Swarming hummers!

The last few days there have been more hummingbirds at my feeders in the backyard than usual. The Black-chinned are gone, but Allen's and particularly Anna's remain abundant. At one point this morning, there were about a dozen buzzing around one of the feeders! It's fun to sit on the patio and watch the resultant "Hummer Wars". I've found them to be very tame - to the point where they will come and drink while I'm holding the feeder! Here's a shot of a female or young male Anna's. I'm inclined to think it is a female, because a lot of the young males are growing in their gorgets, making them look patchy! Next, here's a short movie of a male Anna's Hummingbird visiting the feeder. Listen for its smacking call notes!

I also spent some time birding the neighborhood this morning. I found a beautiful Townsend's Warbler, a Marsh Wren, and a Willow Flycatcher. All three were new neighborhood birds for me. I found the flycatcher behind the stables. I heard its call note - a liquid whit - then tracked it down. After a bit of chasing and much frustration, I managed to get some good looks at it. It didn't have much of an eye ring, was mostly grayish-brownish overall, had two buffy wing bars, lacked yellow on the underparts, had moderate primary projection, had a relatively broad bill with an orange(ish) lower mandible, and didn't wag its tail. I also saw a couple "Audubon's" Yellow-rumped Warblers, which was neat. I'm sure the novelty will wear off within a week or so...

On Saturday morning, my dad and I twitched an Arctic Warbler (!) that showed up at DeForest Park in Long Beach, a forty minute drive from my house. We dipped, and so did the dozens of birders who were there looking for it. There were lots of warblers there, including Black-throated Gray, Townsend's, Wilson's, etc. If nothing else, I got a start to my Los Angeles county list, with forty-eight species for the effort.

Migrants around the neighborhood

This morning I spent several hours birding the neighborhood. The Mountain Chickadee was still behind the stables, with the Bushtits that always seem to be there. I then bushwhacked my way along the Yellowthroat Creek. I was pleasantly surprised to find fair numbers of warblers there - lots of Orange-crowned and Wilson's, but also singles of Nashville (new 'hood bird) and Yellow. There was also one Warbling Vireo (new 'hood bird). However, the biggest prize was yet to come. I tracked down a smacking chimp call note to a MacGillivray's Warbler poking around in a dense thicket! A lifer! I followed it around for several minutes, finally getting decent looks as it popped out into the open a couple times. I continued onward around both of the lakes. The trusty Wood Duck was nowhere to be seen, and the Spotted Sandpiper that has been hanging around for the past few days was gone. I took a spin around the Roller Coaster trail next, lucking into California Thrashers, Spotted Towhees and Bewick's Wrens, but I couldn't find the resident California Gnatcatchers. I found another MacGillivray's Warbler (man, I almost got tired of seeing them...) - I'm sure it was a different bird, since it was a good distance away from the first bird and had a slightly duller brown hood. A couple Killdeer flew overhead (new 'hood bird; the local mockingbirds have tricked me many times, but these were genuine), and I found some more Wilson's and Orange-crowned Warblers in a large eucalyptus grove, as well as my first Yellow-rumped Warbler of the fall. The five new new birds for the neighborhood put my 'hood list up to seventy-four!

Here's a shot of a Black Phoebe that was up at one of the lakes yesterday. They're really common, but still fascinating birds. They wake me up every morning, except when I get up in the middle of the night to go birding. :-)

This Great Blue Heron is a regular at the lakes. Another very common bird, but seeing that golden eye is always cool.

Lastly, here's a shot of the Spotted Sandpiper that I mentioned earlier. Yesterday I noticed him running around on a small patch of dirt and gravel next to the lower lake, actively hunting flies! When it spotted a fly, it would crouch down, holding completely still like a pointer dog. Then - SNAP - the fly would be gone! Amazing to watch. Look carefully at this photo - you can see the fly!

Peters Canyon XIII

This morning I birded Peters Canyon Regional Park again, for the thirteenth time! I walked the Lakeview and Cactus Point Trails. It was even more birdy than usual (in some respects at least), and I added five new species to my Peters Canyon list: Ring-necked Duck, Eared Grebe, Greater Yellowlegs, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and Savannah Sparrow, bringing my Peters Canyon list up to eighty-eight. Hurray for migration! I was particularly surprised to see the Ring-necked Ducks (two), and thought it was a little early for them - sure enough, San Diego County Bird Atlas says, "In fall the Ring-necked Duck arrives rarely as early as late September but does not become common until November...", so I guess they were the best birds of the morning. Waterbird numbers on the lake have spiked noticeably since last week - there were at least three hundred American Coots there, along with growing numbers of American Wigeon, Gadwall, Northern Shoveler, etc. The Belted Kingfisher and Osprey were still there as well. Migrant passerines were virtually non-existent - I heard a few unidentified warbler chips overhead a couple times, and the only migrant warbler I saw was this Orange-crowned. This isn't the greatest shot, but I love Orange-crowns and I also like the bird's posture.

More 'hood birding

Yep, that's part of my neighborhood - Yellowthroat Creek, named by yours truly. I birded this area and other parts of the neighborhood this morning. The Mountain Chickadee I found a couple days ago was hanging out the resident Bushtit flock behind the stables. This female Western Bluebird cooperated for photos. Unfortunately, she seems to have a broken/damaged leg and had trouble perching.

Otherwise, birding was relatively slow. There were fewer migrants than the last few days, but I saw a few Orange-crowned Warblers and one Western Wood-Pewee. I couldn't resist a photo of my faithful birding companion, Chestnut, ready for more birding!

Cool 'hood birds & SJWS census

On Wednesday evening, while walking around the neighborhood, I noticed a couple Vaux's Swifts zooming around. Imagine my surprise when I realized there were at least two dozen of them! An unexpected lifer for me. While I was watching the swifts, I could have sworn I heard a Mountain Chickadee calling. I looked for it without success, but then tried some hearty pishing. It immediately popped out just ten feet in front of me - it was indeed a Mountain Chickadee! I was especially surprised because there are very few conifers in the neighborhood, and it was near none of them. To cap off the evening I spotted a Western Tanager nearby.

On Thursday morning I helped out with the monthly bird census at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary. I was assigned to help Dick Purvis (bluebird guru of southern CA) cover several ponds. It was a pleasant morning, but relatively slow bird-wise. The best bird was a Peregrine Falcon that soared right above us for several minutes, and a couple White-tailed Kites and a bunch of American White Pelicans were neat as well.

This morning I spent awhile birding the neighborhood. Passerine migration has finally picked up a little bit, and I found a few interesting birds. I saw a colorful Wilson's Warbler and a not-so-colorful (but still beautiful) Orange-crowned Warbler hanging out with the resident Bushtit flock, and also Western Wood-Pewee, Western Tanager, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, and Acorn Woodpecker. The six new neighborhood birds I've gotten over the last few days - Vaux's Swift, Mountain Chickadee, Western Tanager, Wilson's Warbler, Western Wood-Pewee, and Acorn Woodpecker - put my 'hood list at sixty-eight. Not bad for less than three months!

Peters Canyon XII

Today I made my weekly visit to Peters Canyon Regional Park. Per usual, I walked around the reservoir on the Lakeview Trail and also the Cactus Point Loop. Waterbird numbers at the reservoir were mostly the same as last week, but a small flock of eight Forster's Terns were new for my Peters Canyon list. I also saw a very sharp-looking Black-throated Gray Warbler, a new Orange County bird as well as a new Peters Canyon bird for me. Other than that, it mostly the ever-interesting usuals. At one point, I heard a covey of California Quail calling right next to the trail. A couple birds ran across the trail (boy do they move fast!), so I sat down with my camera ready and waited for more of them to cross the trail. Eventually the whole covey crossed, and I managed a few shots.

This Cassin's Kingbird also cooperated for photos. Just seconds after I photographed it, it darted out and captured a huge dragonfly (looked like a darner of some sort). It then spent several minutes getting it down the hatch...

A(nother) morning at Bolsa Chica

Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve is now one of my favorite birding spots. Why? The answer: there are always so many good birds there! It's a great spot of shorebirds, ducks, terns, and more. The place was swarming with shorebirds today - mostly common ones such as Western Sandpipers, Marbled Godwits, and Willets, but I was thrilled to find a gorgeous Black Turnstone poking around a small area of rocky shoreline. A lifer!

After digiscoping lots of pictures of the Black Turnstone (it was tough going considering that it was only 20 feet away and moving constantly...), we walked out to the tide gates, birding the whole way. One of the Reddish Egrets put in an appearance, and there were plenty of shorebirds to keep me entertained. There were lots of Red Knots near the tide gates - about forty. My dad then noticed the waters around the tide gates were literally filled with thousands of small fish. It turns out they were being hunted by lots of large fish and a few small sharks! Here's a photo I managed of one of the sharks:

We also saw a couple of small rays. Any help with identifying the shark or the ray would be appreciated!

On the way home we checked the back part of Bolsa Chica, visible from Harriet Wieder Park. There were amazing numbers of Black-bellied Plovers and Western Sandpipers there! A couple of birders pointed out a Pacific Golden-Plover among all the Black-bellies, another lifer for me. A good morning out!