[Andy Benson]

Have a vacation planned from May 7th -23rd next year with a suggested route from LA up to Monterey across to the west side of the Sierra Mountains (Yosemite, King's canyon and Sequoia) then back to LA. Taking in Elkhorn Slough and hoping to do a Whale -watching trip - do these venture out far enough for the chance of pelagic species? Is there any recommended sites not to be missed along or not far from our suggested route? Finally will the coastal fog be prevalent at this time of the year, and the snow on the western side of the Sierra does it last as long as on the east side, we are not looking to cross the range.
Any information greatly appreciated
Cheers
Andy

[wimvdam]

Andy,

I suggest that you get the most recent edition of Brad Schram's "Birder's Guide to Southern California". It's excellent.

Throughout the year, Central and South California has many great pelagics; keep an eye on these two sites for your possibilities:
http://www.socalbirding.com/upcomingtrips.html
http://www.shearwaterjourneys.com/schedule.shtml

Enjoy,
-Wim

[Hamhed]

Hi, Andy -

My wife and I went to Central California last September, flying in and out of Sacramento (much cheaper for us and a comfortably small airport). I don't know what your target birds might be but one bird you might look for if you enter Yosemite from the south on Rt. 41 is the Great Gray Owl at the very southern point of its range. We followed a dated posting about the owl being seen on the Wawona Golf Course. Since we were camping nearby, we gave the course a try and found the bird at dusk on a woodpile near the 16th or 17th fairway.
Our trip took us from the airport to Point Reyes, then to Monterey for a Shearwater Journey's bay trip. The birding was slower than expected but the weather was incredibly calm, sunny and warm. We had Humpback Whales go under our boat twice for fantasticly close views. One advantage to an experienced operator that was important for us was the spotters on the boat who generally saw and identified the pelagic species while we were still focusing our binoculars.
From Monterey, we drove to Pinnacles National Monument, visited a cousin in Fresno and on to Yosemite for several days.
I will assume also you would want to look for some of the endemics such as Yellow-billed Magpie, Tri-colored Blackbird and California Condor.
You will be in California during migration so some coastal birding time might get you some good shorebirds in breeding plumage.
Don't forget the exotic Psittacids in San Francisco and LA. In other words, double your intended time in California and resign yourself to that not being enough! :)

Steve

[Andy Benson]

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately I don't think Debbie Shearwater does trips in May, though there is one mentioned on the So-Cal site going out of San Dieago, I have emailed them but as yet they have no confirmed date and we would have to change our itinery for that. I was wondering on a whale trip if Black-footed Albie may be a possibility? Certainly would like to see the magpie and blackbird, have previously seen condor in Arizona. Will order the guide suggested by Wim, thanks. Any thoughts on the possible weather conditions at this time of year (May)?
Cheers
Andy

[Dan Singer]

Hi Andy,
For pelagic species out of Monterey I recommend you look into Monterey Seabirds here:
http://www.montereyseabirds.com/ and Monterey Bay Whale Watch (see link at bottom of page on link above). MS usually runs a May pelagic trip every year. This year's trip was on the 20th. Their 2013 schedule won't be announced until Jan/Feb of next year. The MBWW trips are run almost everyday of the year. These trips are after whales so you don't necessarily get into deep water for long periods of time, nor do they necessarily have dedicated seabirders aboard. That said, these trips are less expensive and shorter in duration, you can often get on board at the last minute, and they routinely see some of the more common pelagic species in the bay that time of year such as Black-footed Albatross, and Sooty and Pink-footed shearwaters. These trips can be a great way to get out on the bay during times when dedicated pelagic trips aren't scheduled. The whale watch gang obtained nice photos of a Laysan Albatross just the other day. I would stop short of guaranteeing a Black-footed on one of these trips, but the odds are at least pretty good you will see one.
Some additional good sources of information online include "The Birding Lists Digest" here: http://digest.sialia.com/ and eBird at ebird.org/ .
Weather during May along California's central coast (Monterey) is often dominated by NW winds. Fog is often present but often clears by mid-day. By May rain is unlikely, but not unheard of. Storms this time of year usually don't last long. Sierra Nevada weather conditions range from sun to rain to snow this time of year depending on elevation, latitude, and cold fronts coming in from the North Pacific. However, generally by May most significant precipitation events are over for the winter/spring, so getting to the mountains is normally not difficult. However, high elevation passes are usually not open in the central and northern Sierra before the end of May. Needless to say, local conditions in May 2013 are a bit difficult to predict now.
May can be a fine time of year for migrants, both along the coast (though better in April) and in the Sierra foothills. By this time along the coast and in the Coast Range many breeding species are on territory and nesting. Breeding occurs later at higher elevations. Keeping abreast of what locals are reporting via the Digest is a good way of learning what is around and where to look for it.

Dan