bigby bird of the day.)

It didn't take me long to find two more new Bigby birds once I arrived at Bolsa Chica: Reddish Egret and Sanderling. Hundreds of shorebirds were around, most of them roosting up on the dry ground of the tern colony (it was high tide.) No matter how attentively I scanned, I couldn't pull out a Pacific Golden-Plover or a Snowy Plover. After several minutes of squinting at distant shorebirds, a chip note brought my attention to a life bird practically at my feet: a "Large-billed" Savannah Sparrow.



Though not its own species (yet), the "Large-billed" Savannah Sparrow is a very interesting and distinctive bird. It breeds along the shores of the Sea of Cortez and wanders northward in the winter, showing up at coastal places like Bolsa Chica and also at the Salton Sea.

A heavy fog bank that descended onto Bolsa Chica put an end to my birding. I grabbed some much-needed lunch at Subway before continuing on to Huntington Central Park. Once there, I pulled out my phone to find that I had a new voicemail. Hmmm...

Turns out it was my friend Doug Willick. He had found a Great Crested Flycatcher along the Upper Santa Ana River, a good twenty miles from where I was in Huntington Beach. Shoot! I had been considering birding the river on Saturday, but I had decided on Bolsa Chica instead. I briefly considered birding around Huntington Central Park for the rest of the afternoon and trying for the flycatcher the next day; however, the flycatcher was just too good of a bird to pass up, so I hopped on my bike, cranked it into high gear, and pedaled like a maniac upriver.

It took my only an hour and ten minutes to reach the flycatcher location, a line of trees along the bike trail just downstream from the Glassell crossing. In only a couple minutes I was looking at the bird as it flitted around some of the eucalyptus trees overhead. It was surprisingly unwary, allowing for some decent photos.



I watched it for about forty minutes. This is an extremely rare bird for the county; it is only the third to ever have been recorded. It was a very common bird in Michigan where I used to live, but this is California; I was very excited to see the bird. It was also a very nice addition to my Bigby list!



I had a couple hours of daylight left for birding after losing the flycatcher, so I called Doug Willick and arranged to meet him for some birding a bit farther upriver. On my way, I noticed a sparrow diving into the vegetation in the riverbed adjacent to the bike trail. I screeched to a halt and was quickly looking at a Brewer's Sparrow! My third for the fall! I didn't get any photos, but here's a picture of the one I found in my neighborhood last week.



Doug and I worked the row of trees and shrubs lining the bike trail, coming up with some common migrants. As we stood pishing at a clump of cottonwoods, I looked up and saw a Plumbeous Vireo staring right back down at me. While an annual migrant through the county (this bird is actually returning for its fifth winter in the same area along the river), it was yet another new Bigby bird for me.

We continued farther downriver (Doug wanted to see my Brewer's Sparrow.) A flash of yellow caught my eye in a flock of cowbirds in the riverbed. A Yellow-headed Blackbird! Yet another surprising new Bigby bird! I was beginning to wish that I had simply birded the Upper Santa Ana River instead of Bolsa Chica... unusual birds were coming out of the woodwork!

I finally headed home late in the afternoon so I could get home before dark. While pedaling downriver toward Katella Avenue I couldn't help but notice a juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper in the river. Wow. A great couple hours of birding along the river!

I ended the day with six new Bigby birds: Pectoral Sandpiper, Reddish Egret, Sanderling, Great Crested Flycatcher, Plumbeous Vireo, and Yellow-headed Blackbird. I rode sixty-five miles. An epic day.

Stranded!

Being stranded generally isn't a whole lot of fun, but it is fun being stranded in certain places. Bolsa Chica is one of those places. A Junior Naturalist field trip was scheduled there in the afternoon yesterday, and since I was home in plenty of time from my bike ride I decided to attend. I thought it was a bit strange that no one was around when my mom dropped me off five minutes past the scheduled meeting time, but I headed off down the footbridge anyway.

One of the first birds I saw was this funky little fellow. It's a Zebra Finch (Poephila guttata), a popular cage bird native to Australia and Indonesia. I'm now kicking myself for not getting closer to obtain better photos (people were photographing it from a couple feet away), but I guess I was distracted by the wild birds.



Ah, wild birds. There were many. At this point, Trudy Hurd from Sea and Sage Audubon (Queen of San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary) showed up, equally bewildered as to why no other Junior Naturalists had shown up. We loitered around the footbridge for awhile, photographing and watching the numerous birds. An American Bittern flew across the open water near the footbridge and quickly disappeared into the cord grass. This photo shows just how "sneaky" these shy birds can be.



Ducks of all shapes and sizes were rampant. Northern Pintail was one of the most common species. This elegant dabbler is one of my favorite ducks. This pair was feeding close to the footbridge, but it was difficult to catch them with their heads above water!



Diving ducks were also well-represented. Surf Scoter, Lesser Scaup, Ruddy Duck, Bufflehead, and Red-breasted Merganser were common. Most of them were too far from the footbirdge to be well-photographed, but one tame Ruddy Duck was paddling around in the shallows within a couple feet of the bridge.



Near the first overlook we found some different birds. A Reddish Egret was dancing in the shallow water nearby. This species is regular at Bolsa Chica - up to three individuals show up every eyar - but is very rare in California. I picked a Thayer's Gull out from the swarming masses of gulls resting on the islands near the overlook. The tide was high, resulting in very few mudflats, but a few common shorebirds were hanging around on whatever small patches of mud they could find - Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Black-bellied Plover, et cetera. I finally touched base with my dad and arranged for him to pick me up. We drifted back to the footbridge, finding mostly the same birds, but a few birds had also drifted closer to the footbridge, including this handsome drake Lesser Scaup.



A Pied-billed Grebe casually swam under the boardwalk, bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun.



My dad showed up around four-thirty to pick me up. Even though none of the Junior Naturalists showed up (turns out that the trip was canceled - I just never found out,) it was a pleasant afternoon of birding at Bolsa Chica. Numbers of ducks is always impressive in the winter, and photographic opportunities are usually very good.

Wordless Wednesday

The Beach Boys

Beach birding. Left to right: Chris West, John Garrett, me.

What is a birding trip to Orange County without a jaunt to the beach? Not much. That's precisely why I took Chris West, a visiting young birder from Wisconsin, to the beach and other coastal areas on Monday. John Garrett, a young birder from Pasadena, tagged along as well. As one might expect, coastal areas are home to a large number of species that are rarely, if ever, found inland.

Our first stop was Bolsa Chica in Huntington Beach. I go there very often, and for a good reason: it is a fabulous birding spot. One of the few remaining coastal estuaries in southern California, it attracts a wide variety of water birds. I've never had a bad day of birding at Bolsa Chica, and I've come to the conclusion that there is always something interesting to see there. Monday was no exception to this rule.

Perhaps the most noticeable residents of Bolsa Chica are the ever-present Elegant Tern. Thousands of pairs nest there, and white clouds of terns covered the islands and hovered over the water. The shrill cries of the distant birds blended together into a deafening roar, and birds flying directly overhead gave harsh ker-ick! calls. Chris gawked at them, and for a good reason; he had never seen one, let alone ten thousand. John and I chuckled, but it is impossible not to be amazed by them no matter how many times you see them.

Another denizen of Bolsa Chica is the Snowy Plover. These tiny plovers are much less noticeable than the Elegant Terns; the pale sandy color of their upperparts closely matches the color of the sand they live on. I was very surprised to find two Snowy Plovers - one a fuzzy chick, and the other an adult - running around in the small sandy area by the end of the boardwalk, out of the fenced off nesting area for the plovers and terns. The juvenile, impossibly cute with those huge ebony eyes, was running around like a little wind up toy.



The adult Snowy Plover was just as entergetic as it attempted to keep the kid in order. It seemed to be keeping a wary eye on a couple Black-crowned Night-Herons loafing nearby - a juicy baby plover would make a good meal for a big, bad night-heron.



Finally we tore ourselves away and walked over to the first overlook. Teenage Least Terns were still bumming around their nests, impatiently waiting for their meals to be delivered to them by their hardworking parents. Some of the juvenile Least Terns decided that the trail made a very comfortable spot to wait for their meals, and they wouldn't budge until we were within a few feet of them. This provided an excellent photo opportunity for us.



The adjacent mudflats were teeming with shorebirds. Western Sandpipers swarmed over the mud like tiny mice, chittering at each other and squabbling over the best feeding spots. Lesser numbers of other shorebirds, including Greater Yellowlegs, Short-billed Dowitcher, Black-bellied Plover, and Least Sandpiper were also present. A handful of Long-billed Curlews strutted amongst the smaller shorebirds, reaching deeply buried food inaccessible to the shorter-billed shorebirds.



At last we managed to tear ourselves away from all the wonderful shorebirds and terns and headed for other birding spots. Next on the agenda was Talbert Marsh, an obscure little saltmarsh tucked away near the mouth of the Santa Ana River. A Gull-billed Tern had been hanging around here, and we were anxious to see it. Gull-billed Terns are rare visitors to Orange County. Happily, I spotted it resting on a mudflat after only a few minutes of scanning. We all enjoyed quick looks before walking back to the car.

A quick spin through Upper Newport Bay didn't produce much, so we hit Crystal Cove State Park. Crystal Cove boasts an exquisite stretch of beach, alternating between rugged rocky areas and beautiful sandy spots. Chris was excited to see his first Heerman's Gulls, while John and I yawned and scanned the beach for something more unusual. They are neat-looking gulls, however common they are along the beach.



A walk up the beach produced a mixed flock of Black Turnstones (lifer for Chris) and Ruddy Turnstones foraging amongst the washed-up seaweed. After scouring the ocean a bit more in hopes of seabirds, we cruised down Pacific Coast Highway a bit farther to Laguna Beach. A lone Black Oystercatcher loafed on the beach below Crescent Bay Point Park, and sea lions and Brandt's Cormorants rested on the tall rocks offshore. With the aid of my scope, I picked out a couple Sooty Shearwaters far offshore, but they were mere dots shimmering in the heat waves.

In the mid-afternoon we headed back for home. Chris picked up six life birds: Western Gull, Elegant Tern, Heerman's Gull, Black Turnstone, Black Oystercatcher, and Brandt's Cormorant. The coast nearly always has some interesting birds - if you are in Orange County and don't know where to go, go to Bolsa Chica. Heck, the beach is always fun. Perhaps I should start a "Birds seen from boogyboard" list. That could be interesting...

Freaky Sapsucker

Yesterday afternoon, while birding at Irvine Regional Park, I came across a hybrid sapsucker, almost certainly the same individual I saw a couple weeks ago about a quarter mile away. I believe it is a Red-naped x Red-breasted Sapsucker hybrid - as you can see in the photo above, its head pattern is almost exactly intermediate between those two species. Its throat is all red, but with a black border. The white lines on the face and the Red-naped face pattern are distinctive, but smudged with red. It had a wash of red across the upper breast. Interestingly, this bird was on the same pepper tree that the female Red-naped Sapsucker hangs out in. Apparently, it was "poaching" the Red-naped Sapsucker's wells, since later I saw the Red-naped back working on her wells. Here's another shot of the hybrid, showing the breast pattern. This bird was quite tame, allowing good photos.

In the morning, my dad and I birded several various places in Huntington Beach - Huntington Central Park, Harriet M. Wieder Regional Park, and Bolsa Chica. We dipped on most of the birds we were looking for - a Tropical Kingbird at Huntington Central Park, a Hammond's Flycatcher at Harriet Wieder, and two Common Goldeneyes at Bolsa Chica. However, we did have some nice consolation prizes - the "Red" subspecies of Fox Sparrow, found mostly in the east, at Harriet Wieder; and singles of Greater Scaup, Pacific Golden-Plover and Reddish Egret at Bolsa Chica. Bolsa Chica was loaded with shorebirds - there were thousands of Western Sandpipers spread over the flats, and large numbers of many other kinds. I also spotted a Merlin near the tide gates. A very nice day all in all. Here's a shot of a Marbled Godwit at Bolsa Chica, with a couple Short-billed Dowitchers in the background.