A Couple Good Birds

On Sunday afternoon I was feeling pretty good about finding that Golden-crowned Kinglet - but suddenly bird greed set in again as soon as I read a post on the Orange County listserv about a Plumbeous Vireo along the Santa Ana River. Plumbeous Vireo isn't exactly a rare bird in Orange County - several show up in all the counties of southern California every fall/winter. Still, I hadn't seen one in California, let alone Orange County yet, so I was anxious to see it.

Turns out the next morning I was getting my flu shot at a medical center just a few miles from the vireo spot. After I received my shot, we drove to the vireo spot, parked, and started walking down the bike trail to where the vireo had been reported. It didn't take long to find the Plumbeous Vireo as it foraged in a short pine tree right next to the path. Apparently it has wintered here the past two years.

On Tuesday, another good bird showed up - a Long-tailed Duck (Oldsquaw to older folk) at Bolsa Chica. Long-tailed Duck is not recorded every year in Orange County. Today I managed to talk my mom into taking me to see it after getting a couple cavities filled at the dentist.

I'll admit it - this isn't the bird at Bolsa Chica! I photographed this Long-tailed Duck at Sunshine Point, Macomb County, Michigan, last December. Today's bird was backlit, rather distant, and diving constantly, so I didn't even attempt for a photo.

There is always something of interest at Bolsa Chica. The footbridge area was productive, with Eared and Horned Grebes, Lesser Scaup, Brown Pelican, and Surf Scoter all fishing at very close range. The pelicans were particularly bold, diving within a couple feet of the boardwalk. We walked out toward the tide gates, looking for the Long-tailed Duck. We spent quite a bit of time sifting through the assorted diving ducks and grebes searching for the Long-tail before we finally saw it. We then turned around and headed back to the parking lot. I was scoping out some shorebirds near the first overlook when my mom asked "Hey Neil, what's that bird with the yellow feet on top of that bush?" I looked, and there was a Merlin atop the bush!

The Merlin would sit on the bush for several minutes, then fly out and engage in aerial acrobatics, often flying low over the marsh. I think it was trying to flush sparrows or shorebirds out the of the marsh. A couple times it swooped very close to us, giving excellent looks. I was more thrilled to see the Merlin than the Long-tailed Duck, since Merlins are definitely one of my favorite birds. Unfortunately, its perch was rather distant, so I couldn't get a great shot. Here's a front view:

I also saw one of the resident Reddish Egrets, and lots of shorebirds including Red Knots and Ruddy Turnstones. There's never a lack of good birds at Bolsa Chica!

Weekend birding

Yesterday morning I attended Sea & Sage Audubon's annual Pancake Breakfast at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary. It was a fun morning - there were many friendly birders there, delicious food, and of course lots of birds. The front ponds held quite a few shorebirds, included a single Dunlin, two Black-bellied Plovers, Long-billed Dowitchers, and more. I was excited to see a very nice male Common Ground-Dove with a flock of Mourning Doves - a county bird. A few Bonaparte's Gulls flew over - a long awaited new state and county bird. A female Northern Harrier put on a nice show by flying around and then landing on the edge of one of the ponds.

Pond C was filled with ducks and grebes. Northern Shovelers, Cinnamon Teal, Green-winged Teal, Gadwall, Northern Pintail, and Ruddy Duck were represented in good numbers. Here's a shot of a mixed flock of Cinnamon Teal and Northern Shovelers. You gotta love those male Cinnamon Teal!

The back ponds were productive as well. There were many American White Pelicans around, along with more ducks. I heard a Virginia Rail deep in the cattails at one point - another state/county bird for me, pitifully. We finally dragged ourselves away after eleven A.M. and headed home.

This afternoon my dad and I birded Mile Square Regional Park in Fountain Valley for a couple hours, a place I'd never been before. The lower lake was filled with coots, grebes, American Wigeon, Ruddy Duck, Redhead, Gadwall, and more. I heard and tracked down a calling Golden-crowned Kinglet nearby in a cluster of tall pine trees. A decent bird for the lowlands of southern California, and yet another state/county bird for me. The rest of the park was pretty quiet but I did get super looks at some Townsend's Warblers by the upper lake.

Chestnut-sided Warbler!

This morning I found a Chestnut-sided Warbler in my neighborhood in Orange around 8:00 a.m. I was able to get great looks at it as it foraged low in an exotic tree, sticking around for quite a bit. I managed to get some horrible pictures of it that will do for documenting it.

Though the photos don't show the field marks too well, here are some that I noticed:

-lime green back, crown, and rump
-gray face and underparts
-white eye ring
-rather short, heavy bill
-broad yellowish-white wing bars
-greenish wash on vent
-cocked tail


I found it again briefly around 12:30 p.m. nearby. If you're interested in chasing it, please contact me privately and I'll give you more details and directions.

On Monday I found some interesting birds around the lower lake of the neighborhood, namely American Pipit, American Wigeon, and Green-winged Teal. I was excited to find the wigeons right in the neighborhood - what cool birds! Here's a shot of the male (there were two females and one male).

The Green-winged Teal was a female. It's amazing how small it looked compared to the resident feral Mallards! It was quite skittish as well. I'm happy at how these two photos came out, since high winds made digiscoping a challenge.

Ventura County 10/20-21

I went on a camping trip this weekend with the Junior Naturalists from Sea & Sage Audubon. We camped at McGrath State Beach, which is between Ventura and Oxnard. Our first stop was Ventura Harbor, a beautiful spot with a nice beach and several jetties. Some of the first birds we saw were a pair of beautiful Black Oystercatchers, which were life birds for several members of the group. I was able to creep over the rocks and get this digiscoped shot.

This Whimbrel was also very cooperative. It was too close to squeeze the whole bird in the photo!

Surfbirds were also very common around the rocky jetties. Unfortunately, most were distant, but this one cooperated at close range. Not the best photo, but a very neat bird!

We next birded a series of sewage ponds right next to the harbor. They were filled with ducks, coots, and grebes. We also briefly heard a Sora, and saw lots of herons. Trevor and I managed to catch this tiny lizard which I believe is a young Western Fence Lizard.

After eating a tailgate lunch at the sewage ponds, we headed to the campground to set up camp. McGrath State Beach is located right at the mouth of the Santa Clara River, which had been dammed up by a sandbar at its mouth. As a result, the campground was mostly flooded, with vast shallow puddles. These puddles attracted lots of birds - ducks, grebes, coots, shorebirds, and more. By wading through one of the [nasty] puddles, I managed to get close to this White-faced Ibis. I like how the photo captured the iridescence on its upperparts.

There were several Greater Yellowlegs foraging in the various puddles around the campground. Although I find them to normally be fairly wary, this one paid little attention to me as I stalked it.

Killdeer were also present in good numbers. I know - they can be obnoxiously common, but they are still really interesting birds to watch.

Sunday morning was beautiful but windy. The dunes were crawling with pipits and Savannah Sparrows, and a Northern Harrier flew right in front of me. After a breakfast of delicious pancakes, we were ready to start birding again. A large flock of blackbirds were hanging around our campsite, and to our surprise it contained at least two Tricolored Blackbirds. A lifer for everyone, even me! Unfortunately, the flock was moving around a lot and it was very windy so I wasn't able to get any good photos. Singles of Dunlin and Long-billed Dowitcher briefly visited the large pond on the edge of the campsite. After we were all packed up, we briefly checked the harbor, finding little because of the wind. We headed home early because of the wind, arriving back at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Orange County around noon. There wasn't much active in the heat of the day, but there were a few very tame Long-billed Dowitchers in Pond C. I couldn't get a whole-body shot (they were too close!), so here's a close-up head shot. I love the feather detail!

Birds of the Week

On Tuesday I noticed a different sparrow with all the White-crowned Sparrows under the thistle sock in my backyard. A Savannah Sparrow! It quickly departed, but I found it again foraging in the greenbelt behind my house. It was surprisingly well camouflaged in amongst the dead grass!

Here's another shot of it:

On Wednesday I birded Peters Canyon for a couple hours in the morning. I birded the Lakeview, Willow, and Cactus Point Trails. I found four new Peters Canyon birds - Lesser Scaup, Lesser Yellowlegs, Violet-green Swallow (county bird) and Dark-eyed Junco. Other birds of note included Fox Sparrows (singing), Northern Flickers, Northern Pintails, a single Vaux's Swift, and two Eared Grebes that flew within several feet of my head while I was standing on top of the dam (where it is legal, of course). I never knew grebes could fly that fast!

Yesterday I birded along the Santa Ana River between the Lincoln and Taft Avenue crossings. A Blackburnian Warbler had been found a few days before in a small line of trees and bushes next to the river, along with a Philadelphia Vireo. I dipped on both of them. I did see a Cattle Egret in the riverbed - a pretty decent bird for the county. It was a county bird for me. Here's an awful shot of it in flight - note the dark legs and feet; short, thick, orange bill; and overall stocky appearance.

This morning I was working on schoolwork in my bedroom when suddenly I noticed a bird fluttering around in a large eucalyptus tree right outside. It was acting like a flycatcher, but when I took a closer look I realized it was a woodpecker - a Red-naped Sapsucker! It was definitely a different one than the one that I saw a couple weeks ago in the neighborhood - this one was a full-blown adult male, while the other one was duller, with some white on the throat - maybe a female. Later, I noticed a Black-throated Gray Warbler right outside the window. I really should start a "birds seen from bedroom window" list!

Later, I found a Common Yellowthroat flopping around by the front door of my house - it probably hit a window. I caught it quickly and placed it under a cardboard box in the backyard to keep it safe from predators while it recovered. I checked every half hour. Its eyes were bright and open, and it was looking around, but it seemed disoriented and staggered around. Eventually it hopped/fluttered into some bushes so I think it will make it. Here's a quick shot I took of it in hand - though it may look like I was squeezing it, I was actually gently holding it in what's known as "the bander's grip".

My First Pelagic

The title says it all - I went on my first pelagic trip with Shearwater Journeys on Saturday, out of Monterey Bay. We made the roughly seven hour drive up on Friday. The weather was nasty, with rain and dark clouds. I didn't get to do any serious birding, but I got a lame start to my Kern, San Louis Obispo, and Monterey County lists. There was a flock of tame Brewer's Blackbirds roaming the parking lot at a rest area along Route 46 in San Louis Obispo County - very common birds I realize, but this is my first photograph of this species.

The next morning I awoke early and my dad drove me to Fisherman's Wharf, where the boat departed from. After Debi Shearwater gave a brief orientation, we pulled out of the harbor and were on our way! We couldn't find the Harlequin Ducks than had been around earlier in the week, but we did see lots of Brandt's Cormorants and California Sea Lions on the breakwater, along with a few Black Turnstones. Here's a shot of a friendly Brandt's Cormorant that was right next to the boat. Those turquoise eyes are really neat!

Just after we rounded the breakwater, someone called out a Common Murre sitting on the water. Sure enough, there it was floating on the waves - my first lifer of the day. Here's a highly cropped image of it:

A short time later, we came across a pair of Rhinoceros Auklets bobbing around, occasionally diving. We were able to maneuver quite closely to them, but I didn't get any photos. Once we got a little farther out at sea, things got more and more exciting. The cry of "Buller's [Shearwater]!" came up from the bow. I saw them, but they were very distant. Then some Pink-footed Shearwaters came gliding in right across the bow, only to be followed by a couple Northern Fulmars which put on a great show by flying right in front of the boat. Suddenly, several birders screamed "ALBATROSS!" at the top of their lungs at the same time. Sure enough, a Black-footed Albatross came gliding in, dwarfing the shearwaters. It flew right down one side of the boat, giving excellent looks. The boat flushed a Cassin's Auklet off the water as well. The auklet unfortunately flew straight away from the bow of the boat, and I was one of the few who managed to get on the bird. Here's a shot of a small flock of Pink-footed Shearwaters sitting on the water.

Several Pomerine Jaegers also appeared, including one beautiful light-phase adult with full tail spoons. We left the shearwaters and struck out over a relatively birdless expanse of ocean, chasing a large group of dolphins which had been reported several miles away. The leaders quickly spotted the dolphins, along with masses of birds hanging out with them! As we approached the frenzy, a South Polar Skua lumbered by, much to the delight of the birders. There were hundreds of dolphins feeding in the area. We saw two species: Pacific White-sided Dolphin and Northern Right Whale Dolphin. Here's a shot of a group of White-sides surfacing:

There were fewer Right Whale Dolphins, but there were still quite a few. What cool animals!

The birds were really flocking around the dolphins. There were lots of shearwaters of the three species I mentioned before, plus two Flesh-footed Shearwaters. Flesh-foots are pretty rare here, and do not show up every fall. I got great looks at them, but alas no photos. I was happy to see some small flocks of Red Phalaropes - I'm still amazed that such small birds can thrive over twenty miles out at sea! A Sabine's Gull also made a brief and distant appearance. There were lots of Northern Fulmars around as well, with a few very pale individuals and a few very dark individuals. However, most were a medium gray color. Here's a shot of one taking off the water, probably my favorite shot of the day.

I could have stayed out on the sea forever looking for seabirds, but unfortunately we had to turn back and return to land in mind-afternoon. I was very happy with the trip, since I got thirteen lifers: Black-footed Albatross, Northern Fulmar, Pink-footed Shearwater, Flesh-footed Shearwater, Buller's Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Red Phalarope, South Polar Skua, Pomarine Jaeger, Sabine's Gull, Common Murre, Cassin's Auklet and Rhinoceros Auklet. I was disappointed about the lack of storm-petrels, but it's getting a tad late in the season for them. I'll have to go back earlier in the fall next year and see them!

On Sunday we drove back down to Orange County. We took Pacific Coast Highway south to Morro Bay, which was very scenic. During a brief stop at a gas station in Big Sur I found my first Chesnut-backed Chickadees, which I was very happy about! We also stopped at a beach in San Luis Obispo County to see Elephant Seals hauled out on the beach. Look at that cute face!

We had lunch at Santa Margarita Lake Park in San Louis Obispo County with my mom's cousin Jan Surbey, who is a serious birder and the president of the Morro Bay Audubon Society. I found my first Golden-crowned Sparrows of the fall there, along with lots of Clark's Grebes, and singles of Northern Pintail and Gadwall. On the way out, along Pozo Road, I spotted a small flock of about five Yellow-billed Magpies in flight near the road. We stopped, and I quickly located several other calling individuals in the trees right next to the road. My fifteenth and final lifer of the trip! A great way to end an excellent trip.

Triple digits for Peters Canyon and more

This morning I birded Peters Canyon for a couple hours. I found six new Peters Canyon birds: Northern Flicker, Northern Pintail, Fox Sparrow, American Robin, Northern Harrier, and Western Meadowlark. These pushed my Peters Canyon list up to 105. The lake had lots of coots but relatively fewer ducks than usual, but the rest of the park was very active - White-crowned Sparrows and Yellow-rumped Warblers were everywhere! I was thrilled to hear the Fox Sparrows singing - what a beautiful sound. I believe they were of the "Thick-billed" subspecies, because of their heavy bills and towhee-like "chink" call notes.

This afternoon I couldn't resist doing some more digiscoping around the neighborhood. I spotted a Cinnamon Teal at the lower lake, completely dwarfed by the feral ducks it was hanging out with. Another new neighborhood bird.

This lovely female Western Bluebird also posed for photographs. Though they may not be as gaudy as the males, they certainly have a subtle beauty with those soft brown and pale blue hues.