California, 2024 (2 Viewers)

[rkj]

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.

 

[rkj]

27 September 2024

This morning I went to Laguna Grande Park. In addition to being a nice place to bird, a Blackpoll Warbler had been seen there over the previous days, and that would be a species I could add to my total. Blackpolls have an extensive breeding range in the northern forests, reaching from the Atlantic in Nova Scotia to the Bering Sea in Alaska. It is one of the more common vagrants to California, though somehow I manage to miss them most years. I found the bird fairly quickly high up in some eucalyptus trees. I could see most of what one would like to see to identify the bird, though it was hard to see the feet, which are a significant distinguishing feature in this bird. But I heard a chip that sounded right, and Merlin agreed it was right for a Blackpoll, so even without examining the feet it was enough for me. I spent the rest of the morning at the site and saw lots of birds, but no species that were new or unusual. My eBird checklist can be accessed here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S196902272.

The Blackpoll Warbler made one new bird for the day, and is number 396 on the year list.

 

[rkj]

28 September 2024

I was off after another vagrant warbler today, this time a Bay-breasted Warbler at Vasona County Park in Santa Clara County. Bay-breasted is another species that breeds across much of Canada, but only about as far west as Alberta, and it is not one of the more common species to make it to California. There were many other birders at the site where it had previously been observed when I arrived. I was told it had not yet been seen that morning. We waited and looked, and looked in some adjacent areas, and could not find it. There were many Yellow-rumped and Yellow Warblers and a good variety of local resident birds, but no Bay-breasted Warbler. Word came that a Blackpoll Warber was about 150 meters to the south, and most of us went to look for that. I was hoping for a better view than I had had the day before, maybe even a photo. It was not to be; we never saw the Blackpoll and after a bit I went back to the Bay-breasted spot. After about four hours I was ready to give up. It was lunchtime and picnicking parties were spreading across the area. I started back to my car, but stopped to look through a mixed flock of small birds. A young birder yelled and waved at me – he had found the Bay-breasted Warbler about 400 meters north of the previously known location. The few of us still around trotted down there and after a bit of looking re-found the bird. It was low down in an open-branched tree, and offered extended excellent views. That made a nice change from my recent experiences with lost warblers. Vasona eBird: https://ebird.org/checklist/S196907424.

The Bay-breasted Warbler became my 397th species for the year. I am the sort of person who frets until a job is done no matter how well it is going, but even I have to admit this is looking good.

 

[Joe H]

Wow! I haven't checked-in for a couple weeks and you've gotten within 3 sightings of making your amazing year count - and three months to go. Well done!

 

[rkj]

5 October 2024

On 1 October I went back to Swanton Pond – three locally good birds were there: Sage Thrasher, Dickcissel, and Prairie Warbler. The two I saw, the thrasher and Dickcissel, were the two I had already seen this year.

Today I went to Natural Bridges State Beach again. This time my quarry was a Northern Waterthrush. This is another species that in California we think of as an eastern bird, but that actually breeds from the Atlantic to the Pacific in northern forests. Like its cousin the Louisiana Waterthrush, it is really a Parulid warbler, though with a plain brown back and boldly streaked breast it does look rather like a thrush. Both species do stay close to water. Northern Waterthrush is one of the most common fall vagrants to California and some spend the winter here, so it is one I expect to see every year. Today’s bird had been seen along Moore Creek, which flows through the western side of the park. “Flow” is not really accurate at this time of year; the creek backs up from a little lagoon at the beach and is an unappealing stagnant mess. It is under a cover of willows and has a nice muddy bank, and those features seem to be more important to the waterthrushes; this individual is not the first to have visited. I got there early and spotted the bird on my second pass of the reported site. There is limited visibility of the creek there, so only a brief view was obtained, and no pictures. An eBird report is here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S197828215.

Northern Waterthrush is species number 398 on my year list.

 

[MKinHK]

I've likewise missed a couple of weeks and discovered you've made terrific progress towards the magic 400 - great stuff! Looks like the pelagic was the game-changer and that persistence is paying off.

Cheers
Mike

 

[rkj]

7 October 2024

On the threshold of a dream – as the Moody Blues said. Their dreams may have been more profound than mine. In any case, I got #399 today. It was a Blackburnian Warbler at Pajaro Dunes - Shorebirds Pond. The Shorebirds resort does not just have a pond, it also has an ocean beach and some trees, mostly cypresses, around a group of condominiums. It is another place where you have a bunch of trees in a region where there are few, and they attract some migrants. Birding is restricted to a path around the pond and immediately adjacent areas; the adjacent areas include some of the trees. Blackburnian Warbler is another species that breeds in eastern and northern forests, but generally only as far west as eastern Alberta. It is not one of the more common visitors to California, though some are seen every fall. Another birder and I found this one in a small eucalyptus tree near the path. The bird is similar, at this time of year, to the common Townsend’s Warblers. As this one hopped around among the leaves he was trying to get a good look at the face; the dark auricular patch differs in shape between the two species. I concentrated on the back - nothing similar has bright buffy streaks on the back like a Blackburnian does. We both agreed it had to be a Blackburnian and both got photos that confirmed it.

Other newly arrived migrant birds included a bunch of Yellow-rumped and some Townsend’s Warblers, Hermit Thrushes, and Golden-crowned Sparrows; on and around the pond were American Wigeon, Cinamon Teal, Greater Yellowlegs, and Least Sandpipers. The eBird checklist gives the full tally: https://ebird.org/checklist/S197967097.

One new species, Blackburnian Warbler, and the total now stands at 399.

 

[foresttwitcher]

So close...

 

[rkj]

16 October 2024

There have been more than 40 bird species seen in California in the last week that I have not seen this year. Unfortunately for me, they have been mostly in Southern California, in the far north, out at sea, or in the Sierra Nevada. I have been mostly stuck at home replacing my carpeting, which involved packing up 35 boxes of books, moving them out while furniture was shifted and carpet laid, moving them back in, and unpacking them again. I did get out a couple nights for some owling. Other than what seems to have been a Great Horned Owl giving an unusual call, there was no excitement there. And I did take a half day to try to chase down another American Redstart and two Black-and-White Warblers, but with no joy on any of them.

Yesterday, however, there was a Broad-billed Hummingbird found on a residential street in Pacific Grove, and today I went in search of it. Broad-billed Hummingbird breeds in Mexico and southern Arizona. It is a bit of a wanderer with scattered records over much of the United States, including a few here in central California. The neighborhood in Pacific Grove had lots of flowering plants, and I saw about a half dozen Anna’s Hummingbirds fairly quickly. A tip that the Broad-billed had been favoring rosemary flowers was the key to spotting it. Once found it worked its way away from me along a shady bank of the plants, and then worked its way back until it was less than 2 feet away (that’s 60 cm to those of you in the sensible world). At that range I couldn’t focus my camera fast enough to get good photos. It then went across the street to some more rosemary plants that were in hazy sunlight and I got some better pictures of it there. It was a young male growing into its adult spender, a delightful bird for my 400th of the year.

Being in the area, I also went to El Carmelo Cemetery (eBird: https://ebird.org/checklist/S199243486) and Laguna Grande Park (eBird: https://ebird.org/checklist/S199245834), but did not see anything I have not seen many of previously this year.

Just half way through October and already I have made it to 400 species. It was not that long ago I was wondering if I would make it by the end of December. I suppose I should have realized that there would be uncommon birds to find, even if I could not predict exactly which species they would be. It has been fun, but I am a little glad that now I can go back to regular birding and not focus on just finding new birds for the year list. I will certainly keep birding and I will keep reporting here any new birds, significant sightings, or new places I visit that seem worth a mention. Many thanks to all who have come with me thus far, especially those who have given me a “like” or written feedback.

One new species today, Broad-billed Hummingbird, and the total is 400!

 

[foresttwitcher]

Congratulations rkj, a great effort and it has been fun following your progress.

 

[avecaves]

Congratulations! Its been really interesting to follow your birding in this thread. Greetings from Sweden.

 

[Welsh Peregrine]

Hope you add some more during the rest of the year; it’s been a fun read!

 

[cafe birder]

Thanks for the effort you have put in to enable many of us to follow your journey

 

[Farnboro John]

Congratulations, very well done! Enjoy the remainder of your big year.

John

 

[MKinHK]

Congratulations rkj!

 

[Frank van Drogen]

Congratulations Kent! It was awesome to follow and I greatly enjoyed your write-ups!

Looking forward to following your more layed back journey over the coming months.

 

[Joe H]

It's been great, variously peeking over your shoulder (or through your binoculars) as you accomplished this amazing milestone - well done! Thank you again for kindly detailing your travels. If I ever get back down to California, I'll cross-check my locations and times against this thread. Congratulations!

 

[rkj]

23 October 2024

Over the last week I have been birding a few times on the west side of Santa Cruz. I did not turn up anything new there, but I did get much better looks at an Orchard Oriole at the Lighthouse Community Garden than I had of the same species at the same location back in January and I got some pictures of common birds.

Today though it was back to Monterey County. At the Salinas River National Wildlife Refuge a Sprague’s Pipit had appeared. This seems to be the first record for Northern California, except for a couple birds that wandered out to the Farallon Islands. It is a grassland species that breeds in the northern plains and winters in the southern plains. I had only seen one previously, poor looks long ago in Montana. Three other birders were already on it when I got out to the location. It stayed in fairly sparse vegetation close to the trail, giving some nice views. There was a flock of American Pipits moving around the vicinity, but they kept to more open areas and the Sprague’s did not associate with them. My eBird list is here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S200126139.

Having gone that far, I continued to the City of Monterey. The attraction there was a Baltimore Oriole. Baltimore Orioles, a species that breeds mainly in the eastern and central parts of North America, were for a while lumped with the common western species Bullock’s Oriole based on some hybridization in the middle of the continent. Genetic studies have indicated, however, that they are not even each other’s closest relatives and they have been split again. Baltimore Orioles do make it to California with moderate frequency, but almost always as immatures or females. The Monterey bird was notable for being a full adult male in all his glamour. Again there were already birders present, and it was not long before the bird made an appearance. It never stayed in one place very long and mostly kept hidden back in the leaves of whatever tree it occupied. It was easy to identify, but hard to photograph. eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S200131129.

Two new species, Sprague’s Pipit and Baltimore Oriole, and I am up to 402.

 

[rkj]

29 October 2024

I am afraid this series of reports is becoming less and less “vacational” as we go along. My birding lately has mostly been an hour or two in between doing various errands. Having begun here, I think it is probably best to continue with it in this forum anyway, rather than move it to some other that might be more appropriate for this kind of reporting.

In the last several days I have stopped several times at the Lighthouse Community Garden in Santa Cruz and the surrounding neighborhood. The target has been a Lark Bunting that has been there, but hidden away we know not where much of the time. In North America a number of birds that are not all closely related go by the name bunting; this one is actually one of the American sparrows. It breeds on the short grass prairie of the high plains (it is the state bird of Colorado) and normally winters south of there, but it is an irregular fall vagrant to California. For me the fifth time was a charm. I arrived at the location midafternoon and found that my friend Lisa was the only other birder present. She stayed at one of the two spots where it has most often been seen and I went on to the other, about a block away. I had spent perhaps a half-hour there, seeing various other sparrows and goldfinches but not the Lark Bunting, when I got a call from Lisa that she had it in sight. I hoofed it over there and she showed me the bunting, well hidden in a dense shrub. We waited and got what photos we could, and eventually it went to the ground to forage and we had some quite good views. This was not only new to the year list, but also the first time I have seen it in the county or state, so I was very happy to finally get the tick.

One new species, Lark Bunting, and I have brought the total up to 403.

 

[Frank van Drogen]

One new species, Lark Bunting, and I have brought the total up to 403.

The Bunting is a nice bird, but the Humming bird is really awesome, very nice picture!!