California, 2024 (1 Viewer)

[rkj]

22 September 2024

Unexpectedly, I went back to Corralitos Lagoon again this afternoon. (If you try to look up this site, note that it is also called Freedom Lake and the park is Scott Park.) This time it was a Canada Warbler that had been found there. Although their breeding range extends quite far west in Canada, they are one of the less frequent visitors to California; I have only seen one previously in the state. It being Sunday afternoon, there were again many picnickers at the park. Happily there was no blaring music this week, though there was one rousing chorus of “Happy Birthday”. Other birders were also present and quickly got me on the bird. The warbler was easy to see, but hard to study or photograph. It was about the most active bird I have ever seen; I don’t think it remained in the same spot for more than two seconds all the time I watched. It stayed high in the twiggy canopy, where the autofocus on my camera was useless. I took scores of out of focus photos of places where the bird had recently been, and a few that captured bits of the bird. A morning report from the location had included an American Redstart, but neither I, nor any of the birders present while I was there, had any sign of it. An eBird list may be found at this website: https://ebird.org/checklist/S196224037.

Afterwards I stopped at the UCSC Farm. A Black-throated Sparrow had appeared there. I saw lots of them in the desert in the spring, but they are one of my favorites so if one had made its way to the coast I wanted a look. I saw eight different species of sparrows at the farm, but not the Black-throated. eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S196225385.

One new species today, Canada Warbler, and I am up to 394 species for the year.

 

[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...