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California next August / sept (1 Viewer)

dandsblair

David and Sarah
Supporter
"previously posted on Information wanted.

We have managed to get a good deal on direct flights from Manchester to Las Vegas in August 14. Plan is to spend 1st night in Vegas (hotel booked 17th Aug), we then need to be in San Francisco late on 22nd to 25th August (big birthday bash on 23rd) but also hope to do some birding in the area. Getting back to Vegas for flight back on 4th September 17.30.

I've had a stab at joining the dots but thought people here might have suggestions on places to include / cut / drop

Emerging idea so far
18th to 22 - Mono lake / Yosemite
24-25 birding in SF area
26th - 28th Monterey, Pinnacles, Big Sur - include one Pelagic 27th
29th drive to San Diego (stop somewhere on the way - suggestions ?)
30 / 31 and 1st San Diego area
2 and 3 - Joshua tree / Salton Sea / Brawley ?
Morning 4th back to Vegas.

From looking at maps it doesn't seem like too much driving but is there other places I really should include?
Target birds would be desert and mountain species, including Clarkes Nutcracker, Sage Grouse, Greater Roadrunner, YB Magpie, Great Grey Owl and sea birds if lucky some Rhino Auks and BF Albatross and for Sarah a chance to catch up on things like California Thrasher, Acorn Woodpecker, etc.

Any thoughts greatfully received.

I have been in the desert round Death Valley / Vegas in July and August on previous trips so know how hot it can get.
 
Hello,

If roadrunner and Clark's nutcracker are on your target list that suggests to me that you probably haven't seen many of the trickier Western and SW species.

Mt Pinos is a good place for mountain quail (the main carpark at dawn); Clark's nutcracker and white headed woodpecker are fairly common here.

GG Owl (one of my CA bogey birds) are easy for many in Yosemite - Chevron Meadow, Crane Flat and Wawona Meadow are the best spots.

Check out e-bird for the map locations (recent sightings) for all your targets. You may find that species that you think are improbable get on to your target list

You definitely want to go on a pelagic out of Monterrey or nearby. Even a poor trip by their standards should give you lots of goodies
 
Was In California at exactly this time of year in 2008 and saw all the species you mention except Great Grey Owl. Trip report HERE

Returned summer 2013 and added Great Grey Owl and Pine Grosbeak as well. Trip report HERE. Ignore the latter parts of the report - I continued all the way to Alaska.

Hope the reports are of some use - fill free to PM if any extra detail needed.
 
Clarks Nutcracker, White-Headed Woodpecker, Pygmy Nuthatch all reasonably easy at Chilao Visitors Center / Buckhorn Campground on the Angeles Crest Highway. (Except now I have said that, cross it off your list.)

Often have Mountain Quail at Chilao. The drip there usually attracts everything local and affords incredible photography opportunity if you can spare the time to be patient.

At that time of year, possible migrating species, Western Tanager, Flycatchers... I mostly had Hammond's this year along with Western Wood-pewee. If you want to hike Dawsons Saddle and one or two of the Gaps there is a good chance of Red Crossbills, Sapsuckers and other higher elevation species.
 
Thanks for the advice

Very helpful and will try to factor it into the trip, we now have pelagic booked from Monterey and looking to get accommodation sorted for Yosemite.
Not sure whether to nail down plans totally or leave some flexibility?
 
I would leave some wiggle room if you can...

If you haven't signed up you can read the California Rare bird listservs through the ABA website... that way you can maybe catch a rare bird thats sort of on your route or linger in particularly fruitful areas.
 
Thanks again for advice - another question

Clarks Nutcracker, White-Headed Woodpecker, Pygmy Nuthatch all reasonably easy at Chilao Visitors Center / Buckhorn Campground on the Angeles Crest Highway.
----- ps there is a good chance of Red Crossbills, Sapsuckers and other higher elevation species.

We will keep some free time in later part of trip and have now signed up for ebird and will look at ABA site you suggest.

As we will not have any camping gear with us on this trip are there any reasonable motels on Highway2 or are we best to try to stay at Burbank or Pasadena and drive up to Chilao V.C. early?
 
Highway 2 is just a nice mountain pass at this point with some Ski Resort type places. You are better off staying somewhere and hauling up there in the morning.

Crossbills are usually reported on LACObirds. I generally read the listservs as I said, through ABA site. http://birding.aba.org/ Also, Chris Taylor, a reasonaly well known local birder put together an "ebird searcher" which I use a lot... http://kiwifoto.com/rba/ Just can not have enough resources!

I plan to go up there in the next couple of days, ill report back on how fruitful it is for the people on their trips at the moment.
 
Last edited:
Thanks

Highway 2 is just a nice mountain pass at this point with some Ski Resort type places. You are better off staying somewhere and hauling up there in the morning.

Crossbills are usually reported on LACObirds. I generally read the listservs as I said, through ABA site. http://birding.aba.org/ Also, Chris Taylor, a reasonaly well known local birder put together an "ebird searcher" which I use a lot... http://kiwifoto.com/rba/ Just can not have enough resources!

I plan to go up there in the next couple of days, ill report back on how fruitful it is for the people on their trips at the moment.

Had a look at sites, they look like very useful resources.
 
Well, I learned something today. Apparently, al the "attractions" that are not Ski Resorts are closed 15th November - 1 April.

However, since I got up when my cellphone yelled at me and drove myself up there... I parked at a nearby canyon and charged down into Chilao. Not a lot there species wise. Lots of Mountain Chickadee and Junco, not too diverse on Woodpeckers. Clark's Nutcrackers were out at Cloudburst Summit and around the Buckhorn Day use Area.

So... right now not the best, but September / October should be pretty good.
 
thanks

Well, I learned something today. Apparently, al the "attractions" that are not Ski Resorts are closed 15th November - 1 April.

However, since I got up when my cellphone yelled at me and drove myself up there... I parked at a nearby canyon and charged down into Chilao. Not a lot there species wise. Lots of Mountain Chickadee and Junco, not too diverse on Woodpeckers. Clark's Nutcrackers were out at Cloudburst Summit and around the Buckhorn Day use Area.

So... right now not the best, but September / October should be pretty good.

Much appreciated
 
Birding will be tricky in Joshua Tree in early September, as the breeding season's done (so most birds won't be singing) and most migrants won't have arrived yet (and it's still absurdly hot), but if you hit some of the oases you might be able to find some good birds. You've got a decent chance of Roadrunner, especially around Jumbo Rocks Campground or around the Twentynine Palms Visitor Center. The other desert specialties will be present but tough to find (especially if this drought continues). The Salton Sea will be even hotter than Joshua Tree, and I hear the biting flies can be terrible that time of year, but you should see plenty of shorebirds. Yellow-footed Gull should be pretty easy around the southern part of the Salton Sea too.
 
Consider other Riverside venues, Lake Skinner, Diamond Lake, San Jacinto... Ebird and see if people are spotting them. The drought is making some of the gimmies a bit harder.
 
Sorry for delay

Birding will be tricky in Joshua Tree in early September, as the breeding season's done (so most birds won't be singing) and most migrants won't have arrived yet (and it's still absurdly hot), but if you hit some of the oases you might be able to find some good birds. You've got a decent chance of Roadrunner, especially around Jumbo Rocks Campground or around the Twentynine Palms Visitor Center. The other desert specialties will be present but tough to find (especially if this drought continues). The Salton Sea will be even hotter than Joshua Tree, and I hear the biting flies can be terrible that time of year, but you should see plenty of shorebirds. Yellow-footed Gull should be pretty easy around the southern part of the Salton Sea too


Consider other Riverside venues, Lake Skinner, Diamond Lake, San Jacinto... Ebird and see if people are spotting them. The drought is making some of the gimmies a bit harder.
.

Thanks for the Info, now that we are back from our Philippines Trip will now focus on trying to firm up our itinerary for California and look at adding in these suggestions.
 
Drought situation

We intend to keep looking at e-bird for recent sightings. Have added Corn Creek near Las Vegas as an early morning stop and Crawley Lake road near the Grouse Lek (obviously not lekking at this time of year) near Bishop as late afternoon stop.
For planning purposes is the drought making things easier to see around any available water, if so it would be useful to know where, and if there are complete areas devoid of birds and wildlife to be avoided.

Thanks for any further info.
 
If your visiting the Crowley lake grouse lek, try and get there at dawn. I went there in may this year(not lekking then either), first visited in the afternoon to see where I had to go the following morning, no grouse at all in a couple of hours, but dawn the next day had 62 birds where the ebird marker is. The approach road is gated off with a sign saying no vehicles, but there is a track right next to it which several other cars took, so I followed suit! It's a bit bumpy, and views were distant, but satisfactory with a scope. The area was also good for sagebrush and brewers sparrows, and sage thrasher. Abit further north, Owens river road was good for eg mountain bluebirds, williamsons sapsucker and clarks nutcracker
 
Thanks

If your visiting the Crowley lake grouse lek, try and get there at dawn. I went there in may this year(not lekking then either), first visited in the afternoon to see where I had to go the following morning, no grouse at all in a couple of hours, but dawn the next day had 62 birds where the ebird marker is. The approach road is gated off with a sign saying no vehicles, but there is a track right next to it which several other cars took, so I followed suit! It's a bit bumpy, and views were distant, but satisfactory with a scope. The area was also good for sagebrush and brewers sparrows, and sage thrasher. Abit further north, Owens river road was good for eg mountain bluebirds, williamsons sapsucker and clarks nutcracker

Thanks. I think we have right directions: which is to turn at Benton Crossing then take the path at the Hot spring turning. Is that where you viewed from?

We are intending to stop there in late afternoon on way to Mono Lake, if we don't connect then we will return early one morning or try for the Grouse at Bodie. Good to know quite a few other good birds to see around Owen's River.
 
I took the track that leads to the lake from just north of the hot springs. After c1km take the right fork, then after another c1lkm park at a dirt track on the right that is fenced off(this is the long track that heads sw, left of the grouse lek marker on ebird) and view the grassy areas towards the 395. The distances may be underestimates as it seemed further driving, but the road condition may have accounted for this! Driveable in any vehicle with care by the way! Doubt you can view this area from the hot springs, but perhaps very distantly from the 395. Are you planning on visiting aspendell, SW of bishop, for the rosy-finches? And another area which i really enjoyed on my way from yosemite to monterey bay was del puerto canyon road, between patterson and san jose, where i saw yellow-billed magpie, lawrence's goldfinch, tricolored blackbird and lewis's woodpecker amongst other things, and its a nice drive too
 
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