Stunning Skimmers

If your memory is good, you may recall my confusion concerning two very similar species of dragonflies, Flame and Neon Skimmers. I coincidentally found my first Neon Skimmer just a day or two after posting photos of a skimmer I believed was a Neon Skimmer, but was actually a Flame Skimmer. Well, I thought I had already learned how to distinguish the two species, but today I was lucky enough to learn more about these two species by seeing both… within inches of each other!

I was searching for dragonflies along the lushly vegetated creek at Santiago Oaks Regional Park this afternoon when I spotted two brilliant reddish-orange dragonflies perched on the same stick near the stream. Inspection revealed one to be a Flame Skimmer, and the other a Neon Skimmer! Direct comparison of the two species allowed me to discover more identification techniques for these two dragonflies.

The most dependable difference between the two species is the extent of orange on the wings. Flame Skimmers have orange covering more than half of their wings, while Neon Skimmers show only a small amount of orange at the base of their wings. This is clearly evident in the photos. Another reliable identification characteristic is the color of the abdomen. Flame Skimmers appear bright enough to the uninitiated, but Neon Skimmers really knock your socks off. Their abdomens glow! Neon Skimmers appear much redder than Flame Skimmers.



In addition to these two classic field marks, I noticed a couple subtle differences between the two species when seen together. First of all, the Neon Skimmer had a slightly shorter and thicker abdomen than the Flame Skimmer. Second, the Flame Skimmer appeared to have slightly longer wings than the Neon Skimmer. Of course, these characteristics would be very difficult to ascertain on solitary skimmers, but when seen together, they might be helpful.

Oh, I forgot to mention which skimmer was which in the photos. I’ll let you figure it out.

Migration

Much to my chagrin, I haven't been able to get out birding much recently. To remedy this I biked to Santiago Oaks Regional Park today and spent the entire morning wandering around and searching for birds, particularly migrants. I haven't biked anywhere recently for various reasons, so I expected to pick up a few new Bigby birds. Within a minute of dismounting my bike I had found three new Bigby birds: Black-headed Grosbeak, Black-throated Gray Warbler, and Warbling Vireo.

Birds were out and singing everywhere despite the cloudy skies and cool temperatures. Many of the wintering species such as Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Hermit Thrushes, and White-crowned Sparrows are beginning to fade away. They are quickly being replaced by breeders and migrants. A bit farther down the trail I found a Hammond's Flycatcher and an Ash-throated Flycatcher sitting in the same tree. Both were new for my Bigby list.

Normally, I bird Santiago Oaks for only a couple hours before school in the morning. However, I had several hours to burn, so I covered most of the park. I traipsed out to the Villa Park Dam and easily located a singing Rock Wren. He serenaded me from the top of a fence while I stalked closer. It will be interesting to see if Rock Wrens try to breed here. This little patch of jumbled rock is one of the few places to reliably find this species in the county.



Hundreds of swallows were swirling around by the dam. At first they all appeared to be Cliff Swallows, but I noticed there were a lot of Northern Rough-winged Swallows mixed in as well. Even more careful inspection revealed smaller numbers of Violet-green, Tree, and Barn Swallows merrily zipping around feeding on insects. I finally tore myself away from the cooperative Rock Wren and swallows and turned back to the main part of the park. I found my last new Bigby bird of the day, a Nashville Warbler, back near the parking lot. I also came across a very cooperative Sara Orangetip.



I decided to climb the Pacifica Trail, a steep narrow path that winds to the top of Rattlesnake Peak. I don't usually see much along this trail, but it's a neat hike and I figured it might be a good spot to look for Lawrence's Goldfinch. No luck with that, but I did come across a band of Western Scrub-Jays jumping around in the bushes next to the trail.



I finally made it to the top. Numerous White-throated Swifts, which were tiny specks in the sky from below, zoomed around at eye level. In fact, bands of these winged bullets, chattering demonically, nearly hit me a few times. They were so close I could hear the wind rushing through their wings. Photographing them proved to be a challenge!



A Red-tailed Hawk circled lazily below, offering a unique perspective.



I spent a few more minutes watching the swifts before descending the trail so as not to be late for lunch. For a few hours at the local patch, it wasn't bad at all. The six new Bigby birds I found (Hammond's Flycatcher, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Nasvhille Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, and Black-headed Grosbeak) pushed my total to one eighty-four. Hopefully I'll be able to get out more soon to add more migrants to my Bigby list.

Dragonfly Lifer #2: Aztec Dancer (probable)

I've waited impatiently for spring to roll around in anticipation of seeing lots of new dragonflies. I've seen nothing but Variegated Meadowhawks since I began my official dragonfly list in late December of last year. I was able to add a new one to my slowly-growing list this afternoon.

I took a quick ride over to Santiago Oaks Regional Park this afternoon in hopes of photographing the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Unfortunately, I couldn't find him anywhere (he may have already left; I haven't seen him the last two times I've been there, and he's got a long way to go.) I took a hike around the Wilderness Loop, finding some California Thrashers, two Golden-crowned Sparrow, and a Lincoln's Sparrow, among others. I flushed a dragonfly from the edge of the path, but when it landed again, I could see it was another Variegated Meadowhawk - rats.

A few feet farther down the trail, I flushed a tiny blue thing which weakly fluttered into the grass at the path's edge. A damselfly! It was a pretty one, patterned in blue and black, though the vast majority of damselflies are colored similarly to this. I took some photos, hoping they would be enough to identify it back at home. After a few minutes of flipping through my field guide, I found a good match: California Dancer (Argia agrioides.) Unfortunately, to confuse things, there is a nearly identical species, the Aztec Dancer (Argia nahuana) that can only be distinguished by careful examination of the abdomen tips in hand. Rats. It's like having the second bird you look at being a Willow/Alder Flycatcher.

I referred to the text for some pointers. According to the species accounts, Aztec Dancer begins to fly earlier in the year than California Dancer - March opposed to April. So, assuming the information in the book is correct, I'm tentatively calling this an Aztec Dancer. If you have any opinions please feel free to comment.

Change Is Good

I'm the sort of person who hates being stuck in the same routine. Unfortunately, been stuck in a rut all winter: eat, sleep, school, and some brief birding expeditions to the local patches. I love the entire concept of local patches, but after seeing the same individual birds for several months in a row, local birding gets wearisome. I decided to visit Santiago Oaks Regional Park this morning. I go there a lot, but I figured I could find some new areas to explore.

Instead of searching for the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and then wandering around the same general areas, I took a ramble up a couple trails I've only been up once before. However, I could not avoid bumping into the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker; it was calling and jumping around in a tree twenty feet from where I locked up my bike.

The new trails I checked out were the Windes and Pacifica Trails. These two trails wind up Rattlesnake Ridge, a tall hill at the west side of the park. This hill was hit badly by a fire a couple years back, but the recent rains have turned it into a green paradise covered with wildflowers. I was very surprised to find a Purple Finch singing from the top of a dead eucalyptus near the top of the hill. I've never seen one at Santiago Oaks before, and for a good reason: wrong habitat. Purple Finches generally like to stick to conifer or oak-conifer woodlands, not dead eucalyptus trees at the top of a bare hill. After a few minutes it took off high into the sky, headed north; it's probably to Kern County by now. It was a new Bigby bird for me - an encouraging start.

I reached the top of a cliff along the Pacifica Trail and spooked a Red-tailed Hawk. I'm convinced that a pair of Red-tails are nesting somewhere on this cliff face, because there's always a pair hanging around here and I even saw one carrying a stick in that direction a couple weeks ago. It was pretty neat to be looking down on a flying Red-tailed Hawk!



The view from the Pacifica Trail was gorgeous. Reaching the top of Rattlesnake Ridge, I could look to one side and see the coastal plain, albeit through a thick layer of haze. To my other side were the rolling hills, now coated with a fresh coating of grass and wildflowers.

I came across a small canyon with a bit of chaparral that had escaped the blaze. A big flock of sparrows was messing around in the bushes, and I soon found several Golden-crowned Sparrows - about six total. Embarrassingly, this is another new Bigby species for me. They are usually easy to find around my local patches (I've even seen them in my backyard!), but this winter they are inexplicably scarce.



I had some extra time to spare once I had finished birding the Windes and Pacifica Trails, so I decided to try to get some photos of the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. I found him back on his favorite pepper tree, but the light wasn't very good. I'll have to try to go back in the afternoon sometime soon (emphasis on soon; he'll be leaving for where he belongs in just a couple weeks!)



As I was headed back to my bike, I didn't quite believe my ears when I heard the "kicker" calls of a Virginia Rail emanating from the overgrown creek bed. The bird called a few more times, confirming its identity. I've never had a Virginia Rail here before. There isn't much habitat - a small patch of cattails and some thick undergrowth along the creek. Another surprise new Bigby bird.

I got yet another surprise as I was cycling out of the park. A small bird flitted in front of my bike, looking oddly flycatcher-ish. I screeched to a halt and spotted the culprit: a Pacific-slope Flycatcher. They aren't supposed to show up for a couple more weeks, according to The Birds of Orange County and The San Diego County Bird Atlas. This species does occasionally overwinter in southern California, but I think it was an early migrant; it was singing, and I've birded this area all winter without seeing it. Yet another new Bigby bird!

I was in for one more pleasant surprise on the ride home. My route takes me past a pepper tree in some one's front yard. Sapsuckers are very fond of pepper trees, and a Red-naped Sapsucker spent the entire winter there last year. I checked all fall and winter, hoping it would return, but to no avail. I barely glanced at the tree as I pedaled past, but somehow I managed to spot a sapsucker tucked back in the tree. A quick binocular check revealed it to be the elusive Red-naped Sapsucker. This was another species conspicuously absent from my Bigby list. It was very tame - odd for a sapsucker - but it was so well buried behind branches and leaves that I couldn't get a decent shot.



I ended up at home with five new Bigby birds under my belt (Purple Finch, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Virginia Rail, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, and Red-naped Sapsucker.) I hadn't expected any! Talk about an awesome morning. In just a few more weeks migration will start in earnest!

Nothing Much

Lack of birding time can easily make a week rather dull. I've known this for a long time. Instead of my usual four or five (or six or seven...) outings a week, I succeeded in slipping away only twice all week. Horrors. However, I am immensely glad that I live within a few miles of several prime birding spots, even if I only visited Irvine and Santiago Oaks Regional Parks.

I spent a couple hours at Irvine Regional Park before school on Monday morning. I quickly found a new species for the year - not a bird, but a butterfly: Sara Orangetip. At first glance, this classy butterfly might be mistaken for one of those obnoxious Cabbage Whites, but when I glimpsed that little flash of orange as the butterfly flitted by, I knew what I was seeing. Unfortunately, it was wary, hence the detestable photo.



After circling around the "Picnic Loop" at the front of the park, I pedaled over to the small lake in the heart of the park. Despite its small size, this lake occasionally attracts an unusual duck. Vast numbers of Wood Ducks of questionable origin reside there (my high count for the park is one hundred forty-one!), and among them was this lovely male Mandarin Duck. A decidedly flamboyant species native to Asia, it is popular in collections that it often escapes from.



Genuine wild ducks were present as well. An impressive fifty-two Ring-necked Ducks were floating amongst the battalions of Mallards. They were accompanied by three Redheads that have been present for weeks, along with a brace of female Bufflehead. A few American Wigeons were grazing on the edge of the lake. That's a pretty impressive variety for this tiny lake. The lake's tininess makes it an ideal spot for waterfowl viewing; the birds are extremely close, to the point where I could easily see the fabled neck rings on the male Ring-necked Ducks!

I resumed my tour of the park. The usual residents of oak woodland - Oak Titmouse, Acorn Woodpecker, Nuttall's Woodpecker, and others - were out in full force, along with common wintering species. I stumbled across a very confiding pair of Western Bluebirds that already seemed to be thinking about starting housekeeping. Here's the male.



And the female. The female is a muted version of the male, though she has her own air of loveliness.



Fast forward to Wednesday morning. After winding through the streets of Orange Park Acres (a convenient way to avoid the treacherous hill along Santiago Canyon Road), I cruised into Santiago Oaks Regional Park. I never fail to be struck at the noisiness of the place - scrub-jays screshing to each other, titmice whining, and Acorn Woodpeckers laughing maniacally. My first mission was to find my dear friend the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a bird that is half my age and has been present so long that no one really cares about him any more (*sniff*). I easily found him tapping new wells into his favorite pepper tree while religiously guarding old wells from thieving Yellow-rumped Warblers. Unfortunately, this bird is rather shy and simply refuses to emerge from the shadows, so photography is virtually impossible.



My visit with the faithful old sapsucker over, I poked around the labyrinth of trails that wind through the park. I nearly tripped over a bold California Thrasher int he middle of the trail. Upon noticing me, the bird scurried into the brush by the trail and popped up to serenade me. That was nice of him.



I should have known better, but once I was finished photographing the thrasher I walked backwards without turning to see what was behind me. A tiny branch somehow managed to tangle my feet together and I fell quite substantially on my hindquarters. I stood up, dusted myself off, and rebuked the branch for being so unkind (yeah, right). Thankfully, no one was around to witness my antics. I looked up just in time to notice an abnormally large and dark Mourning Dove shooting overhead with a small bird gripped in its talons. Wait. Something is wrong here. Turns out that the bird was actually a Merlin! For some reason or another, this species has eluded my Bigby list, so I was happy to see it. I've been receiving quite a bit of grief from certain people about Merlin's absence from my Bigby list.

Heartened, I made the trek out to the Villa Park Dam, perhaps a half-mile distant. Despite several hikes back there, I hadn't seen a Rock Wren this year. Rock Wrens are quite tricky to find in Orange County, and the bird or two that has been wintering here (and perhaps resident) are the easiest to access for me. I managed to cross the flooded creek on a "sketchy" bridge composed of a few rocks and began scouring the area for Rock Wrens. Moments later I spotted a little brown thing jumping around a nearby rock pile, and I excitedly brought my binoculars to bear on a Rock Wren. Unfortunately, the bird was on the other side of a fence, so I couldn't approach very closely (normally, a fence wouldn't deter me very much, but this one was plastered with imposing "No Trespassing" signs.) Another new Bigby bird.



I was pressed for time, so I hustled back in the direction of my bike. I couldn't resist stopping to photograph some clownish Spotted Towhees engaged in a little domestic scuffle over perching rights.



Now facing the real danger of getting home late (theoretically, I could be out all day, but schoolwork doesn't do itself), I jogged the trails to the parking lot. Again, I got delayed by a photo opportunity: sycamore bark. Nothing too exciting about that, but I thought it looked pretty neat - it resembles dried, cracked mud.



That rounds out my week quite nicely. I spent a good chunk of today slouched at a desk in a classroom sweating over the ACT. Fun. At least it was raining today - birding would not have been very pleasant. Maybe I'll be able to slip out for a bit tomorrow, and hopefully I won't be as busy next week!

Wordless Wednesday

Dragonfly Lifer #1: Variegated Meadowhawk

I've always had a casual interest in dragonflies, perhaps because they share certain traits with birds. However, this interest usually only involved snapping a few photos of dragonflies and then wondering what they were. That has changed.

For Christmas I received a copy of Dragonflies and Damselflies of California by Tim Manolis. Now I'll be able to put a name on some of those dragonflies! Unfortunately, adult dragonflies aren't out and about in December (they're all dead!), so I'll have to wait until next year to crack out the book. Or so I thought.

While birding at Santiago Oaks Regional Park this morning I spotted a medium-sized reddish dragonfly streaking around the open area near the Villa Park Dam. Very few dragonflies can survive this late into the season, and the majority of the ones that do are Variegated Meadowhawks (Sympetrum corruptum). I snapped some photos and checked my book when I arrived home - yup, Variegated Meadowhawk.

I know I've seen plenty of other species, and have even identified several. Tough. I'm going to have to find them again to count for my "official" list. I'll try to remember to post each one, so keep your eyes open starting in the spring!

Behind the Times

Recently, I've been consistent in only one thing: neglected my blog. While it may seem as if I've dropped off the face of the earth, I am still here, alive and well. School takes up roughly 98% of my waking hours, and the other 2% I spend birding. That leaves 0% of my time for blogging, so technically I really shouldn't be typing this right now. I've finished my work for the week, so I'll try to catch up.

Precisely one week ago, I made an interesting discovery, but hardly an unexpected one. Last winter, I heard rumors of a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Santiago Oaks Regional Park, but I didn't actually get around to confirming the bird until late February. The bird departed a few weeks later. I was surprised to learn that last winter was the sixth winter in a row it had wintered in the same tree. Six years is a long time in the bird world, but I hoped it would be back. So, last Friday, I rode my bike to Santiago Oaks Regional Park, walked to the pepper tree it favored last winter, heard tapping, raised my binoculars, and spotted the bird. It doesn't get much easier than that. Incredibly, this is the seventh winter this same individual bird has gone hundreds, if not thousands, of miles out of its way to winter in the same tree at Santiago Oaks. Wow. Hats off to you, Mr. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.



I spent another hour or so wandering around Santiago Oaks Regional Park, and in that short time I found two more species of sapsuckers: Red-breasted and Red-naped. The Red-naped Sapsucker was my first for the fall. Santiago Oaks nearly always is alive with birds, and last Friday was no exception. In addition to the sapsuckers I found Northern Flickers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Hermit Thrushes, Fox Sparrows (photo at top of post), and multitudes of others.

Fast-forward to Wednesday. I rode my bike to Irvine Regional Park for a while in the morning, shivering a little as I rode (temperatures in the low fifties!). The mowers and leaf blowers were out in force, but I birded around them the best I could. I moseyed around, finding nothing extraordinary (another Red-naped Sapsucker and three Red-breasted Sapsuckers were nice... I'm already loosing count of how many sapsuckers I've seen this fall). The Lewis's Woodpecker still has not returned, much to my dismay. As I stared at its vacant snag, my mind conjured up images of the unfortunate woodpecker being nabbed by a hawk, or being hit by a car.

As I was biking along one of the roads in the park, I noticed a big dark bird in the top of a sycamore tree. Now, most big dark birds at Irvine Regional Park are Common Ravens; hundreds pour in late in the afternoon to roost in the tall trees. Dozens loiter around the park all day, raiding garbage cans and getting in all kinds of trouble. However, this bird wasn't a raven - it was a Turkey Vulture, and a young one at that. Turkey Vultures aren't very exciting for most people, but I hardly ever see them perched at close range. As I watched, it spread its wings to warm up.



Here's where the weird stuff starts. I circled around behind the vulture to try for an artistic backlit shot. This is what happened.



I have no clue how this happened, but it's pretty neat. This is picture right out of the camera - no photoshopping or anything. I couldn't replicate this effect either, no matter how long and hard I tried.

Also at Irvine Regional Park was a cooperative Say's Phoebe. This species is a fairly common wintering bird in the area, and this bird has been sitting on the same post the last three weeks I've birded Irvine Regional Park. Talk about a homebody.



Lastly, this morning I took a hike around the lake at Peters Canyon Regional Park. It has been interesting to compare the numbers and variety of waterfowl on the lake this year with what I saw last year. This year, water levels are much lower, and waterfowl numbers are also way lower. At this time last fall, there were hundreds of Ring-necked Ducks on the lake. Today there was one. This is undoubtedly not a drastic decline of duck numbers - I'm sure roughly the same number of ducks are around this fall, but they're just in different places. The lake probably had better food resources and habitat last fall, so the ducks moved on to try to find somewhere better. Still, I'm hoping that more will show up.

The lack of ducks today was made up by the presence of a couple Bonaparte's Gulls. I've seen this species only once or twice here, and surprisingly enough this was a new Bigby bird for me (#222). Somehow it eluded my grasp all of last winter. I was glad to finally snare it, since I was getting a bit worried about missing it.

Speaking of Bigbying, that's what I'll be doing tomorrow. I plan to ride down to the coast, birding Little Corona City Beach, Upper Newport Bay, San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, and Mason Regional Park. There have been some nifty birds reported around that area, including Clay-colored Sparrow, Pacific Golden-Plover, and Pectoral Sandpiper. All three of these would be new for my Bigby list, and there are also a few others that I could potentially find. We'll see...