California (Bay area, Yosemite, Monterey, San Diego) 29th May to 13th June (1 Viewer)

As some of you may know I spent the last two weeks on holidays in California. It was a family holiday but I (of course) managed to squeeze in some birding as well. You can expect a full trip report as soon as I get over my jet lag.

Here are the first five days.

Day 1: We arrived in San Francisco and a cab took us to the hotel. The first bird of the trip was a Brewer's Blackbird which turned out to be one of the commonest birds in SF. En route I also observed some California Gulls, the inevitable Feral Pigeons and a few American Crows. Through the hotel window I saw Mourning Doves, House Finches, American Robins and also a Western Gull (probably the commonest gull in the Bay Area).

Day 2: Our plan was to walk along the coast from Fishermen's Wharf to the Golden Gate and back. It started with a flock of Canada Geese flying in V-formation very close to us. I was attracted by very loud noises coming from the trees above me. When I looked up I saw a very noisy flock of Mitred Parakeets. I walked down the pier towards the waterfront and was rewarded by the sight of numerous Brown Pelicans, ssp. californicus. As a fact of interest, the infamous Alcatraz Island was named after the pelicans, called Alcatraz in Spanish. Alongside there were Double-crested and Brandt's Cormorants drying their feathers in the sun. I erased Cattle Egret from the list, see the list to find out why. Soon we reached Crissy Field, an area where a salt marsh restoration programme is under way. Sadly, since it was Memorial Day several people were on the beach and some of them were wading in the reserve itself (!!). Therefore it wasn't particularly full, but I managed to see a trio of Ciconiiformes: Snowy Egret, Great Egret and a Great Blue Heron (in flight). Just a few metres off shore I saw a very sickly looking Loon, whose ID is still being decided. *It has been decided it was a Red-throated. We made a turn towards Presidio park where several Pygmy Nuthatches were heard calling and seen climbing trees. I also spotted a female Hooded Oriole. Since it was Memorial Day and Presidio hosts a very large military cemetery we received a few strange looks by passers-by. Thus we decided to stop and slowly return to our hotel. On the way we saw a magnificent soaring Red-tailed Hawk.

Day 3: No birding in the morning, but went to the Golden Gate Park in the afternoon. There I saw my first ever hummingbird, it was Anna's, and I was delighted. I also saw a calling flock of Cedar Waxwings near the Japanese Tea Gardens. We also visited one of the numerous lakes in the park. I saw a few usual species there, for example Red-winged Blackbird, Bushtit, Song Sparrow and a Brown Creeper. Angry Brewer's Blackbirds managed to scare a Green Heron from its hide-out. Dark-eyed Juncos of the »Oregon« type were also quite common.

Day 4: This turned out to be one of the best days of the whole trip! We decided to rent bikes, cycle over the Golden Gate Bridge and finish off birding in the Marin Headlands, north of the bridge. This is a hilly area of chaparral which is still quite wild. Our trip mostly followed the route we took on Day 2. The first birds were a few Surf Scoters swimming close to the coast. It was still a bit early so no people were wading at Crissy Field, and the birds weren't disturbed. I saw a splendid Common Loon in breeding plumage, a truly stunning bird!! We finally got on the bridge. The air wasn't the best but the views were breathtaking. I could see Caspian Terns flying all around us. At the very end of the bridge I saw a large rock (could call it a very small island, I guess) where gulls and cormorants were sitting. I checked it out and soon saw what I thought were Black Guillemots, but weren't, they were Pigeon Guillemots (the stripe on the wing panels is surprisingly hard to see when birds are swimming.) We managed to cross the bridge but then hell broke out. It wasn't noon yet but the heat was unbearable. As if the heat wasn't enough we had to cycle uphill. When I saw Turkey Vultures I wasn't sure who were they after: us or some other carrion? Luckily, we soon began to descend and I could again pay some more attention to birds. I first heard and then also saw a Wrentit, a very typical bird of chaparral. We stopped at Rodeo Lagoon, which had Snowy Egrets, Pied-billed Grebes, Caspian Terns, Brown Pelicans and Red-winged Blackbirds. We had lunch there, and I was trying my best to practice the »Sanderling feeding technique«, the cold Pacific was quite motivating for running. On the way back I saw quite a few Western Bluebirds. We returned to SF on a ferry from Sausalito, the wind totally destroyed my eyes while looking at Guillemots. By the time I got off the ferry my eyes were blood red (maybe that's way nobody asked us for a ticket, who knows??).

Day 5: It was time to leave SF and head for Yosemite National Park. While my mother was beginning to adapt to automatic transmission I was busy looking at birds. At our first stop I saw an American Kestrel being chased by Starlings. It all continued with a Yellow-billed Magpie, an attractive bird and my first ever endemic. A field was quite rich with Swainson's Hawks of various morphs and ages. In Mariposa a Western Kingbird was perched on the very same spot for more than 20 minutes, very persistent. The first birds in Yosemite were Acorn Woodpeckers flying overhead, closely followed by a Steller's Jay (the most distinctive bird of the park) and White-throated Swifts. After listening to the anti-bear precautions we settled down in our cabin.

Pictures will follow after the whole report.

Interesting stuff so far Jurij. You saw quite similar birds in San Francisco to me, despite going at a different time of the year.

A very interesting read. You managed a good selction of birds so far. Looking forward to the rest :t:

Did you see any white headed woodpeckers in Yosemite?

buckskin hawk said:

Did you see any white headed woodpeckers in Yosemite?

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Be patient, you'll hear about it.

Day 6: On my way to the toilets I saw a calling Bullock's Oriole right above me. At breakfast we had a pleasure to enjoy a high-speed chase between Brewer's Blackbirds and a Raven. No prize for guessing who won. We decided to drive to Glacier Point and stop on the way for shorter hikes along the numerous trails around the Glacier Point Road. Our first was the Ortsander Lake Trail (not sure if the spelling is correct). We didn't have to walk far to find interesting birds. A Green-tailed Towhee was singing atop a dead tree and a Wilson's Warbler was energetically jumping all around us. A »Red-shafted« Northern Flicker was seen visiting her nest. We continued to Glacier Point where we were greeted by a spectacular view and Mountain Chickadees. On the way back we made a hike to Sentinel Dome. It was very exciting because there was still quite some snow there. On the way I managed to see a splendid male Western Tanager. In the Visitors' Centre we found out that the Yosemite Birding Festival was under way the very weekend we were visiting. Lectures and trips were to be organized. We were on our way to El Portal (the HQ of the event) where I applied. It certainly was a good spot to apply at! As soon as I signed the papers a Golden Eagle was sighted. I've seen them at home, but every time I see it, I'm delighted. I had applied for the trip in Western Yosemite Valley.

Day 7: The rally point was at the Bridalveil Fall. First of all we inspected a nearby creek and spotted an American Dipper. It's no match to our Dipper in appearance, but still an intriguing bird. We continued through a small grove, in which we heard and later saw a Black-throated Gray Warbler, the Nashville Warbler didn't show up though. We crossed the road and came to a more open type of forest. There we had good views of an Acorn Woodpecker and a noisy group of Chestnut-backed Chickadees. We also had a few good views of Gilbert's Skinks, all of them were immature. A Warbling Vireo was doing all he possibly could to drive a Steller's Jay away from his nest, he eventually succeeded. A Western Wood Peewee was on the hunt, »Audobon's« Yellow-rumped warblers were quite numerous. We moved to a part of forest closer to the river where the soil was noticably wetter and the air more humid. I went for a short walk in the Merced river and it was neither cold nor wet (just because I was wearing shoes of course ).A Black-headed Grosbeak was heard singing in the distance, and I was on the verge of developing Vireo-neck because of a Cassin's Vireo high in the trees. We decided to go back and make a short walk by the fall in order to try and find a Canyon Wren which we managed to hear in the end. It was time to go and we decided to visit the Mariposa Grove in the afternoon. We had great lunch in a colonial style hotel in Wawona and then a shuttle bus took us to the Grove. I could hear many birds singing and calling, but with no one help me out at hand, they remained unidentified. One of the better surprises awaited me just around the corner. I was attracted by a woodpecker sound. I couldn't call it drumming because it was very quiet and slow, but a White-headed Woodpecker soon showed up. It was obviously feeding on a ponderosa pine. I admired this bird for a while and after that we moved on. The only other bird I saw there was a Red-breasted Nuthatch. We returned to our and attended a lecture on the raptors of California in the evening.

I want to go again. I went several years ago and wasn't keeping track of my birds then but I remember the White headed woodpecker and nest along the side of the trail we were hiking. I wonder if Kings Canyon and Sequoia are good birding parks? They aren't as crowded as Yosemite. Are they?

Day 8: A trip to Foresta was scheduled. Foresta is an area at the very border of Yosemite and consists mostly of grasslands and burnt down trees (there was a great fire in 1990). Waiting for the others to show up at the rendezvous point beside Merced river I saw a Black Phoebe near the water, a common bird at Foresta as it later turned out. We then drove to Foresta and saw a Spotted Towhee perched on a dry bush. California and Spotted Towhees are known to overlap at Foresta, but we saw no Californias. A few Band-tailed Pigeons flew overhead. When we stepped out of the cars we first heard and soon after saw a California Quail in flight. We were nearing a waterfall but a singing Lazuli Bunting could still be heard. We were searching for a Dipper by the creek but to no avail. We did however see an Ash-throated Flycatcher getting ready for his daily hunt. A Hairy Woodpecker and a Mountain Quail were heard calling. Then we admired a male Anna's Hummingbird who sat still on the same branch for at least ten minutes. We saw a couple of immature Orange-crowned Warblers and heard a Bewick's Wren as well as a California Thrasher. We saw a couple of Lesser Goldfinches and decided to head back to a meadow near the place where we parked our cars. We first saw House Wren and then Violet-green and Northern Rough-winged Swallows. Along came a flying brown cigar, it was a Vaux's Swift. As we were ending our trip a Western Meadowlark flew low above the grass. It was time to leave Yosemite and drive to Monterey. The journey ahead proved to be great for birds. It all started with a female Goosander flying low above the Merced river a few miles from the park. We drove, made a stop in Mariposa, saw some more Yellow-billed Magpies near Merced, and a Loggerhead Shrike perched on a wire near the road. San Luis Reservoir looked promising for birds and I kept nagging until we stopped. I took a quick look and saw a few American Coots and Ruddy Ducks. Then I was in for a surprise. I saw a male American Wigeon and a male Bufflehead. You can believe this or not, because these species weren't supposed to be there in summer but I saw males and, well, it's hard to mis-ID a male Bufflehead or American Wigeon. As we were nearing Monterey one of the best birds of the whole trip appeared. It was flying gracefully and briefly hovered above the field. It was a White-tailed Kite! I was so under its impression that I nearly turned a Northern Harrier into one a few miles ahead! We finally reached Monterey, had no trouble in finding our hotel (we drove right into it) and got some well-deserved sleep!

Day 9: It was our first day in Monterey and the plan was to make a short walk through the town and visit the Aquarium. We started at Fishermen's Wharf, where we booked our whale watching trip (a trip dedicated to birds wasn't available). I saw an Eared Grebe* in full breeding plumage in the harbor. As if that weren't enough I saw a female Harlequin Duck** as we walked towards the Aquarium. Then we finally reached the Aquarium. In the Aquarium they have an "exhibit" where waders that are injured/unable to fly/have neurological problems are kept. They truly look pitiful but it was certainly interesting to see them at close quarters (Grey Plover, Long-billed Curlew, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Turnstone, Killdeer, Snowy Plover (=Kentish), Sanderling, Dunlin and Red Phalarope). After I got bored indoors, I went out and also saw many interesting birds. I saw a rather tame Heermann's Gull, I think it was a second or third-year (I'll send pics) It's a first summer (So much for my gull ageing skills ). Pelagic Cormorants were abundant, Brandt's common, Double-crested were a bit scarcer. Pigeon Guillemots were also seen around. Then an Otter also showed up, very nice creature, cleaning itself all the time. It was time for lunch and then we went for a drive along the 17-mile Drive. It was supposed to be scenic but watching fancy mansions isn't all that scenic in my opinion. the coast wasn't particularly special either. I did however see and hear Black Oystercatchers and a pair of Killdeers (before I heard them, I thought they had something with deer ). We also got very close views of three Turkey Vultures, feasting on a decaying deer. We had dinner and eagerly awaited our whale watching trip the next day.


* When I got back to Slovenia I submitted it to the county recorder (Don Roberson), who replied that it had been submitted previously. A few of these are known to summer locally. It is however peculiar that it moulted into the breeding plumage.
** Submitted this one as well, already known. It is said that she came to the harbor, together with a male, in November 2004 and stayed ever since!

Sounds like a great trip. Thanks for sharing it. I remember staying at a KOA campground somewhere between Santa Cruz and Monterey and having Cal. quail walking right through the grass. It was several years ago. We stopped at a refuge somewhere along the bay and enjoyed a few great hours. We also stopped at the pebble beach horse show and enjoyed watching the birds on the grounds. Acorn Woodpeckers have to win some award for the funniest face.

Your trip brought back memories and I would like to go again.

Nice to hear that Buckskin!

Day 10: It was finally the day of our whale (and bird of course) watching trip! As we started of the usual species were seen (Cormorants, Guillemots). The first pelagic birds of the trip were Sooty Shearwaters which proved to be very common. A few Black-footed Albatrosses were always around, with some coming very close to the ship. We got very close views of a Humpback Whale and drove right past a lone Tufted Puffin. This is a species that I've wanted to see ever since I first saw it in the book. A family group of Killer Whales caused quite a stir onboard. It was great because they were of various ages and sexes, so you could really see the difference. After a while we left the Killer Whales and saw a few Pacific White-sided Dolphins. I was starting to feel a bit queasy in spite of the pill so I couldn't ID an alcid properly. I came to a conclusion (which isn't 100%) that I saw a Cassin's Auklet. I will describe what the pro and contra Cassin's features were:
PRO:
- it was uniformly (this eliminates all summer Brachyramphus murrelets, which are also highly unlikely for the area) dark (barely visible with the naked eye against the wave). This feature eliminates Ancient Murrelet, which would have shown at least some white even if hunched.
- it was small (the size of the Tufted Puffin was still in my head, it was much smaller) As we got back to the hotel I estimated its size with my hands and my mother measured it. It was 23 cm (9"), the size which the National Geographic Guide gives. (And I didn't look at the figures until after my estimate).
- it had at least some white on the head, but it was visible only through binoculars, so it can't have been too extensive.
- it had some white on the bill, this too was visible only through binoculars, so it probably wasn't too extensive, most likely just a patch at the bill base
- probability this doesn't prove much but still

CONTRA:
- unwariness, Cassin's are known to be very "cowardly" (cautious if you like), they fly as soon as they see the boat
- it was alone Cassin's are known to be gregarious,but this could be explained:
- maybe it was one of the first arrivals after finished breeding on Farallon Islands

That's the case, and I put it down as a Cassin's with a question mark. It was time to leave Monterey and go to Pigeon Point where we intended to spend the night before returning to SF. I saw a Red-shouldered Hawk beside the row. I also wanted to see Elkhorn Slough, a well-known birding hot-spot there. But the pill had its side effect (*!!#$%&**!!!), I was simply to sleepy to go birding. All I saw was a Black-necked Stilt through the window. The hostel at Pigeon Point was very nice, especially the Brown Pelicans, Black Oystercatchers and Pelagic Cormorants flying around.

Day 11: An uneventful drive back to SF, nothing remarkable happened, except buying clothes for my end-of-primary-school dance. We flew to San Diego.

Day 12: A walk to the Zoo and around Balboa Park in San Diego. Black Phoebes were everywhere, California Towhees were also common. I also found a bush with a Western Bluebird's nest. I went to sleep with an eery fact in my mind, the next day was to be the last birding day of the trip :eek!: !

Day 13: The final destination was the Chula Vista Natural Centre. It proved to be quite a good choice. The first bird was a Cooper's Hawk near the Chula Vista hospital. A shuttle bus takes every visitor to the Visitors' Centre (no foot access!). Cliff Swallows were nesting on the building and there was a wide variety of captive birds held there. Most of them are injured, but in the case of Clapper Rails, a captive breeding programme is under way. It was already too late in the day to try and hear a real Clapper, so I was satisfied with the caged one. We proceeded to the beach, on the way we saw Black Phoebes, "Degland's" Savannah Sparrows and a few Anna's Hummingbirds. I was after Least Terns at the beach but saw NONE! I did however see Caspian and Elegant Terns. I also managed to see an Osprey the very moment he caught a fish. I probably would have seen more birds if I had a scope or decent binoculars but I was satisfied nevertheless. Squinting at a flock of waders finally paid off as they flew: thankfully Willets have a distinct wing pattern and Long-billed Curlews a distinct bill + cinnamon colour. On my way back I got really close views of a Black-crowned Night Heron. In the afternoon I had the pleasure of observing numerous Forster's Terns hunting for fish, some of them plunged into the water very close to me. This was it, the birding was over.

Day 14:Journey home.

I liked the trip very much and I'm already making plans for the next ! I had two great weeks and I'm truly hoping to come back soon, in a different season (mostly beacuse of the different birds, of course).

A list together with some photos is coming up soon!

Getting started (please age the Heermann's Gull):

At this point I'd also like to thank the BF members that helped me choose the best birding sites, Andrew Whitehouse and Blackstart (Adam). Thanks very much!

Hi Jurij,

I noticed you are located in Slovenia. I am visiting Slovenia in August. I will be staying in a town not far from Lake Bled. Do you know if there are any good birding locations nearby ?

regards
Mark

Jurij Hanžel said:

At this point I'd also like to thank the BF members that helped me choose the best birding sites, Andrew Whitehouse and Blackstart (Adam). Thanks very much!

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You're welcome, Jurij.

I enjoyed reading your report and am looking forward to more photos.

-Adam