Santa Barbara and Chicago (1 Viewer)

Not actually a vacation, this was a business trip, but I managed to do a few hours birding in santa barbara (in the botanic gardens and around the Bacara resort) while at a conference, and then an afternoon in Chicago (around Montrose bay on the Saturday). Nevertheless managed to see plenty of new birds since I had not birded in either of these places before. Managed to see the following (*=Lifer)

BOTANIC GARDENS
Hermit Thrush*
Acron Woodpecker*
Sharpe-shinned Hawk - pearched on a wire about 10 ft from me
Townsend Warbler*
Anna's Hummingbird*
BACARA
Western Gull*
Black-crowned Night Heron* (counted 9 in a tree by a pond)
Double-crested cormorant
Willet* (lots of waders on the beach)
Greater yellow-legs*
Marbled Godwit*
Western Sandpiper*
Whimbrel*
Long-billed Curlew*
Grey Plover
Snowy Egret*
Great Egret
Brown Pelican
Clarke's Grebe* (3 close to shore in the sea)
Horned Grebe
Surf Scoter*
California Towee*
Black-Chinned Hummingbird*
Purple Finch*
Black Phobe
Berwick Wren*
Bushtit*
Common Yellowthroat
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Brown-headed Cowbird
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher*
Wrentit*
Red-winged Blackbird
Turkey Vulture* (counted 12 roosting in high tress)
Red-tailed Hawk
Northern Flicker
American Crow
Califronia Thrasher*
Great Horned Owl*
Marsh Wren*
Western Scrub-Jay*
Chipping Sparrow
CHICAGO
White-throated Sparrow*
White-crowned Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow*
Carolina Wren*
American Goldfinch*
American Redstart*
Blue Jay*
Northern Cardinal*
Chimney Swift*
Eastern Phobe*
Downy Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Cooper's Hawk* (Juvenile)
Eastern Meadowlark* (or could have been Western)
Mourning Dove*
Herring Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Pied-billed Grebe
Northern Shrike*
American Robin
Barn Swallow

So I make that 40 lifers - not bad for a business trip :t:

Wrentit and especially California Thrasher are very good birds for a California newbie on a business trip! I'm afraid we don't have any "Grey" Plovers in California, though - only Black-bellied! ;-)

Yes it took me a while to realise that black bellied = grey.
Wrentits seemed quite common where I was staying, although I heard more than I saw. Flushed a couple of thrashers from under bushes - they seemed very shy birds.

mcali said:

Yes it took me a while to realise that black bellied = grey.
Wrentits seemed quite common where I was staying, although I heard more than I saw. Flushed a couple of thrashers from under bushes - they seemed very shy birds.

Click to expand...

Wrentits are very easy to hear, but I almost always see them when they're chattering, not when they're singing. With patience, Thrashers can be found when singing, but that's December to April or so. The rest of the year it takes some luck.

Actually a very impressive list for the short time you spent birding. Well done. We spent 10 days in California a few weeks ago, including Santa Barbara, and also picked up quite a few lifers as it was our first trip to the US West Coast. We loved it.

"Long Live" scrubby cali coastal stuff..............

Dave B Smith said:

Actually a very impressive list for the short time you spent birding. Well done. We spent 10 days in California a few weeks ago, including Santa Barbara, and also picked up quite a few lifers as it was our first trip to the US West Coast. We loved it.

Click to expand...

Yes, what a great quality of life there.
I was actually in Calgary earlier this year. Went to the Inglewood bird sanctuary and Weaselhead. Really enjoyed it there (although got very wet!)

Meadowlarks are difficult when they are not singing. Could be either, as you said.