26 September 2024
Once again I went chasing after an American Redstart today, and once again I missed it. I had missed it twice on the 24th at Natural Bridges and twice before that at Corralitos Lagoon. Today I went back to El Carmelo Cemetery in Pacific Grove, and missed it there in the morning and again in the afternoon. In the morning, however, there was a bird that more than compensated for the lack of a redstart. A hawk flew over and in the second or two before it disappeared behind a tree, I had the immediate impression of a Broad-winged Hawk. That is a bird of eastern and northern forests, uncommon in the fall in California – I had never before seen one in the state. The last few days have had unprecedented numbers of them in the San Francisco area, however, so it would not be a total surprise to find one here near Monterey. Fortunately, there were other birders near by who had a better view and one of them, Jeerapa Sookgaew, got a photo. We discussed it, but I could not be sure about it from the view on the back of her camera. She emailed it to me, and later, on the laptop screen, I could see it was definitely a juvenile Broad-tailed Hawk. eBird checklist, including the Broad-tailed Hawk photo: https://ebird.org/checklist/S196833065.
After some lunch I made a short stop examining the trees near Point Pinos. There was a Western Kingbird there; it was a good bird for the date and location, but a species I have seen several of previously this year. eBird: https://ebird.org/checklist/S196833256. I went back to El Carmelo, finding nothing of any great interest. That eBird list is here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S196833362. I then checked into a hotel and took a nap. The plan was to go owling in the evening and then bird in the Monterey area again in the morning. I decided to give another Motel 6 a try. The small room was clean, comfortable and had soap, shampoo, and conditioner, though little else in the way of amenities, not even coffee. No refrigerator or microwave, but there was a small work desk. The tv was quite small; I did not turn it on. It was rather noisy. $73 including all taxes and fees.
After my nap and some dinner – Chinese, lots of food, not particularly good – I headed up Carmel Valley and Robinson Canyon Road. This is a road well known as an owing site. The night was dark, with the Milky Way in view, and calm early with a breeze developing later. I spent about four hours going up and down the road stopping frequently. The only owls I heard were a few Great Horned Owls and two Western Screech-Owls. A pair of coyotes did give a nice song at one of my stops. I will include a recording, but my inexpert sound editing fails to do them justice.
One new species today, the Broad-winged Hawk. The total for the year is now at 395.
Once again I went chasing after an American Redstart today, and once again I missed it. I had missed it twice on the 24th at Natural Bridges and twice before that at Corralitos Lagoon. Today I went back to El Carmelo Cemetery in Pacific Grove, and missed it there in the morning and again in the afternoon. In the morning, however, there was a bird that more than compensated for the lack of a redstart. A hawk flew over and in the second or two before it disappeared behind a tree, I had the immediate impression of a Broad-winged Hawk. That is a bird of eastern and northern forests, uncommon in the fall in California – I had never before seen one in the state. The last few days have had unprecedented numbers of them in the San Francisco area, however, so it would not be a total surprise to find one here near Monterey. Fortunately, there were other birders near by who had a better view and one of them, Jeerapa Sookgaew, got a photo. We discussed it, but I could not be sure about it from the view on the back of her camera. She emailed it to me, and later, on the laptop screen, I could see it was definitely a juvenile Broad-tailed Hawk. eBird checklist, including the Broad-tailed Hawk photo: https://ebird.org/checklist/S196833065.
After some lunch I made a short stop examining the trees near Point Pinos. There was a Western Kingbird there; it was a good bird for the date and location, but a species I have seen several of previously this year. eBird: https://ebird.org/checklist/S196833256. I went back to El Carmelo, finding nothing of any great interest. That eBird list is here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S196833362. I then checked into a hotel and took a nap. The plan was to go owling in the evening and then bird in the Monterey area again in the morning. I decided to give another Motel 6 a try. The small room was clean, comfortable and had soap, shampoo, and conditioner, though little else in the way of amenities, not even coffee. No refrigerator or microwave, but there was a small work desk. The tv was quite small; I did not turn it on. It was rather noisy. $73 including all taxes and fees.
After my nap and some dinner – Chinese, lots of food, not particularly good – I headed up Carmel Valley and Robinson Canyon Road. This is a road well known as an owing site. The night was dark, with the Milky Way in view, and calm early with a breeze developing later. I spent about four hours going up and down the road stopping frequently. The only owls I heard were a few Great Horned Owls and two Western Screech-Owls. A pair of coyotes did give a nice song at one of my stops. I will include a recording, but my inexpert sound editing fails to do them justice.
One new species today, the Broad-winged Hawk. The total for the year is now at 395.